Sergio Parra

Aenigmachanna gollum belongs to an ancient family of fish, called dragon snake heads, which preserves its primitive characteristics. Scientists have named it in honor of the dark character from JRR Tolkien's epic saga. The Lord of the rings.

It looks like a dragon, swims like an eel, and has been hidden for a hundred million years. After a post on social media, it piqued the curiosity of a researcher in Kerala. And this is what he discovered.

living fossil

The discovery of a new family of fish is very rare. Dragon snakeheads have eluded scientists until now because they live in underground aquifers and come to the surface only after heavy flooding caused by rain.

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Global animal populations have declined by an average of two-thirds in less than half a century.

According to your study, the closest relative of the family Aenigmachannidae is he Channidae, of which at least 50 species can be found in the streams and lakes of Asia and tropical Africa. According to molecular analyses, the two families separated 34 million – 109 million years ago.

Based on computed tomography, molecular genetics and morphological methods, Ben's study was able to detect several significant differences between the Aenigmachanna and other snakehead fish of the Channidae family.

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Seven animals that changed science forever

It is therefore suggested that Aenigmachanna It is a lineage of Gondwana, which has survived the breakup of the supercontinent, with India separating from Africa about 120 million years ago.

We are, therefore, facing a living fossil.

The lack of evolution can be seen in the shortened swim bladder of dragon snakeheads, as well as a smaller number of vertebrae with ribs. These indicate that the family is less specialized than normal snakeheads. The family also has eyes and reddish-brown pigmentation, which is unusual as most subterranean fish are pale and have no eyes.

Unlike the Channidae, the Aenigmachannidae They also lack the suprabranchial organ that allows them to breathe air and proliferate widely.

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Aenigmachanna gollum, the bony fish named after Gollum, from 'The Lord of the Rings'

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Although it has a skeleton similar to many small dinosaurs from the previous Jurassic Period, on the outside we are looking at an unusual dinosaur. The call Ubirajara jubatus had a mane of hair-like structures and at the same time it presented two completely unique features.

About 110 million years ago, along the banks of an ancient lagoon in what is now northeastern Brazil, it walked on two legs and was the size of a chicken. AND has just been described in the magazine Cretaceous Research.

Two unique features

On the one hand, Ubirajara jubatus it must have displayed a dense crest of primitive feather-like structures, more like down than anything else. On the other hand, two very long “spikes” emerged from each of his shoulders. Both the crest and spines appear to have been made of keratin, the same protein that gives resistance to our nails or our hair.

Ubirajara's ribbon-like structures may have been used for display, possibly to attract companions or intimidate adversaries. They appear to be relatively flattened, like rigid ribbons, and in the middle of one of their faces, they have a longitudinal edge.

The hair-like structures of the Ubirajara appear to be a rudimentary form of feathers called protofeathers. Many dinosaurs had feathers. In fact, Birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs about 150 million years ago.

Ubirajara jubatus It fed by hunting insects and perhaps small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards.

While it is impossible to tell from the fossil, which arrived at a museum in the state of Ceará in the early 1990s, it is suspected that the Ubirajara may have displayed vivid colors.

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What is possibly the rarest dinosaur found to date is found

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Within the small volume of a single cell, reactants are bound together in a confined space through highly evolved chemical recognition events. The way nature controls chemical reactivity within a cell is what any organic chemist could dream of: multiple reactions that can be specifically controlled in complex mixtures without any cross-reactivity.

Inspired by this, a group of researchers from the University of Rome has published A study in Nature in which the use of antibodies to control chemical reactions is demonstrated.

IgG antibodies

The study has thus demonstrated the possibility of using bivalent biomolecules (i.e., IgG antibodies) to induce proximity between reagents and thus control their chemical reactivity.

For the first time, therefore, the possibility of controlling reactions with antibodies is opened, which allows the formation of reaction products to be controlled, and that these are generated only in the presence of specific antibodies.

These reaction products can be designed to be functional molecules, with therapeutic use, for example.

In this specific study, the formation of an anticoagulant agent is demonstrated through the reaction induced by the presence of the specific antibody. We see how only in the presence of the antibody in question, the anticoagulant agent is formed and then inhibits the activity of thrombin (a key enzyme in blood clotting).

The strategy is very versatile, allowing it to be applied to any type of reaction (that is, generating a wide variety of products) and to be designed for any type of IgG antibody.

IgG antibodies are notable biomarkers; They are the signs that provide us with indications about many diseases and how our immune system counteracts them. The potential ability of IgG antibodies to control chemical reactions would allow the formation of different molecules, ranging from imaging to therapeutic agents, only when a specific diagnostic IgG antibody is present in our body. It is thus predicted that this strategy could find applications in diagnosis and therapy.

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It is possible to use antibodies to control chemical reactions and form certain types of molecules with therapeutic use

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Post memes ridiculing those who They refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19 It is something that has become fashionable, as have memes ridiculing those who are in favor of the vaccine.

However, neither the real objective of these memes is to change the opinions of others, nor are they very effective (rather they produce the opposite effect). In a nutshell, Posting memes on social media unlikely to change minds about vaccination.

Why do we post memes?

Two decades of research show that we post memes or any other content on social media for three fundamental reasons:

• To show an idealized image from ourselves. That is to say, to sell ourselves in society.
• To show and support our memberships in groups, whether it be our family, a political party, or our love for a sports team (also whether we are pro-science or anti-science).
• Draw attention and receive feedback. It is a way to get attention and likes from like-minded people within the social media circle.

Influence others and change their opinions It is the fourth reason to post content on social media, but it is usually the least important for our purposes. Furthermore, this fourth reason may only be effective on the subset of people who are influential on social media, either because they are very popular and have a large following on social media or because they are experts in a particular field.

For most social media users the three main motivations are much more relevant. Posting a pro-vaccine meme is a way to publicly express support for vaccination and all related political and social positions associated with said support.

Furthermore, as already suggested by scientific literature about itIn general, attempts to persuade someone with a point of view opposite to our own harden and polarize the target's existing attitudes. Let's not say if these attempts are covered in the sarcasm of a meme.

In regarding vaccinesIn addition, we are in an urgent scenario where there is an excess of contradictory information. We could try to do pedagogy, try to inform people, even try to persuade them with the best possible rhetoric. However, if this doesn't work and we are in a hurry, it would be like trying to debate with the airline passenger about how to proceed in the face of an oncoming storm.

Finally, we must place our trust, to a greater or lesser extent, in the pilot's decisions (which can be publicly audited); and to achieve this without stumbling into totalitarianism, perhaps a more useful strategy would be the so-called libertarian paternalism:

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Posting memes mocking COVID-19 anti-vaccines has the opposite effect to that intended (which in reality we do not intend)

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Despite the lack of romantic attraction towards a suitor, there are women who would choose to go on a romantic date to receive a free dinner from the suitor. It is what has come to be called Foodie Calls.

Although the idea of the gastronomic call has been discussed in popular media for some time, psychologists Brian Collisson, Jennifer Howell and Trista Harig have been the first to address its study in the next investigation published in
Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Foodie Call

The research is based on two studies in which women were surveyed regarding their behavior regarding foddie calls, dark triad personality traits, traditional gender role beliefs, and online dating history.

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Women overestimate the thinness that men prefer in them (and men, muscularity)

The research concludes that between 23 and 33% of the women surveyed had on some occasion deliberately misrepresented their romantic interest towards a man to have dinner at his expense.

In Study 1, dark triad beliefs and traditional gender roles significantly predicted foodie calls' prior behavior and perceived acceptability. Study 2 used more comprehensive measures and again suggested that dark triad traits (narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism) predicted foodie calls and their perceived acceptability.

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Japanese women are less and less interested in having a partner and in 30 years the single population has increased drastically

Collisson and his colleagues point out that the foodie perpetrator can be a man or a woman, and can happen in both same-sex and opposite-sex contexts. However, it is usually described as a case of a woman receiving a dinner offer from a man and pretending to be romantically interested just to get a free meal at a nice restaurant. For this reason, The researchers only surveyed women who identified themselves as heterosexual.

Scoring high in the traits of the dark triad means displaying these traits with greater intensity:

• Machiavellianism. They manipulate and deceive others for their own benefit.
• Psychopathy. They lack empathy for the plight of others and feel no remorse for their own harmful actions.
• Narcissism. They have an inflated sense of their own importance and rights. Additionally, although they are socially skilled, they have little interest in building deep relationships with others.

In Xataka Science

Women have published fewer studies on the pandemic and the search for parity in the citations of scientific studies

More than a thousand women completed questionnaires that assessed the following:

• Frequency of foodie calls. First, they were asked if they had ever participated in a foodie call. If they responded positively, they were asked to estimate how many times they had done it. Finally, they rated the social acceptability of this practice.
• dark triad. Respondents answered questions from commonly used scales designed to assess the degree of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism.
• Gender role beliefs. Items in this questionnaire assessed respondents' endorsement of traditional gender roles. Among these, of course, was the belief that it is a man's duty to pay all expenses on a date.

However, it should be noted that the majority of the women surveyed did not approve of foodie calls or get involved in them.

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Up to a third of women surveyed would admit to going on a romantic date just to be invited to free dinner

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Finds in Etruscan tombs suggest that as early as 700 BC. c. partial dentures were used in the present-day territory of Tuscany, Italy.

Some were permanently attached to existing teeth, and others were removable.

The first European sets of dentures date back to the 15th century, although as mentioned above, they existed long before then. The teeth were carved from bone or ivory, or were simply prepared from teeth recovered from cemeteries, since apparently there were dead or even living donors.

Throughout history, as more knowledge has been acquired and techniques have been perfected, the materials with which dental prostheses are manufactured have varied. From primitive replacements with ivory and even natural human and animal teeth, to the most current and innovative materials.

And the most expensive

A set of false teeth from the president of the United States George Washington (1732-99) is insured for ten million dollars. It is currently on display at Mount Vernon, Washington's former home, in Virginia. What was it made of? Made of hippopotamus ivory, among other materials. Modern historians suggest that George Washington lost his teeth at a young age due to the mercury oxide he took to treat diseases such as smallpox and malaria.

The most expensive false teeth sold at auction were the British Prime Minister's wartime dentures. Winston Churchill, which sold for $23,703.

That figure is triple the estimated price, and the bidder took it on July 29, 2010.

The most expensive individual tooth sold at auction, however, was one belonging to John Lennon, the ex-Beatle. On November 5, 2011, the Canadian dentist Michael Zuk He bought this molar for $36,857. Apparently, Lennon had given the tooth to his maid.

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These are the oldest (and also the most expensive) false teeth

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It has already been suggested to us in A study conducted with firefighters that men who can do 40 push-ups in a minute are 96 percent less likely to have cardiovascular disease than those who do fewer than 10.

Another new study from the University Hospital of A Coruña presented at 'EACVI – Best of Imaging 2020', a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology, indicates that Climbing four flights of stairs (60 steps) in less than a minute indicates good heart health.

Heart health

The study included 165 patients referred for exercise testing due to known or suspected coronary artery disease. Exercise capacity was measured as metabolic equivalents (MET).

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A simple exercise session is enough to protect your heart for days

Participants walked or ran on a treadmill, gradually increasing the intensity and continuing until exhaustion. After resting for 15 to 20 minutes, patients were asked to climb four flights of stairs (60 steps) at a fast pace without stopping, but also without running, and the time was recorded.

The researchers analyzed the relationship between the METs achieved during the exercise tests and the time it took to climb four flights of stairs.

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Too much exercise is worse for your heart than no exercise

Patients who climbed the stairs in less than 40-45 seconds achieved more than 9-10 METs. Previous studies have shown that 10 METs during an exercise test are related to a low mortality rate (1% or less per year, or 10% in 10 years). However, patients who took 1.5 minutes or more to climb the stairs achieved fewer than 8 METs, which translates to a mortality rate of 2 to 4 percent per year, or 30 percent over 10 years.

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Climbing 60 steps in less than a minute would indicate good heart health, according to this study

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Basically there are two ways to confront a new technology due to its sociological effects. Namely:

Regulate a technology when it is still young and little known and then still hides its unexpected or undesirable consequences; or choose to wait to see what these consequences are, although then we will lose control over its regulation.

David Collingridge Dilemma

This dimea was initially silvered by David Collingridge, an academic at Aston University in the United Kingdom, in 1980, through his book The Social Control of Technology:

When change is easy, its need cannot be anticipated; By the time the need for change is apparent, the change has already become expensive, difficult, and laborious.

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Leapfrogging: when a society makes a technological leap by skipping stages

As abounds in it Eugeny Morozov, visiting professor at Stanford University, in the book That explains everything (edited by John Brockman):

Collingridge's dilemma is one of the most elegant ways to explain many of the complex ethical and technological dilemmas (think drones or facial recognition systems) that plague our globalized world.

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YouTube's algorithm could be fueling extreme ideas and polarization

Another way of facing new technologies also has to do with our predisposition to new things, which is strongly linked to our age, as he satirically wrote Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in an article published in Sunday Times, August 29, 1999::

I imagine that previous generations had to put up with grumbling and huffing at the appearance of inventions such as television, the telephone, the cinema, the radio, the car, the bicycle, the printing press, the wheel, etc., but don't think that we have learned how the thing works, namely:

1. Everything that is already in the world when you were born is normal.

2. Everything that is invented between now and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative, and with a little luck, you can make a living from it.

3. Everything that is invented after you have turned thirty goes against the natural order of things and is the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it, until it has been used for about ten years and slowly begins to considered normal.

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Collingridge's dilemma when facing technology

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The history of dentistry spans more than 2500 years, from the appearance of the first dentists in history to, just one hundred years ago, the first electric toothbrush.

Below, the most important milestones of this journey of dental innovation.

Oral history

2600 BC C.: The first dentist. An inscription on the tomb of the doctor Hesy-Re includes the title "the greatest of those who treat with teeth."

1700-1500 BC C.: The first treatise on Dentistry. He Ebers papyrus It is the oldest known description of dental diseases and remedies for toothache.

700 BC C.: The first false teeth. The Etruscans, an ancient civilization that lived in the territory of modern-day Italy, made false teeth from the remains of humans and animals.

1530: The first book of Dentistry. Artzney Büchlein writes Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth.

1780: The first toothbrush: William Addis, from the United Kingdom, makes the first modern toothbrush. He made the first prototype with bristles and pig bone while in prison for rioting.

1790: The first dentist's chair: Josiah Flagg, from the United States, builds the first chair designed for dental offices. The Wilkerson chair, the first hydraulic dentist's chair, appears in 1877.

1880: The first tube of toothpaste. Maxillofacial surgeon Washington Sheffield, from the United States, invented the folding metal tube.

1885: The first dental assistant. C. Edmund Kells, a prominent dentist in New Orleans, hired Malvina Cueria to help him in his work.

1896: The first dental x-ray. Kells also becomes the first dentist to take a dental radiograph (X-ray) of a living patient.

1927: The first electric toothbrush. The Electro Massage Toothbrush Company manufactures its first model; In 1961, cordless and rechargeable versions would follow.

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From the first dentist to the first electric toothbrush

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He Aye Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar that has an additional pair of "pseudothumbs", which is why it has twelve fingers on its hands.

It was previously believed that they were fleshy protrusions, but deeper analysis has revealed that they are made up of bone and carilage.

This extra finger on each hand is the finger he uses to bore holes in rotten logs and extract larvae. So the ayeaye with too short fingers had a harder time surviving and reproducing..

In addition, the finger has other really striking functions, such as detecting its prey by drumming the trunk with it to capture the change in tone that reveals the presence of an insect inside.

The results of the ayeaye study were published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, on October 21, 2019.

And it's very ugly

This creature lives in Madagascar, and there it is hunted mercilessly simply because it looks demonic. The natives of Madagascar, then, consider that this animal is possessed by evil spirits and that its mere existence is a risk to the world: there is even the extravagant idea that if you point your third finger at a person, they will die suddenly shortly after. : your middle finger is substantially longer and thinner than the rest, Nosferatu style.

The ayeaye is a nocturnal animal, it feeds on larvae and its tail is usually longer than the rest of its body; It weighs two to three kilograms and can live up to 23 years.

So ugly and distorted is the ayeaye that the writer Douglas Adams He dedicated these nice words to him in Tomorrow they won't be, a travel book with the zoologist Mark Carwardine:

It is a very strange-looking creature that seems to be composed of loose pieces of other animals. It looks a bit like a big cat with bat ears, beaver teeth, a tail resembling a large ostrich feather, a middle finger resembling a long dry branch, and a pair of enormous eyes that seem to look at a totally different world that lies ahead. behind our backs...

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This is the primate with the most fingers: it has twelve (and it is very ugly)

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