Free Republic

I have always been bothered by the seeming perplexity that people have about the fact that we have yet to encounter intelligent life beyond planet Earth. It doesn't seem weird to me at all, even though I suspect life--even intelligent life--is not that uncommon in the universe. Enrico Fermi--a great physicist from the mid-20th century-- expressed the perplexity that many people have in what has come to be known as the "Fermi Paradox." At its most simple, the paradox is this: if the development of intelligent life is even moderately likely, why haven't we seen evidence of intelligent life elsewhere...

The Pleistocene-Holocene transition is a very significant period of time, because it marks what I believe is the true foundartions for the origins of civilisation, when we see the first permanent settlements in the Fertile Crescent followed by the onset of agriculture, and from then on humanity has developed exponentially.From an archaeological point of view, it’s truly a fascinating time period, with so many incredible sites discovered in the past century, from Ancient Jericho in the West Bank, to Mureybet and Tell Qaramel in Syria, and Kortik Tepe, Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe in Turkey.The foundations of these sites were...

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have successfully created a highly unstable alcohol molecule once thought impossible to observe, using conditions that mimic outer space. The compound, called methanetetrol, has now been confirmed for the first time after more than a century of scientific speculation. The breakthrough suggests that this so-called super alcohol can form in the extreme environments of deep space, challenging long-held assumptions in both chemistry and astronomy. The team produced methanetetrol by replicating the harsh conditions of interstellar clouds—environments filled with ice, radiation, and near-vacuum pressure. The molecule stands out because it carries four hydroxyl...

Explanation: Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebula visible toward the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). At 5,700 light years distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula within a larger molecular cloud. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula and cataloged as NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years. Pictured here is a recently released image of the Cat's Paw taken...

In A Nutshell * Two FDA-approved cancer drugs — letrozole and irinotecan — significantly improved memory and reduced brain damage in mice with Alzheimer’s. * The combination therapy targets multiple brain cell types by reversing gene disruptions in neurons and glia. *Real-world medical records of 1.4 million patients show lower Alzheimer’s rates in people treated with these drugs for cancer. * The findings offer a new multi-target strategy that may outperform existing single-drug treatments, but human trials are still needed. SAN FRANCISCO — Two cancer medications already on pharmacy shelves might hold the key to treating Alzheimer’s disease, and early...

“I wear no tin-foil hat. I’m asking for the ability to officially document what happened to me.” Three and a half years ago I contracted Guillain Barre Syndrome after getting the Jansen-J&J viral vector vaccine for COVID-19. The neurological disorder has left me hobbled by numb hands and feet, staggering around imbalanced, and battling debilitating fatigue. It has also left me, and thousands of others, feeling ignored and unheard by the government and the public health establishment. I wrote about the experience in 2021 in The Boston Globe, after the FDA attached a warning to the J&J shot, citing an...

In history class we all learn about "ancient civilizations", like Greece, Persia, Babylon, and Rome. Recorded history, however, starts several thousand years prior to Greece or Rome, for example, being around. So, what did they know about the past? Did ancient civilizations have any ancient civilizations of their own? Did Ancient Civilizations Have Their Own Ancient Civilizations? | 24:35 The Historian's Craft | 103K subscribers | 277,364 views | October 12, 2024 Sources:A History of the Ancient Near East, Marc Van De MieroopA History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75, Paul-Alain BeaulieuReign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon, Paul-Alain BeaulieuBabylonian...

Grapefruit and its close relatives can increase the blood levels of certain drugs and cause serious side effects. Affected drugs include some medications for blood pressure and heart rhythm, among others. Grapefruit is a delicious citrus fruit with many health benefits. However, it can interact with some common medications, altering their effects on your body. If you’re curious about the grapefruit warning on many medicines, this article will help you understand why it’s there and what your options are. Here’s a closer look at 31 common drugs that may have dangerous interactions with grapefruit, as well as some alternatives. Note:...

How quickly things change. It was only two years ago, in 2023, that I was writing posts compiling long lists of quotes from climate activists warning that all assets used for production of coal, oil and gas were about to become obsolete and “stranded.” After all, wind and solar were (supposedly) cheaper and cleaner for generating electricity, which could then power anything and everything. Therefore anyone stupid enough to make further investments in producing fossil fuels would lose everything. Here is one such post from June 2023, and another from February 2023. If you look today, you can still find...

How the Romans Armed 400,000 Soldiers | 8:38 toldinstone | 587K subscribers | 159,503 views | December 22, 2023Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:35 Legionary arms 1:03 Auxiliary arms 1:42 Auxiliary cavalry 2:12 Buying and selling arms 2:56 Customizing arms 3:35 War Thunder 4:33 Weapon manufacture 5:01 Civilian contractors 5:37 Camp workshops 6:16 Military craftsmen 6:40 Arms factories

Explanation: About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside. But why is there a lunar nearside? The Moon rotates on its axis and orbits the Earth at the same rate, about once every 28 days. Tidally locked in this configuration, the synchronous rotation always keeps one side, the nearside, facing Earth. As a result, featured in remarkable detail in the full resolution mosaic, the smooth, dark, lunar maria (actually lava-flooded impact basins), and rugged highlands, are well-known to earthbound skygazers. To...

NATIONAL MOON DAY National Moon Day on July 20 commemorates the day man first walked on the moon in 1969. NASA reported the moon landing as being “...the single greatest technological achievement of all time.”#NationalMoonDay On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 carried the first humans to the moon. Six hours after landing on the moon, American Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface. He spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft. Buzz Aldrin soon followed, stepping onto the lunar surface. After joining Armstrong, the two men collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material. Their specimens would make the journey...

Where did... Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian -- come from? ...The analysis, led by a pair of recent graduates with oversight from ancient DNA expert David Reich, integrated genetic data on 180 newly sequenced Siberians with more than 1,000 existing samples covering many continents and about 11,000 years of human history. The results, published this month in the journal Nature, identify the prehistoric progenitors of two important language families, including Uralic, spoken today by more than 25 million people.The study finds the ancestors of present-day Uralic speakers living about 4,500 years ago in northeastern Siberia, within an area now known as...

800 pages, thousands of entries, and almost a million words. The Domesday Book, England's earliest surviving public record. Amidst a grave crisis, William the Conqueror embarked on an extraordinary bureaucratic endeavor: the Domesday Book. Dr Stephen Baxter uncovers the immense scale of the 1086 survey, detailing who owned what across England down to the last pig. But why did William do it and what did it mean for the kingdom that he had just conquered? The Intriguing Mystery Of William The Conqueror's Domesday Book | 51:49 Chronicle - Medieval History Documentaries | 811K subscribers | 9,669 views | July 19,...

Explanation: The sixth object in Charles Messier's famous catalog of things which are not comets, Messier 6 is a galactic or open star cluster. A gathering of 100 stars or so, all around 100 million years young, M6 lies some 1,600 light-years away toward the central Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius. Also cataloged as NGC 6405, the pretty star cluster's outline suggests its popular moniker, the Butterfly Cluster. Surrounded by diffuse reddish emission from the region's hydrogen gas the cluster's mostly hot and therefore blue stars are near the center of this colorful cosmic snapshot. But the brightest cluster...

Andy Byron has resigned from his big bucks CEO position of AI company Astronomer just days after he was caught canoodling with his head of HR on a jumbotron at a Coldplay concert, setting off a wild internet frenzy. “As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the company said in a statement. “Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted.” On Thursday, the company...

Sugar-free treats have taken over the shelves. You’ve probably seen erythritol listed on sodas, protein bars, and even toothpaste. It’s everywhere. Almost zero calories, no sugar spikes, and perfect for keto diets. Sounds like a win, but maybe not. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder has cracked open a side of erythritol that few expected. It’s not about weight gain or tooth decay. It’s about what this sweetener does to your brain’s blood vessels that may elevate the risk of a stroke.

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the ancient city of Diocaesarea, known today as Uzuncaburç, was a bustling hub in southeastern Turkey. Its well-preserved ruins consist of colonnaded streets filled with shops. According to the Daily Sabah, recent excavations within one of those properties has unearthed a unique set of 1,600-year-old artifacts that is offering new insight into commercial life in the city and its standardized system of weights and measures. Archaeologists from Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Mersin University discovered a complete balance scale and five iron weights that appear to be shaped like the Greek letters,...

A fragment of marble column dating to the fifth century b.c. unearthed at the site of Casas del Turuñuelo in southwestern Spain is believed to be part of the oldest Greek altar ever found in the western Mediterranean, according to the Greek Reporter. First discovered a decade ago, Turuñuelo was founded by the enigmatic Iron Age Tartessian culture, which flourished in southern Iberia between the eighth and fifth centuries b.c. Analysis of the marble stone indicated that it was quarried from the island of Maramara, in present-day Turkey. Lead archaeologists Esther Rodríguez González and Sebastián Celestino Pérez said that while...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declined to give a direct answer when asked what age is too young for children to undergo transgender surgeries. Speaking on former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan’s podcast, Newsom called the topic a “major problem” for the Democratic Party but stopped short of explaining his personal stance. “Yeah, I mean look, now that I have a nine-year-old, just became nine, come on, man,” Newsom said when asked whether children as young as eight should be treated. Jamie Reed, a self-described Democrat and a transgender clinic whistleblower, said she wasn’t satisfied with the governor’s response on “Fox &...