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Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday March 8, 2025 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-08

The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, doomandgloom, FarWestGirl, Besame, and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Rise above the swamp, Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.

OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos since 2007, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.

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From Sci.News:

1.5-Million-Year-Old Bone Tool ‘Factory’ Discovered in Tanzania

Paleoanthropologists have documented a bone tool assemblage from a single horizon dated to 1.5 million years ago at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. These bone tools precede other evidence of systematic bone tool production by more than 1 million years and sheds new light on the almost unknown world of early hominin bone technology. Early hominins had already been making tools out of stone in some capacity for at least a million years, but there’s been scant evidence of widespread tool-making out of bones before about 500,000 years ago. The hominins who shaped the newly-discovered bone tools did so in a manner similar to how they made tools out of stone, by chipping away small flakes to create sharp edges — a process called knapping. This transfer of techniques from one medium to another shows that the hominins who made the bone tools had an advanced understanding of tool-making, and that they could adapt their techniques to different materials, a significant intellectual leap. ***

From Chemistry World:

Ferrihydrite in Martian dust may explain red planet’s colour – and hint at water-rich past

Mars’s distinctive red hue has long been attributed to haematite, a rust-like iron mineral, formed under dry atmospheric conditions. New research now points to ferrihydrite, a hydrated iron oxide, that forms in aqueous conditions, challenging conventional beliefs and hinting at a wetter Martian past. Led by Adomas Valantinas, a planetary scientist at Brown University, US, a team of planetary scientists collated data from multiple Mars orbiters, rovers and used laboratory simulations to suggest that ferrihydrite could be widespread in Martian dust. ‘There was this idea that haematite is forming slowly by minimal, gas–solid interactions on the surface over billions of years, but we found ferrihydrite which needs brief interactions and rapid kinetics to form, requiring liquid water,’ explains Valantinas. ‘This told us that the ferrihydrite must have formed early on when there was liquid water. It’s not a modern product, but an ancient one.’ ***

From Sci.News:

125-Million-Year-Old Scorpion Fossil Uncovered in China

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of extinct scorpion from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. Named Jeholia longchengi, the new species lived approximately 125 million years ago (Early Cretaceous epoch). The scorpion’s fossilized remains were recovered from dark gray mudstones of the Yixian Formation at Heishangou village, Chifeng city, Nei Mongol, China. [...] Jeholia longchengi was a member of an Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem called the Jehol Biota, which is internationally famous thanks to discoveries of exceptional fossils, including feathered dinosaurs, early birds, diverse mammals and pterosaurs, as well as some arthropod fossils. ***

If you do not like creepy-crawlies don't click on the link, there is an artist's rendition of a scorpion and its prey. The scorpion was 4 inches long.

From SciTechDaily:

The Secret to Human Intelligence? Scientists Uncover DNA That Supercharged Our Brains

Fast-evolving DNA gives human neurons greater complexity than chimps, aiding cognition but also increasing disease risk. A study of artificial human and chimpanzee nerve cells revealed how faster-evolving DNA enables neurons to develop increasingly complex brain power. How did humans evolve brains capable of complex language, civilization, and more? The answer may lie in exceptional DNA. Scientists at UC San Francisco discovered that certain regions of our chromosomes have evolved at remarkable speeds, giving us an advantage in brain development over apes. However, this rapid evolution may also make us more susceptible to uniquely human brain disorders. The study, which was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, was recently published in Nature. ***

From SciTechDaily:

Scientists Discover Surprising New Benefits of Eating Grapes

A study from Western New England University found that daily grape consumption significantly alters muscle gene expression, boosting genes linked to lean muscle mass and reducing those associated with degeneration—with a more pronounced effect in females. These findings suggest that including grapes in the diet could be a novel nutrigenomic strategy to improve muscle health and counteract age-related muscle loss. A recent study from Western New England University (WNE), published in the journal Foods, highlights the significant impact of long-term grape consumption on muscle health in both men and women. The findings suggest that incorporating grapes into the diet can influence gene expression in muscle, potentially supporting muscle mass and function. Each year, approximately 30 million tons of grapes are consumed worldwide, offering health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Research has linked grape consumption to improvements in heart, kidney, skin, eye, and gastrointestinal health, among other areas. ***

From Phys.org:

Seismic clues from Marsquakes suggest liquid water and life potential beneath the surface

Are subterranean lifeforms viable on Mars? A new interpretation of Martian seismic data by scientists Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics suggests the presence of water below the surface of Mars. "If liquid water exists on Mars," Katayama says, "the presence of microbial activity" is possible. This analysis is based on seismic data from SEIS (Seismic Experiment for the Interior Structure), deployed from NASA's InSight lander that landed on Mars in 2018 (Fig. 1). This robotic lander is unique because it was able to use its robotic arm to place a seismometer on the surface of Mars. The SEIS instrument, which contains the seismometer, uses the seismic waves naturally generated on Mars from Marsquakes or meteorite impacts to scan the planet's interior (Fig. 1). ***

From possible water on Mars to too much water on Oahu.

From Phys.org:

Hawaii's sinking coastlines: Flooding threat looms sooner than expected

Some parts of Hawaii are sinking faster than others. That discovery, published in Communications Earth & Environment by researchers at the University of Hawaii (UH) at Mānoa, also highlights that as sea level rises, the infrastructure, businesses, and communities in these low-lying areas are at risk of flooding sooner than scientists anticipated, particularly in certain urban areas of O'ahu. Our findings highlight that subsidence is a major, yet often overlooked, factor in assessments of future flood exposure," said Kyle Murray, lead author of the study and researcher with the Climate Resilience Collaborative (CRC) at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). "In rapidly subsiding areas, sea level rise impacts will be felt much sooner than previously estimated, which means that we must prepare for flooding on a shorter timeline." ***

See you next week.

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