Aerial view of the CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia. Public Domain
The CIA has launched a new effort to capitalize on what US intelligence officials believe is an “unprecedented” opportunity to recruit Russian spies.
A recruitment video was posted online to convince Russians disaffected by the war in Ukraine and life in Russia to share their secrets.
CIA Director William Burns said in July that disaffection among some Russians over the war in Ukraine was creating a rare opportunity to recruit spies, and that the CIA was not letting it pass.
The video in Russian entitled “Why I made contact with the CIA – for myself”. It shows what is clearly supposed to be a Russian official walking through the snow of what looks like a Russian city.
“I insisted to everyone that it was unscrupulous to distort the truth in reports but those who rose through the ranks were those who did that very thing,” the voice over says in Russian.
“Before I believed that the truth had some value,” the video shows as the actor playing a Russian official enters a Russian government building and shows his pass above the double-headed eagle of Russia.
“Those around you may not want to hear the truth. But we do,” the video says before detailing ways to contact the CIA, which is based in Langley, Virginia. “Integrity has rewards.”
The CIA released a new recruiting video targeting employees of the Russian security services and the military.pic.twitter.com/iHmT9wwnQh
The emotional video shows different Russians going about their lives, appearing to contemplate major decisions. The theme of family runs throughout, showing a young girl in a hospital bed with a lady who appears to be her mother.
The target audience is clear: a woman works at what appears to be a government computer and a man walks into a government building, flashes his ID before sitting at a desk full of files.
CIA officials believe there is an opening to recruit Russian spies
CIA officials involved in the project said –according to CNN — that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a historic opening “to have Russians come to us and deliver information the United States needs.”
It also comes after a previous recruitment drive following the launch of the invasion that the officials said has been successful, with “contact coming in.”
The message, one official told CNN, that they hope Russians who work in sensitive fields with access to valuable information now hear is: “We understand you, maybe better than you think.”
“We wanted to convey to Russians in their own language we know what they’re going through,” added the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive project.
The official insisted the video is “absolutely not” meant to be incendiary or fuel unrest among the broader population.
Hippocrates is the father of traditional Ancient Greek medicine. Credit: Raed Mansour/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0
Hippocrates, the ancient Greek founder of medicine, focused on treating hemorrhoids and proposed a fiery cure. Is this disturbing or funny?
A fiery ancient cure for hemorrhoids sounds like torture. Apparently, this was one of Hippocrates’ ancient Greek medical proposals.
Hippocrates’ approach to medicine, and hemorrhoids particularly, have ancestors going back to Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt more than 800 to 1200 years before. This tells us, humans literally and metaphorically had their heads up their arses for a very long time.
According to Mayo Clinic Hemorrhoids, also called piles, are swollen veins in your anus and lower rectum, similar to varicose veins. Hemorrhoids can develop inside the rectum (internal hemorrhoids) or under the skin around the anus (external hemorrhoids).Nearly three out of four adults will have hemorrhoids from time to time. Hemorrhoids have a number of causes, but often the cause is unknown.
Hippocrates ancient Greek treatise on hemorrhoids
How many know that among the Greek antiquity writings of Plato, Aristotle, Aeschylus, Euripides, Pindar, Sappho, and Hypatia, there is a famous discourse on hemorrhoids?
Francis Adams’s translation of Hippocrates’s “On Hemorrhoids” is very educational and surprisingly an easy read. It is archived in the classics department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Hippocrates impressively describes how hemorrhoids surface. Blood gathers in rectal veins. These veins are bruised as feces are excreted. He notes that, when thinking about procedures in this area of the body, it is a very formidable task. Hippocrates says it should not be pursued in mischief. Clearly, there were ancients with perverse senses of humor also.
As if mapping an endeavor for a future surgeon, Hippocrates describes hemorrhoids as standing out like dark-colored grapes. He notes after the treatment, the patient should eat fiber. And wash at least every third day. Bathing in clean water was a luxury in ancient times and for some contemporary people as well.
Besides preoccupation with getting the anus to pucker as much as possible for the treatment, readers of Hippocrates’ treatise will notice something else strategic. After an alternative approach other than surgery, urine is one element in the healing application placed on the wound. The alternative includes the use of boiling hot water!
Other parts of Hippocrates’ method include the need to distract the patient while the practitioner uses his finger. He may examine the inflamed flesh and perhaps tear it off by hand. Hippocrates says this is difficult as skinning a sheep. He also speaks of using a speculum for cutting hemorrhoids inside the anus. Who is flinching?
From irony to fiery iron?
Doctors study science for curing the human body. They combine technology, reason, and even some homespun cultural insights. Doctors try to remain objective. They diagnose and attempt to cure conditions that make many humans insecure. Even prone to silence and anxious laughter. We tend to laugh at our vulnerabilities. The irony is sometimes medical cures make us more exposed to pain before healing begins.
Hippocrates, the 4th century BCE Greek founder of medicine, has an ancient oath named after him that moderns are familiar with. The pledge suggests new physicians should be ethical and do no harm. Yet, when we look back on certain antiquity medical practices, what is proposed may sound scary. Surely some past medical practices are not sustainable today. Still, we must remember medicine is a science and an art.
What was Hippocrates’ fiery ancient cure for hemorrhoids?
What did Hippocrates propose as a cure for hemorrhoids? In an elaborate analysis from 400 B.C., Hippocrates’ “On Hemorrhoids” goes into great detail. He speaks of the need for the preparation of eight iron surgical tools. Is anyone squirming yet?
These are readied red hot. Then, the patient is held down with arms restrained. Uh-huh, bent over. The bulbous tissue growths are burned off until no parts endure. Hippocrates’ plan did account for those previously with discomfort having larger wounds in their rump than hitherto.
A cooling paste of lentils and chickpeas is applied to the wounds. A tourniquet is placed with support tied around their waist for several days. After this process, the bandage is removed. A new gauze with an application of honey is placed inside the anus. Apparently, lentils, chickpeas, and honey have healing properties.
But how do we get over the initial treatment of fiery irons applied to one’s inner derriere?
Hippocrates was actually on to something. Fire, where it burned, could remove pesky growths of flesh.
Contemporary solutions to hemorrhoids
Whether in Greece or in the United States, one can find Preparation H or Tucks products. There are fast-acting sprays. If you prefer moist compresses that function as medicated cooling pads. Topical ointments are available. Some treatments are placed inside the anus. Others are applied around irritated edges marked by swollen flesh animated by throbbing veins. Henceforth, these may burst with blood when the swelling goes down.
The cooling treatment actually obscures the swelling veins constriction. The treatment often includes lidocaine, a local anesthetic that blocks the signals at the nerve endings of your skin, in and around the bottom. This makes sense. For, without red hot pokers and chickpeas, the inflamed flesh is essentially reduced.
Over-the-counter treatments have vastly improved human life with hemorrhoids. Nevertheless, there are contemporary cases where surgeons take action. Where necessary, incisions are made. Some surgeons even use a stapling device. Inside the gluteus maximus? Imagine that.
The patient is most often awake. The posterior is numbed. Usually, those who arrive with discomfort can return home the same day.
A favorable and useful disease?
Actually, Hippocrates found hemorrhoids despite the discomfort it causes a useful disease. It apparently informs us of larger processes of the human body in the way it attempts to circulate blood and clean itself. Some dispute if hemorrhoids are the best-described disease in human history. Have most doctors neglected innovation? One thing is for sure. Besides hemorrhoids having a unique place in antiquity and modern medical science, it is present in the history of humor as well. While Hippocrates is not responsible for the art and jokes, he was a major facilitator of all the rest.
The road network at Mt. Pelion is virtually destroyed trapping thousands, Credit: Facebook/Giorgos Megariotis
Thousands of people are trapped in several villages and tourist resorts of Mt. Pelion, central Greece following the torrential rains and the floods in Thessaly.
According to AMNA perhaps as many as 1,000 people are waiting for help to evacuate in the Municipality of Zagora-Mouresi.
Zagora with its 2,500 inhabitants is blocked for the fourth day after the road network has been destroyed in many places and there is no electricity, water and food.
Horefto, the port of Zagora and the tourist resort of Pelion, is cut off by road and 250 residents and tourists remain stranded in the area.
The situation is similar in Agios Ioannis, where around 500 residents and vacationers are trapped.
Pelion villages in Greece run out of supplies due to floods
Puri is also blocked, as the only communication road with Zagora has been destroyed. The same is the case with Mouresi, which is inaccessible due to the collapse of the bridge in the Mavroutsa area.
Puri is also cut off from Zagora and the village remains without electricity and there is no food for its 400 inhabitants.
None of the villages of the Municipality of Zagora-Mouresi can now communicate with any other, and neither with Volos, while the only solution is to supply all these settlements from the air with helicopters.
In South Pelion, residents and vacationers are trying to realize the magnitude of the disaster.
Roads have disappeared, bridges have collapsed and communication with Volos is almost impossible.
On Thursday 185 people were rescued from Mikros and Platanias with a tourist boat which managed to reach the two settlements.
Similar operations were also carried out in Milina, Horto and Koukouleika with three vessels of the Coast Guard that removed dozens of people from these areas.
All the boats with freed people arrived in the evening at the port of Volos, where buses were waiting to take him to temporary accommodation.
The damages are incalculable in Milina, which was completely flooded, in Horto and Platanias where houses, properties and cars were swept away and lost in the sea, while in Kala Vere and Tsagarada all the infrastructure was destroyed.
Near Kala Nera towards Boufa, the big bridge in Belegrino collapsed and the connection of Volos with the whole of South Pelion was completely cut off, but already with the intervention of the Greek Army, an operation has begun to connect the two sides with the installation of a Belley-type iron bridge .
Major problems and huge damages have also occurred in Milies, Draceia, Lechonia and Agria of Volos.
The extreme weather has subsided and efforts are now being turned to rescue operations for the trapped and missing, the exact number of which remains unknown.
Storm Daniel, which has battered Greece since Monday, triggered landslides, destroyed a bridge, caused the collapse of power poles, and carried away dozens of cars in muddy waters, just days after a deadly wildfire in the northern part of the country.
The Greeks of Alexandria, Egypt. Credit: Ahnaf Saber/ Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0 . Qaitbey Fort, Alexandria- believed to have been built by the Mamluks using the stones of the Pharos of Alexandria
The story of Hellenism in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city, goes back more than two millennia and is marked by Alexander the Great’s placement of the first stone as part of the city’s first street in 331 BC.
Hellenistic Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (the Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its Great Library (the largest in the ancient world); and its Necropolis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
Alexandria was at one time the second-most powerful city of the ancient Mediterranean region, after Rome.
In modern times, Greeks began to settle in Alexandria again in the 18th and 19th centuries. A new wave of immigration flooded Alexandria shortly after the Greek revolution of 1821, marking the beginning of the so-called European era of the city.
Greek community built strong bonds in the city
By the early twentieth century there were more than 120,000 Greeks living in Alexandria, forming the largest single foreign community in the city at the time. Its members owned a large number of social clubs, sports clubs, and institutions promoting artistic activities, as well as literary publications.
Greek migration to Alexandria continued until the 1950s, when thousands of Greeks pulled up stakes to escape wars and dire poverty; others moved in the hopes of beginning new, more prosperous lives.
According to Paris Macris, a board member of the Greek Community of Alexandria, there may have been as many 200,000 Greeks living in Alexandria in the early 1950s.
“Ibrahimia was once the Greek district. At the time it was called a “Little Paris,” says Eleni Konidi, who remembers the numerous “bouzouki” night clubs frequented by Greeks and those of other nationalities.
Credit: Greek Community of Alexandria/ ealexandria.org
“We would go to ‘Enosis,’ to the sailing club, and to ‘Delices’, which was, and still is, a restaurant, a patisserie, and it is Greek. These were our spots. Most of the shops were Greek or Italian. It was more cosmopolitan then,” Aggeliki Niarou remembers.
The Greeks did well in Egypt, thriving in the business world as well as in the realm of the arts. Families such as the Benakis, the Averoffs and the Gianclises became extraordinarily wealthy there.
Today, the size of the Greek community there is a great deal smaller, numbering only several hundred, although many people of Greek origin are now counted as Egyptians, having changed their nationality officially.
“We who are left behind, love [the city] because Alexandria gave us so much. She made us who we are. We feel at home, let’s say,” Macris notes.
The Greek presence in this great city of such immense historical importance is still evident. Those who travel there can still see shops with Greek names, important neoclassical buildings designed by Greek architects, and streets — and even entire neighborhoods — with Greek names.
The Greek Community of Alexandria (EKA) maintains Greek schools, a gymnasium, a nursing home and a cemetery with splendid gravestones, many of them remarkable works of art in themselves, which serve as eternal monuments to the great figures of the Greek diaspora.
The turning point for the once-thriving community came with the Egyptian revolution of 1952, which resulted in a new nationalist and socialist regime led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. This changed the rules of the game for Alexandrian Greeks, many of whom saw their businesses nationalized or lost their jobs, particularly in the public sector.
This unfortunate state of affairs led many Greeks to leave their beloved city, either heading back to their homeland, or even to other countries which had a strong Greek presence.
The Greek Army rescues residents at the village of Palamas in Thessaly, Greece. Credit: Hellenic Army
The city of Larissa in Central Greece is under threat from the floods as the death count in Thessaly on Friday has reached nine.
The latest victim is a 69-year-old man who had been missing since Thursday night. His body was recovered from a Coast Guard boat in the Anavros area of Volos.
Following torrential rains earlier in the week the Pineios River, the biggest river in Thessaly, has flooded and authorities are evacuating hundreds of residents of villages in the region of Thessaly.
The water level has risen dangerously, with many houses already flooded. The villages near Larissa, Falani, Dasochori, and Koulouri have been evacuated.
Early on Friday, a message was sent to the villages of Farkadona, Klokoto, Georganades, and Petroporos in order to move due to possible overflowing of the Pineios River.
Aircraft have been operating in flooded areas between Trikala and Karditsa since midday Thursday.
They include ten helicopters (three of them belonging to the Army) and a total of 67 individuals have been rescued. Of these, twenty-five were from Metamorfosi in Palamas of Karditsa, twenty-seven adults and a baby were from Agia Triada in Palamas (where six individuals are still missing), and fourteen individuals were from the greater area of Karditsa and Trikala.
The extreme weather has subsided and efforts are now being turned to rescue operations for the trapped and missing, the exact number of which remains unknown.
Storm Daniel, which has battered Greece since Monday, triggered landslides, destroyed a bridge, caused the collapse of power poles, and carried away dozens of cars in muddy waters, just days after a deadly wildfire in the northern part of the country.
Floods in Greece: More rain in 24 hours than London in an entire year
Hundreds of people remained trapped on Friday in their homes or on high ground in the central plain of Thessaly, which bore the brunt of Storm Daniel’s relentless deluge.
Homes were carried away by torrents, vital infrastructure was destroyed, and crops in the country’s second-largest tract of farmland were wiped out.
“I don’t think we have realized the magnitude of this disaster yet,” Professor Efthymios Lekkas, a disaster management expert, told state broadcaster ERT on Friday.
The three-day onslaught, in which a single region got more rain in twenty-four hours than London does in an average year, followed a massive wildfire in northern Greece and the country’s hottest summer on record.
The magnitude of the disaster led to the involvement of the Hellenic Armed Forces, with Defense Minister Nikos Dendias contacting the Chief of the Armed Forces Konstantinos Floros as he rushed back from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he was visiting.
The government’s sole focus has shifted to Thessaly, setting up an operations center in Larissa for the better coordination of all actions taken in Magnesia, Karditsa, Trikala, and Larissa, which will be in direct cooperation and coordination, centrally, with Civil Protection.
Researchers are monitoring the swirling ring around the supermassive black hole. Credit: Yuri Samoilov / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have now determined the precise size of the swirling ring around a supermassive black hole. This unexpected revelation holds the potential to enhance our understanding of how these enormous cosmic entities grow and how the galaxies nearby change as time goes on.
Swirling rings around black holes
Accretion disks are colossal swirling rings of super-hot gas, dust, and plasma that spin around black holes or other massive objects in space, like pulsars. These disks around black holes are formed from the leftovers of destroyed stars, exoplanets, and other material that got torn apart as it got pulled closer to the event horizon.
The event horizon is the point where nothing, not even light, can escape from the black hole’s super-strong gravity.
As these accretion disks whirl around, they give off various types of electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays, infrared rays, radio waves, and visible light. This radiation is crucial because it’s the only part of a black hole that astronomers can actually observe and study.
Visualizing the accretion disks
Accretion disks are easiest to see when we use infrared light. When these swirling masses spin around, they give off something called a “double-peak.” It’s like two energy spikes caused by excited hydrogen gas.
These spikes come from both sides of the accretion disk. There is the part that’s spinning away from us and the part that’s spinning toward us.
The double peaks come from the edge of the accretion disk that’s closest to the event horizon. This is the point where nothing can escape the black hole’s gravity. They can tell us where the spinning disks begin but not where they end.
Newly discovered double peaks
In a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists made an interesting discovery. They found a second set of double peaks on the outer edge of an accretion disk encircling a supermassive black hole known as III Zw 002.
This black hole is quite far from us, over 22 million light-years away, and it’s incredibly huge, at least 400 million times the mass of our sun.
By looking at these two pairs of double-peaks, the researchers figured out that the accretion disk around III Zw 002 has a radius of about 52.4 light-days. To put that in perspective, it’s more than nine thousand times the distance from Earth to the sun.
The scientists weren’t actually trying to find that second set of double-peaks around III Zw 002. Their original goal was to gather data to make sure the accretion disk, which was initially spotted in 2003, was really there.
Results obtained from GNIRS
To gather this novel information, researchers used a tool called the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS), which is part of the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii.
What’s special about GNIRS is that it can measure a broader range of wavelengths than regular infrared light. It can also pick up emissions in different wavelengths all at once. This cool feature helped the team spot that second set of double-peaks.
At first, the researchers couldn’t believe their eyes. They went over the data multiple times, thinking it might be a mistake. But each time, they got the same exciting result.
As galaxies create matter/antimatter jets while they turn slowly during black hole accretion, they are, indeed, slowly creating new accretion disks, perpendicular to the orig. plane, this way forming new galaxies with new matter, new stars and planetary disks are formed eternally pic.twitter.com/XG7KJ9RZbD
As study co-author Alberto Rodríguez-Ardila, an astronomer at the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, put it, “We reduced the data many times thinking it could be a mistake, but every time we saw the same exciting result.”
The scientists think that this discovery could be really helpful in solving the puzzles about supermassive black holes.
Alberto Rodríguez-Ardila explained, “The detection of such double-peaked profiles puts firm constraints on the geometry of a region that is otherwise not possible to resolve.”
The research team plans to keep an eye on the accretion disk around III Zw 002 to see how it gets bigger as time goes on.
However, this year, scientists have made another big leap in understanding accretion disks. In May, they revealed that they managed to make artificial accretion disks using plasma in a lab, which was a first-ever achievement.
These imitation rings only stick around for a tiny fraction of a second, but they give us clues about how real accretion disks come into being.
A thirteen-year-old boy, Itamar Grossman, found a 1,700-year-old bronze ring in the ruins of an ancient Greek city in Israel. Credit: Dorontalmi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
A young teenager recently made a new discovery at a park located in Israel. Thirteen-year-old Itamar Grossman was exploring Sussita National Park, which sits atop the remains of the ancient Hellenistic city of Hippos (“horse” in Greek). While he and his cousin were taking pictures from a high viewpoint, something on the ground grabbed his interest. It was an ‘ancient bronze ring.’
This discovery is estimated to be around 1,700 years old, according to information provided by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Archaeologists identified the ring as an ‘ancient Roman artifact’
“It was a strange and ancient-looking ring,” Itamar shared, as reported by All Israel News. “My brothers and cousins who were with me didn’t think it was anything old, just a ring someone had dropped.”
Despite the doubts of his siblings and cousins, Itamar was determined to show the ring to his parents and the park authorities.
“When Itamar and his mother, Liat, approached us and showed us the ring they found, we immediately realized it was something significant,” said Sarit Pilachi Miara, an official from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Israëlische jongen vindt ring uit het Romeinse tijdperk in nationaal park. Tijdens een bezoek aan het Sussita National Park vond de 13-jarige Itamar Grossman een 'oud uitziende' ring op de grond en stond erop dat deze zou worden onderzocht https://t.co/jehMkitDLnpic.twitter.com/DwELbm5Pgs
Archaeologists have confirmed that the bronze ring is an ancient Roman relic, according to the official statement.
They estimated its age to be at least 1,700 years old, but there’s a possibility it could be even older, possibly dating back to somewhere between 100 BCE and 300 BCE.
Moreover, the ring still displayed noticeable decorative engravings, which archaeologists believe were crafted when the ring was originally cast.
Archaeological importance of ancient ruins of Hippos
Sussita National Park is situated near the Galilee in the Golan Heights region. This park is an archaeological site where the remains of the ancient city of Hippos are preserved.
Over the last three decades, it has been the location of numerous archaeological digs and discoveries. However, it wasn’t until 2023 that it was officially opened to the public as a national park, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The city of Hippos had its beginnings in the Hellenistic period around 250 BCE and continued to thrive during the Roman and Byzantine eras.
The Roman-Byzantine ruins of Sussita, overlooking the Sea of Galilee from above Ein Gev, are now a national park. Paths, explanations, visitor center. Amazing ancient street runs down the center. Strongly recommended. pic.twitter.com/778l36A9OT
It even persisted after the Muslim conquest in 641 CE, but its existence came to an end when a massive earthquake struck in 749 CE, leading to its abandonment.
The city is home to multiple remains from the Roman and Byzantine times. Among them are the central city square, the forum with its central water reservoir, a basilica, an odeon, and eight churches.
In 2015, another bronze artifact was found at this site. Archaeologists uncovered a massive bronze mask dating back to the period between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. This mask depicted the Greek god Pan.
Using ‘naive’ stem cells, researchers have developed ‘complete’ models of human embryos in the lab. Credit: lunar caustic / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have successfully created “complete” models of human embryos in a laboratory setting.
These embryos, known as stem cell-based embryo-like structures or SEMs, possess all the identifiable characteristics of regular embryos at approximately two weeks of development.
Moreover, these SEMs were grown without the need for sperm, eggs, or a uterus. What’s noteworthy is that these laboratory-made models even contained hormones that triggered a standard commercial pregnancy test to yield a positive result.
Scientists explained that, unlike previous embryo models, their creations have demonstrated the capability to advance to the next phase of development.
Getting insight on birth defects and miscarriages
The research team hopes to uncover the mysteries surrounding the early weeks of human development and potentially gain valuable knowledge about the factors contributing to birth defects and miscarriages.
Professor Jacob Hanna, who led the study, emphasized that the most critical phase occurs in the first month. The subsequent eight months of pregnancy primarily involve significant growth.
However, this initial month remains largely mysterious. Our stem cell-derived human embryo model provides an ethical and accessible means of peeking into this mystery, he further explained.
It closely replicates the development of a real human embryo, particularly its incredibly intricate structure.
Use of ‘naive’ stem cells to grow into embryos
To conduct their research, which has been published in the journal Nature, the scientists utilized “naive” stem cells. These stem cells possess the ability to develop into any kind of tissue found in the body.
They used specific chemicals to encourage these cells to undergo growth. As a result, the cells naturally organized themselves into formations that closely resembled the characteristics of genuine human embryos.
The models were allowed to develop until they resembled a two-week-old embryo following fertilization, according to the research.
Professor Hanna explained, “An embryo is self-driven by definition; we don’t need to tell it what to do – we must only unleash its internally encoded potential. It’s critical to mix in the right kinds of cells at the beginning, which can only be derived from naive stem cells that have no developmental restrictions. Once you do that, the embryo-like model itself says ‘Go!'”
Does the legal cut-off limit apply to these embryos?
In numerous countries, there exists a legal limit of fourteen days for conducting research on regular embryos. However, these “embryo models” are not legally categorized as embryos and are not subject to the same regulations, reported The Independent.
The researchers pointed out that this innovative approach has the potential to uncover the underlying factors behind various birth defects and forms of infertility.
Furthermore, it could open ways for the cultivation of transplant organs and provide an alternative to experiments that are not feasible on live embryos, according to researchers.
Fossils of bird-like dinosaurs unearthed in China shed light on bird evolution. Credit: Ben Sutherland / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Scientists have recently made an exciting discovery in Fujian Province, China. They found the fossil of a bird-like dinosaur from the Jurassic Period, and they’ve given it a name: Fujianvenator prodigiosus.
This discovery is shedding light on an important part of how birds evolved. It’s like a puzzle piece that helps us understand how modern birds came to be.
The Fujianvenator dinosaur poses a fascinating question: Is it considered a bird? The answer depends on how we define a bird. This is what Min Wang, a leading scientist in the study and a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, tells us.
When asked to describe Fujianvenator in one word, Wang chose “bizarre.” He said, “Fujianvenator is far from similar to any modern birds.”
#Fossil of a new bird-like #dinosaur living 148-150 mln yrs ago was found in Zhenghe Fauna, SE China's Fujian, bridging a gap in the fossil record of birds' origin. Named Fujianvenator prodigiosus, the dino as tiny as a pheasant is distinct from other avialans for long lower legs pic.twitter.com/Kl2qGWucaa
A significant moment in the evolution of dinosaurs occurred when small, feathered, two-legged dinosaurs, known as theropods, eventually gave rise to birds during the late Jurassic period. The oldest-known bird, called Archaeopteryx, existed around 150 million years ago in what is now Germany.
Fujianvenator belongs to a group called avialans, which includes all birds and their closest dinosaur relatives that were not yet considered birds. Interestingly, despite their humble beginnings, birds managed to survive a catastrophic asteroid strike that occurred 66 million years ago and led to the extinction of their non-avian dinosaur counterparts.
Was the Fujianvenator a runner or a flyer?
This intriguing dinosaur fossil, unearthed in October, is relatively complete, but it’s missing the skull and parts of its feet. This makes it challenging to figure out what it ate and how it lived.
One unique feature of the Fujianvenator is its lower leg bone, the tibia, which is twice as long as its thigh bone, the femur. This sets it apart from other meat-eating dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus. Fujianvenator also sported a long, bony tail.
When it comes to its forelimbs, they resemble a bird’s wing but with three claws on the fingers, unlike modern birds. So, we can refer to it as having wings, but whether it could fly remains uncertain. Based on its skeletal features, the Fujianvenator probably wasn’t well-suited for flying.
“The fossil itself does not preserve feathers. However, its closest relatives and nearly all the known avialan theropods have feathers, and feathers are widely distributed among dinosaurs. Therefore, it would not be a surprise if Fujianvenator had feathers,” Wang said.
Possible lifestyles for the Fujianvenator dinosaurs
Based on the way its long legs are built, researchers have put forth two possible lifestyles for the Fujianvenator dinosaur: it might have been a swift runner or perhaps waded in a swampy environment, similar to how modern cranes or herons live.
When asked to choose between these options, Wang leans towards the idea that Fujianvenator was a runner.
More studies about the dinosaurs
Scientists are on a quest to gain a deeper understanding of how birds came into being, as well as non-avian dinosaurs that shared bird-like characteristics.
Palaeontologist Zhonghe Zhou, a co-author of the study published in the journal Nature, sees Fujianvenator as another intriguing piece of evidence. It highlights the fact that various bird-like dinosaurs lived around the same time and occupied similar habitats to their bird descendants.
The early history of birds remains unclear because there are very few fossils from that time. After the discovery of Archaeopteryx, which was a bird about the size of a crow that had teeth, a long bony tail, and no beak, there’s a gap of roughly 20 million years before we find the next bird fossils.
Zhou notes, “One thing is for sure. There is still a big gap between the oldest known bird and the second-oldest known birds.”
The event’s headquarters will be in the heart of Central Greece, Lamia and will feature a challenging course spanning fifteen special stages. Credit: Klearchos Kapoutsis / CC-BY-2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The eagerly anticipated 2023 Acropolis Rally in Greece, is set to rev its engines beginning today and lasting until Monday (September 7, 2023 to September 10, 2023).
This year marks the sixty-seventh installment of the iconic Acropolis Rally and serves as the tenth round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, and World Rally Championship-3. Additionally, it will be the grand finale of the 2023 Junior World Rally Championship.
The event’s headquarters will be in the heart of Central Greece, Lamia and will feature a challenging course spanning fifteen special stages. It will cover an impressive 307.69 kilometers (191.19 miles) of competitive terrain.
Challenging Weather Conditions
However, the rally faces an unexpected obstacle due to adverse weather conditions brought on by the storm Daniel. The competing teams encountered considerable challenges during the reconnaissance phase as they struggled with the adverse weather conditions.
In response to the challenging conditions, organizers have made some necessary adjustments to the rally schedule. Notably, the “Grammeni” Special Route had its length reduced from 19.77 kilometers to 9 kilometers due to unfavorable ground conditions. Consequently, the shakedown originally scheduled for Thursday, September 7, 2023, was canceled.
Despite these challenges, the rest of the race program remains unaffected. The rally will commence with the Super Special route in Water Square on Thursday afternoon, following the ceremonial start beneath the Holy Rock of the Acropolis. Later, participants will head to Loutraki for the Park Ferme and the first night of racing.
🏁 Η Πλάτεια Νερού έτοιμη για την EKO Super Special Stage!
As for the shakedown, it was originally planned to begin at 08:01 on Thursday morning, with priority one crews required to complete at least one pass of the 3.62-kilometer route. However, with the inclement weather continuing and forecasts predicting further disruptions until Thursday night, the schedule remains subject to change.
This unforeseen weather challenge has prompted necessary adjustments to the Acropolis Rally program. The organizers allowed reconnaissance on the Tarzan special route instead of Pauliani, where heavy rain has made conditions unsafe.
The organizers are closely monitoring meteorological developments and are prepared to adapt to any conditions that may arise. The rally enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the spectacle as the EKO Acropolis Rally 2023 prepares to thrill fans with high-speed action amidst the breathtaking backdrop of Greece’s rugged terrain.
To ensure a smooth experience for spectators, organizers in Athens recommend using mass transport, specifically the tram lines to “Delta Faliro” and “Agia Skepi.” The police urge drivers to cooperate and follow traffic controllers’ signals and instructions to prevent traffic congestion and ensure a safe and enjoyable rally experience.
History of the Acropolis Rally
The Acropolis Rally, which traces its origins back to the early 1950s, initially began as a grueling marathon event. After joining the World Rally Championship in 1973, it became renowned for its demanding stages, covering up to eight hundred competitive kilometers. These stages spanned various locations in Greece, including Kalambaka, Meteora, Mount Olympus, Attica, Central Greece, and the Peloponnese.
Throughout its rich history, the rally has crowned numerous world-renowned drivers as champions, with names like Walter Röhrl, Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen, Carlos Sainz, and Colin McRae among its celebrated winners.
