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.
Researchers reevaluate Neanderthal burial rituals in light of a pollen study. Credit: John Gurche and Chip Clark, CC-ZERO. / Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
Scientists are pointing the finger at an unexpected culprit in the disruption of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal flower burial: digging bees.
A recent study suggests these little insects might have concealed pollen beneath the remains of a Neanderthal, leading researchers to mistakenly believe the Neanderthal had been interred with a bed of flowers.
The idea of a “flower burial” first took root more than fifty years ago at the Shanidar Cave site. Shanidar is a rocky cave nestled in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, where several Neanderthal burials were uncovered.
Among them, Shanidar 4, an adult male Neanderthal, earned his nickname as the “flower burial” when scientists stumbled upon clusters of pollen from flowering plants beneath the remains.
The excavations at Shanidar, conducted during the 1950s and 1960s, provided the earliest evidence that our Neanderthal relatives, positioned along our evolutionary lineage, practiced ceremonial burial rituals for their deceased.
The ongoing debate
While the notion of Neanderthal burials is widely accepted in the field of archaeology, the idea that pollen signifies a burial adorned with flowers remains a subject of ongoing debate.
In a recent study published on August 28th in the Journal of Archaeological Science, a group of researchers led by Chris Hunt, a paleoecologist hailing from Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom, revisited the pollen evidence linked to Shanidar 4.
Their findings suggested that burrowing bees provided a more plausible explanation for the presence of pollen than the notion of a ceremonial Neanderthal funeral ritual.
Soil samples from Neanderthal burial site
In 1975, two pollen experts, known as palynologists, examined soil samples taken from both above and below the Neanderthal flower burial site.
They identified five known plant groups and two unknown ones, suggesting that all these plants could have been collected simultaneously, probably from late May to early June.
Although Hunt and his team generally concur with the earlier identification of these plant species, they uncovered a crucial detail: these plants actually bloom at slightly different times of the year. This discovery raises doubts about the previous belief that Neanderthals gathered flowers to place on the deceased.
Radiocarbon dating
During their 2016 excavations, Hunt and his team made an interesting observation. They spotted ancient mud-lined bee burrows in proximity to Shanidar 4. These bees, which nested in the ground, could have dug into the soil and left behind collected pollen as they moved through these burrows.
The researchers explained in their article that the mixed clumps of pollen don’t suggest that entire flowers were placed there. Instead, they propose it’s much more likely that “bees collected and left pollen in clumps.”
Hunt and his team believe the pollen is quite old, possibly from the same time as the Neanderthal burial.
Dating bee exoskeletons presents difficulties, and the Shanidar 4 site is older than what radiocarbon dating can reliably determine, as it goes back about 75,000 years. (Radiocarbon dating is dependable for dating organic materials up to 50,000 years old.)
Pollen introduction through burrowing bees
Angie Perrotti, a palynologist who heads the Palynology and Environmental Archaeology Research Lab (PEARL) and was not involved in the study, shared her thoughts.
She confirmed that Hunt and his colleagues have presented a convincing argument regarding the introduction of pollen through burrowing bees.
She also highlighted the importance of precise sampling and systematic storage of sediment and pollen samples, emphasizing the need for research reproducibility.
While Hunt and his team’s work hasn’t confirmed the flower aspect of the flower burial, they emphasize the enduring significance of the closely grouped burials at Shanidar for our understanding of Neanderthals.
They also point out that samples of “woody tissue” collected from the site might hold crucial clues about Neanderthal burial practices.
“I favour the idea that the Neanderthals put branches and other vegetation over the bodies,” Hunt shared. He suggested that placing the spiky Centaurea solstitialis (yellow star-thistle) species on top of the Neanderthals, rather than beneath them, could have served as protection against scavengers.
However, Hunt acknowledged the evidence is somewhat inconclusive, and further research is ongoing.
The Greek economy performed better than expected in the second quarter. Credit: Matt Kieffe / CC-BY-SA-2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Greek economy recorded a growth rate of 2.7 percent in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to data compiled by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
ELSTAT data indicate that, on an annual basis, consumer spending increased by 2.0 percent (+3.2 percent of households), gross fixed capital investment by seven percent, exports of goods and services by 0.1 percent (with exports of goods down 1.8 percent and services up 1.3 percent), while imports of goods and services rose just 0.6 percent (with imports of goods down 1.2 percent and service imports up by 6.1 percent).
The Hellenic Statistical Authority also revised first-quarter data to show the economy stagnated, rather than shrinking by 0.1 percent as initially estimated.
The government expects growth will reach 2.3 percent in 2023 and accelerate to 3 percent in 2024 and 2025. Tourism is once again supporting expansion as international visitor numbers were up by more than a quarter in the first half compared with a year ago. Revenue from tourism, as a result, jumped by 24 percent in that period.
Greek economy’s growth could result in further ratings boosts
The result strengthens the case for further ratings boosts, Bloomberg says. DBRS Morningstar is set to update its assessment on Friday, with markets expecting it will join Scope Ratings and Rating and Investment Information Inc. in placing Greece at investment level.
The DBRS move would be more significant than the previous upgrades, as it would make Greek government bonds eligible to be used as collateral at the European Central Bank.
Scope upgraded Greece’s long-term local- and foreign-currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to BBB-, from BB+, and revised associated outlooks to stable, from positive.
The move followed the Japanese rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I), which also announced it has raised the Greek economy rating to investment grade BBB-, with a stable outlook.
Scope said the upgrade reflects the sustained European institutional support for Greece, reflecting changes since the Covid-19 crisis to support vulnerable euro-area member states via monetary- and fiscal-policy interventions.
It also reflects a steady trajectory of decline in public debt, on the back of high inflation, above-potential real economic growth, low average interest costs of the prevailing debt portfolio and achievement of primary fiscal surpluses. Greece’s public debt to GDP ratio is expected to fall to 160.7 percent by 2023. This is a significant decline from the 2020 peak.
The rating agency added that structural reforms have meaningfully curtailed high non-performing loan (NPL) ratios and substantively enhanced banking-system stability.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is released on Friday. Credit: Focus Features
Greek Week, which kicked off just after Labor Day weekend in New York, is celebrating the release of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 on Friday, September 8.
It brings a week of festivities, including giveaways at screenings and freebies from bars, restaurants, small businesses and more throughout Manhattan and Astoria, known for its large Greek community.
On Thursday, September 7, to celebrate the film’s official release in theaters the following day, participating venues are offering beverages, gift cards, free food and more.
Credit: Focus Features
A full map can help you navigate a big, fat, free feast across the city.
Back in May the official trailer for the highly anticipated My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released on YouTube and other social media platforms.
In this installment of the popular romantic comedy series, the Portokalos family will travel to Greece to reconnect with their roots and honor the last wishes of Gus Portokalos, one of the film series’ most beloved characters, portrayed by the late Michael Constantine.
First look at My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
Nia Vardalos, who starred in the previous films, is back as the writer for the third movie. In addition to writing, she is also taking on the role of director for the first time in the latest installment.
A host of familiar faces from the previous films will reprise their roles alongside Vardalos, including John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Maria Vacratsis, Andrea Martin, Gia Carides, and Joey Fatone.
Some newcomers will also be joining the preexisting cast of the comedy franchise, including Elias Kacavas and Melina Kotselou.
Husband and wife Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, as well as Gary Goetzman are the producers of the third film. The executive producers are Paul Brooks, Scott Niemeyer, and Steven Shareshian.
Producer Rita Wilson previously commented on the upcoming film, saying “It’s thrilling to have Nia Vardalos, Academy Award-nominated writer, not only in front of the camera as our star but also behind the camera as our director, guiding our beloved cast for this third film shot on location in Greece. My Big Fat Greek Wedding has brought audiences joy for 21 years. I’m so happy that more joy is on the way.”
Michael Constantine
One notable absence from the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 will be the character of Gus Portokalos, the loveable patriarch of the Portokalos family. In August 2021, Michael Constantine, who played Gus, passed away at the age of 94.
Paying tribute to the late actor in 2021, Vardalos said, “(Constantine) told me he wouldn’t be able to join us for the third film and his wish was that we go on. I wrote the screenplay to reflect Michael’s decision and will always treasure his last messages to me, hoping we were filming soon.”
“We miss you Michael, thank you for bringing my words to life with such passion and accuracy, you will always be with us,” Vardalos continued.
Since mid-August, the British Museum has been mired in a controversy over the theft of about 2,000 objects from its collections. The theft is suspected to be an inside job that took place over a period of twenty years. Alerted to the sale of alleged stolen items in 2021, the museum did not take action until earlier this year.
By Catharine Titi
This is not the first time the Museum has come under fire and its custodianship has been questioned. This article turns its attention to some notorious incidents involving the curation of its collection.
The scouring of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum
There can be little doubt that the most notorious of them is the Duveen scouring scandal, so-named after Joseph Duveen, an ultra-rich art dealer of dubious ethics and benefactor of the British Museum. For a long time, Museum officials had argued that the Parthenon marbles had better remain in Bloomsbury, because the Greeks were unable to care for them. That argument was abandoned sometime after it was revealed that back in the late 1930s the Museum had scraped the marbles with abrasive tools, destroying their historic surface, its pigments and traces of toolmarks.
Ancient Greek temples were richly painted but remnants of colour were not to Duveen’s liking. A Trustee of the British Museum described Duveen’s attitude at the time:
‘Duveen lectured and harangued us, and talked the most hopeless nonsense about cleaning old works of art. I suppose he has destroyed more old masters by overcleaning than anybody else in the world, and now he told us that all old marbles should be thoroughly cleaned – so thoroughly that he would dip them into acid. Fancy – we listened patiently to these boastful follies …’
Duveen’s men were given free access to the Museum and were even allowed to give orders to Museum staff. Soon, in a misjudged attempt to whiten what remained of the originally polychrome decoration, they started to scrub the marbles. The ‘cleaning’ lasted for fifteen months before it was stopped in September 1938. An internal board of enquiry convened at the time came to the conclusion that the resulting damage ‘is obvious and cannot be exaggerated’.
Tactical considerations prevailed: it was important to avoid a blow to the Museum’s reputation, and the Museum kept quiet and denied that anything untoward had occurred. Documents related to the affair became, to all intends and purposes, classified. The marbles were later placed in the Duveen Gallery, named in honour of the man responsible for the damage to their historic surface.
The Duveen cleaning was kept a secret for 60 years until it was exposed by the British historian William St Clair in 1998. St Clair, who had previously favoured the retention of the marbles in the British Museum, became one of the most vocal proponents of their repatriation.
The Duveen scouring was not the only cleaning of the marbles to cause consternation. A series of letters published in The Times as early as 1858 expressed concern about ‘scrubbing’ of the marbles and blamed the museum for ‘vandalism’. It is probable that, if these early warnings had been headed, the Duveen cleaning could have been avoided.
Other controversies
Other incidents have tarnished the British Museum’s reputation. Documents released under freedom of information legislation show that in the 1960s and 1980s members of the public and a work accident permanently damaged figures from the Parthenon’s pediments.
During a 1999 conference in the museum, a sandwich lunch was served in the Duveen Gallery, and the delegates were encouraged to touch the ancient sculptures. Many among those present found the gesture so inconsiderate that they walked out of the gallery. A journalist writing for The New York Times commented: ‘On Seeing the Elgin Marbles, With Sandwiches’.
Another controversial incident was the 2014 secret loan of the pedimental statue of the river god Ilissos to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, at a time when Europe had imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea. The loan was not announced until the statue had been transferred to St Petersburg.
A controversy of a different kind concerns contested objects in the Museum’s collection that are the object of repatriation requests. In contrast with other institutions, such as the V&A, the British Museum has been facing a chorus of restitution claims concerning very specific objects in its collection. The Museum has staunchly refused to engage in the debate, although since the beginning of the year it has been attempting to convince Greece to accept a ‘loan’ of the Parthenon marbles, apparently considering this to count as entering the repatriation debate.
Of course, the Museum is bound by the 1963 British Museum Act, which prevents the Museum from deaccessioning (disposing of) objects in its collections except on limited grounds, but that is a discussion for a different article.
The British Museum’s current troubles
Now the British Museum is trying to repair the dent to its reputation, which comes at an inconvenient time when the Museum is hoping to raise £1 billion for much-needed renovation work.
About half of the Museum’s 8 million items are uncatalogued and this lack of an inventory has certainly facilitated the thefts. The fact that it took so long to discover the thefts also raises the question of what else might have gone missing without a trace.
Yet one can’t help but wonder: Do the Museum’s current woes have other museum directors fretting with anxiety? How many museums have uncatalogued items in their storerooms? When a museum such as the Louvre explains that its database has entries for almost 500,000 works of art, is that its entire collection or just a percentage of its collection? In a great number of cases, we simply don’t know.
The British Museum has yet to announce the exact number of stolen objects. But how does one know the exact number of what has gone missing without an inventory? More challenging still, how does one identify the objects, let alone prove ownership, without an inventory?
The secrecy is highly unusual. Sharing information about stolen objects helps identify and recover these objects. Interpol maintains an accessible database of stolen artworks precisely for that reason. But in order to enter an object in the database, it has to be ‘fully identifiable’. And the issue here is that the Museum is probably still trying to identify what has gone missing. How do you fully identify an uncatalogued unphotographed object?
The secrecy could be attributed to another cause too. What if some of the identified stolen items are contested items that have been the object of restitution requests? For the time being, we can only speculate.
Crisis as an opportunity
Every crisis is an opportunity, and here too there is an opportunity. After the resignation of the director Hartwig Fischer, an interim director, Sir Mark Jones, has been appointed. The permanent post is up for grabs. Among those mooted for the Museum’s top job is Tristram Hunt, the Director of the V&A, who appears to have been behind the initiative to revise museum deaccessioning laws. The selection of the next Museum Director is a crucial step in moving towards a modern British Museum that not only renovates its galleries but rebuilds its image in accordance with the new values of the 21st century.
Catharine Titi is a Research Associate Professor (tenured), French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas
The article was published in The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons License.
Data from Copernicus says that the world has experienced the hottest summer on record. Credit: Emilian Robert Vicol / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
The scorching heat waves persisting in various regions of the world have led scientists to declare that this summer has been the hottest on record, and the deviation from previous records is substantial.
Based on data collected by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the period from June to August marked the planet’s hottest summer since the commencement of temperature records in 1940.
The global average temperature for this summer was measured at 16.77 degrees Celsius (62.19 Fahrenheit), as reported by Copernicus.
This reading is 0.66 degrees Celsius above the average temperature spanning from 1990 to 2020. Moreover, it surpasses the prior record set in August 2019 by nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius.
Earth had hottest summer on record, with unprecedented sea surface temperatures and much extreme weather – World Meteorological Organisation pic.twitter.com/EbwuNuH1qt
Usually, records of this nature, which monitor the average air temperature across the entire globe, are broken by very small margins, often just hundredths of a degree. This recent data is the first solid scientific evidence to confirm what many had feared was inevitable, reported CNN.
It has indeed been an exceptionally hot summer for many regions in the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of the United States, Europe, and Japan.
June, July, and August—record-breaking warmest months
The planet has witnessed its hottest June on record, and this scorching trend continued with the hottest July, surpassing previous records by significant margins.
August also followed suit by becoming the warmest August ever recorded, as revealed by the latest data from Copernicus.
It’s worth noting that August’s global average temperature of 16.82 degrees Celsius was 0.31 degrees warmer than the previous record established in 2016.
‘Climate breakdown’: 2023 likely to be hottest year humanity has experienced
2023 is likely to be the hottest year in human history, and global temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere summer were the warmest on record, the EU climate monitor said on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/uH00nf9Ogr
“The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,” remarked António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in response to the Copernicus data.
He pointed out that scientists have been issuing warnings for some time regarding the consequences of our heavy reliance on fossil fuels. The current state of our climate is deteriorating more rapidly than we can handle, with extreme weather events affecting every part of the globe.
July and August going to surpass the key threshold of 1.5 degrees
Copernicus data indicates that both July and August recorded temperatures approximately 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.
This 1.5-degree threshold is a critical point. Scientists have consistently cautioned the world to stay below this level to avert the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.
While scientists primarily concentrate on long-term global temperature trends, these temporary breaches of the 1.5-degree mark serve as crucial glimpses into what future summers could resemble if we reach 1.5 degrees of warming.
Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, said, “The Northern Hemisphere just had a summer of extremes.” He highlighted the persistent heatwaves that fueled destructive wildfires, posed health risks, disrupted daily routines, and inflicted lasting damage on the environment.
Based on the data from 1990 to 2019, cancer cases in under-50s have risen by 79 percent. Credit: Navy Medicine / Flickr / Public Domain
A recent study reveals concerning news about cancer among younger people worldwide. From 1990 to 2019, there was a significant increase in the number of new cancer cases and deaths in individuals under 50 years old.
This research underscores the need to inform both the public and healthcare professionals about the growing occurrence of specific cancers in younger age groups, wrote New Atlas.
While previous studies mainly looked at how cancer rates vary within regions and countries and included people of all ages, only a few delved into “early-onset” cancer, which refers to cancer diagnosed in individuals aged 14 to 49.
However, these limited studies hinted at a rising trend in cancer diagnoses among those under 50.
Research on the worldwide impact of early-onset cancer
A recent research effort jointly conducted by Zhejiang University School of Medicine, the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, and the University of Edinburgh has investigated the worldwide impact of early-onset cancer. This comprehensive study relied on data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study.
By utilizing the information from GBD, the team of researchers analyzed various aspects of 29 different types of cancer across 204 countries and regions.
They examined the number of new cases (incidence), mortality rate, health-related consequences, known as disability-adjusted life years or DALYs, and factors contributing to the risk of these cancers.
1. Cancer cases among individuals under the age of 50 globally have increased sharply by 79% over the course of three decades, a study finds.
Factors such as unhealthy diets, alcohol consumption and tobacco use are likely contributors to this trend, it suggests. pic.twitter.com/NMJSHgDiMq
In the year 2019, there were 3.26 million new cases of cancer detected in individuals under the age of 50. This marks a significant rise of 79.1 percent compared to numbers reported in the 1990 Global Burden of Disease study.
Furthermore, the rate of cancer-related deaths among this younger age group increased by 27.7 percent during the same period from 1990 to 2019. It’s important to note that these rates were calculated per 100,000 people, eliminating population growth as a factor influencing this concerning trend, according to research.
Breast cancer accounts for the largest number of cancer cases
In general, breast cancer had the highest number of cases and related deaths, with 13.7 cases and 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people globally.
However, the fastest-growing new cases of early-onset cancer were tracheal and prostate cancer, with an estimated annual increase of 2.28 percent and 2.23 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, rates of early-onset liver cancer decreased by approximately 2.88 percent each year, according to this new study.
In 2019, the regions with the highest occurrences of early-onset cancers were North America, Australasia, and Western Europe. However, it is important to note that low-to-middle-income countries also experienced the impact of these cancers.
The places where under-50s faced the highest risk of death due to these cancers included Oceania, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, based on this new research.
