Sunday, August 30, 2020


A strong association between the genes influencing cattle temperament and autism in humans has been discovered by University of Queensland researchers.
UQ genomic expert Professor Ben Hayes said the research by his interdisciplinary team headed by Dr Roy Costilla could lead to improved animal welfare and meat quality.
The research doesn't mean that cattle have autism; rather that cattle share an overlap of genes with humans which are critical in brain function and response to fear stimuli."
Professor Ben Hayes, UQ Genomic Expert
Temperament is an important trait for day-to-day management of cattle.
"We knew that genetic factors were likely influence temperament in cattle and we thought that genes involved in behavioural traits in humans could also influence temperament in cattle.
"We found that genes known to contribute to autism spectrum disorders also influence temperament in cattle."
Professor Hayes said the results were important as it opened the way for research conducted on behavioural traits in humans to shed further light on temperament in cattle.
"As I've found talking to farmers over the years, it can be distressing having an animal that has a poor temperament in the mob, and stirs up all the other cattle putting them into a state of stress.
"If we can identify those animals early, or breed to eliminate them, we can potentially reduce the stress of the whole mob.
"That has great implications for welfare - not only of the cattle but also the people handling the cattle who are less likely to be charged or kicked."
Professor Hayes said there was an association between a calmer temperament in cattle and better meat quality.
"The cattle industry's standard for measuring temperament is 'flight time' - the speed in which cattle move after release from an enclosure," Professor Hayes said.

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"What a producer wants is cattle that move calmly and slowly from the enclosure, rather than an animal that charges out in an aggressive or stressed state.
"Our study found flight time is about 35 percent heritable, which is very significant.
"It means you can make a lot of progress by breeding for better temperament - it's about the same as milk production in dairy cattle, and we've made big breeding gains there."
Professor Hayes said the same genes were identified in other genomic research conducted on domestication of foxes.
"The same genes just come up again and again," he said. "Some DNA variants in those genes are more common in people with autism and, in cattle, some DNA variants in those same genes are found to make the cattle more fearful in new situations and have a reactive temperament."
It's the first time whole genome sequencing has been used to analyse temperament in beef cattle. Researchers looked at 28 million data points per animal on the 9,000 cattle with temperament records in the initial study, and then validated the results in over 80,000 cattle from Ireland.
Professor Hayes said his team would incorporate the temperament data into a panel of markers available for producers that would also provide breeding values for fertility.
"It means a producer will be able to use a sample of tail hair which contains DNA to quickly get information on the genetic value of their animals for temperament and fertility. The temperament analysis was conducted primarily in northern cattle Bos indicus breeds and was validated in Bos taurus cattle.
The study was a result of strong cooperation between Australian researchers, the beef industry and international collaborators from Ireland and Brazil.
Source:
Journal reference:
Costilla, R., et al. (2020) Genetic control of temperament traits across species: association of autism spectrum disorder risk genes with cattle temperament. Genetics Selection Evolution. doi.org/10.1186/s12711-020-00569-z.
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NASA’s Dreamy Picture of Supernova Blast in Cosmos Looks Like Magic
August 29, 2020

A dreamy image of supernova blast wave/Credit:Instagram/NASA)

NASA shared a tranquil picture of ”a small section of a Cygnus supernova blast wave”, which immediately set sky enthusiasts on a frenzy. The picture is mesmerizing and enchanting, reminding us once again about the never-ending wonders of the Universe.

One may think that universe might seem as a scary place, but this beautiful picture could lead one start believing in magic. Moreover, it will definitely distract everyone who sees it, at least for a few moments, away from the CORONA pandemic raging on Earth

It was captured i a perfect moment, by the telescope Hubble Space, which is managed and operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the dreamy picture featured “a delicate and light veil draped across the sky”. It actually represented a small section of the Cygnus supernova blast wave that is located some 2,400 light-years away.

As far as 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, a dying star which was about 20 times more massive comparing to our Sun was blasted apart, due to the original supernova explosion and since then, “the remnant has expanded 60 light-years from its center.”

Taking to its Instagram handle, Hubble Space Telescope shared the same picture and elaborated, “Its shockwave is still expanding at a rate of around 220 miles (350 kilometers) per second. The interaction of the ejected material and the low-density interstellar material swept up by the shockwave forms the veil-like structure seen in this image.”

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First 3D Model of an Unhatched Dinosaur Reveals Unknown Fact About Sauropods

August 29, 2020
Photo Reuters

The 1.2 inch wide fossil skull of an unhatched dinosaur, found preserved inside its egg in Patagonia, Argentina, revealed interesting details. The intact hatching ground of the long-necked, giant herbivores that wandered this preserved land about 80 million years ago was discovered back in 1997. Ever since then, it has revealed many secrets about the reproductive habits of sauropods and their anatomical development.

Exactly twenty-three years after the groundbreaking discovery, researchers report the first 3D images of the preserved embryo of a sauropod

With the help of new imaging technology, called synchrotron microtomograpy, the researchers were able to produce a 3D scans of this wide fossil of an unhatched dinosaur skull. Quite surprising details were discovered about baby facial features present in one species from an important dinosaur group called titanosaurs – the largest land animals that ever inhabited the Earth.

This rare, preserved fossils contained some of the most interesting remains ever found, from tiny embryonic bones to patches of delicate fossilized skin, as well as a skull and teeth of one of the creatures.

Palaeobiologist Martin Kundrát, from the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Slovakia revealed that horned faced and binocular vision were features quite different from what they expected in titanosaurian dinosaurs. He also added that facial horn might have helped the dinosaur hatch from its egg like the “egg tooth” present in some hatchling birds and reptiles, but may also have served other functions such as defense or food-gathering.

According to the researchers, sauropodomorph embryology remains one of the least explored areas of the life history of dinosaurs. However, these new 3D models allowed investigators to reconstruct the appearance of the skull in titanosaurian sauropods before hatching. It addition, it provided very useful details for taxonomic or developmental comparisons among related dinosaurs, as this study found out that sauropods were large, four-legged, long-necked dinosaurs, that were born with a horn and binocular vision that disappeared as they matured.
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How Neanderthals adjusted to climate change

by University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Various Keilmesser and a simple backed knife (top right) from the Neanderthal period 60,000 to 44,000 years ago, from the Sesselfelsgrotte cave near Kelheim (G-complex, excavations by Prof. Freund, FAU. Credit: D. Delpiano, UNIFE
Climate change occurring shortly before their disappearance triggered a complex change in the behavior of late Neanderthals in Europe: they developed more complex tools. This is the conclusion reached by a group of researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Università degli Studi die Ferrara (UNIFE) on the basis of finds in the Sesselfelsgrotte cave in Lower Bavaria.
Neanderthals lived approximately 400,000 to 40,000 years ago in large areas of Europe and the Middle East, even as far as the outer edges of Siberia. They produced tools using wood and glass-like rock material, which they also sometimes combined, for example to make a spear with a sharp and hard point made of stone.
From approximately 100,000 years ago, their universal cutting and scraping tool was a knife made of stone, the handle consisting of a blunt edge on the tool itself. These Keilmesser (backed, asymmetrical bifacially-shaped ) were available in various shapes, leading researchers to wonder why the Neanderthals created such a variety of knives? Did they use different knives for different tasks or did the knives come from different sub-groups of Neanderthals? This was what the international research project hoped to find out.
Keilmesser are the answer
"Keilmesser are a reaction to the highly mobile lifestyle during the first half of the last ice age. As they could be sharpened again as and when necessary, they were able to be used for a long time—almost like a Swiss army knife today," says Prof. Dr. Thorsten Uthmeier from the Institute of Prehistory and Early History at FAU. "However, people often forget that bi-facially worked knives were not the only tools Neanderthals had. Backed knives from the Neanderthal period are surprisingly varied," adds his Italian colleague Dr. Davide Delpiano from Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche at UNIFE. "Our research uses the possibilities offered by digital analysis of 3-D models to discover similarities and differences between the various types of knives using statistical methods."
The two researchers investigated artifacts from one of the most important Neanderthal sites in Central Europe, the Sesselfelsgrotte cave in Lower Bavaria. During excavations in the cave conducted by the Institute of Prehistory and Early History at FAU, more than 100,000 artifacts and innumerable hunting remains left behind by the Neanderthals have been found, even including evidence of a Neanderthal burial. The researchers have now analyzed the most significant knife-like tools using 3-D scans produced in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Marc Stamminger and Dr. Frank Bauer from the Chair of Visual Computing at the Department of Computer Science at FAU. They allow the form and properties of the tool to be recorded extremely precisely.
"The technical repertoire used to create Keilmesser is not only direct proof of the advanced planning skills of our extinct relatives, but also a strategical reaction to the restrictions imposed upon them by adverse natural conditions," says Uthmeier, FAU professor for Early Prehistory and Archaeology of Prehistoric Hunters and Gatherers.
Other climate, other tools
What Uthmeier refers to as 'adverse natural conditions' are climate changes after the end of the last interglacial more than 100,000 years ago. Particularly severe cold phases during the following Weichsel glacial period began more than 60,000 years ago and led to a shortage of natural resources. In order to survive, the Neanderthals had to become more mobile than before, and adjust their tools accordingly.
The Neanderthals probably copied the functionality of unifacial backed knives, which are only shaped on one side, and used these as the starting point to develop bi-facially formed Keilmesser shaped on both sides. "This is indicated in particular by similarities in the cutting edge, which consists in both instances of a flat bottom and a convex top, which was predominantly suited for cutting lengthwise, meaning that it is quite right to refer to the tool as a knife," says Davide Delpiano from UNIFE.
Both types of knife—the simpler older version and the newer, significantly more complex version—obviously have the same function. The most important difference between the two tools investigated in this instance is the longer lifespan of bi-facial tools. Keilmesser therefore represent a high-tech concept for a long-life, multi-functional , which could be used without any additional accessories such as a wooden handle.
"Studies from other research groups seem to support our interpretation," says Uthmeier. "Unlike some people have claimed, the disappearance of the Neanderthals cannot have been a result of a lack of innovation or methodical thinking."
Siberian Neanderthals originated from various European populations
More information: Davide Delpiano et al, Techno-functional and 3D shape analysis applied for investigating the variability of backed tools in the Late Middle Paleolithic of Central Europe, PLOS ONE (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236548
Journal information: PLoS ONE 
Provided by University of Erlangen-Nuremberg 
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Knowledge about past warming events can help create and preserve ecosystems

Approximately 40 percent of terrestrial ecosystems are projected to have experienced shifts in temperature during the past 21,000 years that are similar in pace and magnitude to regional-scale future forecasts.
An international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Adelaide, has identified and examined past warming events similar to those anticipated in the coming decades, to better understand how species and ecosystems will cope.
Studying locations in regions such as the Arctic, Eurasia, the Amazon and New Zealand can yield knowledge of how climate has changed and how this has impacted plants and animals. Using advanced new methods, including the use of DNA to map biodiversity and precise methods for dating climate change, we have taken advantage of opportunities to find precise causalities. The past climate changes are similar to those that we expect in coming decades."
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Professor, University of Copenhagen
By mapping the prevalence of species using combined fossil data archives, researchers were able to see how individual plant and animal species -- and entire ecosystems -- have responded to historical temperature increases:
"During large climate shifts of the past, such as the warming from the last ice age to our current interglacial period 11-18,000 years ago, Arctic temperatures have increased by more than 10 degrees Celsius. This is a warming of the same magnitude as the UN predicts can occur in the future, as is described in IPCC reports and forecasts," says Professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen.
Researchers observed that some species, such as antelope, were able to migrate northward, while others, including the Arctic fox, became extinct in areas of what is now Russia.
This knowledge can be used to predict how plants and animals will respond to future climate changes. During the last interglacial period -- the Eemian Interglacial Stage, from 115-128,000 years ago -- it was warmer, particularly in Arctic regions.
During this time, the central Siberian tundra shifted 200 km northwards, hippos roamed England and giant turtles crawled lazily about the US Midwest.

More accurate forecasts, based upon the past

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The new knowledge compiled by researchers can be used to develop more accurate forecasts concerning which plant and animal species are being threatened with extinction.
This in turn can allow for quicker intervention through international conservation measures. The knowledge also makes it possible to map robust ecosystems, which are less sensitive to climate change.
"We have gained access to completely new knowledge about how ecosystems, plants and animals have responded to temperature increases similar to those that we are confronted with today and will be in the future. We can use this knowledge to be at the forefront of protecting and conserving biodiversity. It provides knowledge for us to protect the species that remain," says Associate Professor Anders Svensson of the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute.
"Conservation biologists are taking full advantage of the long-term history of the planet as recorded in paleo-archives, such as those gathered by the team, to understand biological responses to abrupt climate changes of the past, quantify trends, and develop scenarios of future biodiversity loss from climate change," says the study's main author, Damien Fordham, of the University of Adelaide and the University of Copenhagen's Globe Institute.
Research into the past demonstrates that many ecosystems are able to adapt to sudden climate change, even when migration is not an option. Thus, it is important to acquire more knowledge and ensure healthy interaction between the planners of future ecosystems and this historical knowledge.
Historical archives also demonstrate that other factors, such as the impact of humans and the establishment of cities, the clearing of forests and changes to ecosystems, also have had a very significant impact on species extinction. Results just published in the journal Science.
The research article illustrates how interdisciplinary research among climate and biodiversity researchers, and the deployment of new methods, better dating and climate models can be used to generate knowledge that will advance our ability to create and preserve ecosystems.
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A Full Moon Is Lighting Up Canadian Skies In September But It's On 2 Different Days

The moon's going through a bit of an identity crisis.

Lisa Belmonte


Emilia Niedźwiedzka | Unsplash


This is pretty unique! The September full moon is actually happening on two different days in Canada depending on where you live. Since it's happening so early in the month, Earth's natural satellite is going through a bit of an identity crisis.

Depending on what part of the country you live in, this month's full moon will reach its peak on different days.

For Western Canada, it will be full on September 1 which means residents get to see it before the rest of the country.

It will happen in the early hours of September 2 for central, Eastern and Atlantic Canada.

That confusion only adds to the full-on identity crisis the natural night light is having for September.

It's typically known as the harvest moon because it happens closest to the fall equinox.

However, since it's happening during the first week the first of the month, it's too early for it to get that distinction.

So, it gets a different name this year.

It's usually called a corn moon based on Indigenous traditions and agriculture.

However, the Farmers' Almanac has suggested some alternatives like hurricane moon or bluefish moon because both are active during this time.

@spiritualcloset
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With this all happening so early this year, the first full one in October will be the harvest moon.

According to the Farmers' Almanac, there are only 18 years from 1970 to 2050 when it isn't in September.

It seems fitting that 2020 is one of those years.

@alecdeansilva
embedded via


This lunar phase for September is exceptionally early and comes before Labour Day, the unofficial end to summer.


2020 has been a great year for the celestial orb.

There were a couple of supermoons and one even had a pinkish hue to it as it shone brightly all across Canada in April.
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Microbes Flourishing Deep Down Earth’s Surface might be Remnants of Ancient Life Forms!!!

By Priyanka Thakur


There’s a colossal variety of life flourishing far below Earth’s surface. Another investigation of two significant gatherings of subsurface organisms has now uncovered that their developmental way to life in obscurity has been more inquisitive than we anticipated.

In our planet’s initial 2 billion years of presence, there was no oxygen in the environment. When the air on our blue planet changed, not all living things adjusted, with numerous microorganisms withdrawing into less oxygenated pieces of the planet.

Patescibacteria and DPANN are two pervasive gatherings of such subsurface microorganisms – microscopic organisms and archaea, individually – that seem to have exceptionally basic genomes. This has driven numerous to presume that without the capacity to inhale oxygen, these microorganisms may need to depend on complex cooperations with different living beings to enhance their basic ways of life.

Presently, it appears we may not be giving them enough credit. New examination demonstrates that as opposed to having a harmonious reliance on other significant gatherings of creatures, most Patescibacteria and DPANN live as totally free cells.



These organisms are extremely uncommon, truly energizing instances of the early advancement of life, says Ramunas Stepanauskas, who considers microbial science and development at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.

They might be remainders of antiquated types of life that had been stowing away and flourishing in the Earth’s subsurface for billions of years.

Past work on Patescibacteria and DPANN has assembled few models close to the outside of the Earth, and mostly in North America. Yet this new investigation goes further and more extensive than any time in recent memory. Breaking down about 5,000 individual microbial cells from 46 areas around the world, remembering a mud well of lava for the base of the Mediterranean Sea, aqueous vents in the Pacific, and gold mines in South Africa.
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How transforming riverbanks can clean contaminated waterways

By Meagan Cantwell
Rivers throughout the eastern United States are well known for their high banks and steep, winding courses. But in 2008 scientists proposed that years of damming rivers had transformed them from marshy streams good at filtering waste to the pollution chutes they can often be today. In 2011, they removed 22,000 tons of sediment from the banks of a small Pennsylvania stream; its success has since spurred more than a dozen similar restoration projects. Watch to learn how researchers forged a new path for shaping rivers by challenging a long-held assumption about riverbanks in the eastern United States.
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Face In the Sky: Is the Moon Going to Get Legal Personhood?

It must also be noted that legal personhood has already been given to many non-human entities, like rivers, deities, and corporations worldwide.

Representative image.

LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 28, 2020

It is no secret that moon missions are planned with full speed by different nations. Many countries are planning to return to the Moon. A minimum of 10 missions by six countries are being planned before the end of 2021.

According to a report published in Gizmodo, international treaties governing outer space are in place, but there is ambiguity about how individuals, nations and corporations can use lunar resources. The report goes on to mention that the moon is seen as an inert object with no value in its own right.



In April this year, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, signed an Executive Order on the use of “off-Earth resources”. With this move, he cleared his country’s stand on mining on the Moon and other celestial bodies. The stance is, “Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space”.

For the unversed, Lunar resources include helium-3 (a possible clean energy source), rare earth elements (used in electronics) and water ice. These lunar resources are usually located in shadowed craters at the poles, water ice could be used to make fuel for lunar industries and to take the next step on to Mars.

It must also be noted that legal personhood has already been given to many non-human entities, like rivers, deities, and corporations worldwide. The importance of such things is that they are a bank of meaning and memory. These also in some or the other way shape the human behaviour.

Similarly, the need for considering lunar objects too arises, particularly in two aspects: memory and agency. The major reason why experts want to study the Moon is to retrieve the memory of how it formed after separating from Earth billions of years ago.


This memory is encoded in geological features such as the craters and lava fields, among other things.
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Report: Unskilled hackers can breach about 3 out of 4 companies
Positive Technologies found in a recent study that criminals with few skills can hack a company in less than 30 minutes.


by N.F. Mendoza in Security on August 13, 2020, 8:44 AM PST

Image: iStock

Despite cybersecurity efforts, bad actors continue to find ways to hack businesses. Consequently, security efforts are focused on how to prevent these destructive breaches. Penetration testers (pentesters) were successful in breaching the network perimeter and accessing the local networks of 93% of companies, according to a recent report from the security information company Positive Technologies.

Pentesters are ethical hackers, hired by a company, who mimic the actions of criminal hackers, and look for and find the areas of vulnerability within the company's security. Given the assignment, it's best served when the client has a security system already in place.

Testing an external network, such as the internet, is called an external pentest. Pentesters try to find as many ways as they can to penetrate the local network, and the combination of external-and-internal network breaches represent 58% of hacks, and external alone, 19%.

Comparatively, in an internal pentest, attacks (23%) originate from inside the company, by testing, for example, typical employee privileges or with the physical access available to a random visitor. An internal pentest can determine the highest level of privileges an attacker can obtain.

Pentesters offer an expert's opinion and analysis of the effectiveness of their clients' security system, as well as cyber threat preparedness.

One-sixth of pentestered companies revealed traces of previous attacks. While the average time to penetrate a local network was four days, pentesters found it could be done in as little as 30 minutes. But in the majority of cases, the successful attacks lacked much complexity, and pentesters said the attack was within the purview of a hacker with "middling" skills.

Only 7% of systems tested were adequate enough to withstand any breaches, but 25% were hacked in a single step, 43% in two steps, and 25% in three to six steps.

The testing revealed some alarming vulnerabilities, including the fact that at 71% of companies, even an unskilled hacker was able to penetrate the internal network.

Another revelation was that 77% of breaches were related to insufficient protection of web applications, and pentesters discovered at least one vector at 86% of companies. A penetration vector, the report explained, refers to a method that explores the weaknesses which allowed the breach in a network perimeter.

Pentesters were able to breach 77% of businesses through web application protection vulnerabilities, 15% through brute forcing credentials used for accessing DBMS, 6% brute forcing credentials for remote access services, and 1% each through brute forcing domain-user credentials with software vulnerabilities exploitation, as well as with software vulnerabilities exploitation as well as bruteforcing credentials for the FTP server.

Risk-level of detection is 57% for web application vulnerabilities, 50% for password policy flaws, 29% vulnerable software, 25% configuration flaw.
Report recommendations


Perform security assessments of web applications regularly.


Penetration testing is performed as a "black box" without access to source code, so some issues may not be detected.


Use tests for source-code analysis (white box); it detects the most issues.


Repairs can take significant time.


Issues may also appear in third-party software (app's vulnerable until that third party releases a patch.


Protect the network perimeter with a web application firewall (WAF) to prevent exploitation of vulnerabilities.


Ensure interfaces open for connection actually need to be available to all internet users.


Regularly inventory internet-accessible resources.


Install OS security updates ASAP.


Install latest versions of apps ASAP.


Be sure software with known vulnerabilities is not on the corporate network perimeter.


Regularly conduct penetration testing.

Unsurprisingly, pentesters are most popular in the finance field, with 32% of companies who want to protect their money matters. There's a tie for second place, 21% for both IT as well as fuel and energy.
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