Latest news with #Jacobs
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Science
- Boston Globe
What 4,000-year-old DNA revealed about how ancient societies interacted
'This finding was quite interesting because we actually know from archaeology that the Egyptian and the eastern-Persian cultures influenced each other for millennia,' Adeline Morez Jacobs, lead author of the new study, said in a media briefing. They shared domesticated animal farming practices and writing systems, for instance. But we now know that 'below the network of ideas was a complex network of people moving and intermixing with the local population,' said Jacobs, a researcher at Liverpool John Moores University and the Francis Crick Institute. Advertisement While artifacts have provided a general understanding of Egyptian life, genetic analysis has been scarce. One big issue has been heat degrading many DNA samples. Due to poor DNA preservation, only three ancient Egyptian individuals have had their genomes partially sequenced. Those samples were also more recent, dating more than 1,000 years after this one. Now, with improved technology, scientists were able to analyze the full genome of a man buried in Nuwayrat village, about 165 miles south of Cairo, who was excavated more than 100 years ago and then housed at the World Museum Liverpool. Researchers were able to glean details about life for someone outside of royalty - although a laborer, the man had the more elaborate burial of someone in a higher social class, which probably helped preserve the DNA. Advertisement 'It's only over the past 10 to 15 years … we've really learned how to take really minute samples from ancient skeletons [to] maximize our chance of retrieving DNA,' Linus Girdland-Flink, a coauthor and archaeogeneticist at the University of Aberdeen, said in the briefing. The remains were found in a pottery vessel placed inside a rock-cut tomb (before widespread artificial mummification), which probably kept the DNA unusually well-preserved at a stable temperature. The team analyzed his dental tissue, which locks the teeth into the jaw, a location that is particularly good at preserving DNA. Radiocarbon dating indicated he probably lived between 2855 and 2570 BC - during an interesting shift in Egyptian history. Upper and Lower Egypt were united a few centuries earlier, followed by a major leap in centralized rule and architecture. The beginning of this golden age of innovation, known as the Old Kingdom, marked notable pyramid construction, including the first step-pyramid complex of King Djoser and the Great Pyramid of Giza. 'This genome allows us, for the first time, to get insights into the genetic ancestry of an ancient Egyptian individual from the Old Kingdom period,' Jacobs said. The researchers took seven DNA extracts from the man, two of which were preserved well enough to be fully sequenced. They analyzed and compared those samples to a library of 3,233 present-day and 805 ancient individuals. Advertisement The team found 80 percent of the genome was linked to individuals in North Africa, suggesting mainly an emergence from the local population, Jacobs said. The remaining 20 percent of his ancestry could be traced to people in the eastern Fertile Crescent, particularly Mesopotamia (roughly modern-day Iraq). The findings provide 'genetic evidence that people moved into Egypt and mixed with local populations at this time, which was previously only visible in archaeological [artifacts],' according to a news release from the Francis Crick Institute. The study focused only on one man, and scientists acknowledged more individual genome sequences would need to be analyzed for a complete picture of Egyptian ancestry at that time DNA analysis even further back - before the introduction of agriculture in Egypt - could help pinpoint when the ancestry began spreading beyond the local population, said Harald Ringbauer, a population geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, who was not involved in the study. 'That would help resolve whether the Levantine-like ancestry component spread with the adoption of farming - or has deeper roots in North East Africa,' Ringbauer said in an email. Still, the man who is the focus of the study is intriguing on his own. Analyzing the skeleton, the researchers could tell he lived to a relatively old age for that time - potentially in his mid-60s. That would be the equivalent of someone living into their 80s today, said coauthor Joel Irish. Features on his skull and pelvis indicated arthritis and a high degree of osteoporosis in his bones. From the back of his skull and vertebrae, the researchers determined that he looked down and leaned forward a lot in his lifetime. Muscle markings on his arms and shoulders show that he was holding his arms in front of him for long periods of time, along with evidence of squatting on his ankles - probably placing him as a potter. Advertisement But his burial would be unusual for a potter. This manner - in the rock-cut tomb and a large pottery vessel - is typically reserved for someone in the upper class. 'That's interesting because it's also at odds with the fact that he had an incredibly hard physical life,' Irish, a dental anthropologist at Liverpool John Moores University, said in the briefing. Other researchers said the findings were a significant step forward in ancient-DNA analysis and our understanding of Egyptian history. For instance, royal dynasties were shown to have rather limited gene pools because of their high inbreeding, said Yehia Gad, emeritus professor of molecular genetics at National Research Center in Egypt, who was not involved in the research.
CNN
9 hours ago
- Science
- CNN
Congressionally mandated climate reports have disappeared from their federal websites
Legally mandated national climate assessments disappeared this week from the federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the US Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries. 'It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States,' said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. 'It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available,' Jacobs said. 'This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts.' Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local officials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said. 'This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,' said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report. Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site. The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people's security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk. The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren't needed and ended the contract with the private firm that helps coordinate the website and report. Days later, two of the biggest and most reputable Earth science societies announced they will pick up the slack and pursue a collection of reports in its place. Additionally, NOAA's main website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated. 'It's part of a horrifying big picture,' Holdren said. 'It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.' The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more localized and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said. The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public. Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said. And it's dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: 'And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely. It's like our windshield's being painted over.'
CNN
9 hours ago
- Science
- CNN
Congressionally mandated climate reports have disappeared from their federal websites
Legally mandated national climate assessments disappeared this week from the federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the US Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries. 'It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States,' said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. 'It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available,' Jacobs said. 'This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts.' Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local officials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said. 'This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,' said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report. Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site. The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people's security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk. The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren't needed and ended the contract with the private firm that helps coordinate the website and report. Days later, two of the biggest and most reputable Earth science societies announced they will pick up the slack and pursue a collection of reports in its place. Additionally, NOAA's main website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated. 'It's part of a horrifying big picture,' Holdren said. 'It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.' The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more localized and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said. The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public. Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said. And it's dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: 'And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely. It's like our windshield's being painted over.'
CNN
10 hours ago
- Science
- CNN
Congressionally mandated climate reports have disappeared from their federal websites
Legally mandated national climate assessments disappeared this week from the federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the US Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries. 'It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States,' said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. 'It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available,' Jacobs said. 'This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts.' Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local officials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said. 'This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,' said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report. Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site. The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people's security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk. The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren't needed and ended the contract with the private firm that helps coordinate the website and report. Days later, two of the biggest and most reputable Earth science societies announced they will pick up the slack and pursue a collection of reports in its place. Additionally, NOAA's main website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated. 'It's part of a horrifying big picture,' Holdren said. 'It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.' The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more localized and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said. The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public. Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said. And it's dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: 'And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely. It's like our windshield's being painted over.'
The Citizen
20 hours ago
- The Citizen
Pastor from Standerton finds redemption after life of addiction
From Mr Popular to living on the streets, pastor Quincy Jacobs has experienced the full devastation of drug abuse and the joy of recovery. His long history with substance use began at just 13 when he first encountered alcohol. At 15, he drank regularly, often skipping school to indulge. 'That played a big role in cultivating my mindset,' Jacobs said. At 16, he started smoking marijuana but quit soon after, remaining mostly clean for five years. But at 21, he returned to daily marijuana use. In 1999, he came across an article in You magazine about the latest club drug: ecstasy. 'At this point, I had built up a tolerance to weed and wanted to try something new,' said Jacobs. A few months later, while studying at Damelin College, he experimented with ecstasy and, soon after, LSD. He noted that while psychedelics aren't generally considered physically addictive, he became deeply dependent on every drug he tried. Everything changed when he used ephedrine, a key ingredient in CAT. In 2005, his drug use escalated when he and a friend bought crack cocaine. Jacobs said there was no turning back after that first hit. 'People always talked about how addictive crack was. I was always chasing a stronger high, so I found it appealing,' he said. 'Crack was the drug that finally broke me; it cracked me wide open.' Within a month, he was fully dependent. After three months, he was smoking R1 000 of crack daily. He spiralled into a life of crime, scamming others, selling his clothes and chasing his next fix. 'I went from being the life of the party to a socially withdrawn, full-blown crackhead,' he said. ALSO CHECK: Mayor hands motorised wheelchair to young eMbalenhle learner to support her education, independence Years later, Jacobs tried crystal meth for the first time. 'Whenever a new drug hit the streets of Joburg, I was always one of the first to try it,' he said. His meth addiction left him homeless on the streets of Johannesburg. He chose street life to spare his mother further pain. During this time, his drug use peaked. He was using crystal meth, Mandrax, heroin, anything he could get. 'I even sold a blanket from a charity and groceries from a local church just to get high,' he admitted. After seven years, his rock bottom unexpectedly arrived. He woke up one day planning to get heroin, but it started raining before he could sell anything for the money he needed. 'When you withdraw from heroin, it's called 'downing'. I always told myself I'd stop when I downed,' he said. As the day wore on, his body ached. The withdrawal pain was overwhelming – like dying, he said. In desperation, Jacobs turned to God, pleading for relief. When the withdrawal became unbearable, he called his mother's friend, who took him to the hospital. 'My mother saved my life that day. She convinced them to treat me despite my history, then took me home after six long hours,' he said. That night, he bathed, ate and slept. The next morning, he felt good for the first time in years. 'I thought it would pass, that the cravings would come back. But one day became two, and before I knew it, I was three months sober.' At three months clean, Jacobs enrolled at Destiny College International. At 38, he began studying to become a pastor. Now nine years sober, he runs the Cherith House rehab centre, which recently opened in Standerton. He thanks God daily for the empathy and strength to help others recover. 'My work keeps me accountable, and God gives me the strength to continue,' Jacobs said. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
