Latest news with #domestication
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
I Just Learned Why Humans Originally Kept Cats, And I'm Horrified
When I announce that I'm not really a pet person (and especially that I don't particularly want a dog), people stare at me like I'm a criminal. But at least I'm not as vicious as the world's first cat owners. Recently, a study published in bioRxiv has called into question the timeline of cat ownership. Previously, scientists believed that cats became domesticated during the Neolithic period as African wildcats were drawn in by the cosy fires and abundance of food linked to farming, while humans welcomed their presence as they got rid of rodents. But not only does this new paper suggest that this timing is off (the authors put it at the 'first millennium BC' in Egypt), but it suggests the relationship believed to have existed between the first cat/human pairs was gorier than we thought. The scientists looked at ancient cat remains found in a variety of spots across Europe and North Africa, including a 9,500-year-old site in Cyprus. Though these had previously been believed to show domesticated cats, a combination of carbon dating, genetic testing, and bone research suggests they were actually wildcats. Their results suggest that the 'closening of human-cat relationships occurred more recently,' and appeared to have begun in Egypt for religious, and not practical, reasons. Cats, they explain, are linked to the Egyptian goddess Bastet, who first appeared with a lion's head, but was increasingly represented with the head of an African wildcat in later centuries. 'This transformation was coincident with the rise of cat sacrifice, whereby millions of free-ranging and specifically-reared cats were mummified as offerings to the goddess,' they wrote. As statues dedicated to Bastet tended to be in more arable areas, the rodent-killing benefits of cats may have proven useful to humans and 'provided the context for the tighter relationship between people and cats that led to the wildcat's domestication, motivated by their newly acquired divine status'. Still, the paper posits that we wanted them for sacrifices first; their more gentle and manageable traits were selected for easier handling. As if that wasn't horrific enough, it turns out Victorian-era Brits may have used those mummified cats for fertiliser. Speaking to BBC Science Focus, Dr Sean Doherty, the study's lead author, said: 'At temples dedicated to [Bastet], we find millions of mummified cats. 'There were so many that in the Victorian period, tonnes of them were brought back to Britain to be ground down and used for fertiliser.' TikTok Says These 2 Sounds Can Get Cats To Come To You ― Here's What The Experts Think So THAT's Why Cats Love Catnip So Much It Turns Out Cats Like Playing Catch Too – But Only On Their Terms
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
World's oldest domesticated dog breed has lived with humans for 1,000 years, new study shows — but their population is plummeting
It gives new meaning to dog years. Various types of sled dogs have been used by humans across the Arctic for almost 10,000 years, but new research reveals one particular type to be the oldest continuously domesticated breed. According to a new study published in Science, Qimmit have been kept by Inuit populations in Greenland for around a millennium, whereas other sled dog subsets have been bred out. 'They're a working dog that has been performing the same task with the same people for 1,000 years or more,' Tatiana Feuerborn, the lead study author and a paleogeneticist at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes for Health, told Popular Science. 'That's what sets them apart from other Arctic and sled dog breeds.' However, the population of the special animal has been steadily declining as a result of 'environmental changes and cultural transitions,' according to the study. There are even fears that Qimmit could become extinct. In 2002, there were about 25,000 in Greenland, but that number had plummeted to just 13,000 in 2020. The Science study delves into the genetic history of the Qimmeq. Other dog breeds that descended from a common ancestor include the Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute, Samoyed and Canadian Inuit dog. Similarly, these canines adapted to the harsh Arctic climate, but none have remained with the same population like the Qimmeq. The team of researchers studied 92 genomes, ranging from contemporary to ancient, to trace how far back the breed goes, and how its isolation in Greenland impacted its development, as opposed to other comparable Arctic dogs. 'We're not the first people to say this… but this is some of the first quantifiable evidence that really lends credence to it,' she added, clarifying the findings. Older DNA samples were taken from bones and fur embedded in preserved Inuit garments, which were borrowed from museums, while contemporary saliva swabs were graciously given to researchers by modern-day Qimmeq breeders in Greenland. Despite their lupine looks, the Qimmeq is less closely linked to wolves than previously suggested, researchers also uncovered. 'Qimmeq–wolf hybrids have been reported to form strong bonds with a single owner and often display aggression toward humans outside of their 'family,' killing dogs from outside their team,' the study reports. 'This highly territorial behavior makes it difficult to integrate them with new owners and unfamiliar animals.' While the study is certainly interesting food for thought for dog lovers across the world, it also provides insights into how to preserve the current Qimmit population, In many areas of Greenland, once-expansive ice sheets have become slushy seas, and researchers have marked billions of tons of ice loss in recent years. 'Dogs have been so intrinsically tied to human history as the first domesticated animal. They have been at the formation of every human society,' Feuerborn said. 'In Greenland in particular, these dogs have been there all along. Being able to preserve that cultural history alongside the genetic history is important. It has immense cultural value.'
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Study suggests pigs may have been domesticated in China as early as Neolithic period
Research by archaeologists from Chinese and US institutes suggests that pigs were already domesticated in southern China around 8,000 years ago. Advertisement The team, which included researchers from Dartmouth College and the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, analysed two early Neolithic sites in the province's Yangtze Delta region. The study – published on June 9 in the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) – 'is the first to find that pigs were eating humans' cooked foods and waste', according to a Dartmouth College press release. The findings suggested the domestication process of Sus scrofa – the wild boar – occurred alongside the development of rice cultivation and sedentary lifestyles in ancient society around 8,000 years ago in the southern region of China, the archaeologists said. The conventional view – as outlined, for instance, in a 2017 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, part of the Nature Portfolio – is that pigs were first domesticated in the Near East – part of what is now called the Middle East. Advertisement According to the 2017 study, pigs were introduced to northern Europe from the region now called the Middle East around 4500 BC, a development that later facilitated the domestication of European wild boars.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Galaxy Announces Results from Special Meeting
NEW YORK, May 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (TSX: GLXY) ('Galaxy' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce the results of votes on matters considered at its Special Meeting of shareholders (the 'Meeting') which took place on May 9, 2025. The shareholders approved resolutions relating to the Company's previously announced reorganization and domestication from the Cayman Islands to Delaware (together with the related transactions, the 'Reorganization')(for, against, withheld), specifically: (i) a special resolution to approve the reorganization and domestication of the Company by 66 2/3 majority (99.643%, 0.146%, 0.210%); and (ii) an ordinary resolution to approve the issuance of a number of Galaxy Digital Holdings Inc. Class B Common Stock following the domestication by a simple majority (98.816%, 0.694%, 0.490%) and a simple majority of shareholders excluding persons required to be excluded for the purpose of a 'majority of the minority' vote in accordance with MI 61-101 (98.757%, 0.736%, 0.519%). The forgoing resolutions having passed by the requisite number of votes in favor, the ordinary resolution to approve the technical proposal allowing the chairman to adjourn the Meeting to a later date by simple majority was not formally put to the Meeting. The parties anticipate the Reorganization will close on or around May 13, 2025, subject to the final approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange. Pending the closing of the Reorganization and final approval by Nasdaq, Class A common stock of Galaxy Digital Inc., the future public company incorporated in Delaware, is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on May 16, 2025, under the ticker symbol GLXY. About Galaxy Galaxy (TSX: GLXY) is a global leader in digital assets and data center infrastructure, delivering solutions that accelerate progress in finance and artificial intelligence. Our digital assets platform offers institutional access to trading, advisory, asset management, staking, self-custody, and tokenization technology. In addition, we invest in and operate cutting-edge data center infrastructure to power AI and high-performance computing, meeting the growing demand for scalable energy and compute solutions in the U.S. The company is headquartered in New York City, with offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Additional information about Galaxy's businesses and products is available on Disclaimers and Additional Information The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this document may contain 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act') and 'forward-looking information' under Canadian securities laws (collectively, 'forward-looking statements'). Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Reorganization and the parties, perspectives and expectations, are forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to estimates, projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'forecast,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'might,' 'plan,' 'possible,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'project,' 'should,' 'would' and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us taking into account information currently available to us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: (1) the inability to complete the proposed Reorganization due to the failure to obtain regulatory or stock exchange approvals, or otherwise; (2) changes to the proposed structure of the proposed Reorganization that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory or stock exchange approval of the Reorganization. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, a decline in the digital asset market or general economic conditions and changes in applicable law or regulation and adverse regulatory developments. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, they could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. We are not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not take any statement regarding past trends or activities as a representation that the trends or activities will continue in the future. Accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on these statements. SOURCE Galaxy Digital Inc.
