AI is trying to bridge the communication gap between people and pets. Who needs that?
The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience at the London School of Economics will deploy considerable resources to bridge the communication gap between species. There is much to gain from the endeavour. For too long, a human-centric view of personhood — which ignores intelligent, feeling creatures as diverse as corvids and apes, dolphins and elephants — has resulted in cruelty on the one hand and limited how we interact with these animals on the other. But when it comes to pets, do we really need to know what they are 'saying'? More importantly, predictive models may tell people what they want to hear, rather than what the animal 'means'.
Take the pooch you have had for years. The eagerness with which he greets every member of the family when they return, the comfort of every winter cuddle, even the manipulative looks as they seek scraps from the table — what if it was all just translated to 'food giver here'? And the disdain of the domestic feline might ruin the self-esteem of the most secure persons. These words can be lies of translation. Because the language people share with their pets is no less complex or complete than those humans reserve for each other. In essence, it is a love beyond words. Let's not ruin that.
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News18
an hour ago
- News18
Neanderthals likely ate fermented meat with a side of maggots
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Indiana, Jul 26 (The Conversation) Scientists long thought that Neanderthals were avid meat eaters. Based on chemical analysis of Neanderthal remains, it seemed like they'd been feasting on as much meat as apex predators such as lions and hyenas. But as a group, hominins – that's Neanderthals, our species and other extinct close relatives – aren't specialised flesh eaters. Rather, they're more omnivorous, eating plenty of plant foods, too. It is possible for humans to subsist on a very carnivorous diet. In fact, many traditional northern hunter–gatherers such as the Inuit subsisted mostly on animal foods. But hominins simply cannot tolerate consuming the high levels of protein that large predators can. If humans eat as much protein as hypercarnivores do over long periods without consuming enough other nutrients, it can lead to protein poisoning – a debilitating, even lethal condition historically known as 'rabbit starvation." So, what could explain the chemical signatures found in Neanderthal bones that seem to suggest they were healthily eating tons of meat? I am an anthropologist who uses elements such as nitrogen to study the diets of our very ancient ancestors. New research my colleagues and I conducted suggests a secret ingredient in the Neanderthal diet that might explain what was going on: maggots. Isotope ratios reveal what an animal ate The ratios of various elements in the bones of animals can provide insights into what they ate while alive. Isotopes are alternate forms of the same element that have slightly different masses. Nitrogen has two stable isotopes: nitrogen-14, the more abundant form, and nitrogen-15, the heavier, less common form. Scientists denote the ratio of nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14 as δ¹⁵N and measure it in a unit called permil. As you go higher up the food chain, organisms have relatively more of the isotope nitrogen-15. Grass, for example, has a very low δ¹⁵N value. An herbivore accumulates the nitrogen-15 that it consumes eating grass, so its own body has a slightly higher δ¹⁵N value. Meat-eating animals have the highest nitrogen ratio in a food web; the nitrogen-15 from their prey concentrates in their bodies. By analysing stable nitrogen isotope ratios, we can reconstruct the diets of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens during the late Pleistocene, which ran from 11,700 to 129,000 years ago. Fossils from various sites tell the same story – these hominins have high δ¹⁵N values. High δ¹⁵N values would typically place them at the top of the food web, together with hypercarnivores such as cave lions and hyenas, whose diet is more than 70 per cent meat. But maybe something else about their diet was inflating Neanderthals' δ¹⁵N values. Uncovering the Neanderthal menu We suspected that maggots could have been a different potential source of enriched nitrogen-15 in the Neanderthal diet. Maggots, which are fly larvae, can be a fat-rich source of food. They are unavoidable after you kill another animal, easily collectible in large numbers and nutritionally beneficial. To investigate this possibility, we used a dataset that was originally created for a very different purpose: a forensic anthropology project focused on how nitrogen might help estimate time since death. I had originally collected modern muscle tissue samples and associated maggots at the Forensic Anthropology Center at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to understand how nitrogen values change during decomposition after death. While the data can assist modern forensic death investigations, in our current study we repurposed it to test a very different hypothesis. We found that stable nitrogen isotope values increase modestly as muscle tissue decomposes, ranging from -0.6 permil to 7.7 permil. This increase is more dramatic in maggots feeding on decomposing tissue: from 5.4 permil to 43.2 permil. To put the maggot values in perspective, scientists estimate δ¹⁵N values for Pleistocene herbivores to range between 0.9 permil to 11.2 permil. Maggots are measuring up to almost four times higher. Our research suggests that the high δ¹⁵N values observed in Late Pleistocene hominins may be inflated by year-round consumption of ¹⁵N-enriched maggots found in dried, frozen or cached animal foods. Cultural practices shape diet In 2017, my collaborator John Speth proposed that the high δ¹⁵N values in Neanderthals were due to the consumption of putrid or rotting meat, based on historical and cultural evidence of diets in northern Arctic foragers. Traditionally, Indigenous peoples almost universally viewed thoroughly putrefied, maggot-infested animal foods as highly desirable fare, not starvation rations. In fact, many such peoples routinely and often intentionally allowed animal foods to decompose to the point where they were crawling with maggots, in some cases even beginning to liquefy. This rotting food would inevitably emit a stench so overpowering that early European explorers, fur trappers and missionaries were sickened by it. Yet Indigenous peoples viewed such foods as good to eat, even a delicacy. When asked how they could tolerate the nauseating stench, they simply responded, 'We don't eat the smell." Neanderthals' cultural practices, similar to those of Indigenous peoples, might be the answer to the mystery of their high δ¹⁵N values. Ancient hominins were butchering, storing, preserving, cooking and cultivating a variety of items. All these practices enriched their paleo menu with foods in forms that nonhominin carnivores do not consume. Research shows that δ¹⁵N values are higher for cooked foods, putrid muscle tissue from terrestrial and aquatic species, and, with our study, for fly larvae feeding on decaying tissue. The high δ¹⁵N values of maggots associated with putrid animal foods help explain how Neanderthals could have included plenty of other nutritious foods beyond only meat while still registering δ¹⁵N values we're used to seeing in hypercarnivores. We suspect the high δ¹⁵N values seen in Neanderthals reflect routine consumption of fatty animal tissues and fermented stomach contents, much of it in a semi-putrid or putrid state, together with the inevitable bonus of both living and dead ¹⁵N-enriched maggots. What still isn't known Fly larvae are a fat-rich, nutrient-dense, ubiquitous and easily procured insect resource, and both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens, much like recent foragers, would have benefited from taking full advantage of them. But we cannot say that maggots alone explain why Neanderthals have such high δ¹⁵N values in their remains. Several questions about this ancient diet remain unanswered. How many maggots would someone need to consume to account for an increase in δ¹⁵N values above the expected values due to meat eating alone? How do the nutritional benefits of consuming maggots change the longer a food item is stored? More experimental studies on changes in δ¹⁵N values of foods processed, stored and cooked following Indigenous traditional practices can help us better understand the dietary practices of our ancient relatives. (The Conversation) GRS GRS (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 26, 2025, 11:15 IST News agency-feeds Neanderthals likely ate fermented meat with a side of maggots Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Not just Homo Sapiens: There were 20+ human species that walked the Earth with the modern man; Where are they now?
Once, Earth was home to diverse human species, not just Homo sapiens. Fossil evidence reveals at least 21 early human species, including Neanderthals and Denisovans, coexisted and even interbred with our ancestors. While the reasons for their extinction remain a mystery, factors like climate change, competition, and interbreeding likely played roles. Modern humans are often seen as the pinnacle of evolution and the only ones to have grown and developed over centuries. But in evolutionary terms, not long ago, we shared the planet with a number of other human species. These ancient relatives were not just distant ancestors but our contemporaries, walking the Earth at the same time with our ancestors, even in the same places. They lived, adapted, created tools, even interacted and had children with us. The picture of human evolution is not a straight line from primitive to modern but rather a tangled tree with many branches, where some of these branches ended in extinction and others merged. But who are the other types of human species that walked along the ancestors of the Homo Sapiens, and why couldn't they survive till today? A crowded family tree For most of human history, Homo sapiens weren't alone. Fossil evidence shows that at least 21 species of early humans once roamed the Earth. These included well-known relatives like Neanderthals, as well as Homo Naledi and Homo Luzonensis, as suggested by recent fossil discoveries. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Undo Among these, some species lasted millions of years, while others were short-lived experiments in survival. The modern Homo Sapiens didn't just follow other human species; they overlapped with them. Homo sapiens lived alongside Neanderthals and Denisovans, sometimes for thousands of years. In some regions, they shared regional tools and even genes. Interbreeding between Homo sapiens and these relatives left traces in the DNA, especially in populations today outside Africa. These weren't short-lived events; they were complex interactions between intelligent, adaptable beings trying to survive a shifting world. In fact, any of these species wasn't alone; they were part of a larger and connected human world. The mystery of the missing species Despite advances in archaeology and genetics, many early human species remain a mystery. Some are known only from a few bones or teeth, like the Denisovans, for example, whose full skeleton has not been found till date. Instead, their story is put together from fragments and DNA. Scientists continue to debate how many species truly existed, since definitions of "species" can vary. Did they look different enough? Could they have kids together? These uncertainties mean the real number of human species might be far higher than 21. Why could only one species make it to today? The reasons aren't fully clear. It could be that they were more adaptable, better at cooperating, or just luckier. Climate change, competition for resources, and even disease may have wiped out other human species. Some were already disappearing when we arrived. Others may have blended into our gene pool through interbreeding. But there is one certainty that survival wasn't guaranteed; Homo Sapiens' today came at the cost of other lost human lineages.
News18
6 days ago
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‘Pet' Project Made Easy: How AI, LSE Centre Will Help You Understand Your Dog, Cat Better Explained
Last Updated: The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), will develop approaches to study feelings of animals Why is your dog looking sad? Why is your cat doing something new with its toe beans? Not sure if you are actually helping your pet? Soon, artificial intelligence (AI) and science will come to your rescue. The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), will develop new approaches to study the feelings of other animals scientifically. What will the centre do? According to the LSE website, the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, made possible through a multi-year commitment of £4 million from the Jeremy Coller Foundation, will use the emerging science of animal sentience to design better policies, laws and ways of caring for other animals. Under the leadership of its inaugural Director, Professor Jonathan Birch, the new centre – launching in autumn 2025 at LSE – will harness LSE's interdisciplinary expertise, bringing together LSE's outstanding faculty and students and working with global thought leaders across philosophy, veterinary medicine, evolutionary biology, comparative psychology, neuroscience, behavioural science, computer science, artificial intelligence, economics and law around a shared research agenda and a shared commitment to benefiting other animals. The AI project The centre will also work with stakeholders (in sectors such as science, tech and farming) to explore the ethical use of AI in relation to animals, aiming to develop a code of practice to support the AI industry in ensuring animals and their needs are not forgotten. Professor Jonathan Birch, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE and the Centre's inaugural Director, commented: 'The new centre, the first of its kind in the world, will be a place for ethical moonshots. Let's make a world in which all sentient beings are respected, even the smallest ones. Let's make a world where AI is used to benefit all animals, not to facilitate cruelty. Let's make a world in which people are empowered to act in accordance with their love of other animals rather than being nudged towards indifference. Some say these are impossible dreams, but the boundary between the 'possible' and the allegedly 'impossible' is one we aim to move." Jeremy Coller commented: 'We are a speciesist species – only when we have a better understanding of how other animals feel and communicate will we be able to acknowledge our own shortcomings in how we treat them. Just as the Rosetta Stone unlocked the secrets of hieroglyphics, I am convinced the power of AI can help us unlock our understanding of how other animals experience their interactions with humans." view comments First Published: July 20, 2025, 15:06 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
