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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
43,000-year-old human fingerprint is world's oldest — and made by a Neanderthal
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A red dot on a face-shaped rock in Spain may be setting records in more ways than one. At roughly 43,000 years old, the dot may be the oldest human fingerprint on record and also one of the earliest symbolic objects ever found in Europe. The fingerprint, made with the red mineral ocher, was left by a Neanderthal — the closest extinct relative of modern humans. Neanderthals went extinct around 40,000 years ago but occupied Europe for hundreds of thousands of years before early modern humans arrived on the continent. The researchers behind a new study argue that the red dot represents a nose on a rock with face-like features. The discovery is a further challenge to the idea that Neanderthals were generally not capable of symbolic art. But some experts told Live Science they are not convinced that the dot is symbolic. Anthropologist and archaeologist Bruce Hardy of Kenyon College in Ohio, who was not involved in the discovery, said the red dot was definitely deliberate but little more could be certain beyond that. "Clearly, the ocher has been intentionally applied with the fingerprint," Hardy told Live Science. "But I did not see a face — symbolism is in the eye of the beholder." Related: 130,000-year-old Neanderthal-carved bear bone is symbolic art, study argues The study, published May 5 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, describes the 2022 discovery at the San Lázaro rock shelter on the outskirts of Segovia in central Spain. Scientists have evidence that the region was heavily populated by Neanderthals between 44,000 and 41,000 years ago, but there is no evidence that early modern humans ever lived there. Image 1 of 2 A: the rock before it was fully excavated. B: the face-shaped rock and the red dot "nose." Image 2 of 2 The researchers say the red dot was deliberately placed as a "nose" to highlight the rock's resemblance to a human face. The yellow dots are where scientific samples were taken. The rock, which resembles a large potato, is about 6 inches (15 centimeters) long and has vaguely eyebrow-shaped indentations near one end. But the deliberate addition of a red dot for a "nose" beneath the "eyebrows" of the rocky Mr. Potato Head transforms the large pebble into a primitive portrayal of a human face, the authors argue. "This find represents the most complete and oldest evidence of a human fingerprint in the world, unequivocally attributed to Neanderthals, highlighting the deliberate use of the pigment for symbolic purposes," Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) said in a translated statement. The red dot looks evenly spread, but forensic examinations and analysis of how it reflected different wavelengths of light revealed it was created by a fingerprint with a distinctive whorl pattern, probably from an adult male Neanderthal. The granite pebble seems to have been deliberately brought to the rock shelter, probably from a nearby river where it formed. "The fact that the pebble was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ocher shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object," the team of researchers wrote in the study. Debate about whether Neanderthals made abstract art has raged among archaeologists for decades. Finds include engravings on cave walls in France that may be up to 75,000 years old, but even the finest works of Neanderthal art pale next to the cave paintings made by early modern humans at sites like the Chauvet Cave in France and on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Rebecca Wragg Sykes, a paleolithic archaeologist at the universities of Cambridge and Liverpool in the U.K. and the author of "Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020), thinks that, even if red dot is symbolic, it is possible that the study's authors may have misunderstood its meaning. "What the team infer to be a representation of a nose on a face might, if turned the other way up, be seen as a navel on a human figure," she told Live Science in an email. "We can't really say what it is meant to 'be.'" RELATED STORIES —Cave thought to hold unicorn bones actually home to Neanderthal artwork —65,000-year-old hearth in Gibraltar may have been a Neanderthal 'glue factory,' study finds —Secret cave chamber may be one of the last Neanderthal hideouts Durham University archaeologist Paul Pettitt, who also was not involved in the discovery, said the rock was an "unequivocal example of the Neanderthal use of red pigment" that showed how Neanderthals were routinely leaving marks on cave walls and portable objects. But whether the red dot was truly symbolic of something or not was still unclear, he said. And the archaeologist and psychologist Derek Hodgson, an expert in prehistoric cave art who also was not involved in the study, told Live Science that the rock seemed to have had no other purpose. Additionally, the rock only looked like a face when the "nose" mark was added, he said in an email. "This find adds to the growing corpus of objects made by the Neanderthals that are non-functional in nature."
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio college presidents among signatories against Trump administration ‘overreach'
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — More than 150 colleges and universities signed a letter Tuesday condemning the Trump administration's attempts to control higher education institutions, including at least four in central Ohio. The presidents of Capital University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University, Otterbein University and Kenyon College signed alongside leaders of large public universities and small liberal arts schools alike, including the University of Dayton. The letter, organized by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), condemns overreach and the use of public research funding as a means of coercion. 'We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,' the letter reads. 'However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses.' OSU investigating hidden cameras in Morrill Tower 'American higher education is the envy of the world, and that's because there has been a long and productive partnership between higher education and the U.S. government,' a spokesperson for Kenyon College said. So far, the Trump administration has paused or threatened to pause billions of dollars in federal funding for universities in an effort to 'root out' antisemitism and DEI on college campuses. The Trump administration has tried to get Harvard to shutter its diversity, equity and inclusion programs and successfully implemented a list of demands at Columbia last month. 'It's also because students across the nation have been free to explore their own academic and career interests and scholars have been free to pursue research that advances society,' Kenyon's spokesperson said. 'We believe both are worth preserving.' Ohio Wesleyan President Matt vandenBerg said challenges to higher education are threatening academic freedom and university missions. He said the letter emphasizes productive engagement between universities and government entities. 'The list of signatories is impressive and growing, and it reflects widespread concern from across the higher education landscape,' vandenBerg said. 'This is a rare and important moment of solidarity in higher education, and Ohio Wesleyan University has an important role to play in sharing this message.' Ohio State faculty to vote on joining Big Ten coalition against Trump's actions Ohio State, which did not sign the letter, was singled out by the Trump administration twice: once for alleged antisemitism and once for alleged discrimination for partnering with a nonprofit encouraging minority students to get their PhDs. A White House spokesperson told NBC News that the Trump administration is 'standing up for equality and fairness and will not be swayed by worthless letters by overpaid blowhards.' AAC&U said it will continue to accept signatures from current leaders of colleges, universities and scholarly societies. Denison University's president, for instance, signed after the letter's debut. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Why don't all birds fly?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Birds are often associated with flight, but not all of them take to the skies. Around 60 species — fewer than 1% of all bird species — are flightless, including ostriches, penguins and kiwis. These birds evolved from flying ancestors but lost their ability to fly, instead adapting to life on land or in the water. But why did they give up flight? Why don't all birds fly? The ability to fly is especially useful for escaping predators and traveling long distances in search of food and favorable living conditions. However, flight requires a lot of energy; birds burn about 75% more energy per day than similarly sized mammals do. "If flight isn't necessary, birds can better survive and reproduce if they divert that energetic investment elsewhere," Natalie Wright, an associate professor of biology at Kenyon College in Ohio, told Live Science in an email. In a 2016 paper published in the journal PNAS, Wright and her colleagues noted that island-dwelling birds, facing few to no predators and less competition for food and habitat, tend to evolve toward flightlessness. "When living on an island without predators and without the need to migrate or travel long distances, for many kinds of birds the costs of flight outweigh the benefits," Wright said. Related: Why do parrots live so long? The shift to flightlessness leads to physical changes in birds. Over evolutionary time, their pectoral flight muscles shrink. The sternum (breastbone) with its central ridge (keel) — where flight muscles attach — also becomes smaller, Wright said. Wing bones — the humerus, ulna and carpometacarpus — become shorter and less robust, while their legs grow longer and sturdier as an adaptation to a more terrestrial lifestyle, she added. Some birds have traded flight for superior swimming abilities. Penguins, for instance, retained their flight muscles and keel but repurposed them for swimming. "They use their wings to fly underwater," Peter Ryan, a professor emeritus of ornithology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, told Live Science in an email. The flightless auk (Pinguinus impennis) also uses its wings to propel itself through water. In birds that have been flightless for a long time, the long, stiff feathers needed for flight (flight feathers) disappear too, Ryan said. In some species, like kiwis and the Inaccessible Island rail (Atlantisia rogersi), the body feathers lose barbules — the tiny, hook-like structures that normally keep them aerodynamic — giving them a fluffier, fur-like appearance, Ryan added. A 2025 study published in the journal Evolution found that flightless birds lose feather features in the reverse order of how they first evolved. The research also concluded that skeletal changes occur before changes in plumage, as it takes significantly more energy to grow and maintain bones than it does to maintain feathers. Although flightless birds are uncommon today, fossils reveal that they were far more prevalent and diverse a few thousand years ago, Tim Blackburn, a professor of invasion biology at University College London, told Live Science in an email. However, the arrival of humans and animals like rats and dogs exposed these birds to predators. "Having sacrificed their capacity to take to the air, there was no time for them to re-evolve this useful ability," Blackburn said. This led to the rapid extinction of iconic birds like the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) on Mauritius, the moa in New Zealand, and many others. A 2020 study co-authored by Blackburn and published in the journal Science Advances found that there would be four times as many flightless bird species on Earth today were it not for human-driven extinctions. RELATED MYSTERIES —Are birds reptiles? —Do birds pee? —Why do hummingbirds 'hum'? The loss of flight happened at least 150 times in different groups of birds throughout evolutionary history, Ferran Sayol, first author of the study and a researcher at Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) in Barcelona, Spain, told Live Science in an email. "Many of these species thrived on islands without predators but disappeared shortly after when humans arrived (due to direct hunting or introduced predators), making flightlessness seem rarer than it actually was," Sayol said.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Forhan announces run for Ohio AG
Mar. 12—CLEVELAND — Ohio lawyer and former state Rep. Elliot Forhan announced his candidacy for Ohio attorney general. "The law is for everyone," said Forhan, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination in 2026. "It belongs to and protects all of us, and it should hold everyone accountable—including the rich and powerful. But that's not what's happening right now in our state or across the country. Born and raised in southeast Ohio, Elliot holds degrees from Kenyon College and Yale Law School. He practiced at the New York offices of two of the top law firms in the country and continues to practice in the Cleveland area. He has more than a decade of experience in finance transactional practice and civil-rights litigation. While serving as a state representative, Elliot's campaign said he fought against the giveaway of billions of public dollars in tax cuts for the rich in the state budget and proposed an amendment to create a tax on more than $10 million in personal assets. The campaign also pointed to him introducing the House version of the bill that became Ohio's new anti-SLAPP law. He lives in the Village of Brooklyn Heights in northeast Ohio. No other Democrats have announced for the race to date. In the Republican primary, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber, who is term limited from seeking re-election to that office, has filed for the attorney general's race.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio college 'illegally forcing students' to share bathrooms with opposite sex: watchdog
A conservative legal watchdog group is urging both the Trump administration and the state of Ohio to investigate Kenyon College, which they allege is breaking the state's recently passed bathroom bill categorizing restrooms by biological sex. America First Legal sent letters to Craig Trainor, the Department of Education's acting assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Thursday morning urging the agencies to open an investigation of the college. "Ohio law is clear: multi-occupancy restrooms must be designated for either men or women," Will Scolinos, AFL legal counsel said. "Schools of higher education should focus more on educating students rather than re-educating them into radical gender policies that require students, men and women, to share the same restrooms. It is not normal." In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the college said, "Kenyon fully complies with all state and federal laws." OHIO TRANSGENDER BATHROOM LAW TAKES EFFECT AS TOP PROPONENT CALLS IT 'VICTORY FOR SAFETY & COMMON SENSE' "We are committed to ensuring that women on Kenyon's campus do not experience discrimination or harassment of any kind, just as we do for all students and the faculty and staff who support them," the spokesperson said. "We look forward to working with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and the Ohio Attorney General to address any concerns they may have." Read On The Fox News App Kenyon College is being accused of violating Ohio law by allowing multi-occupancy restrooms in its administrative and academic buildings to avoid sex-based requirements. The law, which went into effect in February, designates student restrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities by biological sex. According to its policy update, Kenyon justifies its administrative multi-occupancy restrooms by stating that the restrooms are "not, and cannot be, designated for use exclusively by students" and students "are permitted to use these restrooms if they choose to do so, but the student restroom requirements outlined above do not apply to these facilities." However, Ohio law states that any "restroom... accessible to multiple individuals at the same time" must adhere to sex-based entry restrictions, AFL argues. Speaker Johnson Announces New Capitol Bathroom Policy In Response To Delaware Lawmaker Controversy The letter points out that other Ohio schools comply by applying these restrictions to all multi-occupancy restrooms. AFL also alleges the policy doesn't align with President Donald Trump's executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." "The order establishes that it is the official policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female, defining 'sex' as 'an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female [and] is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of 'gender identity,'" AFL's letter to the DOE states. "Furthermore, Kenyon's failure to provide separate restrooms for men and women in academic and administrative buildings appears to violate Title IX," the letter reads. The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is already investigating Denver Public Schools, a school district, for potentially violating Title IX by installing multi-stall, all-gender restrooms. "Let me be clear: it is a new day in America, and under President Trump, OCR will not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Trainor said in a news release last month. Trans Inmate In Prison For Killing Baby Must Get Gender Surgery At 'Earliest Opportunity': Judge Kenyon, a private university, encouraged its students affected by the new law to "seek support" from its civil rights office, college chaplains, campus safety, the counseling center and its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office. The Department of Education, which Trump has indicated he wants to fully dismantle and where workforce reductions are already underway, is a key battleground in the new administration for overturning Biden-era DEI and woke policies. It also launched an investigation into 60 universities due to allegations of antisemitism and violence against Jewish students since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on article source: Ohio college 'illegally forcing students' to share bathrooms with opposite sex: watchdog
