Tech

Study finds human brains did not shrink 3,000 years ago

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Largely accepted concept is that size of human brain changed 3,000 years ago.
It is posited that group thinking caused brain to shrink.
New paper refutes concept, says human brain remained “remarkably stable over last 300,00 years”.

Refuting a common and largely accepted concept, a new paper published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution argues that the size of the human brain did not change 3,000 years ago — or ever, for that matter.

Anthropologist Brian Villmoare from the University of Nevada and scientist Mark Grabowski of Liverpool John Moores University have responded to a paper by Jerome DeSilva of Dartmouth College and colleagues in 2021.

The 2021 paper suggested that in the Iron Age, the human brain lost up to 150 cubic centimetres of its volume, which is nearly the size of a lemon.

DeSilva’s team posited that “self-domestication” and more group thinking than individual thinking caused the brain to shrink.

While DeSilva’s study analysed 10 million years of evolution including apes, Villmaore said that it was useless and pointless to compare sapiens’ brains to any other species.

One reason was the lack of sufficient fossils of other human species. The author explained that we have been entirely different species.

Villmaore told Haaretz they doubted the statistical treatment of data in DeSilva’s paper. Therefore, the no shrinkage study used the same data as they found it “the most complete”.

However, their statistical methodology was different and so were their conclusions, eventually.

“The point was that we need to toss all this stuff about human devolution out,” he said. “It is just not true.”

Their study concluded that the size of the human brain had remained “remarkably stable over the last 300,00 years” and that shifting to agriculture and community did not affect brain size.

Responding to DeSilva comparing ants and human societies saying that collective intelligence reduced size in both the clades, the no shrinkage paper pointed out differences between the two.

Villmaore said that humans were a competitive species, unlike ants who are mostly just slaves. Vertebrae, he said, make alliances, are aggressive, social and have larger brains.

He said that we could compare elephants and rhinos as the former live in herds while the latter does not.

“The elephant brain is six times bigger than that of the rhino,” he said.

He also pointed out another flaw. He said that DeSilva said that the shrinking occurred globally while tying it with the agricultural revolution.

However, this revolution would have taken place at different times in different parts of the planet. This does not explain all human brains shrinking in the world.

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Pakistan launches first-ever lunar mission with iCube Qamar

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft carried Pakistan’s first satellite mission to the moon, iCube Qamar, into orbit.

The Institute of Space Technology states that IST worked with Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO and China’s Shanghai University SJTU to design and develop the satellite ICUBE-Q.

The launch event was streamed live on both Chinese state television and the IST website.

Two optical cameras are carried by the ICUBE-Q orbiter to capture images of the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been successfully integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after qualification and testing.

The sixth in China’s sequence of lunar exploration missions is called Chang’e6.

China’s Lunar Mission, Chang’6, will land on the Moon’s far side in order to gather surface samples and bring them back to Earth for analysis.

Pakistan would benefit from the mission since it will carry a Pakistan CubeSat Satellite, called iCube-Q, which was created by IST.

Small satellites known as “CubeSats” are typified by their uniform design and compact size. They are built in the form of a cube and are made up of modular parts that follow predetermined dimensions.

These satellites are regularly placed in orbit for a variety of uses and only weigh a few kilos.

Cubesats are primarily used to support space exploration education, technology development, and scientific research. Many different missions are carried out by these satellites, such as telecommunication, astronomy, remote sensing, Earth observation, atmospheric research, and technological demonstration.

CubeSats provide universities, research centers, and commercial organizations with the chance to engage in space missions and acquire important data for scientific advancement and innovation because of their small size and very low cost when compared to regular satellites.

They act as test beds for novel ideas and technology, opening up space to a wider spectrum of users and encouraging cooperation amongst members of the space community.

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The green colour of WhatsApp ‘angers’ some users.

Published

5 days ago

Farwa

After changing its display colour from blue to green, WhatsApp, which was before well-known for its blue motif, caused its users to hold divergent views.

New upgrades to the Meta app always spark a lot of discussion, regardless of how big or small the changes are.

Still, Meta-owned WhatsApp hopes that these modifications would “make it more accessible as well as easier to use” and offer a “modern, new experience” with relation to the updated display color.

A statement from the firm claimed that they had altered WhatsApp’s “looks and feels, including spacing, colors, icons, and more.”

Both iOS and Android users can now view the new WhatsApp update; the green tint on the latter has changed from the previous version.

However, iPhone users will notice that every display element, including the chat-list window and status bar, has changed with the recent design update. WhatsApp used to have a blue color scheme on iPhones.

Furthermore, the formerly blue links shared within the app are now displayed in green.

In addition, WhatsApp has made other improvements to improve its user experience outside of the color shift.

Latest News

Punjab will provide fifty thousand solar kits.

Published

1 month ago

Farwa

On Tuesday,Tuesday, while presiding over a review meeting on solar household solutions, the CM gave the order to begin the installation of one kilowatt solar systems right away. She also gave the order to introduce the newest solar systems.

Phase-I solar systems would be balloted for by 50,000 protected users who use 100 units each month, at a cost of Rs 12.6 billion.

Home-based solar systems will eventually be made available to other Punjabi consumers. A solar system will consist of a battery, inverter, sophisticated solar plate, and more related accessories.

Attending the meeting were Provincial Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, MPA Sania Ashiq, Former Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Chief Secretary, Chairman Planning and Development, Secretaries of Energy, Finance, and Punjab Power Development Board (PPDB) Managing Director, in addition to other pertinent officers.

During his inaugural speech as Punjab’s chief minister, Maryam Nawaz outlined her five-year plan and promised to develop a strategy for customers who use fewer than 300 units of power.

According to Maryam Nawaz, the PML-N’s main goals for her term will be to provide jobs, healthcare, and education.

She said, “I am working on a plan to provide solar panels to consumers using up to 300 units of electricity or less in installments.”