[La semaine en bref] But what were pre-human fossils doing in space?

Space fossils -Fossilized fragments of a skeleton’s shoulderAustralopithecus Sediba (about 2 million years ago) and A Homo naledi (about 250,000 years old), both from fossils in South Africa, made a one-hour trip into near space, aboard the ship VSS unitFrom Virgin Galactic on the initiative of their discoverer, the American paleontologist Lee Berger. The “communications stunt”, which is supposed to highlight South Africa’s cultural heritage, has drawn numerous criticisms, most notably pointing out the risk of destroying precious fossils and the questionable taste of exploitation. [Nature]. – Read also: Homo naledi Finally dated! (For your information2017).

Two-way salt We do not perceive five flavors (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, umami), but six: double the salt. Specifically, the perceptual salt cascade follows two pathways, one specialized in detecting very low amounts, which creates appetite, and the other in detecting very high amounts, which causes disgust. The biochemistry of these two pathways remains to be elucidated, but it plays out admirably: sodium is vital or lethal, depending on the amounts ingested. [Knowable] – Read also: Salt and its visualization (For your information2014).

(d) Generative artificial intelligence – What if large language models, such as ChatGPT, gradually lose their “intelligence”? According to one Recently detailed hypothesis By a team of British researchers, training AI models using data (text, images, sounds, etc.) produced by generative AI would reduce the diversity of the data produced, on an iterative basis. The result: models are likely to break down, resulting in uninteresting and implausible sequences. [Le Monde] – Read also: Language models: Where does the genius of artificial intelligence come from? (For your information2023).

Back to the roots of obesity Analysis of data collected in Denmark, since the 1930s, on large population samples, indicates that the weight of the heaviest individuals in society increased almost continuously, from that time on, long before we noticed an obesity epidemic…an epidemic which seems to be Its origins are rooted in deeper causes than the lifestyle of consumer society… in Denmark at least. [Science] – Read also: The genetic origins of obesity (For your information2016).