SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 11
Ancient Water on Mars and the Birth of the Universe's Lights
Scientists have uncovered two sets of ancient wave ripples on Mars, revealing evidence of long-dried ponds and lakes that once existed on the Red Planet. Discovered by NASA's Curiosity rover, these ripples, formed approximately 3.7 billion years ago, indicate that shallow bodies of water were open to the Martian atmosphere, challenging previous climate models suggesting an ice-covered surface. This finding extends our understanding of the timeline for liquid water on Mars and its potential for microbial life.
A Quasar's Role in Cosmic Illumination
Astronomers have detected a highly variable quasar that may have played a crucial role in turning on the lights of the universe. This quasar, observed by the NuSTAR and Chandra X-ray space telescopes, is one of the most distant objects detected and provides new insights into the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe. Its rapid brightness fluctuations offer vital clues about the epoch of reionization, a time when the universe transitioned from darkness to light.
European Space Agency's Probe 3 Mission Milestone
The European Space Agency's Probe 3 spacecraft has successfully split into two, marking a significant step in its ambitious mission. This unique formation-flying mission aims to create artificial solar eclipses to study the Sun's corona with unprecedented precision. The two spacecraft will maintain a separation of just 150 meters, demonstrating advanced navigation and propulsion technologies essential for future space exploration.
00:00 Space Time Series 28 Episode 11 for broadcast on 24 January 2025
00:49 Discovery of ancient wave ripples on Mars
06:15 Quasar may illuminate the early universe
12:30 European Space Agency's Probe 3 spacecraft successfully splits
18:00 Blood vessel fingerprint in the eye may indicate stroke risk
22:45 Early humans adapted to desert-like conditions
26:00 Global water cycle disruptions due to climate extremes
30:00 Reevaluation of the Paleo diet based on ancient human diets
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✍️ Episode References
NASA
Caltech
Yale University
European Space Agency
Indian Space Research Organisation
Astrophysical Journal
https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/
637X
7--- UK Biobank
Australian Skeptics
National Science Foundation
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/25241490?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 this is spacetime series 28 episode 11
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 for broadcast on the 24th of January
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 2025 coming up on SpaceTime signatures
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 of ancient ice free ponds and lakes
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 found on Mars discovery of a quaza that
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 might have helped turn on the lights for
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 the entire universe and the European
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 Space agency's proba 3 spacecraft quite
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 literally splits in two all that and
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 more coming up on
00:00:26 --> 00:00:31 SpaceTime welcome to SpaceTime with
00:00:31 --> 00:00:38 [Music]
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 Gary scientists have discovered two sets
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 of ancient wave ripples on Mars which
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 are signatures of long dried up bodies
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 of water preserved in the Rock record
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 wave ripples are small undulations in
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 Sandy Shores of Lake beds created as
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 wind driven water laps back and forth
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 the ripples were discovered by NASA's Ms
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 Curiosity Rover as it was exploring the
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 red planet scale crater the two sets of
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 ripples indicate the former presence of
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 shallow water that was open to the
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 Martian air and not covered by Ice as
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 some Martian climate models have
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 suggested in fact the ripples are one of
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 the clearest indicators of an ancient
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 standing body of water that can be
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 provided by the geological record
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 scientist estimate that the ripples were
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 formed around 3.6 7 billion years ago
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 and that indicates that the Martian
00:01:33 --> 00:01:34 atmosphere and climate must have still
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 been warm and dense enough back then to
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 support liquid water in the open air and
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 that's an important timeline for our
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 understanding of Martian history and
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 when the red planet went from being a
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 warm wet world to the freeze-dried
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 desert it's become today the study's
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 lead author CLA mandro from Caltech says
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 the shape of the ripples could only have
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 been formed under water that was open to
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 the atmosphere and acted upon by the
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 wind the authors created computer models
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 of the ripples in order to try and
00:02:02 --> 00:02:03 determine the size of the lake that
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 created them the ripples are small only
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 about 6 mm high and they're spaced 4 to
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 5 cm apart now such small ripples in
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 fine sand are formed by the actions of
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 small waves and this constraint limits
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 the original setting to a shallow leg
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 less than around 2 m deep importantly
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 the timing of the Ripple's formation
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 around 3.7 billion years ago was a time
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 in Martian history when scientists had
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 assumed that the red planet was already
00:02:30 --> 00:02:34 becoming much drier mro says extending
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 the length of time that liquid water was
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 present on Mars also extends the
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 possibilities for microbial habitation
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 much later into Martian history one set
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 of ripples the so-called prow outcrop
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 was discovered in a region that once
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 contained windblown sand Junes the other
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 set found nearby in the empari marab
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 band of rock suggest the presence of a
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 lake up to 2 m deep slightly later in
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 Martian history than the prow ripples
00:02:58 --> 00:03:02 this is spacetime still to come a quaza
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 that might have helped turn on the
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 lights of the universe and the European
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 Space agency's proba 3 spacecraft quite
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 literally splits in two all that and
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 more still to come on
00:03:12 --> 00:03:26 [Music]
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 SpaceTime astronomers have detected an
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 intensely brightening and dimming quaza
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 that may help explain how some objects
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 in the early Universe grew at a highly
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 accelerated rate as telescopes allow us
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 to look further and further back in time
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 we're seeing large galaxies and massive
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 black holes which are simply so big we
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 can't explain how they could have formed
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 so early in the history of the universe
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 and this new discovery announced at the
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 American astronomical society's annual
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 meeting is the most distant object ever
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 detected by the new Star x-ray Space
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 Telescope it's also one of the most
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 highly variable quazar ever identified
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 the study's lead author leam maali from
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 M University says the quazar is very
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 likely to be a super massive black hole
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 with a jet pointed directly towards the
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 Earth and it's being seen as it looked
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 in the first billion years of the
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 universe's existence quazar are
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 fascinating they're among the oldest
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 brightest objects in the universe as
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 matter falls into a super massive black
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 hole it initially forms an accretion
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 disc around the black hole's Event
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 Horizon the there material is crushed
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 and torn apart at the subatomic level in
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 the process releasing huge amounts of
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 energy now most of this material
00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 eventually Falls Beyond The Event
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 Horizon and disappears forever into the
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 super massive black hole Singularity but
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 some of the energy in material escapes
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 this fate being transported along
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 magnetic field lines and then shot deep
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 into space in powerful Jets which we
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 call quazar these are so bright they can
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 be detected from the other side of the
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 universe they shine right across the
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 electromagnetic spectrum in radio
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 infrared visible ultraviolet X-ray and
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 gamma ray wavelengths in fact this
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 visibility is made quazar a helpful
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 proxy for trying to understand the
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 structure and evolution of the cosmos
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 for example astronomers looked quaz us
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 to study the epoch of reionization
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 that's a period less than a billion
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 years after the big bang when the
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 electrically neutral hydrogen atoms that
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 filled the universe became charged in
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 the process producing the first
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 generation of stars
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 which ionized the gas making the
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 universe transparent for the first time
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 this Epoch of reionization is considered
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 the end of the universe's Dark Ages the
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 precise timeline and Source class
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 responsible for reionization is still
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 hotly debated and actively accreting
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 super massive black holes are one
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 proposed
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 culprit now for this study the authors
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 compared Newar observations of a distant
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 quazer designated AS j429 Plus 5447 with
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 unrelated observation 4 months earlier
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 by the Chandra x-ray Space Telescope and
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 they found that the quaza X-ray
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 emissions had doubled in that very short
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 space of time now remember we're talking
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 here about relativistic effects so 4
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 months on Earth corresponds to only
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 about 2 weeks for the quazar and this
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 level of X-ray variability in such a
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 short period of time in terms of both
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 intensity and rapidity is Extreme it's
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 almost certainly explained by a jet
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 pointing directly towards the Earth a
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 cone in which particles are being
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 transported up to a million light years
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 away from the central super massive
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 black holes acction disc which created
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 them and because these jets are moving
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 at close to the speed of light effects
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 of Einstein's theory of special
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 relativity come to play speeding up and
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 amplifying the variability the findings
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 reported in the astrophysical journal
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 letters are therefore offering crucial
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 much needed new information for
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 astronomers who are studying
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 reionization and it may also Point
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 astronomers towards other super massive
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 black hole candidates from the early
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 universe mul says finding more super
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 massive black holes that are potentially
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 hosting Jets raises the question of just
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 how these super massive black holes grew
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 so big in such a short time scale and
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 what connection that may have to jet
00:07:12 --> 00:07:16 triggering mechanisms this is spacetime
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 still to come the proba 3 spacecraft
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 splits in two and later in the science
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 report discovery of a blood vessel
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 fingerprint in the back of your eye
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 which could tell doctors whether or not
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 you're at risk of a stroke all that in
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 more still to come on
00:07:32 --> 00:07:38 [Music]
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 SpaceTime a crucial step in the European
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 space agency's Eclipse making proba 3
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 mission has been successfully completed
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 with a spacecraft separating into two
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 vehicles the proba 3 spacecraft's been
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 flying jointly since last month's launch
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 aboard an Indian space research
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 organization for stage PSL VXL rocket
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 from the shatisha one Space Center in
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 shiria Kota on the Bay of Bengal Coast
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 the vehicle's deployment into two
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 separate spacecraft leaves them ready to
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 begin their Cosmic dance in the world's
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 first ever Precision formation flying
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 space mission Isa Mission managers in
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 Belgian undertook the initial inorbit
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 commissioning during the stage of the
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 mission using four ground station
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 antennas in Australia Chile and Spain
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 the two spacecrafts successfully
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 separated from each other while flying
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 some 60 km above the Earth traveling
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 at a speed of more than 1
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 km/s the two platforms will now drift up
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 to 50 km apart from each other but over
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 the coming week Mission managers will
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 determine their relative positions then
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 use their propulsion systems to stop
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 this drift and bring them back into a
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 stable SE configuration in their most
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 precise formation flying scheduled to be
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 achieved initially in about 2 months
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 time the two proba 3 spacecraft will be
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 flying just 150 M apart and will need to
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 maintain their relative positions down
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 to a single millimeter for up to 6 hours
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 at a time this stat will be maintained
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 by a sophisticated set of propulsion and
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 navigation systems working together
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 using onboard autonomy the mission will
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 demonstrate this level of precision by
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 creating an artificial solar eclipse in
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 orbit the so-called occulta satellite
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 will cast a shadow onto the main Optical
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 instrument of the chronograph satellite
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 thereby allowing it to study the sun's
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 elusive outer atmosphere Corona modable
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 sensors including a laser base system
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 will ensure that the shadow just 8 cm
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 across created by the occulting disc
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 will remain on the sensitive chronograph
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 instrument positioned 150 M away in this
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 precise configuration the two satellites
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 will be mimicking a single much larger
00:09:46 --> 00:09:50 spacecraft this report from E TV prober
00:09:50 --> 00:09:54 from the Latin for let's try is EA's
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 family of experimental small
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 satellites over the last two decades
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 probam missions have pushed forward
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 spaceflight technology while Gathering
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 valuable science data the next in the
00:10:06 --> 00:10:11 series proba 3 is the most ambitious yet
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 two satellites will fly together as one
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 with millimeter level control of their
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 positions within a precise
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 formation in the process one will
00:10:21 --> 00:10:25 eclipse or block the Sun for the other
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 to reveal our star's faint surrounding
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 coronal atmosphere for s scientific
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 observation proba 3 requires a unique
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 orbit the satellite's orbit is highly
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 elliptical taking them to a maximum of
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 60 km from
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 earth gravitational magnetic and
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 Atmospheric perturbations are much lower
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 this far out this will make possible the
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 precise positioning needed for formation
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 flying and observing the sun's
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 Corona at this stage it is important
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 that the proba 3 satellites perform a
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 series of Maneuvers to position
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 themselves in relatively safe orbits
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 with respective to each
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 other achieving this nullifies any risk
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 of the pair either drifting away from
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 each other or
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 colliding after all commissioning checks
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 are complete the pair will be ready for
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 their first flight in precise
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 formation the separation between
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 spacecraft will be as short as 25 M and
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 as long as 200 150 M with a nominal
00:11:31 --> 00:11:36 separation of around 150 M the pair will
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 determine their relative positions using
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 a suite of metrologies including radio
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 links satellite navigation and the
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 visual based system with Optical
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 tracking of blinking
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 lights once sufficient accuracy has been
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 achieved the final step will be to
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 deploy the most precise measuring system
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 of all the laser Metrology system known
00:11:58 --> 00:12:02 as the fine lateral and longitudinal
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 sensor with this laser link the total
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 three-dimensional formation can attain
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 millimeter level
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 control at this point the occulter with
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 its 1.4 M diameter occulting disc which
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 will observe the sun in Eclipse lined up
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 with the sun will cast a perfect Shadow
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 for sustained observation of the sun's
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 otherwise invisible
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 Corona once the Ulta Shadow is
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 maintained in in just the right spot on
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 the face of the other satellite it will
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 be safe for the coronagraph to open its
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 protective door and start scientific
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 observations of the sun's
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 Corona solar scientists travel the world
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 to Glimpse brief solar eclipses but
00:12:46 --> 00:12:52 prober 3 will create eclipses on
00:12:52 --> 00:12:57 demand this is spacetime
00:12:57 --> 00:13:04 [Music]
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 and time now to take another brief look
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 at some of the other stories making use
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 in science this week with a science
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 report doctors have found that blood
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 vessel fingerprints in the back of the
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 eye could help tell if you're at risk of
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 a stroke the authors looked into the
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 complex network of blood vessels in the
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 retina with some features of this
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 network already linked to stroke risk
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 using artificial intelligence the
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 researchers analyzed retinar images from
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 nearly 70 UK biobank study
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 participants 749 of which wound up
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 having a stroke during the study's
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 monitoring period a report in the
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 journal heart found the algorithm
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 identified 29 new features of the
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 retinor associated with stroke risk
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 scientists say current ways of measuring
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 stroke risk such as blood tests can be
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 invasive expensive and inaccurate in
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 some contexts and using the retina which
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 can be imaged could be a practical
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 alternative a new study claims species
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 of early humans likely learned to live
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 in desert-like conditions at least 1.2
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 million years ago the findings reported
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 in the journal Communications Earth and
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 environment contradicts a previous
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 belief that only Homo sapiens learn to
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 adapt to extreme environments looking at
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 archaeological data from Tanzania
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 scientists found evidence that groups of
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 homo erectus are now extin species of
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 early human were living there at a time
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 when the area was under semidesert
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 conditions the researchers say that data
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 suggest that these groups were
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 repeatedly returning to locations that
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 likely had fresh water in the form of
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 ponds and they developed specialized
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 stone tools that would have made
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 Butchery easier they say this shows that
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 homoerectus were likely more capable of
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 adapting to their environment than
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 previously thought which likely also
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 helped them move into arid regions of
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 Africa and Eurasia
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 a new study has confirmed that Global
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 Extremes in 2024 have wreaked havoc with
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 global water cycles the study by the
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 Australian National University found
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 that 2024 was another year of
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 record-breaking temperatures driving
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 Global water cycles to new climate
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 extremes and contributing to ferocious
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 floods and crippling droughts the 2024
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 Global Water monitoring report found
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 Rising temperatures and changing the way
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 water moves around the planet in the
00:15:25 --> 00:15:30 process wreaking havoc on water cycles
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 a new study has found that Paleolithic
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 humans probably never heard of the paleo
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 diet this trendy diet is supposedly
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 based on all sorts of foods your
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 prehistoric ancestors would have eaten
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 before the development of Agriculture
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 and Industry 12 years ago but new
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 research examining the eating habits of
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 early humans suggest that the so-called
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 paleo diet might not have been an
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 accurate representation of what ancient
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 hunter gatherers actually ate the study
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 reported in the journal the proceedings
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 of the National Academy of Sciences
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 indicates that man's Paleolithic
00:16:01 --> 00:16:05 ancestors enjoyed carbs Tim menum from
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 Australian skeptic says the research is
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 based on archaeological finds at a dig
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 site on the banks of the River Jordan in
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 Northern Israel your Australian
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 listeners will know Pete Evans or Pete
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 paleo Evans who was promoting he's
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 promoting a lot of different things he
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 was a celebrity chef who got into the
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 New Age movement he was promoting the
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 paleo diet which has been around for a
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 few years which is basically saying
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 thick with your fruit and veg lean
00:16:27 --> 00:16:31 animal protein nuts and seeds and avoid
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 nothing wrong with that nothing wrong
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 with that but it also ignore or don't
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 include grains and legumes and dairy
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 dairy might have been hard for
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 Paleolithic people anyway so it it's
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 hard to collect but the whole thing was
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 It was supposed to be because this was
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 the way Stone AG people maintain their
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 health now suggesting Stone AG people
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 didn't live as long as we do certainly
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 didn't have the health care we certainly
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 had a lot more Predators out there who
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 might s of shorten their lifespan but
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 the question is was this diet real and
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 the answer is no
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 it doesn't seem to be there been studies
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 of sites of ancient people suggesting
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 that this grain products down in places
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 where it's being ground up the grain's
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 being Ground Up On Tools and that sort
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 of stuff 780 years ago which is well
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 before modern hum before civilization
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 even then the suggestion therefore that
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 people were eating grains which are
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 readily collected if you got wild rice
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 and and Wild Oats and that sort of stuff
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 legumes the image of this paleo diet is
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 portrayed in a certain way to make you
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 healthier some aspects of it are the
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 bits they say you should not do is not
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 necessarily paleo but every diet is a
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 bit sadish they come and they go and
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 they someone suggest leading out a
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 certain thing and concentrating on
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 something else you have to take every
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 diet that's portrays you with a a grain
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 of salt that's Tim mum from Australian
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 Skeptics
00:17:48 --> 00:18:01 [Music]
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