114. New Prehistoric Human, Step Closer to Window Solar Panels, Drug Helps Heal Spinal Cord

Summary: News: New prehistoric human unknown to science discovered in Israel | The Jerusalem Post (01:20) A new type of early human previously not known to scientists has been discovered in Israel, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University researchers announced Thursday, July 14th. They believe this new “Homo” species intermarried with Homo sapiens and was an ancestor of the Neanderthals. The dig site, Nesher Ramla, a few kilometers from the modern-day city, was probably close to a water reservoir where early humans could hunt animals.Filled with many animal bones, stone tools for making fire and butchering Prof. Israel Hershkovitz talked on the dig site:“We know that modern humans – or Homo sapiens – arrived in this area some 200,000 years ago … When we started excavating and examining the different archaeological layers, we found that they dated back between 140,000 and 120,000 years ago, so we expected to find remains of Homo sapiens. We did not realize that another form of human was living alongside them.” The researchers believe that the newly discovered human type, which they named after the site, lived in the region hundreds of thousands of years ago and at least until 130,000 years ago. The findings may radically change what researchers have so far believed about how ancient populations evolved and interacted.Especially how sapiens and Neanderthal, other ancient human types, related to each other. Researchers believe the Nesher Ramla was an ancestor of the Neanderthals and other archaic Asian populations.Thought Neanderthals arrived in what is now Israel 70,000 to 50,000 years ago from Europe, but here they found a human species 130,000 years old. Some features of the remains, like the teeth and the jaws, were more similar to Neanderthal species, while the skulls resembled the Homo type. According to Hershkovitz, Nesher Ramla Homo and Homo sapiens not only coexisted peacefully and exchanged technology, but also produced offspring.“In Europe, the story was very different because when modern humans arrived there around 45,000 years ago, they completely eliminated the local Neanderthals. This did not happen here” In the past, geneticists had already suggested that an unknown population represented the missing link between sapiens and Neanderthal.The Nesher Ramla population could represent the answer.   Prunes can restore bone loss, research finds | Brighter Side News (06:58) New research provides evidence that prunes are a prebiotic food that reverses bone loss in mice.Findings show the ​​carbohydrates and polyphenols in prunes act as prebiotics and help restore bone health. Principal Investigator, Brenda Smith, PhD explains:“Both the carbohydrate component and the polyphenols within the prunes altered the gut microbiota and were associated with positive effects on bone, namely restoring bone. By definition, prebiotics are substrates that alter the composition or activity of the microbiota and confer benefits to the health of the individual” Researchers isolated the polyphenol (PP) compounds as well as the carbohydrates (CHO) from prunes and fed them to two separate groups of estrogen-deficient, female mice with substantial bone loss for 5- and 10-week durations. In the study they had 4 groups of mice with different diets:Receiving the polyphenol (PP) compounds and carbohydrates directly Whole prunes Prune crude extract with both PP and CHO prune components Control (i.e. no prunes or extract) Compared to the mice who did not consume any prune or prune component, those who consumed isolated CHO, isolated PP, prune crude extract, or whole prunes experienced restored bone previously lost. Showed a significant increase in short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in their guts Favorable changes to their gut microbiota.  Researchers saw increases in SCFAs n-butyrate and propionate, which are thought to be most effective at preventing bone loss by suppressing biomarkers associated with bone breakdown. Smith suggest