Human evolution, the Sun research and Africa affairs
Outriders Magazine #317
Climate change impact: India, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Alaska
Climate change is leading to more extreme weather events around the world. Recent examples include floods and heatwaves in Africa, heavy rainfall in Brazil, drought in the Amazon, and heatwaves in Asia. According to the World Weather Attribution (WWA), the likelihood of heatwaves in India has increased by 45 times due to climate change, with temperatures being 0.85°C higher. The French Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences states that human-induced climate change is mainly responsible for Brazil's increased rainfall and floods. Before the 1990s, around 70 to 150 weather- and water-related hazards were reported annually. However, since 2000, approximately 300 extreme events have been registered each year.
In Alaska, permafrost thawing is causing dozens of rivers and streams to turn orange. This is due to exposed minerals such as iron, posing a threat to wildlife and the quality of drinking water and risks to Arctic fisheries. On the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, coral bleaching occurs due to record high sea surface temperatures (reaching up to 32.7°C) caused by a heatwave. This has led to a decrease in the number of fish, creating challenges for local fishermen.
Tragically, at least 147 howler monkeys died from heat stress in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas. These monkeys are essential for tropical rainforests as they are crucial for dispersing seeds in the ecosystem. The Mexican subspecies of howler monkeys is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Indian elections: unemployment, nationalism and climate change
Climate change is impacting millions of Indians who participated in the recent elections. India's major political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, pledged to address climate damage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, there was limited discussion about climate change during the campaign. The political preferences of most Indians continue to be influenced by religion, caste, and employment issues.
Rising unemployment and social inequalities pose a significant challenge for the government seeking a third term in office. The number of Indian billionaires is increasing rapidly, with the wealthiest 1% of Indians owning over 40% of the country's wealth, while 50% of the poorest citizens struggle to find decent work. India, as Asia's third-largest economy, needs to create 115 million jobs by 2030 to sustain economic growth, according to investment bank NATIXIS. The World Bank reports that India's overall economic activity rate is 58%, much lower than in other Asian countries.
The Indian election campaign also featured anti-Pakistani rhetoric, including the promise to "reclaim" Pakistan-administered Kashmir. In response, Pakistani authorities criticized India's actions as indicative of an obsession with Pakistan and an attempt to exploit hypernationalism for electoral gain.
"Butterfly Forest", the Amazon Forest "critical slowdown", and Costa Rica vs. climate change
The Science Museum in Trento, Italy, has created a "Butterfly Forest," a tropical greenhouse modelled after the Udzungwa Mountains in south-central Tanzania. This mountain range and rainforest area are known for their exceptional biodiversity, with at least 2,500 species of plants, over 120 mammals, and thousands of invertebrates. The "Butterfly Forest" aims to understand better-changing ecosystems, and the insects themselves are used as biodiversity indicators due to their high sensitivity to environmental changes.
Research indicates that more than a third of the Amazon rainforest is attempting to recover from drought, raising concerns about the "critical slowdown" in recovering this globally important ecosystem. The significant slowdown is attributed to increasingly intense and frequent droughts. The study analysed satellite images of forest areas every month from 2001 to 2019. However, researchers note that satellite images may only reveal a specific part of the picture, and the situation under the treetops could be much more severe.
Costa Rica, one of Earth's most biologically diverse countries, is leading the battle against ongoing climate changes and their effects. The documentary "Nothing Grows Forever" from the Dying Earth series provides a compelling look at how Costa Rica has emerged as a pioneer in this fight, setting an inspiring example for the rest of the world.
Mental disorders, ancient HERVs and youth problems
According to research conducted, among others, at King's College London, the human brain expresses thousands of DNA sequences from viral infections dating back hundreds of thousands of years, some of which contribute to susceptibility to mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. These are the so-called human endogenous retroviruses (HERV), constituting approximately 8% of the human genome. Until recently, it was assumed that these "ancient viruses" were simply junk DNA that did not perform any important bodily function.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki have shown that "mental disorders can be transmitted in adolescents' peer networks." Researchers suggest several mechanisms for the transmission of mental disorders among young people. This includes normalization of disorders so that increased mental health awareness and susceptibility to diagnosis may occur. The next mechanism is direct interpersonal contagion, especially in the case of disorders such as depression. In turn, in the case of, for example, eating disorders, the disease may be caused by the social influence of peers, to which teenagers are particularly vulnerable.
In the United States, in 2022, 7.1 million children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 were diagnosed with ADHD. That's one million more people than in 2016. According to experts, that increase was not surprising because the data was collected during the pandemic when children were experiencing increased stress, depression and anxiety. Moreover, awareness of ADHD is growing in society.
Military interventions of foreign countries in Africa: USA vs. Russia
The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported that it thwarted a coup attempt involving three US citizens. The leader of the attack was killed, and 50 individuals, including Americans, who were planning to attack the headquarters of President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa were arrested. The failed coup was allegedly organized by Christian Malanga, a Congolese politician living in the USA.
The US military will complete its withdrawal from Niger by mid-September this year. Currently, there are approximately 1,000 American soldiers in Niger, mainly stationed at the air base near Agadez. A few months ago, the Nigerien authorities ordered the US to leave their country, which complicates US military operations in the Sahel, where groups linked to IS and Al-Qaeda operate. Niger also expelled French troops from the country, and the local authorities turned to the Russian Wagner Group for security assistance.
According to the Nigerian consulting firm SBM Intelligence, "Russia has successfully gained the upper hand in the geopolitical arms race in the Sahel and gained committed, if fragile, allies in the region." West Africa is currently divided into two parts: the pro-Western coastal states and the landlocked states of the Sahel, which are more favourable to Russia. Russian interests in Africa are pursued by the African Corps, run by the Russian Ministry of Defense, and including the Wagner Group. Russia aims to expand its influence on a global scale, find export markets, and access natural resources.
Magnetic storms, aurora borealis and NASA's solar exploration
Scientists at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering are currently working on solving a 400-year-old mystery about the Sun's magnetic field. According to the latest research, the magnetic field may be created as little as 30,000 km below the surface of the Sun, which is much less profound than previously thought. The Sun's magnetic field is generated by a process known as the solar dynamo, and a better understanding of this phenomenon will help predict magnetic storms more effectively.
NASA has chosen a new instrument to study the Sun and how it causes massive solar eruptions. The agency's Joint EUV coronal Diagnostic Investigation (JEDI) project will capture images of the Sun in extreme ultraviolet light. Combined with ESA's Vigil space weather mission, the two JEDI telescopes will focus on the middle layer of the solar corona, which is critical in generating solar wind and eruptions.
The aurora borealis that appeared worldwide a few weeks ago may have been one of the most robust phenomena since record-keeping began in the last five centuries. On May 10 this year, the aurora moved towards the equator due to a rare G5 geomagnetic storm, the highest threat scale for electrical devices.
Evolution: fathers caring for a child and man as a long-distance runner
Why are Homo sapiens biologically programmed to care for children, unlike fathers among other apes? Men who care for infants experience profound biological changes. A few weeks before the baby is born, they experience a sharp increase in prolactin levels - a hormone that encourages caring behaviour and creates a bond with the infant. In the months after birth, testosterone levels in men decrease and the levels of another bonding hormone - oxytocin - increase.
Anthropologists believe that slow running over long distances was an effective way for human ancestors to hunt wild animals. Research suggests that persistent pursuit of prey was more popular in hunter-gatherer societies than previously thought, and hunting may have helped humans adapt to long-distance running. Some runs were longer than 100 km, and snowy and harsh winter conditions did not discourage human ancestors from endurance hunting expeditions.
In a cave in East Timor, archaeologists from Australia and Great Britain discovered thousands of stone artefacts and animal bones dating back 44,000 years bearing traces of human life. In that region, along with neighbouring Indonesia and Australia, one can find some of the oldest evidence of human presence on Earth. The island of Timor lies south of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where there is a 45,500-year-old life-size painting of a warty pig. According to researchers, it may be the oldest cave painting on Earth.