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Music and dementia: researchers are still making discoveries about how songs can help sufferers

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-atkinson-1288605">Rebecca Atkinson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/anglia-ruskin-university-1887">Anglia Ruskin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ming-hung-hsu-2215063">Ming-Hung Hsu</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/anglia-ruskin-university-1887">Anglia Ruskin University</a> Music is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. Whether it’s lifting our spirits, pushing us to run faster or soothing us to sleep, we can all <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713818/full">recognise its power</a>. So it’s no wonder it is increasingly being used in medical treatment. As well as proving very useful in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863265/">cancer treatment</a>, managing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1526590022000153">chronic pain</a> and even helping the brain <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00245/full">recover after a stroke</a>, researchers have also been making great strides in using music to help patients with dementia. It reduces patients’ <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003477/full">anxiety and depression</a>, and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00401-7/fulltext">improves wellbeing</a> both for them and their carers <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/individual-music-therapy-for-depression-randomised-controlled-trial/A1CD72904929CECCB956F4F3B09605AF">by enhancing</a> everyone’s ability to adapt and cope with adversity or stress. <a href="https://www.bamt.org">Music therapy</a> in the form of playing, singing or listening to music can also have a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362361309105660">positive effect</a> on cognitive function – particularly for <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1472-6882-10-39">older adults</a> either with dementia or memory issues. So why does music appear to have such a powerful effect for people with dementia? <h2>Music and the brain</h2> About a decade ago, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811911013000">researchers discovered that</a> when people listened to music, multiple areas of the brain were involved in processing it. These included the limbic (which processes emotions and memory), cognitive (involved with perception, learning and reaction) and motor areas (responsible for voluntary movement). This challenged preconceptions that music was processed more narrowly in the brain – and helped explain why it has such a unique neurological impact. Not only that, research has shown that music might help <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987708002880">regenerate the brain</a> and its connections. Many <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/about-dementia/causes/">causes of dementia</a> centre around cell death in the brain, raising the possibility that music could help people with dementia by mending or strengthening damaged neural connections and cells. It’s not just any music that has a regenerative effect on the brain, though. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00103/full">Familiar and favourite music</a> has been shown to have the biggest impact on the way we feel, and is closely linked with memory and emotions. This is because listening to our favourite songs <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.2726">releases feel-good hormones</a> that give us a sense of pleasure. Curated music playlists of favourite music could be the key in helping us deal with the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10298649211030318">stress of everyday life</a>. This is relevant to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia because researchers have discovered that parts of the brain linked with <a href="https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/138/8/2438/330016">musical memories</a> are less affected by these conditions than other areas of the brain. This explains why memories and experiences that are linked to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.14283/jpad.2018.19">favourite music</a> are often preserved for people with such conditions. Listening to music can also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34346261/">help manage</a> their experiences of distress, agitation and “<a href="https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/symptoms/sundowning">sundowning</a>” – where a person is more confused in the afternoon and evening. In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197457224002209?utm_campaign=STMJ_219742_AUTH_SERV_PA&utm_medium=email&utm_acid=224973760&SIS_ID=&dgcid=STMJ_219742_AUTH_SERV_PA&CMX_ID=&utm_in=DM500444&utm_source=AC_">small study</a> conducted by us and our colleagues at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, we showed just how great of an effect listening to music can have for people with dementia. We found that when people with dementia repeatedly listened to their favourite music, their heart rate and movements changed in direct response. This showed that people’s physical responses were affected by musical features like rhythm and arrangement. Their heart rate also changed when they sang along to music, or when they began reminiscing about old memories or stories while listening to a song or thinking about the music. These changes are important because they show how music affects movement, emotions and memory recall. Studies have also shown that during and after listening to music, people with dementia <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/7/1103">experienced less agitation</a>, aggression and anxiety, and their general mood was improved. They even needed less medication when they had regular music sessions. Other researchers have even begun testing the effects of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gps.4721?casa_token=VufeKQP7aNsAAAAA%3AMSOgiwUQYKqmmrLsUFv9glmSnc5BMxoqeMmmt3HX4BJX2Fs2UKeXjnN2850o1Umz0j1NvmrpQ3W3Pw">music training programmes</a> to support cognition for people with dementia. Results have been promising so far – with adults in the study showing improved executive functioning (problem solving, emotion regulation and attention) compared to those who took part in just physical exercise. So, music is likely to continue to be a useful medical treatment for people with dementia. But based on what we know so far, it’s important that it comes from the patient’s own music collection – and is used alongside other management techniques such as using drugs that can slow the progression of dementia or help manage symptoms to support self-care and wellbeing.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/239446/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-atkinson-1288605">Rebecca Atkinson</a>, Researcher in Music Therapy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/anglia-ruskin-university-1887">Anglia Ruskin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ming-hung-hsu-2215063">Ming-Hung Hsu</a>, Senior Research Fellow, Music Therapy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/anglia-ruskin-university-1887">Anglia Ruskin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/music-and-dementia-researchers-are-still-making-discoveries-about-how-songs-can-help-sufferers-239446">original article</a>.

Mind

Soccer’s “greatest domestic treasure” found after 70 years

It took 69 years, but the Soccer Ashes have finally been found. Australian football has been on the hunt for the treasured trophy since 1954, when it - by all accounts - disappeared from the face of the Earth. The “greatest domestic treasure”, a title bestowed upon it by Australian football historian Trevor Thompson, is easy enough to miss at first glance. The hand-carved wooden box is small, but like with most things in life, it’s what’s on the inside that counts - in this case, the ashes of two cigars smoked by the Australia and New Zealand captains in 1923 following their first ‘A’ international match in Australia. The trophy - which is now considered to be a main contributing element in the wider history of Australia’s national team, the Socceroos - serves as the first one ever contested between the rival sides, and was thought up by the then-team manager for New Zealand, Harry Mayer. His belief that the two sides needed something to play for - similar to cricket’s Ashes - led to its creation. Mayer himself - a trophy maker - constructed the piece, combining the likes of New Zealand honeysuckle and Australian maple, including the iconic imagery of kangaroos and silver ferns on its lid. Within the box lies a blue velvet lining, and a silver-plated razor case. The case is a main feature of the trophy, as it once belonged to the-secretary of the Queensland Football Association, Private William Fisher. He had been carrying it with him during the 1915 Gallipoli landing. In the 30 years to follow, the two nations competed for the trophy, and saw it passed back and forth between Australia and New Zealand before its 1954 disappearance. And while some feared it had simply been tossed aside or at worst destroyed, many were not willing to give up on it. Historians Trevor Thompson and Ian Syson, for example, set out in 2019 on a mission to track it down, armed with the support of Football Australian and government funding. And to the delight of soccer fans across both nations, they did it. The family of the late and former Australian Soccer Football Association’s chairman Sydney Storey found it tucked away with a whole host of other treasures - including but not limited to football memorabilia, pictures, newspaper clippings, and other assorted documents - in his garage. It took them a year to identify and verify all of Storey’s vast collection, but it was all worth the wait, with the family reaching out to Football Australia as soon as possible. In the wake of the joyous discovery, there have been calls for the trophy - or at least a replica of it - to once again be implemented, as well as for the trans-Tasman competition to become an annual event. As Ian Syson explained, “this trophy is symbolic of something really important, and its discovery is also really important as well. "Its absence was a symptom of Australian soccer's tendency to forget itself, and for the surrounding culture not to care at all. "This trophy is replete with sacred significance to a country that is so obsessed with its Anzac mythology. For that to go missing, it says a lot about the way this game manages to shoot itself in the foot all the time. "And so maybe this is a sign that the game can correct itself, can fix itself, can remember itself - if there's enough people caring about it, if there's enough people taking an interest in the history. "It means so much for the game." Images: Twitter

News

Wrapping presents leads to mother's cheeky Christmas discovery

Queensland mother of four Nicole, was wrapping her Christmas presents early this year, when she had to take a second glance at a few images on what she thought was fairly innocent and cute wrapping paper. What she didn’t realise, was that after wrapping a few presents she accidentally selected something a little too inappropriate. The paper, innocently named "Christmas Wrapping Paper Roll" online actually contained X-rated cartoon images. One of an aroused snowman and another of a randy reindeer mounting another. I purchased them online and only noticed when I was wrapping my third present - thankfully the first two were for me and my partner!" she laughed. "When I first saw it I had to send photos to my friend and mother to see if they noticed anything off while wiping laughing tears from my face." Nicole said she wasn't planning on ditching the paper from Typo completely, but with her younger children, she wasn't keen on her kids asking about the birds and the bees over Christmas lunch. "I have only wrapped small presents in it now with strategically placed name labels," she said of her work-around. "I find it hilarious and have showed everyone. I put the post up on social media in case someone hadn’t noticed or may have left it too late to buy more paper ... and to give people a laugh!" Feeling the need to share, Nicole posted snaps of the paper in the Christmas Mums Australia Facebook group, and wasn't the only one to find it funny. Over 340 members of the group commented on Nicole's post. “This is the best!” one person commented. “That’s gold! I love it,” added another. As the laughter and jokes kept coming, many shoppers said that others shouldn’t be so surprised by the images, given Type, the store Nicole purchased from is known for selling cheeky items like this. Images: Typo

Family & Pets

Why the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb would rewrite history

It couldn’t have been a case of better timing. Egyptologists celebrating the centenary of the discovery of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-tutankhamuns-curse-continues-to-fascinate-100-years-after-his-discovery-193766">tomb of Tutankhamun</a>, now have a promising new <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-tunnel-cleopatra-tomb-2205456">archaeological discovery</a> that appears to have been made in Egypt. Excavators have discovered a tunnel under the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-4300-foot-long-tunnel-under-ancient-egyptian-temple-180981099/">Taposiris Magna temple</a>, west of the ancient city of Alexandria, which <a href="http://heritage-key.com/blogs/sean-williams/digging-cleopatras-tomb-taposiris-magna/">they have suggested</a>could lead to the tomb of Queen Cleopatra. Evidence that this is really the case remains to be seen, but such a discovery would be a major find, with the potential to rewrite what we know about Egypt’s most famous queen. According to the ancient Greek writer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plutarch">Plutarch</a> – who wrote <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Antony*.html">a biography of Cleopatra’s husband</a>, the Roman general Mark Antony, and is responsible for the lengthiest and most detailed account of the last days of Cleopatra’s reign – both Antony and Cleopatra were buried inside Cleopatra’s mausoleum. According to Plutarch, on the day that Augustus and his Roman forces invaded Egypt and captured Alexandria, Antony fell on his sword, died in Cleopatra’s arms, and was then interred in the mausoleum. Two weeks later, Cleopatra went to the mausoleum to make offerings and pour libations, and took her own life in a way that is still unknown (a popular misconception is that she was <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/snake-unlikely-to-have-killed-cleopatra/">bitten by an asp</a>). She too was then interred in the mausoleum. In the days that followed, Antony’s son Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Cleopatra’s son Ptolemy XV Caesar (also known as Caesarion, “Little Caesar”), were both murdered by Roman forces, and the two young men may likewise have been interred there. If the mausoleum of Cleopatra has not already vanished beneath the waves of the Mediterranean <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/raising-alexandria-151005550/">along with most of the Hellenistic city of Alexandria</a>, and is one day found, it would be an almost unprecedented archaeological discovery. <h2>A discovery that could rewrite history</h2> While the tombs of many famous historical rulers are still standing – <a href="https://www.mausoleodiaugusto.it/en/augustus-and-the-mausoleum/">the mausoleum of Augustus</a>, Antony and Cleopatra’s mortal enemy, in Rome, is one example – their contents have often been looted and lost centuries ago. One notable exception is the tomb of Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1490/the-royal-macedonian-tombs-at-vergina/">uncovered at Vergina in the late 1970s</a>. The tomb was found intact, and this has enabled <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=philip+macedon+tomb+vergina&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5">decades of scientific investigation</a> into its contents, advancing our knowledge of members of the Macedonian royal family and their court. The same would be true if Cleopatra’s tomb were discovered, and found to be intact. The amount of new information Egyptologists, classicists, ancient historians, and archaeologists could glean from its contents would be immense. For the most part, our knowledge of Cleopatra and her reign comes from <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cleopatra/GQZB28EegT4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">ancient Greek and Roman literary sources</a>, written after her death and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2012/03/14/148537736/bad-girls-of-history-how-wicked-were-they">inherently hostile</a> to the Egyptian queen. We do not have much evidence revealing the Egyptian perspective on Cleopatra, but what we do have, such as <a href="https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010008923">honorific reliefs on the temples</a> that she built and votives dedicated by her subjects, gives us a very different view of her. <h2>The ethics of unearthing Cleopatra’s remains</h2> To date, no other <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/rulers-of-the-ptolemies-172247">Ptolemaic ruler</a>’s tomb has been found. They were reportedly all situated in the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4662183/Reconstruction_of_the_palace_area_in_Alexandria">palace quarter of Alexandria</a>and are believed to be under the sea with the rest of that part of the city. The architecture and material contents of the tomb alone would keep historians busy for decades, and provide unprecedented amounts of information about the Ptolemaic royal cult and the fusion of Macedonian and Egyptian culture. But if Cleopatra’s remains were there too, they could tell us a great deal more, including the cause of her death, her physical appearance, and even answer the thorny <a href="https://blog.oup.com/2010/12/cleopatra-2/">question of her race</a>. But should we be hoping to find Cleopatra’s remains, and to analyse them? From Tutankhamun to the ordinary ancient Egyptians whose mummies have been excavated over the centuries, there has been a long history of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/may/08/heritage.egypt">mismanagement and mistreatment</a>. While the days when mummies were unwrapped as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-did-people-start-eating-egyptian-mummies-the-weird-and-wild-ways-mummy-fever-swept-through-europe-177551">a form of entertainment</a> at Victorian dinner parties have thankfully passed, concerns are increasingly being raised by those who work in heritage about the appropriate treatment of our ancestors. While the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb would be priceless for Egyptologists and other scholars, is it fair to deny the queen the opportunity for peace and privacy in death that she did not receive in life? Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-discovery-of-cleopatras-tomb-would-rewrite-history-194481" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

More than a story of treasures: revisiting Tutankhamun’s tomb 100 years after its discovery

On November 4 1922, a young Egyptian “water boy” on an archaeological dig is said to have accidentally stumbled on a stone that turned out to be the top of a flight of steps cut into the limestone bedrock. The stairs led to one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries in history and the only almost intact funerary assemblage of a pharaoh – the Tutankhamun’s tomb. A century after this discovery, it’s worth revisiting the story of Tutankhamun’s tomb and how it eventually became a symbol for Egyptian nationalism. <h2>The ‘child king’</h2> <a href="https://egyptianmuseum.org/explore/new-kingdom-ruler-tutankhamun">Tutankhamun</a> is often referred to as a “child king” and the “most famous and least important” of the pharaohs; he was almost unknown to history before the tomb’s discovery. The son of one of the most controversial pharaohs in history – the champion of monotheism, <a href="https://www.arce.org/resource/akhenaten-mysteries-religious-revolution">Akhenaten</a> – Tutankhamun ascended the throne around age six or so. After a rather uneventful reign of restoring temples and bringing Egypt out from a period of political and religious turmoil, he died sometime between the age of 17 and 19. The discovery of his tomb full of magnificent and unique objects is more than a story of treasures. This is also a tale of the “roaring 20s” in the Middle Eastern version: a story of a quintessential embrace of class, privilege and colonialism juxtaposed against struggle for political freedom and building of new national identity. Archaeology 100 years ago was <a href="https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/tutankhamun-excavating-the-archive">very different</a>. None of the three male protagonists behind the discovery – Howard Carter (the lead British excavator), Lord Carnarvon (the man behind the money), and Ahmed Gerigar (the Egyptian foreman) – were formally trained as archaeologists. Despite this, Carter is now almost always referred to as an archaeologist, but Gerigar <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/remembering-unsung-egyptians-who-helped-find-king-tut-tomb-180980074/">almost never is</a> – further entrenching colonial narratives. But Carter’s three-decade-long excavation experience, draughtsman’s talent and his meticulousness, allied with the photographic aptitude of <a href="http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/discoveringtut/burton5/burtoncolour.html">Harry Burton of Metropolitan Museum</a> and the skills of the Egyptian excavators assured Tutenkhamun’s tomb – the only discovery of its type and arguably one of the most important archaeological finds ever – was recorded in a systematic and “modern” way. <h2>The painter who became an archaeologist</h2> Howard Carter was a young painter who fell in love with Egyptian antiquities while following his father, also a painter, into the houses of London’s elite to add drawings of pets to his father’s portraits. In 1891, age 17, Carter was recommended as an illustrator to archaeologist Percy Newberry, and joined him at a dig in Egypt at <a href="https://benihassan.com/">Beni Hassan tombs</a>. From this first trip to his death in 1939, Carter spent his life mostly in Egypt with short trips back to London to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/13/howard-carter-stole-tutankhamuns-treasure-new-evidence-suggests">deal in antiquities</a>, including those allegedly stolen from Tutankhamun’s tomb. After Beni Hassan, Carter became an illustrator for one of the fathers of Egyptology, William Flinders Petrie in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna">Tell el-Amarna</a>, the capital of Tut’s father Akhenaten. Carter then worked in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_el-Bahari">Deir el-Bahari</a>, the funerary temple of queen pharaoh Hatshepsut, located right on the other side of the limestone ravine known as the Valley of the Kings. It is here, on the western bank of the Nile I also trace some of my humble early experiences in Egyptology. Walking at dawn from our base at the Metropolitan Museum house in Deir, which Carter frequented, to the temple, I followed in his footsteps and mused on how lucky he was when the “water boy” stumbled upon a staircase to the tomb. That year, 1922, was supposed to be the last season after seven fruitless years of digging in the Valley in search of Tutankhamun’s elusive resting place. After clearing the staircase, Carter found the doorway sealed with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartouche">cartouches</a> – the hieroglyphs which enclose a royal name. He ordered the staircase to be refilled, and sent a telegram to Carnarvon, who arrived from England two-and-a-half weeks later. On November 26 Carter made a “tiny breach in the top left-hand corner” of the doorway. Carnarvon asked, “Can you see anything?” and Carter <a href="https://museum.wa.gov.au/whats-on/tutankhamun-wonderful-things/">replied</a> with his famous line: “Yes, wonderful things!” Across 3,000 years, about 300 pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt. All royal tombs had been broken into by thieves. The spectacular find of Tut’s tomb was also not a fully intact discovery. The tomb had been looted twice in antiquity, and Carter estimated that a considerable amount of jewellery was stolen. But it is the only surviving almost complete funerary assemblage. Consisting of over 5,000 objects, only <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/tutankhamun/id463700741?i=1000460805430">30%</a> have been studied so far. <h2>A story of its time</h2> Following <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unilateral_Declaration_of_Egyptian_Independence">Egyptian independence</a> on February 28 1922 and the establishment of an independent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Egypt">Kingdom of Egypt</a>, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb became an optimistic symbol for Egyptian nationalists. After the initial documentation, the official opening of the tomb in early 1924 coincided with the inauguration of Egypt’s first elected parliament. Despite the new independence, colonial attitudes continued. Lord Carnarvon sold the rights to the story of the discovery of Tut’s tomb to the London Times for a significant sum. Given the delay of a couple of weeks with sending photos on the ship from Cairo to London, Egyptian newspapers and readers were only able to follow the unfolding discovery from reading delayed British press. This caused a lot of resentment among the newly independent Egyptians, especially the middle classes. Nevertheless, the discovery was very significant for nation building and new national post-colonial identity. Taha Hussein, a notable Egyptian philosopher of the time, coined a notion of “<a href="https://raseef22.net/article/1074731-are-we-arabs-pharaohs-phoenicians-or-assssyrians-a-question-raised-since-1933-by">pharaonism</a>”. This unified national identity was supposed to transcend religious and ethnic differences between Arab, Muslim, Coptic and Jewish Egyptians. It remains a tool of propaganda to this day – notably with a parade of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56508475">22 mummies moving to a new national museum</a> and a lavish re-opening of the <a href="https://grandegyptianmuseum.org/">Grand Egyptian Museum</a> soon, where much of the treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb can be found today. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-story-of-treasures-revisiting-tutankhamuns-tomb-100-years-after-its-discovery-193293" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

New discovery: really good violins make hidden, subtle sounds

What makes a good violin sound so good? According to new research, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1121/10.0014600" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, at least part of the reason is extremely subtle extra notes the best instruments sounds out. When two musical notes are played, listeners can sometimes hear “combination tones”: an additional, subjective note that comes from the way the <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/explainer-cochlear-implants-function/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cochlea</a> processes the two sound waves in the inner ear. Some musical instruments can also make combination tones themselves: called “objective combination tones.” These subtle notes are produced in the instrument, rather than the ear. Not all instruments can make these objective combination tones – but this new research shows the surprising news that violins can. “Up to now, the combination tones generated by the violin were considered too small to be heard, and therefore, of no importance in music,” says study co-author Giovanni Cecchi, of the Università di Firenze, Italy. “Our results change this view by showing that combination tones generated by violins of good quality can be easily heard, affecting the perception of the intervals.” The researchers got a professional violinist to stand in the centre of a musical auditorium and play a series of dyads: two notes played simultaneously. The violinist played dyads on five different violins, all of different ages and qualities, and the researchers recorded the tones. Each violin produced combination tones in all of the dyads. The strongest of these notes was at a slightly lower tone than those of the dyads. Each instrument made the combination tones at different volumes (or amplitude), depending on the instrument’s air resonance. “We found that combination tones were much stronger and clearly audible in good violins,” says Cecchi. “The strongest one was found in an old Italian violin, made in Bologna in 1700 by the famous luthier, Carlo Annibale Tononi. “Combination tones were instead negligibly small in violins of poor quality.” Next, the researchers are investigating more violins to see which part of the instrument causes these objective combination tones. Image credits: Getty Images <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=221273&title=New+discovery%3A+really+good+violins+make+hidden%2C+subtle+sounds" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/combination-tones-violins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Ellen Phiddian. </div>

Music

Seven times people discovered the Americas – and how they got there

When Columbus landed in 1492, the Americas had been settled for tens of thousands of years. He wasn’t the first person to discover the continent. Instead, his discovery was the last of many discoveries. In all, people found the Americas at least seven different times. For at least six of those, it wasn’t so new after all. The discoverers came by sea and by land, bringing new genes, new languages, new technologies. Some stayed, explored, and built empires. Others went home, and left few hints they’d ever been there. From last to first, here’s the story of how we discovered the Americas. 7. Christopher Columbus: AD 1492 In 1492, Europeans could reach Asia by the <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/silk-road">Silk Road</a>, or by sailing the Cape Route around the southern tip of Africa. Sailing west from Europe was thought to be impossible. The ancient Greeks had accurately calculated that the circumference of the Earth was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/152473a0">40,000 km</a>, which put Asia far to the west. But Columbus botched his calculations. An error in unit conversion gave him a circumference of just 30,000 km. This mistake, with other assumptions born of wishful thinking, gave a distance of just <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0025570X.1992.11996024">4,500 km</a> from Europe to Japan. The actual distance is almost 20,000 kilometres. So Columbus’s ships set sail without enough supplies to reach Asia. Fortunately for him, he hit the Americas. Columbus, thinking he’d found the East Indies, called its people “Indios”, or Indians. He ultimately died without realising his mistake. It was the navigator Amerigo Vespucci who realised Columbus had <a href="https://www.livescience.com/42510-amerigo-vespucci.html">found an unknown land</a> and in 1507 the name America was applied in Vespucci’s honour. 6. Polynesians: AD 1,200 Around 2,500 BC, a seafaring people <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03902-8">sailed from Taiwan</a> to find new lands. They sailed south through the Philippines, east through Melanesia, then out into the vast South Pacific. These people, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Polynesia">Polynesians</a>, were master navigators, reading wind, waves and stars to cross thousands of kilometres of open ocean. Using huge double canoes, the Polynesians <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1586/polynesian-navigation--settlement-of-the-pacific/">settled</a> Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and the Cook Islands. Some went <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1408491111">south to New Zealand</a>, becoming <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10963-017-9110-y">the Maori</a>. Others went east to Tahiti, Hawaii, Easter Island, and the Marquesas. From here, they at last hit South America. Then, having explored most of the Pacific, they gave up exploration and forgot South America entirely. But evidence of this remarkable voyage remained. The South Americans acquired <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0703993104">chickens from Polynesians</a>, while the Polynesians may have picked up <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440307000805">South American sweet potatoes</a>. And they shared more than food. Eastern Polynesians have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2487-2?from=article_link">Native American DNA</a>. Polynesians didn’t just meet Native Americans, they married them. 5. Norse: AD 1,021 According to Viking sagas, around AD 980, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-the-Red">Eric the Red</a>, fierce Viking and cunning salesman, named a vast, icy wasteland “Greenland” to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/iceland-greenland-name-swap">entice people to move there</a>. Then, in AD 986, a boat from Greenland <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/icelanders">spotted the coast of Canada</a>. Around <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03972-8">AD 1,021</a>, Erik’s son Leif established a settlement in Newfoundland. The Vikings struggled with the harsh climate, before war with Native Americans ultimately forced them back to Greenland. These stories were long dismissed as myths, until 1960, when archaeologists dug up the remains of <a href="https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/top-destinations/lanse-aux-meadows">Viking settlements in Newfoundland</a>. 4. Inuit: AD 900 Just before the Vikings, the Inuit people travelled <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">from Siberia to Alaska</a> in skin boats. Hunting whales and seals, living in sod huts and igloos, they were well adapted to the cold Arctic Ocean, and skirted its shores all the way to Greenland. Curiously, their DNA is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">closest to native Alaskans</a>, implying their ancestors colonised Asia from Alaska, then went back to discover the Americas again. 3. Eskimo-Aleut: 2,000-2,500 BC The Inuit descend from an earlier migration: that of speakers of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eskimo-Aleut-languages">Eskimo-Aleut languages</a>. These are distinct from other Native American languages, and might even be distantly related to Uralic languages such as <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2010.00239.x">Finnish and Hungarian</a>. This, with DNA evidence, suggests the Eskimo-Aleut was a distinct migration. They came across the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bering-Sea">Bering Sea</a> from present-day Russia to Alaska, perhaps <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00020">4,000-4,500</a> years ago, partly displacing and mixing with earlier migrants: the Na-Dene people. 2. Na-Dene: 3,000-8,000 BC Another group, the Na-Dene, crossed the Bering Sea to Alaska around <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">5,000 years ago</a>, although other studies suggest they settled the Americas as long as <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00020">10,000 years ago</a>. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">DNA from their bones</a> links them not to modern people in the Eskimo-Aleut group, but to Native Americans speaking the Na-Dene language family, such as the <a href="https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/">Navajo</a>, <a href="https://denenation.com/">Dene</a>, <a href="https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/northwest-coast/tlingit">Tlingit</a>, and Apache people. Na-Dene languages are closest to languages <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC25007/">spoken in Siberia</a>, suggesting again that they represent a distinct migration. 1. First Americans: 16,000-35,000 years ago Almost all Native American tribes – Sioux, Comanche, Iroquois, Cherokee, Aztec, Maya, Quechua, Yanomani, and dozens of others – speak <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Indian-languages">similar languages</a>. That suggests their languages evolved from a common ancestor tongue, spoken by a single tribe entering the Americas long ago. Their descendants’ low genetic diversity suggests this founding tribe was small, maybe <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030193">less than 80 people</a>. How did they get there? Before the last ice age ended 11,700 years ago, so much water was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3083538">locked up in glaciers</a> that sea levels fell. The bottom of the Bering Sea dried out, creating the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1705966114">Bering Land Bridge</a>. America’s first people just walked from Russia to Alaska. But the timing of their migration is controversial. Archaeologists once thought the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clovis-complex">Clovis people</a>, living <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.0704215104">13,000 years ago</a>, were the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-clovis-point-and-the-discovery-of-americas-first-culture-3825828/">first settlers of America</a>. But evidence <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02137-3">now suggests</a> humans arrived in the Americas much earlier. Finds in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1207663?casa_token=i79Z6iFCPuwAAAAA:onB6l4Ih9BSvJY9a6rTuKDjv9pD1_EEaPJlwmjsk1qVgjDcqotjX2jlmzXMg-Kh1fqxMMXLhUeMvIw">Washington</a>, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aba6404">Oregon</a>, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1201855">Texas</a>, the <a href="https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=sciaa_staffpub">east coast of the US</a>, and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.1600375">Florida</a> suggest people reached the Americas long before the Clovis people. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7586">Footprints in New Mexico</a> date to 23,000 years ago. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2509-0">Stone tools</a> in a Mexican cave may date to 32,000 years ago. A <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.903795/full">butchered mammoth</a> from Colorado dates to 31,000-38,000 years ago. And traces of fire put <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379118307716">humans in Alaska</a> 32,000 years ago. Some of these dates could be incorrect, but with each new discovery it seems increasingly unlikely that they’re all wrong. An early migration would neatly solve a major mystery. 13,000 years ago, a vast glacier, the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1601077113">Laurentide Ice Sheet</a>, buried Canada in ice up to three kilometres thick. If people arrived in North America then, how did they cross the ice? Southeast Alaska’s rugged coast, full of glaciers and fjords, was likely impassible, and early Americans probably lacked boats. But 30,000 years ago, the ice sheet hadn’t fully formed. Before the ice spread, people could have hunted mammoths and horses east from Alaska into the Northwest Territories, then south through Alberta and Saskatchewan into Montana. Remarkably, humans may have settled the Americas <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94408-w">before western Europe</a>. Yet that might make sense. Alaska’s Arctic is harsh, but Europe had <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02536.x">potentially hostile Neanderthals</a>. <h2>The end of discovery</h2> 1492 was the last discovery of the Americas. Following the voyages of Columbus, Magellan, and Cook, the scattered descendants of humanity’s diaspora were finally reunited. Aside from a few <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140804-sad-truth-of-uncontacted-tribes">uncontacted tribes</a>, everywhere was known to everyone. Discovery was impossible. But the story of the Americas’ settlement is still being written, and our understanding is evolving. The Eskimo-Aleut may have been <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00020">two different migrations</a>, not one. Genes <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14895">hint at the possibility</a> of other, early founding populations. And given how little evidence the Polynesians and Norse left of their visits, it’s conceivable there were other migrations, ones of which we have little evidence. There’s so much we don’t know. No one can discover the Americas anymore, but there’s a lot left to discover about their discovery. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-times-people-discovered-the-americas-and-how-they-got-there-188908" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Travel Tips

Tiny discovery could explain why our brains beat Neanderthal brains

Our brains are incredibly complex, even in comparison to some of our closest animal relatives - and now we’re one step closer to knowing why. Human brains are made up of a whopping 86 billion neurons on average, which is up to three times more than primates. In a breakthrough study, scientists found that one change in our genes helps our brains develop more neurons than other animals, as well as our extinct cousins, the Neanderthals. Although our brains are roughly the same size as those belonging to Neanderthals, ours are differently shaped and allowed us to create technologies that our cousins never did. A team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics went looking for differences between our and Neanderthal brains and focused on the neocortex, a region of the brain behind our foreheads that is the largest and most recently developed part of our brain. While focusing on a particular gene, called TKTL1, the team found that the chain amino acids that make up the gene in modern humans has just one difference from the same gene in Neanderthals and other mammals. After looking at previously published data, they found that TKTL1 was mostly expressed in progenitor cells - a type of cell that can become more specialised cells - called basal radial glia, which are responsible for producing neurons during development. To test their findings, the researchers introduced the gene into two groups of mice, which don’t express either version of the gene. One group received the modern version of the gene which humans have, while the other received the archaic version. The mice with the modern form of the gene went on to produce more basal radial glia, which then resulted in more cortical neurons developing, in comparison to those with the older version of the gene. Repeating the experiment in ferrets, which also carry the older version of the gene and have folds in their brains, they found that animals with the modern gene produced more neurons and had larger brain folds. Finally, they went to verify their findings in human foetal neocortex cells - this time by removing the TKTL1 gene. Cells without the modern gene produced fewer of the progenitor cells. Although they stress that additional genes may be behind why we have more neurons than our relatives, Wieland Huttner, one of the researchers involved, said the study “makes the point that this one gene is an essential player” for shaping our big brains. Christoph Zollikofer, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Zurich who wasn’t involved in the study, said the study presents a “smoking gun” showing how our brains are different from those of Neanderthals. The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl6422" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Science</a>. Image: Getty Images

Mind

Tragic update after “horrific” suitcase discovery

Content warning: Graphic content Human remains found in two suitcases by a New Zealand family late last week have been identified as belonging to two young children of primary school age, with police saying they may have been dead for years. The family made the shocking discovery after purchasing the suitcases at an auction, along with other items from an abandoned storage locker in South Auckland. Police were alerted to the discovery on Thursday, August 11, with neighbours telling local media of a “wicked smell” in the area at the time. Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said initial post-mortem examinations suggested the remains were those of two children between the ages of five and ten. “Early indications suggest these children may have been deceased for a number of years before being found last week,” he said during a press conference on Thursday. “We also believe the suitcases have been in storage for a number of years.” Detective Inspector Vaaelau went on to suggest that the childrens’ remains may have been stored for three to four years. He added that the family who purchased the items from the storage unit aren’t involved in the deaths and have asked for privacy. “They are understandably distressed by the discovery, and they have asked for privacy. We are ensuring there is support in place for them,” he said. Detective Inspector Vaaelau confirmed that New Zealand police have begun working with Interpol and making enquiries with overseas agencies as part of the investigation. “As part of the investigation we are looking at canvassing and collecting CCTV, but given the period of time ... it’s going to be a challenge in itself,” he said. “The investigation team are working very hard to hold accountable the person or persons responsible for the deaths of these children.” Police are combing through the remaining items from the storage locker to establish any links and identify the remains, with Detective Inspector Vaaelau adding that contacting the next of kin was the biggest priority. He declined to comment on the gender or state of the remains, or whether police believe the children are related over concerns it may compromise the investigation. “That information is very important to the investigation and I’m not prepared to comment on that,” he said. Though local media have suggested that the case may have links overseas, Detective Inspector Vaaelau remained tight-lipped, stressing that police could only say that the victims had relatives in New Zealand. “What I can say is we are making very good progress with DNA inquiries,” he said. “We want to reassure the community our investigation is continuing the establish the facts to ascertain the full circumstances around the death of these children. “This includes establishing when, where and how. The nature of this discovery provides some complexities to the investigation.” The horrific discovery has rocked the country and has had a particularly strong impact on the Manurewa community in South Auckland, which is home to strong Māori and Pacific populations. “I really feel for the family of these victims,” Detective Inspector Vaaelua said. “Right here, right now, there are relatives out there that aren’t aware that their loved ones have deceased, especially two young children. “As for the investigation team, there are a number of them that are parents. This is no easy investigation and no matter how long or how many years you serve and investigate horrific cases like this, it’s never any easy task. “I myself am a parent of young kids but we have a job to do.” Image: Newshub

Legal

Surprise discovery shows you may inherit more from your mum than you think

What if we could inherit more than our parents’ genes? What if we could inherit the ability to turn genes on and off? These possibilities have come to light after our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32057-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent study</a>, published in Nature Communications. We found information in addition to our genes was passed down from mum to offspring to affect how their skeleton develops. That’s the “epigenetic” information that’s normally reset between generations. Our research was in mice, the first case of its kind in mammals where a long-lasting epigenetic effect from the mother’s egg is carried down to the next generation. This has lifelong consequences for that generation’s health. However, we cannot be certain the equivalent epigenetic changes are also inherited in humans, including the implications for how our skeleton develops and potential impact on diseases. <h2>Hold up, what’s epigenetics again?</h2> Our genes (packages of DNA) tell our body to make certain proteins. But our cells also need instructions to know whether a gene should be used (switched on) or not (switched off). These instructions come in the form of chemical or “epigenetic” tags (small molecules) that sit on top of the DNA. You accumulate these tags throughout your life. Think of how punctuation marks help a reader understand a sentence. Epigenetic tags allow the cell to understand a DNA sequence. Without these epigenetic tags, the cell might make a protein at the wrong time or not at all. Timing is crucial in how embryos develop. If certain genes are expressed (switched on to produce a protein) too early or too late, an embryo will not develop properly. <h2>What did we find?</h2> We were interested in understanding the function of a protein in mouse eggs (ova) called SMCHD1. By removing SMCHD1 from mouse eggs, we found mice that developed from eggs lacking SMCHD1 had an altered skeleton, with some vertebrae in the spine being disrupted. This could only be explained by an epigenetic change due to the loss of SMCHD1 in the egg. In particular, we looked at a set of genes known as Hox genes. These encode a series of proteins known to control how mammals’ skeletons develop. Hox genes are found in all animals, from flies to humans, and are crucial for setting up our spine. Evolution has finely tuned the timing of the expression of Hox genes during embryonic development to ensure the skeleton is assembled correctly. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Happy to share that my first first author paper is out in <a href="https://twitter.com/NatureComms?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NatureComms</a> showing that maternal SMCHD1 regulates Hox genes in the mouse embryo! Thanks to my PhD supervisors <a href="https://twitter.com/BlewittMarnie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlewittMarnie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Eddy_McGlinn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eddy_McGlinn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Epigenetics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Epigenetics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InHoxWeTrust?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InHoxWeTrust</a> <a href="https://t.co/taYQmt1NAU">https://t.co/taYQmt1NAU</a> 1/n — Natalia Benetti (@nataliabenetti_) <a href="https://twitter.com/nataliabenetti_/status/1551709619361239040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2022</a></blockquote> Our study showed that epigenetic tags established by the mother’s SMCHD1 in her egg can impact how these Hox genes are expressed in her offspring. The findings are a big surprise because almost all epigenetic tags in the egg are erased shortly after conception. Think of this a bit like a factory reset. This means it’s unusual to have epigenetic information from the mother’s egg carried on to her offspring to shape how they grow. <h2>What does this mean for us?</h2> Our findings suggest even the genes you don’t inherit from your mother can still influence your development. This may have implications for the children of women with variants in their SMCHD1 gene. Variations in SMCHD1 cause human diseases such as a form of <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/muscular-dystrophy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">muscular dystrophy</a>. In the future, SMCHD1 might be a target for new medicines to alter how the protein functions and help patients with diseases caused by variations in SMCHD1. So it’s important to understand what consequences the disruption of SMCHD1 in the egg might have on future generations. <h2>How about other diseases?</h2> Scientists are now beginning to understand that the epigenetic tags added to our genes are sensitive to changes in the environment. This can mean environmental variations, such as our diet or level of physical activity, can affect how our genes are expressed. However, these changes do not alter the DNA itself. The epigenetic state undergoes the most changes when the egg is developing and during very early embryonic development, due to the “factory reset” between generations. This means the embryo is more vulnerable to epigenetic, including environmental, changes during this developmental window. As we discover more cases where epigenetic information is inherited from the mother, there may be instances where the diet or other environmental changes the mother experiences could impact the next generation. Given that scientists can now study what happens in a single egg, we are well placed to determine how that might happen and work out what exactly we could be inheriting. This article originally appeared in The Conversation. Image: Shutterstock

Body

New discovery reveals last moments of Pompeii’s middle class

A series of new finds in Pompeii’s archaeological park have shed light on the final moments of middle class Romans before they were buried beneath volcanic ash and debris from Mount Vesuvius. Plates, glasses, vases, amphorae and terracotta objects left behind in chests and cabinets have been recovered from four rooms in a house that was first excavated in 2018. Gabriel Zuchtriegal, the director of the popular Italian tourist destination, said the discovery revealed precious details about the ordinary citizens of the city. “In the Roman Empire there was a significant proportion of the population which fought for their social status and for whom the ‘daily bread’ was anything but taken for granted. It was a social class that was vulnerable during political crises and famines, but also ambitious to climb the social ladder,” Dr Zuchtriegal <a href="http://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-discovery-of-furnishings-from-the-house-of-the-lararium-in-regio-v-a-snapshot-of-middle-class-pompeii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a>. “In the House of the Lararium at Pompeii, the owner was able to embellish the courtyard with the lararium and the basin for the cistern with exceptional paintings, yet evidently funds were insufficient to decorate the five rooms of the house, one of which was used for storage. “In the other rooms, two on the upper floor which could be reached by a mezzanine, we have discovered an array of objects, some of which are made of precious materials such as bronze and glass, while others were for everyday use. The wooden furniture, of which it has been possible to make casts, was extremely simple. “We do not know who the inhabitants of the house were, but certainly the culture of otium (leisure) which inspired the wonderful decoration of the courtyard represented for them more a future they dreamed of than a lived reality.” In the rooms on the lower floor of the house, all of the furnishings were able to be recovered by creating casts of the furniture. One bedroom even contained the remains of a bed frame and trace fabric from the pillow, similar to three cot-like beds unearthed last year in another Pompeiian home believed to be slaves’ quarters. Next to the bed, archaeologists found a bipartite wooden chest that was left open when the owners fled. Although heavily damaged by beams that crashed onto it during the eruption, it still held an oil lamp decorated with a relief of the Greek god Zeus being transformed into an eagle. A small, three-legged table was found next to the trunk, with a ceramic cup containing glass ampules, and two small plates sitting on top. In the storeroom, they found a wooden cupboard with its backboard still intact and the shelves caved in. Many of the items from the upper floor were found in the rooms below, including everyday items such as ceramic vessels, two bronze jugs, a bronze bowl with a beaded base, and an incense burner in the shape of a cradle. One of the unique and most interesting finds was a small cast of waxed tablets, made up of seven triptychs (carvings with three panels) that have been tied together by a small cord. Images: Parco Archeologico di Pompei

International Travel

James Webb Telescope captures oldest galaxy

After its <a href="https://oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/nasa-releases-highest-resolution-images-of-infrared-universe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first images</a> spread like wildfire across the internet, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is believed to have broken the record for the oldest galaxy ever detected. Scientists from the Harvard and Smithsonian Center of Astrophysics have identified a 13.5-billion-year-old galaxy called GLASS-z13, which dates to 300 million years after the Big Bang. The previous record-holder was a galaxy known as GN-Z1, spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2016, with its light taking 13.4 billion years to reach Hubble. The team of researchers, who shared their findings in a pair of preprints published on Wednesday, also identified another galaxy, GLASS-z11, which is roughly the same age as GLASS-z13. "We found two very compelling candidates for extremely distant galaxies," Rohan Naidu, one of the researchers who detected GLASS-z13 in Webb's data, told <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=35871X943606&isjs=1&jv=15.2.4-stackpath&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fwebb-space-telescope-found-oldest-and-most-distant-known-galaxy-2022-7&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2329601-jwst-has-found-the-oldest-galaxy-we-have-ever-seen-in-the-universe%2F&xs=1&xtz=-600&xuuid=388e4cc6413616544971c2f592b98908&abp=1&xcust=xid%3Afr1658964936510ffc&xjsf=other_click__auxclick%20%5B2%5D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Scientist</a>. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/glass-z13-1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The red circle captured by the James Webb Space Telescope is believed to be the oldest galaxy ever observed. Image: Naidu et al, P. Oesch, T. Treu, GLASS-JWST, NASA/CSA/ESA/STScI "If these galaxies are at the distance we think they are, the universe is only a few hundred million years old at that point." Researchers told the publication that these two galaxies are relatively small compared to the Milky Way galaxy, which is 100,000 light-years wide. In comparison, GLASS-z13 is approximately 1600 light-years wide, while GLASS-z11 is 2,300 light-years in diameter. "With the advent of JWST, we now have an unprecedented view of the universe thanks to the extremely sensitive NIRCam instrument," researchers explained in the <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.09434" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preprint</a>. Though the JWST commenced science operations in mid-July, it is expected that it will help scientists uncover more about the universe’s age and evolution. <a href="https://webb.nasa.gov/content/science/firstLight.html#:~:text=Webb%20will%20be%20a%20powerful,darkness%20of%20the%20early%20universe." target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA attributes this</a> to its ability to peer further back in time - as far as the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang - allowing for the discovery of previously unseen galaxies. Image: Naidu et al, P. Oesch, T. Treu, GLASS-JWST, NASA/CSA/ESA/STScI

Technology

This Aussie discovery could save lives and beat antibiotic resistance

Many if not all of us have been sick because of bacteria, with a trip to the GP seeing us walk away with a script for some kind of antibiotic. With bacterial infections having the potential to be quite deadly and causing people to deteriorate within hours while identifying the specific kind of bacteria (and which antibiotic is the best to treat with) can take days, doctors are often forced to use a best guess, “one-size-fits-all” antibiotic to treat patients. But, patients could soon be treated with a more targeted option, thanks to a new testing method that could identify bacteria within hours. A team of researchers from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, the University of Western Australia, and PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA have developed a process that first confirms that bacteria is causing a patient’s illness, before then determining which antibiotic will be the most effective. Dr Kieran Mulroney, a UWA Prospect Fellow involved in the research, says this new method not only helps doctors find the best treatments for their patients, but also combats the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. “The established method involves growing bacteria from a patient sample then applying different antibiotics to see which are effective. Patients with serious infections cannot wait the several days it can take to return antibiotic test results. Consequently, the patient's doctor has to rely on a best guess, 'one-size-fits-all', antibiotic choice to treat patients,” he <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/lifesaving-australian-discovery-helps-combat-antibiotic-resistance-in-the-lancet-ebiomedicine">explains</a>. “The biggest problem with prescribing broad-spectrum antibiotics is that it encourages some bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotics. This is a growing and serious problem world-wide, because antibiotic resistant bacteria can spread from person to person and reduce treatment options. He says that using broad spectrum antibiotics is one of the “key drivers” in antibiotic resistance spreading. “New tests are urgently needed that give doctors evidence they can rely on to select the right antibiotic” he says. The new method consists of two stages, with the first involving a 30-minute test, rather than taking one to two days, to determine whether a person is ill as a result of a bacterial infection. “Once a patient has a confirmed bacterial infection, we then expose the bacteria to different types of antibiotics in the laboratory. Using a device that measures hundreds of thousands of individual bacteria in just a few seconds, the research team can detect the damage antibiotics cause to bacteria, and then use this information to confirm which antibiotic will be an effective treatment. We can predict which antibiotics will be effective to treat that infection with 96.9% accuracy,” Dr Mulroney said. Dr Aron Chakera, a renal physician at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital who was also involved in the research, says it could be potentially life-saving for patients with chronic illnesses. “As a renal physician I treat patients with end-stage kidney disease who need to be in hospitals or clinics for several hours a week connected to dialysis machines. Many could manage their own dialysis using a surgically implanted catheter, which actually has better outcomes, is far less costly and is more satisfying for patients, but the ever-present fear of infection from the catheter deters many from choosing it,” Dr Charkera explains. “This new test would give confidence to patients and their treating doctors.” WA Country Health Service Translation Fellow Dr Tim Inglis, who was also involved in the research, notes that the need for rapid test results has been made all the more apparent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the challenge of antibiotic resistance will still remain once Covid has tailed off. “Even in the most advanced health systems, hospital patients risk bacterial infection through trauma wounds, surgery sites, breathing machines and indwelling catheters,” he explains. “This can lead to pneumonia, urinary tract, abdominal and bloodstream infections. Applying the research team's new technology to these infections is expected to transform how quickly and effectively we treat patients in Western Australia and further afield.” Their work was published in the international medical journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104145" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lancet eBiomedicine</a>. Image: Dr Kieran Mulroney (Scimex)

Body

Genetic discovery may help scientists reverse hearing loss

Neuroscience researchers have found a master gene that controls the development of special sensory cells in the ears – potentially opening the door to reversing hearing loss. A team led by Jaime García-Añoveros of Northwestern University, US, established that a gene called Tbx2 controls the development of ear hair cells in mice. The findings of their study are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04668-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published today in Nature</a>. What are hair cells? Hair cells are the sensory cells in our ears that detect sound and then transmit a message to our brains. They are so named because they have tiny hairlike structures called stereocilia. “The ear is a beautiful organ,” says García-Añoveros. “There is no other organ in a mammal where the cells are so precisely positioned.” Hair cells are found in a structure called the organ of Corti, in the cochlea in the inner ear. The organ of Corti sits on top of the basilar membrane. Sound waves are funnelled through our ear canal and cause the eardrum (also known as the tympanic membrane) and ossicles (tiny bones called the malleus, incus and stapes) to vibrate. The vibrations, or waves, are transmitted through fluid in the cochlea, causing the basilar membrane to move as well. When the basilar membrane moves, the stereocilia tilt, causing ion channels in the hair cell membrane to open. This stimulates the hair cell to release neurotransmitter chemicals, which will transmit the sound signal to the brain via the auditory nerve. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <div class="entry-content-asset"> <div class="embed-wrapper"> <div class="inner"><iframe title="2-Minute Neuroscience: The Cochlea" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WeQluId1hnQ?feature=oembed" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> </div> </div> </div> </figure> <h2> </h2> Hair cells and hearing loss There are actually two types of hair cells: inner and outer. We need both types to hear effectively. The outer hair cells change their shape and amplify sound for the inner hair cells, which transmit the vibrations to the brain. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p190195-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.61 init" action="/science/genetic-discovery-reverse-hearing-loss/#wpcf7-f6-p190195-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> “It’s like a ballet,” says García-Añoveros. “The outers crouch and jump and lift the inners further into the ear.” Hair cells develop before we are born and do not typically divide to create new versions of themselves. As we age, our hair cells die, <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/hair-cell-loss-may-explain-hearing-loss/">leading to hearing loss</a>. Loss of outer hair cells is particularly common. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, about 8.5% of adults aged 55-64 in the US experience “disabling” hearing loss, with that number increasing to nearly 25% in people aged 65-74, and 50% in those 75 and older. Could we one day reverse hearing loss? Since hair cells don’t usually divide, we may be able to reverse hearing loss if we can reprogram stem cells or other cells in the ear to become hair cells to replace those that die. Scientists have already produced artificial hair cells, but until now didn’t know how to direct the cell to become an inner or an outer hair cell. The team at Northwestern discovered that a gene called Tbx2 controls the development of both inner and outer hair cells. If Tbx2 is “switched on” to produce the protein TBX2, the cell develops into an inner hair cell. If Tbx2 is “off”, it becomes an outer hair cell. “Our finding gives us the first clear cell switch to make one type versus the other,” García-Añoveros explains. The finding is a step towards learning how we can reprogram the cells that usually provide structural support for the hair cells to become inner or outer hair cells themselves – replacing dead hair cells and preventing or reversing hearing loss. “We can now figure out how to make specifically inner or outer hair cells and identify why the latter are more prone to dying,” García-Añoveros says. “We have overcome a major hurdle.”  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=190195&title=Genetic+discovery+may+help+scientists+reverse+hearing+loss" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/genetic-discovery-reverse-hearing-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/matilda-handlsey-davis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matilda Handsley-Davis</a>. Matilda is a science writer at Cosmos. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Adelaide. Image: Getty Images </div>

Body

Experts dispute Endeavour discovery

Two international groups are at odds over the authenticity of the Australian National Maritime Museum's (ANMM) controversial announcement that it has found the HMB Endeavour.The ANMM says the 22-year search for Captain Cook's ship has ended with confirmation its submerged wreckage was found in Newport Harbour in the US state of Rhode Island. However, the museum and its research partners the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) who conducted the search have said the announcment came prematurely.Author and Captain Cook biographer Rob Mundle has said the disagreement between the two groups means it is too early to definitively say if the famous vessel has been located, even if the signs are promising. "I think that if both sides don't come out as one, then we ain't got anything to be too excited about at the moment," Mr Mundle told <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/question-marks-over-endeavour-find-says-captain-cook-expert/100803474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC Radio National</a>."There are certain elements there that would suggest that it's Endeavour, and there's nothing really to say that it's not Endeavour.""But until we find something that says, 'Yes there is no doubt whatsoever that this is Endeavour', then I think there is a question mark hanging over it."While Mr Mundle said most of the Endeavour's original materials would be lost to time, he believes that finding one of the distinguishing bricks used to keep heat in the ship's kicthen would be a sure sign of its identity. "If someone came up with one those bricks, which you'd expect they would be able to, then I think that would be enough, I think, to confirm that it is Endeavour," he said.Despite his claims, University of Sydney marine shipwreck expert Dr Natali Pearson has a "high degree of confidence" in the find, after working with the ANMM and its researchers. Dr Pearson believes that confirming the resting place of the "celebrity shipwreck" is the perfect opportunity to discuss the everlasting impact of the Endeavour's actions on Indigenous Australians. "Of more value for historians and archaeologists, however, are wrecks that change how we understand the past, that shed new light on ancient trading networks or ship construction techniques, for example," she said.The Endeavour was originally launched as the Earl of Pembroke in 1764, before being renamed as the Endeavour by Britain's Royal Navy in 1768. Over the next three years, the ship voyaged to the South Pacific, on an astronomical mission to record the transit of Venus in Tahiti, before reaching Australia.The vessel lay forgotten for more than two centuries, after it was sold to private owners and later deliberately sunk by British forces in 1778.Image credits: Australian National Maritime Museum

Travel Trouble

66 million-year-old perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo found

Images: Courtesy Shoulin Animation & Getty Scientists are showing off a perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo fossil that was preparing to hatch from its egg, much like a modern-day chicken. The embryo fossil, nicknamed “Baby Yingliang,” was discovered in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province in southern China, and is believed to be at least 66 million years old. Researcher Dr. Fion Waisum Ma told the AFP News Agency that this discovery is “the best dinosaur embryo ever found in history.” According to a study, researchers at a Chinese mining company, Yinagliang Group, found the egg fossil more than 20 years ago, but put it in storage with other fossils for 10 years. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846550/new-project.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8b66ef36cdec4b21b7bfdff89ef98730" /> When construction began on the company’s natural history museum, the fossil storage was sorted, and museum staff pulled the dinosaur eggs from the collection for closer examination. That’s when they noticed some bones on the broken cross section of one of the eggs. Researchers say the egg belonged to a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviraptorosaur. Ma and fellow colleagues found Baby Yingliang’s head below its body, with its feet on either side and back curled. This posture is familiar in modern birds but not previously seen in dinosaurs. Researchers believe the animal was on the verge of hatching, but it was likely preserved when it was buried by a sudden mudslide. Oviraptorosaurs, one of the closest relatives to the bird, evolved earlier from small, feathered dinosaurs. This group of dinosaurs was still blossoming and diversifying during the last few million years before an asteroid struck Earth about 66 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs. The baby dino measures about 27 centimetres long and is currently on display at the Yinglliang Stone Natural History Museum. Most likely a herbivore, it would have grown to be about three metres long if it lived to adulthood. “We were surprised to see this embryo beautifully preserved inside a dinosaur egg, lying in a bird-like posture. This posture had not been recognized in non-avian dinosaurs before,” Waisum Maof of the University of Birmingham, told CBS News. Despite fossilised dinosaur eggs having been found during the last 100 years, a well-preserved embryo is extremely rare, the researchers said in their study. Paleontologists have found them over the years only six times.

International Travel

New heart attack treatment hailed as landmark discovery

Image: Nine News A ground-breaking discovery made by Australian doctors in the treatment of heart attacks is, according to researchers, a breakthrough as significant as landing on the moon. As a result, $8 million dollars has been given as a boost to run a major trial, with heart attack survivor Wayne Cook the first participant in the world to receive the breakthrough treatment. “I had a pain in both my biceps and across my back,” the 57-year-old, who had a major blockage, said of his heart attack. “I didn’t think my symptoms were a heart attack but the pain was excruciating.” The Perth man was able to receive life-saving treatment – a balloon unblocking his artery and a stent placed to hold it open. Professor Martin Ng from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney said the treatment for heart attacks had not advanced in over 20 years. One in two treated patients also have blockages downstream, in the micro vessels of their heart, which increase their risk of dying. "There's a fundamental serious problem that still isn't resolved," he said. "These vessels are so small so they can't be seen on the X-ray equipment from which we do the angiogram." Now, a wire with sensors measures blood pressure and flow. It's used to identify blockages downstream, so patients can then receive a clot-busting drug. An earlier study, funded by taxpayers, uncovered astonishing results. "This observation is, for us, like a landing on the moon," Professor Ng said. This new larger trial will involve more than 500 heart attack patients, who are identified as being higher risk.

Caring

New item uncovered in search for William Tyrrell

The search for the remains of William Tyrrell has unearthed a faded red piece of material, as police scour a muddy creek for any sign of the missing boy. On Monday afternoon, police began digging through the mud in a new section of the drained creek under the supervision of Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw, who has led the investigation for the past two years. The piece of fabric <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/red-piece-of-material-found-in-creek-bed-in-william-tyrrell-search/news-story/79a2300c1612f797b09b82ec04118798" target="_blank">was found</a> shortly after 3.30pm and pulled from the base of a tree before being placed in an evidence bag for forensic examination. <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846159/tyrrell.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/9f411655fca44cf4b032d71619cad268" /> Image: NSW Police / 9News (Twitter) The discovery caused a stir, as William was last photographed in a red and black Spider-Man costume. Volunteers from the Rural Fire Service pumped water out of the new section of the creek earlier in the day, as riot squad police traversed the surrounding bush searching for clues. The creek is east of Batar Creek Road, on the outskirts of Kendall where William disappeared seven years ago. The discovery was made on the 22nd day of the latest search for William. On the same day, forensic police used a laser-guided mapping device to scan the search site, creating an in-depth digital map of the area that would be useful for marking the progress made in the large search area. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Day 22 of the search for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WilliamTyrrell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WilliamTyrrell</a>. RFS preparing to pump out a new section of creek so investigators can search it. Weather update: Raining and cool conditions <a href="https://t.co/jPzZtPiACe">pic.twitter.com/jPzZtPiACe</a> — Lachlan Leeming (@LeemingLachie) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeemingLachie/status/1467613680116273156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> With heavy rainfall hitting the area in the last few days, detectives and forensic experts have faced an even tougher task of sifting through the tonnes of dirt in the site. William went missing from his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall, on the NSW Mid North Coast, in September 2014. Image: 9News (Twitter)

News

Woman shares disgusting discovery lurking in her hairbrush

A woman on TikTok has shared her disgusting discovery she made when she decided to wash her hair brushes for the first time, and has warned others not to make the same mistake. The woman shared the video of her deciding to wash her brushes after seeing a salon owner cleanse her hair tools in order to prevent your hair from getting greasy. She placed her hair brush in her bathroom sink with hot water and shampoo for a deep clean. After leaving the brushes for an hour, the woman returned to the bathroom to find the water had gone brown. “Oh my god, that’s disgusting,” she exclaimed. "Ladies, don't forget to wash your hairbrushes. I didn't even know that was a thing. Look at the state of that." The video has been viewed over 3.8 million times, with her followers also sharing their shock at the results. "I'm buying a new hair brush and starting from scratch," one person commented. "Goes and washes hair brushes now," another said. While most people were shocked at the idea, some were surprised that this didn’t seem to be a well known fact. "This confuses me that people didn't know this. It's the same as washing your makeup brushes," one person pointed out. The salon owner who posted the original video said that a dirty hairbrush could be the reason people suffer from greasy hair. As you use your brush, the grease and oil from your hair builds up and sits in your brush until it’s next use, and ends up getting transferred back to your hair. So, go and wash your hair brushes and see if you can see the difference in your hair. Image credits: TikTok @everythingtidy

Beauty & Style

Treasure hunters “on the brink” of HUGE discovery

A team of treasure hunters believe they are close to finding the “world’s largest treasure hoard” after searching for it for more than 30 years. The team, known as the ‘Temple Twelve’, have been searching for the treasure trove in Finland since 1987. The target of their search, the ‘Lemminkainen Hoard’, is said to be worth $27 billion and consists of gold, jewels, and artefacts. According to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16606341/treasure-hunters-hoard-jewels-gold-finland/" target="_blank">The Sun</a>, the discovery of the hoard would make it the most valuable collection of treasures to be found. The hoard is believed to include 50,000 gems and around 1000 artefacts that are thousands of years old, as well as a number of 18-carat gold life-size statues. The team — who have come together from all over the world — have spent their summers searching for the treasure, working six hours a day, seven days a week. The exploits of the team have been detailed in the book Temporarily Insane, written by the world-leading authority on the Lemminkainen Hoard, Carl Borgen. “I understand that significant progress at the temple has been made and that the crew are feeling especially excited about the months ahead,” Mr Borgen told The Mirror. “There is now talk in the camp of being on the brink of a major breakthrough, which in real terms could be the discovery of the world’s largest and most valuable treasure trove.” The hoard is believed to be in an underground temple in Sipoo which has remained sealed since 987 AD. With the team’s latest progress, it is believed they will be able to locate and excavate the site next summer when they resume work in September 2022. Image: YouTube

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This Aussie discovery could save lives and beat antibiotic resistance

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66 million-year-old perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo found

New heart attack treatment hailed as landmark discovery

New item uncovered in search for William Tyrrell

Woman shares disgusting discovery lurking in her hairbrush

Treasure hunters “on the brink” of HUGE discovery