Welcome Ekembo! Miocene Neogene Hominoid Proconsul Genus Revised, Split

A systematic revision of Proconsul with the description of a new genus of early Miocene hominoid

Authors:

McNulty et al

Abstract:

For more than 80 years, Proconsul has held a pivotal position in interpretations of catarrhine evolution and hominoid diversification in East Africa. The majority of what we ‘know’ about Proconsul, however, derives from abundant younger fossils found at the Kisingiri localities on Rusinga and Mfangano Islands rather than from the smaller samples found at Koru—the locality of the type species, Proconsul africanus—and other Tinderet deposits. One outcome of this is seen in recent attempts to expand the genus “Ugandapithecus” (considered here a junior subjective synonym of Proconsul), wherein much of the Tinderet sample was referred to that genus based primarily on differentiating it from the Kisingiri specimens rather than from the type species, P. africanus. This and other recent taxonomic revisions to Proconsul prompted us to undertake a systematic review of dentognathic specimens attributed to this taxon. Results of our study underscore and extend the substantive distinction of Tinderet and Ugandan Proconsul (i.e., Proconsul sensu stricto) from the Kisingiri fossils, the latter recognized here as a new genus. Specimens of the new genus are readily distinguished from Proconsul sensu stricto by morphology preserved in the P. africanus holotype, but also in I1s, lower incisors, upper and lower canines, and especially mandibular characteristics. A number of these differences are more advanced among Kisingiri specimens in the direction of crown hominoids. Proconsul sensu stricto is characterized by a suite of unique features that strongly unite the included species as a clade. There have been decades of contentious debate over the phylogenetic placement of Proconsul (sensu lato), due in part to there being a mixture of primitive and more advanced morphology within the single genus. By recognizing two distinct clades that, in large part, segregate these character states, we believe that better phylogenetic resolution can be achieved.

Pseudoloris parvulus: a Eocene Paleogene Omomyid From Europe

New material of Pseudoloris parvulus (Microchoerinae, Omomyidae, Primates) from the Late Eocene of Sossís (northeastern Spain) and its implications for the evolution of Pseudoloris

Authors:

Minwer-Barakat et al

Abstract:

The species Pseudoloris parvulus, identified in several Middle and Late Eocene European sites, was previously known in the Iberian Peninsula by a single mandible preserving P4–M3 from Sossís (Southern Pyrenean Basins, northeastern Spain), described in the 1960s. Further field work at this Late Eocene site has led to the recovery of a large number of mammal remains, including the additional material of P. parvulus described in this paper. Some specimens of P. parvulus from this locality have also been recently found in the collections of the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Switzerland. The whole sample consists of 11 mandible fragments including several teeth, three upper dental series and nearly 80 isolated teeth including all of the dental elements, and represents the most complete sample of the genus described from the Iberian Peninsula. This abundant material allows us to provide an emended diagnosis for the species and to observe several directional changes in the dental morphology of the lineage including the species Pseudoloris saalae, Pseudoloris isabenae, Pseudoloris pyrenaicus and P. parvulus. These directional changes include the progressive reduction of the paraconid in the lower molars and the increase in size of the hypocone, metaconule and paraconule in the upper molars. Moreover, despite the overall resemblance among all of the samples ascribed to P. parvulus, we also recognize some differences, particularly an increase in size and better development of the hypocone from the oldest populations of the species, such as Le Bretou, to the most recent ones, like Sossís and Perrière. Therefore, this study sheds new light on the evolution of this genus, which inhabited Europe from the Middle Eocene to the Early Oligocene.

A Heterodox Position for Continent Atlantica During the Orosirian PaleoProterozoic

Paleomagnetic study on mid-Paleoproterozoic rocks from the Rio de la Plata craton: Implications for Atlantica

Authors:

Rapalini et al

Abstract:

The first successful paleomagnetic study on middle Paleoproterozoic rocks from the Rio de la Plata craton is reported. Samples collected from the Soca and Isla Mala granitic bodies, located in southern Uruguay, provided characteristic remanences that were used to compute the first paleomagnetic poles for the craton for ca. 2.05–2.02 Ga. The poles were complemented by a virtual geomagnetic pole from the slightly older Marincho and Mahoma complexes. The paleomagnetic results suggest fast apparent polar wander at high paleolatitudes for the Rio de la Plata craton. Comparison with coeval poles from the Guiana, Congo–São Francisco and West African cratons indicates that a configuration of Atlantica that resembles their Western Gondwana fit is not supported by paleomagnetic data. The geologic similarities in these four cratons are supportive of a major crustal forming event between 2.2–2.0 Ga. A modified configuration for Atlantica is proposed that is consistent with our new (and older) paleomagnetic data. Atlantica was assembled at 2.1–2.05 Ga at polar latitudes and drifted towards the equator soon afterwards.

ElectroLoom: a 3d Printer for Clothes

Simocyon batalleri: a Miocene Neogene Red Panda Relative was Mountain Lion Sized, Arboreal

Quantitative inferences on the locomotor behaviour of extinct species applied to Simocyon batalleri (Ailuridae, Late Miocene, Spain)

Authors:

Fabre et al

Abstract:

Inferences of function and ecology in extinct taxa have long been a subject of interest because it is fundamental to understand the evolutionary history of species. In this study, we use a quantitative approach to investigate the locomotor behaviour of Simocyon batalleri, a key taxon related to the ailurid family. To do so, we use 3D surface geometric morphometric approaches on the three long bones of the forelimb of an extant reference sample. Next, we test the locomotor strategy of S. batalleri using a leave-one-out cross-validated linear discriminant analysis. Our results show that S. batalleri is included in the morphospace of the living species of musteloids. However, each bone of the forelimb appears to show a different functional signal suggesting that inferring the lifestyle or locomotor behaviour of fossils can be difficult and dependent on the bone investigated. This highlights the importance of studying, where possible, a maximum of skeletal elements to be able to make robust inferences on the lifestyle of extinct species. Finally, our results suggest that S. batalleri may be more arboreal than previously suggested.

New Phylogeny for Life Tied to Analysis of Archaea

The two-domain tree of life is linked to a new root for the Archaea

Authors:

Raymann et al

Abstract:

One of the most fundamental questions in evolutionary biology is the origin of the lineage leading to eukaryotes. Recent phylogenomic analyses have indicated an emergence of eukaryotes from within the radiation of modern Archaea and specifically from a group comprising Thaumarchaeota/“Aigarchaeota” (candidate phylum)/Crenarchaeota/Korarchaeota (TACK). Despite their major implications, these studies were all based on the reconstruction of universal trees and left the exact placement of eukaryotes with respect to the TACK lineage unclear. Here we have applied an original two-step approach that involves the separate analysis of markers shared between Archaea and eukaryotes and between Archaea and Bacteria. This strategy allowed us to use a larger number of markers and greater taxonomic coverage, obtain high-quality alignments, and alleviate tree reconstruction artifacts potentially introduced when analyzing the three domains simultaneously. Our results robustly indicate a sister relationship of eukaryotes with the TACK superphylum that is strongly associated with a distinct root of the Archaea that lies within the Euryarchaeota, challenging the traditional topology of the archaeal tree. Therefore, if we are to embrace an archaeal origin for eukaryotes, our view of the evolution of the third domain of life will have to be profoundly reconsidered, as will many areas of investigation aimed at inferring ancestral characteristics of early life and Earth.

US Air Force Placing 150 Kilowatt Laser in External Weapons Pod by 2022

Star Wars fans, calm down. The US Air Force wants to fire a 100-plus-kilowatt laser from a small plane. And not just any airplane, Air Force Research Laboratory officials. The last laser on an airplane — the megawatt Airborne Laser, which filled a converted 747 and cancelled in 2011 — the 2022 demonstration will be fired from a fighter.

But this isn’t a real-world X-Wing. It probably won’t even be an F-35A because that’s a stealth aircraft that carries its weapons inside to give it a smaller radar cross section. Instead, the 2022 weapon will be built into an external weapons pod.

It’s a crawl-walk-run approach, said Morley Stone, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s chief technology officer. Modern electrically powered, solid-state laser technology is “orders of magnitude” simpler and more compact than the vats of toxic chemicals that powered the cancelled Airborne Laser, Stone told reporters at Thursday’s “DoD Lab Day” in the Pentagon courtyard. But technological advances still don’t make putting lasers on airplanes simple. So, he said, “before we start getting into really what we consider a lot of risk with internal carriage integration, we’re going to look at external integration via a pod.”

Even an external pod on a fighter, however, is a much tighter and more challenging fit for a laser weapon than, say, the massive weapons bay on an AC-130 gunship. Special Operations Command wants a laser cannon on future AC-130s, but “what we’re doing is taking the most challenging case, and that’s on a fighter,” said AFRL director Maj. Gen. Thomas Masiello. “As technology advances, it can be spun right of into a larger platform like the AC-130.”

link.

The implication is the F-X fighter will have a laser onboard: both as an offensive and defensive weapon.  Likely, a laser will be placed on the Long Range Strike Bomber as well, possibly as an add on capability.

Cuspicephalus scarfi is Really a Wukongopterid Pterosaur From Kimmeridgian Jurassic Britain

The relationships of Cuspicephalus scarfi Martill and Etches, 2013 and Normannognathus wellnhoferi Buffetaut et al., 1998 to other monofenestratan pterosaurs

Authors:

Witton et al

Abstract:

The evolution of pterodactyloid pterosaurs occurred in a ‘modular’ fashion with ‘pterodactyloid’-type crania and cervical vertebrae evolving in pterodactyloid sister taxa – early monofenestratan pterosaurs – before later postcervical modifications marked the development of the true pterodactyloid condition. This means of evolution creates problems for distinguishing isolated pterodactyloid crania from those of non-pterodactyloid monofenestratans, and has led to uncertainty over the affinities of two Late Jurassic European pterosaurs known only from skulls, Cuspicephalus scarfi Martill and Etches, 2013 and Normannognathus wellnhoferi Buffetaut et al., 1998. Some aspects of their cranial anatomy suggest affinities to early pterodactyloids – specifically the Germanodactylidae – while others indicate a relationship with a group of non-pterodactyloid monofenestratans, the Wukongopteridae. Here, we characterise the skulls of Jurassic monofenestratans to provide greater insight into the identity of these pterosaurs. We find a suite of characters indicating that Cuspicephalus is a wukongopterid, notable for being a particularly large and long snouted member of the group, as well as the youngest, and the first European record of this clade. The affinities of Normannognathus are less clear however. We consider its previous allocation to the Germanodactylidae doubtful, and note some similarities it shares with ctenochasmatoid pterodactyloids, but the only known specimen is probably too fragmentary for confident referral to any specific clade within Monofenestrata.

Mark has an awesome post with explanations on our friend here.

Royal Tyrrell Museum Lecture Series: On the Origin of Chordates in the Cambrian Explosion

Yet Another Downshift

Ok, so we really WILL go down to three posts per day.  damnit.

Truthfully, this is as much about teaching me to stop doing it as it is about transitioning the blog.

Jane's Profiles "Russia's Armour Revolution" Inclusive of the T-14, T-15, Kurganets, Boomerang & Koalitsaya

Paraded uncovered for the first time on 9 May in Moscow, Russia's new range of armoured vehicles represent not only the biggest change in the country's armoured vehicle families since the 1970s but also a new design ethos.

While the vehicles' designs partly involve radical rather than revolutionary innovation, the scale and ambition of the change they embody is nothing short of a revolution. Together, the Armata, Kurganets, Boomerang, and Koalitsiya and other vehicles on show will replace nearly all Russia's existing vehicle families as, remarkably, Russia is attempting to replace all its main armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) families at the same time.

Additionally, the new vehicles display radical changes in design ethos and incorporate multiple previously unseen active protection systems (APSs). The reported weight and the apparent size of all the vehicles indicates a shift in armoured vehicle design philosophy away from the Soviet emphasis on manoeuvrability and low vehicle profile towards the Western focus on armour protection and crew survivability.

While many details of the vehicles had already been known, and were covered in depth by JDW in April, the full unveiling of the vehicles has revealed many fascinating new details and added greatly to our understanding of the vehicle family designs.

link.

Ukraine Captures two Russian GRU Soldiers

Ukrainian troops have arrested two Russian servicemen in the country's separatist eastern territories, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Sunday, reporting further casualties in rebel attacks despite a three-month-old ceasefire deal.

Ukraine and NATO accuse Moscow of supporting pro-Russian separatists with troops and military supplies, a charge the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.

"Two Russian servicemen are under arrest - our investigators are working with them," spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a briefing, without giving further details.

Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 17 wounded in the past 24 hours, he said. Two of the deaths were a result of a mortar attack near the town of Svitlodarsk, northeast of separatist-controlled Donetsk.

link.

This was not a walk up and arrest them sort of situation.  They were VERY badly wounded in the process of the capture (pix here, but not safe for lunch).  They were picked up in Shchastya.  Note: this is on the Ukrainian side of the ceasefire line.  For those which don't know the Russian aphabet soup of agencies, this is the GRU.

If it were not for the fact this family of acronyms has been abused so badly already and often by folks I don't care for, I'd say Ukraine as a Ceasefire In Name Only.  The difference between now and before is while both sides have been pounding the crap out of each other, neither has launched an offensive to take ground.  Its just WW1 without the over the top mass attacks right now.    frex.

Zaha Hadid's Plans for a 981 Unit Apartment Complex in Monterrey, Mexico

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has unveiled a luxury apartment building planned for Huajuco Canyon, Monterrey, Mexico. The original brief for the Esfera City Center project demanded 12 residential towers. But presumably an architect with Hadid's clout can choose to do what she thinks best, and she designed a nine-story complex comprising a total of 981 apartments spread over 136,000 sq m (1,463,891 sq ft) instead.

link.

NASA Selects Honeybee Robotics for Self Refueling Prospector Spacecraft

NASA has selected Honeybee Robotics for four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and one Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR) Phase I contracts, including one that would help develop a resource prospecting spacecraft capable of refueling itself using in-situ resources.

The five proposals include:

• The World is Not Enough (WINE): Harvesting Local Resources for Eternal Exploration of Space (STTR)

• Planetary Volatiles Extractor for In Situ Resource Utilization (SBIR)

• Development of a Hermetically Sealed Canister for Sample Return Missions (SBIR)

• Lunar Heat Flow Probe (SBIR)

• Miniaturized System-in-Package Motor Controller for Spacecraft and Orbital Instruments (SBIR)

WINE, which is being done with the University of Central Florida in Orlando, involves a 3D-printed CubeSat that would be able to refuel itself by extracting in-situ resources. The spacecraft would be able to land on an asteroid or moon, examine the location, and fly to another location using the water it extracted in its thruster system.

“NASA can use this system to prospect for mining that will support Mars exploration missions. It can also use the system for any planetary exploration when there is a known water resource close to the surface,” according to the proposal. “The system could be used by several commercial companies that are interested in In Situ Resource Utilization for financial gain. These include Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries targeting asteroids.”

Under the Planetary Volatiles Extractor for In Situ Resource Utilization proposal, Honeybee would examine two methods for extracting water known as sniffer and corer. The company will compare these techniques with the Mobile In-Situ Water Extractor (MISWE), which Honeybee developed under a previous SBIR agreement with NASA.

At the end of the Phase 1, we will trade all 3: Sniffer, Corer, MISME and select one for further development in Phase 2,” the proposal states. “After the Sniffer and the Corer tests, a trade study will be conducted to compare Sniffer vs Corer vs MISME approaches. The trade study will include figure of merits (e.g. extraction efficiency etc), potential for scaling production up, easy of deploying on more than one planetary body, as well as mission implementation challenges and risks.”

link.

France Offers 785 Euro to Russia for Mistral Contract Cancellation

France has offered Russia its terms to scrap a contentious contract to supply two warships that was suspended due to the Ukraine crisis, but Moscow judged the sum as unacceptable, a report said Friday.

Russian defense sources told Kommersant newspaper that the French side is willing to pay €785 million ($890 million), and the documents are now "being studied" by the Russian government, defense ministry and other relevant parties which participated in the 2011 deal.

But the daily reported that Moscow was not happy with the French offer, with the defense ministry claiming that Russian firms have now incurred 1.16 billion euros of costs associated with the ships.

The fate of the two Mistral helicopter carriers has plagued French-Russia ties for over a year, following the decision by Paris to put the 1.2 billion euro deal on ice as the West slapped sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and alleged backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine.

link.

BioConcrete: Self Healing Concrete Invented (or rather bacterially healed)

It's the world's most popular building material, and ever since the Romans built the pantheon from it some 2,000 years ago, we've been trying to find ways to make concrete more durable.

No matter how carefully it is mixed or reinforced, all concrete eventually cracks, and under some conditions, those cracks can lead to collapse.

"The problem with cracks in concrete is leakage," explains professor Henk Jonkers, of Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands.

"If you have cracks, water comes through -- in your basements, in a parking garage. Secondly, if this water gets to the steel reinforcements -- in concrete we have all these steel rebars -- if they corrode, the structure collapses."

But Jonkers has come up with an entirely new way of giving concrete a longer life.

"We have invented bioconcrete -- that's concrete that heals itself using bacteria," he says.

link.

Sparks Flew Over Asteroid Mining and Space Property Bill

In a contentious hearing on Wednesday, the Republican controlled House Science Committee approved a measure that would give companies rights to materials they mine from asteroids over complaints from Democrats that the measure was unconstitutional and drawn up to benefit a single company.

The Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015 was approved by a party line vote of 18-15. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) and Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA). Identical legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

Posey said the measure would give companies the right to own and sell materials they mine from asteroids. The measure does not allow a company to own asteroids, nor does it apply to the moon or other planets, he said.

Democrats called the measure unconstitutional, saying it clashed with the nation’s obligations under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that banned ownership of extraterrestrial resources. They cited an expert who testified to that effect at a hearing last year.

link.

One of These Won't be Built: Russia Unveils two Warship Projects

This is Project 23000E or Shtorm.  Its a 90k to 100k ton aircraft carrier.  Note the inclusion of a bow ramp.  This would imply there are no catapults.  Note: Russia does not have a shipyard which can produce such a large ship.  Ukraine has all of the yards which could during the Soviet Union. 

Here's the one more likely to be built: Project 23560EE Shkval destroyer.  This appears to be a DDG.

B-2 Bomber Gets Upgrades, Planned to Have Hypersonic Missile

The Air Force is making upgrades to the communications and weapons systems carried by the B-2 bomber by accelerating development of an air-launched, guided nuclear cruise missile and preparing to produce modifications to the existing B-61 nuclear bomb, service officials said.

The B-2 upgrades will outfit the attack aircraft with next generation digital nuclear weapons called the B-61 Mod 12 with a tail kit — and speed up development of a nuclear cruise missile called the Long Range Stand-Off weapon or, LRSO, Eric Single, chief of the Global Strike division for Air Force acquisition, said in an interview with Military​.com.

The LRSO will replace the Air Launched Cruise Missile, or ALCM, which right now is only carried by the B-52 bomber, Single said.

link.

Senate Armed Services Committee Funds Deep Strike UCLASS Prototypes, Further X-47b Testing

The Senate Armed Services Committee — concerned with the Navy’s direction for its planned unmanned carrier aircraft program — wants the Pentagon to oversee development of two new carrier capable prototype unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and restart testing of the service’s two Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) in a combined $725 million effort, according to a summary of the SASC’s markup of the Fiscal Year 2016 defense authorization bill released Thursday evening.

The SASC bill reflects ongoing sentiments from legislators in both the House and Senate that oppose the Navy’s development of the Unmanned Carrier Launched Strike and Surveillance (UCLASS) that would have limited ability to extend the lethal range of U.S. carrier air wings into defended enemy airspace and act primarily as an information, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform for the carrier strike group.

In a March letter, SASC chairman Sen. John McCain told Secretary of Defense Ash Carter “developing a new carrier-based unmanned aircraft that is primarily an ISR platform and unable to operate effectively in medium- to high –level threat environments would be operationally and strategically misguided.”

According to the summary, “the bill includes $375.0 million for competitive prototyping of at least two follow-on air systems that move toward a UCLASS program capable of long-range strike in a contested environment.”

Measures in the bill would allow the Navy to continue developing its own self-directed version of UCLASS — using $134.7 million in excess development funds obligated in 2015. Development of the UCLASS air-segment has been paused due to an ongoing Pentagon wide UAV strategic program review (SPR, pronounced spear) inside the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and overseen by Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work.

The additional testing and prototyping authority proposed in the SASC bill would give (OSD) more control in shaping UCLASS into a more lethal strike platform in line with the original strategic vision for carrier UAVs, outlined in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, USNI News understands.

The summary said the bill “expresses concern that the Navy’s current requirements for the UCLASS program place disproportionate emphasis on unrefueled endurance to provide organic ISR support to the carrier strike group. The bill recognizes the potential of integrating unmanned combat aircraft in the carrier air wing.”

In parallel to the prototyping effort, the SASC bill gives OSD $350 million “to continue technology maturation and risk reduction with the existing UCAS-D vehicles that will benefit UCLASS and other unmanned aerial systems programs,” read the summary.

link.