Explore the evolutionary origins of human altruism, with a new study testing theories on cooperation. Discover an ancient Stone Age wall in the Baltic Sea and fun teasing behavior in great apes. Learn about optical discs revolutionizing data storage with massive capacity. Uncover the truth behind a fake fossil discovery and delve into the creation of meat rice for innovative food solutions.
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Quick takeaways
Humans evolved cooperation through a combination of repeated interactions and group competition.
Novel optical discs can store petabits of data, potentially replacing energy-hungry hard disks in data centers.
Deep dives
Evolution of Human Altruism
Humans have evolved to help each other, showcasing altruistic behaviors even towards strangers. Researchers explore two key theories, repeated interactions and group competition, to understand the evolution of cooperation. A simulation model incorporating both theories suggests that humans evolved cooperation through a combination of repeated interactions and group competition.
Innovative Data Storage on Optical Disks
Scientists have developed a method to enhance data storage capacity on optical disks using a novel approach with two lasers. By employing a laser-canceling technique, researchers were able to pack significantly more data onto disks compared to traditional methods, achieving peta bits of storage equivalent to 1000 times the capacity of current hard drives.
Meat Rice Hybrid Food Innovation
Researchers have introduced a novel concept of 'meat rice,' a hybrid food combining muscle and fat cells grown on rice as a scaffold. This innovation aims to increase the nutritional quality of rice by embedding additional protein and fat content, offering a potential cost-effective solution with enhanced dietary benefits.
Humans are notable for their cooperation and display far more altruistic behaviour than other animals, but exactly why this behaviour evolved has been a puzzle. But in a new paper, the two leading theories have been put the test with a model and a real-life experiment. They find that actually neither theory on its own leads to cooperation but a combination is required for humans to help one another.
Optical discs, like CDs and DVDs, are an attractive option for long-term data storage, but these discs are limited by their small capacity. Now though, a team has overcome a limitation of conventional disc writing to produce optical discs capable of storing petabits of data, significantly more than the largest available hard disk. The researchers behind the work think their new discs could one day replace the energy-hungry hard disks used in giant data centres, making long-term storage more sustainable.