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4 stories · Edition of 2026-09-21 · Curated by AI at Invalid Date

SCIENCE

Monks preserve ancient chants on Mount Athos as cultural evolution parallels biological change

31d ago · Source: guardian

Before dawn on Mount Athos in northern Greece, a monk begins chanting an office that has been performed on the peninsula for more than a millennium. He learned the ritual from older monks who inherited it from their predecessors, tracing back to Athanasios the Athonite, who established the monastic community in AD 963. Over centuries, individual monks have entered and left the community, yet their chants, prayers, vestments, and ceremonies remain unchanged. This continuity reflects a property shared by living organisms: cultural practices persist through transmission.

Scholars argue that human culture functions as a distinct form of life, separate from biological organisms but subject to similar evolutionary principles. Unlike biological inheritance, which relies on genetic material, culture spreads through social learning — the transfer of knowledge, behaviors, or customs from one individual to another. Evidence of nonhuman animal culture supports this view. Chimpanzee populations in western Africa, for instance, use stones to crack nuts in some regions but not others, despite identical resources being available elsewhere. In other areas, they strip sticks of leaves to extract termites or employ moss as a drinking sponge. Each group exhibits unique behavioral traditions.

Early human ancestors likely possessed cultural complexity comparable to that of modern chimpanzees. However, beginning around 2.6 million years ago, cultural innovation appears to have accelerated faster than genetic change, reshaping hominin evolution. Hunter-gatherer lifeways — poorly suited to human biology but sustained by cultural adaptation — enabled survival in diverse environments. Innovations such as stone tool production, animal tracking, and processing toxic plants allowed exploitation of previously inaccessible resources. As culture guided technological and social development, biological traits gradually adjusted; for example, the control of fire and cooking led to reductions in jaw size and dental structure.

Enhanced cognitive capacity emerged as a critical driver of cultural advancement. Larger brains improved the ability to absorb, retain, and transmit knowledge, creating a feedback loop in which cultural complexity spurred neurological growth, and vice versa. Language, in particular, marked a turning point. By enabling precise instruction and cumulative knowledge transfer, it allowed cultural practices to spread more efficiently than through imitation alone. Over time, linguistic sophistication increased, supporting the transmission of intricate ideas, tools, and beliefs.

As human populations migrated across the globe, cultural systems diversified into distinct religious practices, artistic expressions, agricultural methods, and complex societies. Despite genetic similarities among populations, cultural differences proliferated, giving rise to a vast array of traditions — from classical music and modern art to culinary techniques and architectural marvels. Today, human culture encompasses an extraordinary range of achievements, from religious monuments to space exploration.

Biological and cultural evolution represent two successive phases of development on Earth. Current advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning suggest the emergence of a new mode of information replication: systems capable of generating and modifying their own code. This development may signify the onset of a third evolutionary stage, in which non-biological entities participate in adaptive, self-sustaining information exchange. Understanding this transition requires reflection on historical patterns of cultural change. As societies navigate this potential shift, insights from past adaptations — such as the interplay between innovation, resource use, and social learning — may inform strategies for managing future transformations. Jonathan Loh, an honorary fellow at the School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, and author of *Life Story: From Cells to Civilisations and Beyond*, contributes to discussions on these themes.

Further reading includes *Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny* by Michael Tomasello, *The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups* by Tracey Camilleri, Samantha Rockey, and Robin Dunbar, and *The Selfish Gene* by Richard Dawkins.

SCIENCE

Space Policy Week Highlights Artemis Accords Expansion and LISA Funding Debate

The Senate's return to session this week coincides with a series of high-profile space policy activities in Washington, D.C., and beyond.

31d ago · Source: SpacePolicyOnline.com · 2 min read

The Senate's return to session this week coincides with a series of high-profile space policy activities in Washington, D.C., and beyond. A key development is Albania's planned signing of the Artemis Accords on Monday, September 21, at NASA headquarters, where Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will preside. This will bring the total number of signatories to 73, reflecting growing international engagement with the agreement's principles for peaceful lunar exploration.

The week's most prominent gathering is the National Academies' Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics meeting, held in person at the National Academy of Sciences through September 24. The agenda includes presentations on NASA's Roman space telescope and an update from NASA Goddard's James Ira Thorpe on the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) project. LISA, a joint NASA-ESA initiative designed to detect gravitational waves in space, has received consistent congressional funding of $80.5 million for several years despite repeated administration proposals to cancel it. The House Appropriations Committee recently reapproved funding for FY2027, while the Senate has yet to act.

A separate virtual event on Wednesday will feature Katalyst Space's Kieran Wilson discussing the company's failed attempt to reboost the Swift observatory using its LINK spacecraft. The mission, which aimed to demonstrate on-orbit servicing capabilities, has seen no recent updates since September 4, when Katalyst indicated LINK would deorbit within '2-3 weeks.' Wilson will participate in a panel titled 'What Comes Next for On-Orbit Servicing?' alongside representatives from Astroscale, Starfish Space, and the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command.

Industry-focused events include Payload Space's Off World Summit in Houston (September 23-24), which will feature a fireside chat with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on topics ranging from commercial space stations to lunar base development. The summit highlights growing private-sector involvement in space infrastructure, with contracts for on-orbit servicing systems recently awarded to multiple firms by U.S. defense entities.

The week also includes technical discussions on satellite operations and space law, such as the GSOA's AI & Autonomous Networks seminar and the 19th University of Nebraska Space Law Conference. These events underscore the expanding intersection of space technology, policy, and international cooperation, with ongoing debates shaping the trajectory of major scientific and commercial space initiatives.

SCIENCE

Analemma Captured Above Callanish Stones Reveals Earth's Orbital Geometry

31d ago · Source: NASA

A composite photograph taken at noon over several months from a fixed spot near the Callanish stone circle on the Outer Hebrides has produced an analemma that maps the Sun's apparent motion across the sky. The image, recorded by Giuseppe Petricca and published by NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, shows the Sun's path forming a figure-eight pattern, with the lower loop captured near the December solstice. The upper loop corresponds to the June solstice, while the central points align with the equinoxes, when day and night are equal worldwide. The Callanish Stones, erected around 2700 BC, stand in the foreground; their potential astronomical function remains unconfirmed. Researchers attribute the analemma's shape to the tilt of Earth's axis and the eccentricity of its orbit. The photograph was taken at regular intervals throughout the year, with each exposure recorded at the same local time to isolate the Sun's changing position. This visual record demonstrates how apparent solar motion varies over time, independent of cultural interpretation or symbolic meaning. The site hosting APOD is transitioning from apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod, with tomorrow's featured image scheduled to depict open space.

SCIENCE

Women Face Lower Rates of Active Treatment for Certain Conditions, Study Finds

31d ago · Source: guardian

A review of global research has revealed that women with the same medical conditions as men are less likely to receive active treatment such as surgery, stents, or strong painkillers.

Researchers at the University of St Andrews examined 38 studies and found that in 33 of them, women were offered fewer treatment options than men. The analysis, published in the journal Plos One, showed that for conditions including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and Parkinson’s, women were underrepresented in receiving procedures like coronary bypass surgery, stent placement, or deep brain stimulation. Instead, women were more often prescribed medication or less invasive interventions.

For example, men with myocardial infarction or heart failure were more likely to undergo surgical procedures, while women were more frequently given medication. Women with kidney disease requiring dialysis were less likely to receive permanent vascular access and tended to rely on catheters for longer periods. In pain management, women were less likely to be prescribed opioids despite similar symptom reports.

The study also noted that for stroke and diabetes, there was no significant difference in treatment rates between sexes. Women were more likely to receive care for dementia, but the disparity in active interventions remained pronounced in other areas.

The findings emerge amid heightened attention to the gender health gap. In March, the then health secretary, Wes Streeting, highlighted concerns about systemic biases in medical care, using the term "medical misogyny" to describe patterns of neglect. The previous Conservative government had appointed Lesley Regan as England’s first women’s health ambassador to address such disparities.

The researchers emphasized that the observed differences were not due to clinical necessity but appeared to stem from assumptions and diagnostic tendencies. Dr Andrew O’Malley, a co-leader of the study, stated that clinicians should examine whether treatment decisions are based on medical evidence rather than implicit assumptions about gender. He noted that prior research indicates doctors often attribute women’s symptoms to anxiety and may overlook positive test results, contributing to diagnostic delays or under-treatment.

Dr Miriam Veenhuizen, an honorary lecturer at St Andrews, said the consistency of the pattern across specialties was notable. The same disparities were observed in cardiology, surgery, transplant medicine, and emergency care, even after statistical adjustments for variables like age and comorbidities.

The study did not identify any clinical guidelines that recommend different treatment approaches based on sex, raising questions about the origins of the disparity. The researchers called for increased awareness and training to ensure that treatment decisions are grounded in individual patient needs rather than gender-based expectations.