Август 2023 г.

Российская наука и мир (по материалам зарубежной электронной прессы)

CONTENTS / ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ


• Paleontologists study dinosaur fossils to confirm that Chukotka, Russia, had a milder climate in ancient times
• Russia begins construction of Eurasia's largest solar telescope
• Why "blood-red" glacier is an ominous sign
• Scientists discover new salamander species in the mountain lakes of Manipur
• What people ate 5,000 years ago revealed in ancient cauldron analysis
• Archaeologists find Muromian burial ground in Muroma
• Zoologists isolate three families of tardigrades and disprove the claim about the discovery of a new genus
• Siberian Federal University experts digitize the artifacts of the necropolis of the Hun period
• Russian Moon lander crash - what happened, and what’s next?
• Russia has declared a new space race, hoping to join forces with China. Here’s why that’s unlikely
• Decoding the Bronze Age: Scientists unravel the secrets of an ancient family system
• Synagogue unearthed in Russia may be one of the oldest outside Israel. But not everyone is convinced

66 млн лет назад климат на Чукотке был гораздо мягче, чем считалось до сих пор. К такому выводу пришли петербургские палеонтологи, исследовав останки обитавших там утконосых динозавров гадрозавридов.

Scientists from St Petersburg University as part of a research team have studied bones of hadrosaurid dinosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs, found in Chukotka. They were able to confirm that 66 million years ago the climate in the area was much milder than what had been previously believed.
The authors of the study are Professor Pavel Skutchas, Acting Head of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at St Petersburg University; and Roman Bapinaev, a master's student at St Petersburg University. They spoke in detail about the research at the St Petersburg University Science Lunch, which has recently been published in the journal Cretaceous Research.
Fossils of polar hadrosaurid dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous period (about 66 million years ago) were found at the Kakanaut locality in Chukotka, Russia, by the 2009 expedition of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2014, the fossils - two femur bones, almost a meter-long each; vertebrae; proximal fragments of a humerus; and a scapula - were handed over to the experts from the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at St Petersburg University for further research.
At the same time, the paleobotanists from the Komarov Botanical Institute reconstructed the plant component of the ancient ecosystem of the area. They established that the climate in Chukotka in the Late Cretaceous period must have been much milder than now, with the average temperature about +12°C. The paleontologists from St Petersburg University, for their part, conducted an in-depth study of the hadrosaur fossils using the paleohistology method.
"We prepared thin sections of the hadrosaur bones and examined their structure and composition. This enabled us to evaluate the dynamics of bone growth. We expected to see specific features typical for dinosaurs that lived in harsher environments, such as found in polar dinosaurs from Alaska. The bones under study, however, did not show such features. On the contrary, we found convincing evidence of a mild climate," said Pavel Skutchas, Acting Head of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at St Petersburg University.
"In particular, we expected to reveal the lines of arrested growth, which result from pauses in the rate of bone deposition. It can be compared with annual growth rings in trees that result from the change in growth speed through the seasons of the year. Visible rings are formed only in winter, marking the passage of one year in the life of the tree; hence, they are used to calculate the age of the tree.
"The lines of arrested growth are not present in the Chukotka dinosaur bones. This indicates continuous growth, which would have been impossible in harsh conditions."
According to the paleontologists, polar dinosaurs could have theoretically avoided unfavorable climate conditions (such as the polar night) by migrating southward every year. However, the long-distance migration causes stress on the organism, which must be reflected in the bone structure.
Apart from lines of arrested growth, a harsh climate could have been evidenced by interlayers of less densely vascularized bone tissue. None of these features were found in the fossils. Furthermore, fossilized dinosaur eggs were also found in the Kakanaut Formation. This is an evidence of ancient Chukotka being their breeding area, which contradicts the migration hypothesis, since migration would have been impossible with active breeding.
"We hypothesize that such a drastic difference in climate over time can be explained by the presence of a warm current 66 million years ago. It can be compared to the British Isles that lie at about the same latitude as Kamchatka, just below the latitude of Chukotka; yet, the climate in Britain is much milder thanks to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. Similar natural phenomena might have been present in the Upper Cretaceous period in Chukotka," explained Roman Bapinaev, a master's student at St Petersburg University.

В Саянской солнечной обсерватории Института солнечно-земной физики СО РАН начато строительство крупнейшего солнечного телескопа в Евразии: высота всей конструкции составит 42 метра, а главное зеркало будет иметь диаметр 3 метра. Ожидается, что телескоп-коронограф начнет работу в 2030 г.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Saturday for construction of the largest solar telescope in Eurasia by the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in the Republic of Buryatia.
The telescope, the most complex and expensive instrument of the National Heliogeophysical Complex, will be located at the Sayan Solar Observatory of ISTP, near the village of Monda in Buryatia. The instrument is estimated to cost about 36 billion rubles (about 375 million U.S. dollars), and is expected to be completed and operational by 2030. The main objective of the telescope is to study the nature of magnetic fields and the cycle of solar activity, which affect various aspects of life on Earth.
The telescope will enable scientists to explore the fine structure of the photosphere, the visible surface of the Sun, which is inaccessible for smaller telescopes and orbital observatories.
The telescope will also allow spectral analysis and obtain unique data on magnetic fields and movements of matter, as well as help study the causes of solar flares, coronal mass ejections and other phenomena on the sun. The telescope will contribute to solving fundamental and applied scientific problems in solar physics.
The optical mechanism of the telescope consists of 13 mirrors, with the main mirror having a diameter of 3 meters. The main mirror will be made of astrositall, a special glass-ceramic material. The height of the entire structure will be 42 meters, and the total weight of the telescope will be 120 tons.

Ледник Водопадный на Алтае сменил окраску - цветение водорослей, предположительно Chlamydomonas nivalis, придало льду розово-красный цвет. Гляциологи Томского государственного университета считают, что это может ускорить таяние ледника за счет снижения его отражающей способности.

A massive algae bloom has stained a Siberian glacier blood-red, and Russian scientists warn that the bloom will cause the ice to melt at a faster rate.
Glaciers are shrinking around the world, contributing to rising sea levels as global warming continues to cause the ice to melt. Melting glaciers can displace people by causing floods. They also cause changes in land configuration, contribute to extreme weather by disrupting weather patterns and threaten natural environments such as sea life. In some areas, glaciers are melting because of rising temperatures, but in Russia a cold-thriving unicellular alga called Chlamydomonas nivalis is contributing to the melting by reducing the glacier's reflectivity.
Tomsk State University (TSU) scientists in Russia conducted a study of glaciers in the Altai Mountains to examine the reduction in the ice as part of an ongoing strategic project called Global Earth Changes: Climate, Ecology, Quality of Life. Scientists are working to observe a full carbon cycle in the Russian and North Asian Arctic to produce a long-term forecast of the Arctic system, according to a webpage dedicated to the project.
During the study, TSU research scientists identified a concerning trend with melting glaciers, in part caused by the cold-thriving unicellular algae. The algae bloom inside the ice formations.
The green algae can survive frigid temperatures by secreting a red pigment that allows them to survive, according to a report published on Tuesday by The Moscow Times. The pigment stains the snow "blood-red" and reduces the glacier's reflectivity, causing it to melt faster, the report said. Scientists found the blood-red stains on the Waterfall glacier in the Aktru glacier group in the Altai Mountains near Russia's border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
TSU scientists collected samples of the algae and sent them to the TSU Institute of Biology for testing to confirm it is C. nivalis.
C. nivalis in the Altai Mountains is no surprise, as it occurs every year in alpine and coastal polar regions and often covers Russian glaciers. However, this year, the algae bloomed in massive numbers not seen for a decade, according to Alexander Yerofeyev, the head of TSU's Laboratory of Glacioclimatology.
Newsweek reached out to TSU by email for comment.
The algae are accelerating loss already occurring in the glacier, which has lost more than 25 percent of its mass in 60 years, according to The Moscow Times. Scientists have not confirmed why the algae bloomed in such a massive amount this year, but they have some ideas.
"Presumably, the reason for such a mass phenomenon is an unusually large amount of snow that fell in the Altai Mountains this winter and remained until the period of their flowering favorable for red algae," Yerofeyev said in a TSU press release about the discovery.
Yerofeyev shared footage of his recent expedition on YouTube. The 15-second clip pans in a sweeping motion, displaying the stained snow, which is also called "watermelon snow" because of its color, The Moscow Times said.
Last winter was the snowiest the Altai highlands had experienced in three decades, according to the Times. Much of the snow covering the glaciers didn't melt until July, providing the prime environment for the red algae to develop.

Группа индийских и российских ученых обнаружила в горных озерах Манипура новый вид саламандр, получивший название Tylototriton zaimeng. Ранее этих саламандр ошибочно принимали за их близких родственников видов Tylototriton himalayanus и Tylototriton verrucosus.

A team of Indian and Russian scientists has discovered a new ‘cryptic’ species of salamander in the mountain lakes of Manipur, a study published on Monday in the latest issue of Herpetozoa, a journal published by the Austrian Herpetological Society informed.
The newfound species - Tylototriton zaimeng - was mistaken for its close relatives T. himalayanus and T. verrucosus until now. However, researchers uncovered fresh insights into its characteristics and ecological significance by merging molecular and morphological evidence.
"Cryptic means those different species which look very similar and cannot easily be distinguished from related species," said HT Lalremsanga, professor of zoology at Mizoram University, who is among the nine scientists involved in the discovery.
The new species has been named after Zaimeng, a mountain lake located at 2,215m above sea level atop the Khongtheng mountain range in Kangpokpi district of the state. Zaimeng in the dialect spoken by Liangmai people, a Naga tribe residing both in Nagaland and Manipur, means a ‘Puzzle Lake’ or ‘Mystery Lake’.
The team of scientists found several samples of the new species from three locations with mountain lakes and swamps in Manipur during field surveys conducted in 2022.
"Our goal was to uncover the hidden mysteries of the Tylototriton verrucosus species group, whose members had long kept their identities concealed, confusing even the most experienced herpetologists." said Lalremsanga.
The team noticed that the specimens of the medium-sized salamander they had collected were unlike any other. The Tylototriton zaimeng had distinct characteristics that set it apart from its close relatives.
Its head was massive and wide, with a rounded snout and protruding supratemporal bony ridges, while a well-developed sagittal ridge adorned its crown. The creature’s limbs, short and elegantly formed, did not overlap when adpressed along its body.
"A wide and unsegmented vertebral ridge ran along its back, accompanied by 13-14 pairs of rib nodules, marking a clear distinction from its kin. Tylototriton zaimeng displayed a stunning brown coloration, embellished with dull orange to yellowish-brown markings on its head, vertebral ridge, rib nodules, palms, soles, vent, and ventral tail ridge. Vomerine teeth, elegantly organised in two distinctly curved bell-shaped series, further differentiated this mysterious creature," the study mentioned.
Apart from morphological revelations, DNA tests of the specimens confirmed that this cryptic species belonged to Clade I of the subgenus Tylototriton, and it emerged as a sister species to T. panwaensis and T. houi. The genetic divergence underscored the uniqueness of this newly uncovered species, it added.
Scientists found that the habitat of Tylototriton zaimeng is confined to the Khongtheng mountain range in Manipur.
Due to its isolation and limited distribution, the scientists have advocated inclusion of the new species in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List as a vulnerable (VU) species, emphasising the need for conservation efforts to protect this enigmatic creature and its fragile habitat.

Биохимический анализ семи бронзовых котлов, принадлежащих майкопской культуре, позволил получить некоторые сведения о рационе жителей Северного Кавказа в 4 тысячелетии до н. э. Сохранившиеся на поверхности металла белковые остатки свидетельствуют о том, что в котлах готовили молочные и мясные блюда. В пищу употреблялся как домашний скот, так и дикие животные.

Ancient cooking cauldrons have revealed what humans were eating more than 5,000 years ago.
For a study published in the journal iScience, a team of researchers analyzed food residues left behind on seven rare bronze cauldrons found at burial sites in the Caucasus region. The findings shed light on the foods being cooked by a Bronze Age population that once inhabited the area.
This transcontinental Caucasus region, which lies between the Caspian and Black Seas, includes parts of southwestern Russia, as well as the nations of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The cauldrons analyzed in the study are associated with the Maykop people, who lived in the northern Caucasus from around 3700-2900 B.C. during the early Bronze Age.
"There is little reliable information on the Maykop culture's way of life. In short, [they were] sedentary, illiterate farmers with no cities," Viktor Trifonov, an author of the study with the Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, told Newsweek.
Trifonov had previously been studying the funeral practices of the Maykop culture, coming to the conclusion that communal feasts involving such cooking cauldrons were a key component of the ceremonies.
"We have already established that during the feast, the Maykop people most likely drank a soupy kind of beer, but we did not know what was included on the main menu," Trifonov said. "All indirect signs indicated that the main dish was cooked in cauldrons. The question was what exactly was cooked."
To try and address this knowledge gap, the researchers decide to conduct a biochemical study of food residues in the cauldrons using a new protein analysis technique. The cauldrons had been found at different times starting from 1897 and are being kept in museums in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The scientists identified ancient protein residues in the cauldrons from blood, muscle tissue and milk. One of the proteins indicated that the cauldrons were used to cook deer tissues or those from the bovine family, which includes cows, yaks and water buffalo.
The scientists also identified milk proteins from either sheep or goats, indicating that the cauldrons were used to prepare dairy.
"From the mixture of muscle and blood, we assume people were cooking some sort of stew," Shevan Wilkin, another author of the study with the University of Zurich, told Newsweek.
"There were a small amount of milk proteins in the residue as well, and this could have been cooked with the meat, or for a separate cooking event. Think about how we would use the same pot to cook pasta or a soup, this could be the case here as cauldrons were relatively rare and very hard to make," Wilkin said.
The cauldrons are large so the people cooking were clearly making large meals meant to be shared between several people, not just individual families, according to the researchers.
"It's really exciting to get an idea of what people were making in these cauldrons so long ago," Wilkin said in a press release.
The researchers also employed radiocarbon dating, indicating that the cauldrons could have been used between 3520-3350 B.C. This means that the vessels are more than 3,000 years older than any that have been analyzed before, according to the researchers.
The fact that the protein residues have been preserved for so long could be explained by the fact that many metal alloys, such as bronze, have anti-microbial properties. These properties may have hampered the ability of microbes to degrade the proteins over time.
"The most exciting finding for me has been the preservation of proteins for 5,000 years," Wilkin told Newsweek. "The metals of the cauldron are naturally anti-microbial, which we thought might help to preserve the organics, and I was very happily surprised to see that it worked so far back into time."
Even earlier evidence of milk, meat and plant residues - dated to around 6,500 B.C. - have been previously documented at the ancient settlement of Çatalhöyük in southern Anatolia. But the evidence in the latest study represents the earliest residue from metal vessels, Wilkin said.
The cauldrons that the team analyzed show signs of wear and tear from use, although there are also indications that they had undergone extensive repairs. This suggests that they were valuable, requiring significant skill to make while serving as important symbols of wealth or social position.
The methods used in the latest study have great potential to uncover previously unknown information about ancient peoples, according to the researchers. If proteins are preserved on artifacts such as the bronze cauldrons, there is a good chance they are preserved on a wide range of other objects, Wilkin said in the press release.
"We still have a lot to learn, but this opens up the field in a really dramatic way," he said.
"With methods such as protein analysis we can now see amazing archaeological data that would have otherwise remained invisible," Wilkin told Newsweek. "With proteins, we can see tissue as well as species, whereas, with DNA, only species is available. For example, DNA could not determine that we have blood, muscle, and milk, but only that we had evidence of ruminant species present.
"What is really interesting for me is that the preservation offered by metal vessels offers new opportunities to look at food production, processing, serving, and dining across any area with metal cups, bowls, or large vessels."
The latest study will shed new light on our understanding of to what extent the population of this remote area shared the culinary traditions of the Western Asian cultures living around the same time, according to Trifonov.
"The 4th millennium B.C. was a unique period in the history of the northern Caucasus," Trifonov told Newsweek. "Never before nor after was the region so profoundly integrated into the world of the ancient Near East."

Археологи начали раскопки могильника племени мурома, обнаруженного на правом берегу Оки в Нижегородской области осенью прошлого года. Ученые исследовали 13 захоронений IX-XI вв., в которых обнаружили погребальный инвентарь, а также украшения и элементы одежды.

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, working on behalf of the Volga expedition, have uncovered a Muromian burial ground on the left bank of the Oka River in the city of Muroma.
The Muromians are generally described as a Volga-Finnic people that lived in the Oka River basin in Russia’s present day Vladimir Oblast. The Muromians paid tribute to the Rus’ princes and, like the neighbouring Merya tribe, were assimilated by the East Slavs in the 11th to 12th century AD as their territory was incorporated into the lands of the Rus’.
Excavations have uncovered the remain of 13 individuals, most of which are predominantly male inhumation burials oriented to the north. Among the male burials are associated grave goods consisting of weapons such as spears, axes and ice picks, in addition to coins (dirhams) and 5 lead weights.
In one notable burial are high status items such as an axe, a spear, a knife, a cauldron made of non-ferrous metal, four bronze bracelets and two silver rings. Also in the burial is a belt plaque made of white metal covered in gilding and a beaver tail bag containing two dirhams. According to the researchers, the find is comparable to Hungarian-type belts found over a wide area from the Perm Kama region to the Carpathian basin.
A closer study of the dirhams (an Islamic currency), places the coins to the beginning of the 10th century AD when dirhams were commonly used in Europe and are found in areas with Viking connections, such as Viking York and Dublin.
Deposited to the left of the burial are items of women’s jewelry, including pendants from a headdress, Muromian temporal rings, a Glazov-type torc, bracelets, and an openwork belt buckle.

Петербургские зоологи исследовали четыре вида тихоходок семейства Hypsibiidae и выделили три из них в отдельные семейства. В силу микроскопических размеров у этих животных очень трудно обнаружить уникальные морфологические признаки, поэтому с появлением методов молекулярной таксономии ученые все чаще выявляют несоответствия в определении родства между группами на основе традиционных морфологических методов и новых генетических данных.

Zoologists at St Petersburg University have studied the morphological traits of four tardigrade species within the superfamily Hypsibiidae. Following the results of the phylogenetic molecular and morphological analysis, the taxonomic structure of the group has been revised, with three separate families having been isolated within the Hypsibiidae. This also enabled the scientists to disprove the claim about the discovery of a new genus within the Hypsibiidae.
First discovered in the 18th century, tardigrades are micro-invertebrates, about one millimetre in length. Tardigrades are renowned for their extreme stress tolerance and adaptability. They can hibernate for as long as necessary in order to be able to survive in the harshest conditions, even in outer space. As a rule, tardigrades inhabit moss and lichen cushions, where they reproduce and feed on the fluids rich with micro-algae and other plants, as well as on microscopic animals sharing the same habitat.
For a long time, the taxonomy of tardigrades was based solely on their morphology. With the introduction of molecular taxonomy methods, however, scientists have discovered significant discrepancies between the results of molecular reconstructions and traditional morphological methods in the analysis of the animal phylogeny, determining the relationship within a group. As the researchers explain, the conventional understanding of tardigrade evolutionary history is not always correct, and detailed analysis of the morphological structure often confirms hypotheses based on phylogenetic molecular data.
In particular, tardigrades are distinguished by a limited set of morphological characters available for the phylogenetic analysis and identification, which is associated with the small size of these invertebrates. When analysing the morphology and functional anatomy of tardigrades, it is extremely difficult to identify and distinguish unique morphological traits, characterising related groups of tardigrades, from the traits inherited from a common ancestor that cannot serve as evidence of group kinship.
Our research prompted us to re-evaluate the structure of the superfamily Hypsibioidea. Our recent findings, including the results of the phylogenetic molecular and morphological analyses, made us realise that there are practically no common traits (neither morphological, nor molecular) that unite separate groups within the largest family of this clade - Hypsibiidae.
Denis Tumanov, Assistant Professor in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at St Petersburg University
'We therefore proposed to isolate within the Hypsibiidae three full-fledged families, differentiated by these traits,' explained Denis Tumanov, Assistant Professor in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at St Petersburg University.
The zoologists at St Petersburg University made a new integrative description of an Arctic species of Diphascon tenue, which was first described and established back in the early 20th century based on its morphological characters. The results of molecular analysis enabled the University zoologists to conclude that this species does not belong to the genus Diphascon. Yet, its morphological characters appeared to confirm its inclusion within the genus Diphascon. Another Antarctic tardigrade species investigated in the same study had the reverse situation. The molecular data allowed for its attribution to the genus Diphascon, while the morphological data did not support that. Hence, the conclusion was drawn that this tardigrade family structure needs re-evaluation.
More specifically, such a conclusion was made based on the detailed analysis of the bucco-pharyngeal tube structure; in particular, the presence or absence of a drop-like thickening between the buccal and pharyngeal tubes, where the pharyngeal muscles are attached. Previously, this morphological trait was considered a key determinant in dividing the species groups within the family Hypsibiidae. The study of the University zoologists showed that, along with other morphological characters, this trait is distributed within the Hypsibiidae without reference to any specific taxa. In other words, this might be an ancient trait lost in some groups.
Having analysed several other members of the family Hypsibiidae, the scientists concluded that this family should be divided into three separate groups, which had been previously considered subfamilies. In fact, two of them were regarded as two separate families, but were later merged into one, whereas the third subfamily has been recognised relatively recently.
Additionally, the researchers from St Petersburg University have clarified the phylogenetic position of a recently described genus Meplitumen within the Hypsibiidae.
'This genus was described using morphological data from South America. In most of its morphological traits, this genus is similar to another genus within the superfamily Hypsibiidae. The key morphological character was some details of its flexible pharyngeal tube structure. Based on this particular morphological character, another species - found in Europe long ago - was later attributed to this genus. We found that the trait, initially regarded as unique to this genus, was in fact present in another long-known genus. Then, we carried out phylogenetic molecular analysis. It turned out that the representative of the genus - initially found and described in South America a few years ago - that we have recently found in Russia fits within the long-established genus. Hence, the Meplitumen cannot be considered a separate genus,' Denis Tumanov explained.
Thus, in addition to discovering a new genus of tardigrades, the zoologists from St Petersburg University also managed to 'close' the genus Meplitumen.
Earlier, the scientists from St Petersburg University discovered four new species of tardigrades and found three other tardigrade species new to Russia, previously only found in other countries. Also, the scientists from St Petersburg University, as part of an international team of researchers, have re-evaluated the morphological diagnoses of tardigrade species found in Antarctica, Great Britain and Italy and proposed a new family of these microscopic invertebrates - Acutuncidae.

Красноярские ученые создали цифровую коллекцию артефактов времен Великого переселения народов, найденных в гуннских погребениях на территории Богучанского района. Это украшения, культовые предметы, предметы обихода.

Scientists of Siberian Federal University have digitized ancient artifacts found in Boguchany district of Krasnoyarsk Territory. Rare jewelry, religious and household items helped to learn about the way of life of the oldest inhabitants of the banks of the Angara River, who settled in the vast taiga zone of Yenisey Siberia during the Migration Period in the 3-4th centuries AD and large-scale migrations of the Xiongnu (Huns) people.
The Punkt Proshlogo (Point of the Past) digital project, developed by researchers of the School for the Humanities, SibFU, is based on a valuable collection of ancient artifacts. User-friendly navigation allows you to get acquainted with the artifact, their purpose and functions in the life of the ancient Angarians. The technical concept of the project was implemented by specialists of the Digital Humanities laboratory and SibFU master students.
"The artifacts unearthed from the Migration Period burial site have come into the spotlight. For the first time we were able to identify the burials of this historical period in the entire huge taiga zone of Yenisey Siberia. This is the first such necropolis found in our region, therefore, we want to present these artifacts in an interesting and visually appealing manner to the widest audience", said Polina Senotrusova, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Archaeology of Yenisey Siberia, SibFU.
Jewelry and utensils were unearthed in 2018-2022 during archaeological expeditions led by Dr Pavel Mandryka, professor at the Department of Russian History, World and Regional Civilizations, SibFU, and Polina Senotrusova.
The most striking artifacts were selected for the project, for example, two images of predatory day birds. The figures are in good condition and look realistic, with ornate wings and tails.
The position of the wings shows that the birds are depicted attacking the prey. According to the specific shape of the wings, tail and the general outline of the body, scientists assumed that one figure depicts a falcon, and the second one depicts an eagle. Another image of the animal found in the burial site is incomplete. This is the head of a hoofed animal, most likely a reindeer. The outlines of the ear and expressive face, as well as the bent front leg, are clearly visible.
"The images of birds and deer were rather decorative. The ancient wealthy inhabitants of the Angara banks decorated their clothes with elements that protected their owners from the evil eye, diseases and troubles. Flat disks made of white bronze with a thin concentric ornament are a completely different type of image. Such disks might have been a symbol of the sun, religious or astronomical objects, but their exact functional purpose is unknown, and further research is required to confirm the guesses", continued Polina Senotrusova.
The peculiar thing is that all bronze products from the necropolis in the Lower Angara region were imported, and the exact place of their manufacture is unknown. According to experts, in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, such objects were widespread from the Cis-Urals to the banks of the Angara. The artifacts themselves draw the most north-eastern line of their distribution. Scientists believe that such things are important markers showing the directions of cultural ties of the Angara population in ancient times.
Nikita Pikov, head of the technical implementation of the project, senior lecturer at the Department of Information Technology in Creative and Cultural Industries, SibFU, said that the Punkt Proshlogo (Point of the Past) website was developed using ReactJS library, which allows you to create modern web interfaces, and Three.js library, which simplifies the process of creating and rendering 3D graphics in a web browser.
"The combination of these tools makes the website quite dynamic, and allows you to organically use 3D models that were created by photogrammetry. This is the determination of the shape, size, position and other characteristics of objects based on their photographic images. Since the models created by this method usually have a huge number of polygons, it was necessary to optimize 3D models for stable operation on most devices that site visitors can use. To do this, we needed retopology, i.e. the process of converting high-poly 3D models into low-poly ones, while the visual quality of the model itself is preserved. In addition, to improve the performance of our site, we used the GLTF format, which is quite standard for 3D models and shows the best results in terms of download speed in web browsers", explained Nikita Pikov.
"At the end of the project, we came to the conclusion that the people whose history we came into contact with did not live in isolation in dense forests. They worked and traded actively with people in other territories. When the Xiongnu were defeated by the Han Empire warriors and their allies, they moved from Central Asia to the west. And although it was previously thought that the rampant migration of the Xiongnu-Huns affected mainly the steppes, our artifacts clearly show that global changes also affected the deep taiga areas. On the banks of the Yenisey and Angara, craftsmen developed iron processing technologies, and the exchange with people in the southern and western territories intensified. There were new ceramic dishes, weapons became more advanced and convenient", informed Pavel Mandryka, research supervisor, Dr. Sc. (History).
The project was implemented with the support of the Priority 2030 program. The materials used will be presented on the Sibiriana platform, developed at Siberian Federal University.

Первая за 47 лет российская миссия на Луну потерпела крах - спускаемый аппарат разбился при попытке посадки. Беспилотный космический корабль «Луна-25», запуск которого откладывался 14 раз, наконец стартовал с космодрома Восточный 11 августа. Предполагалось, что аппарат сядет недалеко от южного полюса, однако 19 августа связь с ним пропала. Не долетев до места посадки, корабль вышел на нерасчетную орбиту и врезался в поверхность Луны.

Russia says its Luna 25 spacecraft has crashed into the surface of the Moon during preparations to attempt a landing at the lunar south pole. "It’s hugely disappointing," says Simeon Barber, a planetary scientist at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK. "It highlights that landing on the moon is not easy."
The uncrewed spacecraft blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia on 10 August. It was the country’s first mission to the Moon since Luna 24, in 1976. The goal was to touch down at the 100-kilometre-wide Boguslawsky crater near the south pole, which would have made Russia the first country to land a craft in this location.
But on 19 August, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced on the social media network Telegram that "communication with the Luna 25 spacecraft was interrupted", after a command was sent to the craft to lower its orbit around the Moon. Attempts to contact the craft on 20 August were unsuccessful, leading Roscosmos to determine that Luna 25 had "ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface".
The mission’s failure will be a huge loss to Russia’s space ambitions, says Bleddyn Bowen, a space-policy specialist at the University of Leicester, UK. "It’s just the most spectacular example of the problems that have plagued the Russian space sector for many years now," he adds. "I don’t know how they’re going to come back from this."
Searching for ice
If Luna 25 had landed successfully, the spacecraft would have used various instruments, including a robotic arm, to dig up to 50 centimetres into the lunar surface in search of water ice - thought to be abundant at the Moon’s south pole and a potential resource for future missions.
The stationary lander was designed to last for up to 12 months on the surface, which could have revealed possible changes in "frost on the surface of the Moon", says Barber, who was part of a European collaboration with Russia on lunar missions that ended last year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. "We do think there is an active water cycle on the Moon today, with water molecules being trapped in cold places."
Luna 25’s landing was scheduled just ahead of another attempt to touch down at the Moon’s south pole, by India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which will try to do so on 23 August. The vehicle is currently searching for an opportune landing spot from lunar orbit. "If they succeed, it would be quite a demonstration of how India can do lunar [missions] in a way Russia can’t," says Bowen.
NASA also hopes to land equipment at the Moon’s south pole later this year, hitching a ride with the IM-1 mission of Intuitive Machines, a firm based in Houston, Texas. Other uncrewed US moon landings are planned ahead of the return of US astronauts to the moon later this decade. China, too, has set its sights on the lunar south pole, having already landed on the Moon’s far side for the first time and returned samples from the Moon in recent years.
Russia still has two more Moon missions in the works, the Luna 26 orbiter and Luna 27 lander, but the status of those missions is unclear following Luna 25’s failure. "It’s inevitably going to push back the programme," says Christopher Newman, who researches space law and policy at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK. But he adds that it would be a "surprise" if those missions don’t go ahead, because Russia continues to try to demonstrate its space prowess.
"This was clearly an attempt to re-establish Russia as a dominant space power," says Newman. "It will bite deeply into their confidence that they haven’t done that."

После провала лунной миссии глава Роскосмоса Юрий Борисов заявил о начале «новой гонки по использованию ресурсов Луны» и в том числе о возможности совместного российско-китайского пилотируемого полета. Каковы планы Китая и намерен ли он участвовать в этой гонке?

This week, the Russian space agency Roscosmos had hoped to return to the moon after an absence of nearly 50 years. Instead, on Saturday it lost control of its Luna-25 lander. The agency explained the spacecraft "switched to an off-design orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface."
Yet, in an interview aired on state television, the agency's chief, Yuri Borisov, pledged his nation's unwavering commitment to lunar exploration:
"This is not just about the prestige of the country and the achievement of some geopolitical goals. This is about ensuring defensive capabilities and achieving technological sovereignty."
Roscosmos had been keen to beat a rival Indian spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3, to achieve a soft landing near the lunar south pole. The Indian mission remains on schedule for a soft landing today (around 9pm AEST).
Despite the Luna-25 failure, the head of Russia's space agency also declared a "new race to exploit the moon's resources has begun," and there would be a potential crewed Russian-Chinese mission in the future, as reported by Reuters. His statement sounds like it is less about the scientific exploration of the lunar surface, and more about geopolitical posturing.
I recently spent the better part of a decade as a senior academic at Peking University, and in July 2023 was appointed as Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute-Beijing. These appointments have allowed me to gain unique insights into the processes driving China's space science program.
A lunar outpost
The lunar south pole region is thought to contain significant water reservoirs locked in grains of ice. That makes the area interesting as a potential staging post for future missions to Mars and beyond, as lunar explorers can use the water for survival.
In early 2021, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly establish an International Lunar Research Station by the mid-2030s.
The lunar south pole may well be a prime site for such a robotic base, which might also involve the European Space Agency and other international partners.
Yet human involvement in Sino-Russian space missions is not anticipated any time soon. Therefore, Borisov's assertion that Russia would explore a joint crewed mission came as an unlikely surprise. He may well have been speaking to a domestic audience, in an attempt to salvage his agency's credentials.
Despite an impressive number of collaboration agreements, high-profile Sino-Russian space projects remain few and far between. If joint human exploration of the moon is not currently on the cards, it is highly unlikely the Chinese space authorities will take the bait.
No need for a space race
China has always carefully planned its approach to solar system exploration and human spaceflight, navigating a succession of clearly defined technological benchmarks. China will unlikely be coerced into rushing its planned milestones. As such, the notion of a "space race" involving China seems a moot point.
Chinese scientists and engineers have become highly adept at developing homegrown capabilities. They no longer require international assistance. If anything, in the Sino-Russian relationship, Russia is now well and truly the junior partner. Its aging technology pales in comparison with the leaps of modernisation we have witnessed in relation to China's progress in space.
Although the country only joined the league of space-faring nations in 1970 with the launch of its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1 (The East is Red 1), it has since made massive strides in technology readiness.
China's lunar exploration program has gradually built on proven capabilities, from entering the moon's orbit on its first lunar missions (Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2; named after the Chinese moon goddess) to achieving soft landings (Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 4) and a successful sample return mission, Chang'e 5.
Venturing out to the planets
Solar system exploration is now firmly on China's agenda, not least because of the recent Tianwen 1 (Heavenly Questions) mission to Mars. That mission successfully deployed the Zhurong rover (named after a Chinese mythological god of fire), a major technological feat in its own right.
Similarly, China's human spaceflight program is starting to yield impressive results. As the country's scientists and engineers are banned from collaborating with their federally funded US counterparts by the 2011 Wolf Amendment, the China Manned Space program has been pursuing construction of a sovereign space station, Tiangong (Heavenly Palace).
Future plans include the development of a next-generation crewed spacecraft to replace the workhorse Shenzhou (Divine Vessel on the Heavenly River) series. We are told it will be capable of carrying taikonauts to the moon, but that does not mean Russian cosmonauts will be invited to come along.
Although China can no longer boast the economic successes of the past and external cash injections might be seen as helpful, Russia's financial losses due to its ongoing war in Ukraine may well make any such overtures merely wishful thinking.
Russia's prowess in space appears to have become just a dim reflection of its Soviet precursor.

Немецкие и российские антропологи проанализировали геномы останков 32 человек из некрополя «Неплюевский» бронзового века на территории Челябинской области, выстроив систему родственных отношений погребенных. Это оказались три поколения одной семьи - шесть братьев, их жены, дети и внуки. Средняя продолжительность жизни женщин составляла 28 лет, мужчин - 36 лет. При этом все женщины происходили из других, более удаленных мест, что указывает на патрилокальный характер общества.

Scientists have long been captivated by the diversity of family structures in ancient civilizations. A pioneering research project led by anthropologists from Mainz, in collaboration with an international group of archaeologists, now offers new perspectives on the origins and genetic structure of prehistoric family units.
Researchers Jens Blöcher and Joachim Burger from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have analyzed the genomes of skeletons from an extended family from a Bronze Age necropolis in the Russian steppe. The 3,800-year-old "Nepluyevsky" burial mound was excavated several years ago and is located on the geographical border between Europe and Asia.
Using statistical genomics, the family and marriage relationships of this society have now been deciphered. The study was carried out in cooperation with archaeologists from Ekaterinburg and Frankfurt a. M. and was partly financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Russian Science Foundation (RSCF).
The kurgan (burial mound) investigated was the grave of six brothers, their wives, children, and grandchildren. The presumably oldest brother had eight children with two wives, one of whom came from the Asian steppe regions in the east. The other brothers showed no signs of polygamy and probably lived monogamously with far fewer children.
Fascinating snapshot of a prehistoric family
"The burial site provides a fascinating snapshot of a prehistoric family," explains Jens Blöcher, lead author of the study. "It is remarkable that the first-born brother apparently had a higher status and thus greater chances of reproduction. The right of the male firstborn seems familiar to us, it is known from the Old Testament, for example, but also from the aristocracy in historical Europe."
The genomic data reveal even more. Most women buried in the kurgan were immigrants. The sisters of the buried brothers, in turn, found new homes elsewhere. Joachim Burger, senior author of the study, explains: "Female marriage mobility is a common pattern that makes sense from an economic and evolutionary perspective. While one sex stays local and ensures the continuity of the family line and property, the other marries in from the outside to prevent inbreeding."
The genomic diversity of the prehistoric women was higher than that of the men
Accordingly, the Mainz population geneticists found that the genomic diversity of the prehistoric women was higher than that of the men. The women who married into the family thus came from a larger area and were not related to each other. In their new homeland, they followed their husbands into the grave. From this the authors conclude that in Nepluyevsky there was both "patrilineality," i.e. the transmission of local traditions through the male line, and "patrilocality", i.e. the place of residence of a family is the place of residence of the men.
"Archaeology shows that 3,800 years ago, the population in the southern Trans-Ural knew cattle breeding and metalworking and subsisted mainly on dairy and meat products," comments Svetlana Sharapova, an archaeologist from Ekaterinburg and head of the excavation, adding, "the state of health of the family buried here must have been very poor. The average life expectancy of the women was 28 years, that of the men 36 years."
In the last generation, the use of the kurgan suddenly stopped and almost only infants and small children were found. Sharapova adds, "It is possible that the inhabitants were decimated by disease or that the remaining population went elsewhere in search of a better life."
Multiple partners and many children for the putative firstborn son
"There is a global connection between different family systems and certain forms of lifestyle and economy," says Blöcher. "Nevertheless, human societies are characterized by a high degree of flexibility." He adds, "In Nepluyevsky, we find evidence of a pattern of inequality typical of pastoralists: multiple partners and many children for the putative firstborn son and no or monogamous relationships for most others."
The authors find additional genomic evidence that populations genetically similar to Neplujevsky society lived throughout most of the Eurasian steppe belt. Burger comments: "It is quite possible that the local pattern we found is relevant to a much larger area." Future studies will show to what extent the "Neplujevsky" model can be verified at other prehistoric sites in Eurasia.
Reference: "Descent, marriage, and residence practices of a 3,800-year-old pastoral community in Central Eurasia" by Jens Blöcher, Maxime Brami, Isabelle Sofie Feinauer, Eliza Stolarczyk, Yoan Diekmann, Lisa Vetterdietz, Marina Karapetian, Laura Winkelbach, Vanessa Kokot, Leonardo Vallini, Astrid Stobbe, Wolfgang Haak, Christina Papageorgopoulou, Rüdiger Krause, Svetlana Sharapova and Joachim Burger, 21 August 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

При раскопках на месте древнегреческой колонии Фанагория на Таманском полуострове экспедиция Института археологии РАН обнаружила развалины синагоги, построенной предположительно в I в. до н. э. или в начале I в. н. э. и сгоревшей во время пожара, уничтожившего почти весь город в VI в. Если дата постройки подтвердится, синагога станет вторым старейшим иудейским храмом в Европе.

Archaeologists in southern Russia say they've discovered the ruins of a 2,000-year-old synagogue - a rare discovery given that buildings for Jewish worship from this period are seldom found outside the Holy Land.
The team made the discovery just a few miles east of Crimea on Russia's Taman Peninsula, where they're excavating the remains of an ancient Greek colony at the Phanagoria archaeological site. The synagogue's age hasn’t yet been verified in a peer-reviewed study, but it may date to more than 100 years before the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman legions in A.D. 70.
Although the archaeologists on the project are convinced their dating is correct, it has been questioned by other experts, who suggest the synagogue was built later - perhaps in the fourth century A.D., well after the fall of the Second Temple.
Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesman for the Volnoe Delo Foundation - the Russian charity that funds the Phanagoria excavations - said analysis of marble tablets and inscriptions indicated the synagogue dated to the first century B.C.
He added that one tablet - inscribed with the Greek word "synagein," which is the origin of the English word "synagogue" and means "house of assembly" - may date to the fifth century B.C. and may have been brought from somewhere else.
Ancient Phanagoria
Phanagoria was founded in the sixth century B.C. by refugees from the Greek city of Teos on the western coast of Anatolia (now Turkey), which was sacked by the Persians in 540 B.C.
Russian archaeologists have excavated the vast site since 2004, and last year they announced the discovery of a silver medallion depicting the Greek goddess Aphrodite in the grave of a young woman.
In a statement, Bunyatyan said the archaeologists had discovered the foundations and outlines of the synagogue's walls. Inside, they found inscribed marble stelae, or upright tablets; marble menorahs, or ceremonial nine-branched candlesticks; and the remains of marble columns, paintings and tiles.
The synagogue seems to have functioned until the mid-sixth century, when Phanagoria was sacked by local barbarian tribes, the statement said.
Jewish presence
A Jewish house of prayer at Phanagoria was mentioned in an inscription from A.D. 41 found at another ancient Greek city on the Black Sea shore. It also seems to appear in an inscription from A.D. 16. found at Phanagoria itself, but that inscription was heavily damaged and may not be entirely reliable, Bunyatyan said.
Evidence of such an early Jewish community outside the traditional land of Israel is extraordinary. But some experts are not convinced that the dating of the finds is accurate. "In this period, the number of synagogues inside Israel were very low, and the number outside could be counted on the fingers of one hand," Jon Seligman, an archaeologist at the Israeli Antiquities Authority, told Live Science.
Seligman, who was not involved in the research, is an expert on the archaeology of synagogues; his research includes recent excavations of the remains of the "Great Synagogue of Vilna" in Lithuania, a spiritual center for European Jews for hundreds of years.
Seligman said he'll reserve judgment on the latest finds at Phanagoria until they are published in a peer-reviewed study. "There's not enough information to get a professional understanding of the claims," he said.

предыдущий месяц

1998-2023

следующий месяц