Medieval literature and ecology have more in common than meets the eye. For example, in both fields, having an even distribution is better for the survival of their subjects. An even distribution means that an ecosystem’s species has roughly the same number of individuals, ensuring better survival because no species dominates another. In literature, this means that if more works (species) have fewer copies (individuals), it gives them all a better chance of survival as compared to having one work dominate the publishing scene. Read full article here
Oddities
The Curious Case of the Ancient Brain
In 2008, archaeologists examining the University of York discovered something strange: the decapitated head of an Iron Age man and his very shrivelled but very much intact brain. How a centuries-old brain was preserved is still unknown, but research suggests that it could have been because of brain diseases like dementia. The Yorkshire man’s brain’s proteins were bunched up together, much like how dementia causes brain proteins to bunch up into plaques. This bunching up, or aggregation, could continue even after death, turning regions of the brain into hard masses. Read full article here
Merv
September 30, 2022
