It turns out that as little as 98 people can ensure the survival of humanity in an apocalypse. In a 2018 study, researchers concluded that a crew of 49 breeding pairs of unrelated people is just enough to ensure a genetically diverse population during a hypothetical 6,300-year journey to Proxima Centauri b, the closest Earth-like planet we could try to reestablish society in after an Earth-shattering apocalypse. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
