scholarly journals Risorse e popolazione umana

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-45
Author(s):  
Nicolò Bellanca ◽  
Luca Pardi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Living Space ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rules Of The Game

The history of the genus Homo, and of the sapiens species in particular, is different from that of other species due to the extreme importance of cultural evolution compared to biological evolution. But from the discovery of how to use fire and generate it, up to the invention of the steam engine, man essentially lives, like the other organisms of the biosphere, on the energy flow guaranteed by solar radiation. With the encounter between machines and fossil fuels and the entry into the era of engines, the rules of the game change radically, and the activities of Homo sapiens change in extent and intensity, in such a way as to progressively reduce the living space of all other animal and plant species, except for the allied and commensal ones. The global industrialized society arising from the meeting between machines and fossil sources is presently facing two fundamental difficulties: the gradual saturation of terrestrial ecosystems with the waste of social and economic metabolism, and the finiteness of fossil energy sources, which are not easy replacement due to their special chemical-physical properties.

scholarly journals A Review of Solar Still Assessment with Various PCM Materials

2021 ◽  
pp. 14-18
Author(s):  
Pradeep Sen ◽  
Prof. Pankaj Badgaiyan ◽  
Prof. Bharat Girdhani ◽  
Prof. Shamir Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Solar Still ◽  
Huge Amount ◽  
Solar Distillation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Shallow Basin

Solar distillation purifies water by transferring sun's heat to a simple device. A shallow basin with a glass shield makes up the majority of the system, which is usually referred to as a solar even now. Evaporation takes place when the pool water is heated by the sun. Humidity rises, condenses on the shield, and drips into a drip tray, leaving salts, minerals, as well as the majority of contaminants behind. The oceans, that have a high salinity, are now the only nearly inexhaustible source of water supply.Separating salts from seawater, on the other hand, necessitates a huge amount of energy, that also, when derived from fossil fuels, can be destructive to the environment. As a result, desalination of seawater must be done using environmentally friendly energy sources. PCM which are solar,  are widely used to store solar radiation during the day and release it in the evening, in a wide range of solar applications

7. Human behaviour, mind, and culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Dual Inheritance Theory ◽  
Nature Vs Nurture ◽  
Dual Inheritance

‘Human behaviour, mind, and culture’ examines the implications of biology for humans, asking whether human behaviour and culture can be explained in biological terms. The intelligence, language use, cultural inventions, technological prowess, and social institutions of our own species, Homo sapiens, seem to set us apart from other species. Can biology shed any light on humanity and its achievements? One way to tackle this question is to ask whether human behaviour can be understood in biological terms. The nature vs nurture debate is discussed, followed by the approaches of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology to the study of human behaviour. Finally, cultural evolution—or dual inheritance theory—is considered and how this relates to biological evolution.

Précis of How the brain got language: The Mirror System Hypothesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 107-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Arbib
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Short Answer ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Brain

The short answer to the question of How the Brain Got Language is “through biological and cultural evolution.” The challenge is to be more specific. I use the term “the language-ready brain” to suggest that the brain of early Homo sapiens was adequate to support language but that it required tens of millennia for humans to be able to exploit these innate neural capabilities to develop, cumulatively, languages and the societies that made languages possible and necessary. The ability to surf the World Wide Web is a recent example of society's expanding ability to develop technologies and social structures which allow humans to exploit their neural capabilities in ways that were not part of the adaptive pressures for biological evolution.The two-fold challenge of the book, then, is to understand (i) what are the mechanisms of the language-ready brain and what adaptive pressures evolved them biologically; and (ii) how did those mechanisms support the emergence of language as well as modern-day patterns of language change, acquisition and use, and the social interactions which support them?

scholarly journals Alone in the world? Indeed, and liberatingly so

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barend J. Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialogue ◽  
Religious Convictions ◽  
Human Uniqueness ◽  
Scientific Context ◽  
The One

How do we know that we can trust our viewpoints, our dogmatic principles and our religious convictions to constitute veracity, if not truth? Where can an arbiter be found for our deliberations to establish the trustworthiness of our viewpoints or belief systems, when we differ one from the other on religious matters, and in the context of religious conviction also differ in political and social endeavours? Van Huyssteen deserves commendation for his contribution to this discourse in developing the concept of a postfoundationalist epistemology in an attempt to justify theology’s integrity, and endorse theology’s public voice within our highly complex and challenging world. He suggests that the concept of human uniqueness might be the common denominator in the contributions of theology (in its specific understanding of the unique status of humans in God’s creation) and science (in its understanding of the unique stature of Homo sapiens in terms of biological evolution). However, the author, in this article, argues that given the radically diverse disciplines of science in our highly developed technological – and indeed within our current Covid-dominated context (on the one hand) and the pre-scientific context of religion (on the other hand), it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine how it can remain possible to find something like a common issue, a shared problem, a kind of mutual concern or even a shared overlapping research trajectory that might benefit precisely from this envisaged interdisciplinary dialogue. Is it possible that ‘alone in this world’ could mean something different than what Van Huyssteen suggests?Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: How do we know that we can trust our viewpoints, and our religious convictions to constitute truth? Van Huyssteen develops the concept of a postfoundationalist epistemology in an attempt to justify theology’s integrity within the discourse with science. However, the author in this article argues that it has become increasingly difficult for systematic theology to find a shared overlapping research trajectory that might benefit this interdisciplinary dialogue.

scholarly journals Aislamiento y caracterización de bacterias rojas no sulfurosas provenientes del humedal de la Mixtequilla, Veracruz (México)

2019 ◽  
pp. 33-38
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Bacteriochlorophyll A ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Green Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Liquid Cultures ◽  
Sulfur Bacteria ◽  
Pure Cultures

Aislamiento y caracterización de bacterias rojas no sulfurosas provenientes del humedal de la Mixtequilla, Veracruz (México) María Teresa Núñez Cardona, Magdalena Chávez Hernández y Martha Signoret Poillon Departamento el Hombre y su ambiente, Laboratorio de Ecología Microbiana, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco. Calzada del Hueso 1100. Col. Villa Quietud, 04960. Maestría en Ciencias Agropecuarias UAM-X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33017/RevECIPeru2011.0019/ RESUMEN Las bacterias fotosintéticas están ampliamente distribuidas en los ecosistemas acuáticos y terrestres. De manera general, se les ha dividido en bacterias rojas y verdes (sulfurosas y no sulfurosas), las bacterias rojas no sulfurosas (BRNS) son las más versátiles en cuanto a su metabolismo se refiere ya que son capaces de utilizar un amplio rango de compuestos orgánicos como fuentes de carbono y/o energía. En los últimos años se les ha utilizado para la biorremediación de agua y suelos contaminados, así como para la producción de biofertilizantes y herbicidas; son de gran utilidad en la biotecnología y en la medicina. Pese a su gran utilidad, en México se ha estudiado poco a este grupo de microorganismos. Con el fin de contribuir al conocimiento de las bacterias fotótrofas, se aislaron y caracterizaron 10 cultivos de BRNS provenientes de muestras de agua colectadas en el humedal de la Mixtequilla, Veracruz. Para la caracterización de los cultivos bacterianos se consideró su morfología celular sus propiedades pigmentarias y su capacidad para utilizar diferentes compuestos orgánicos como únicas fuentes de carbono y/o energía. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, los cultivos líquidos presentaron color marrón, café, rosa y rojo (característicos de las bacterias rojas fotótrofas), en todos se observó la presencia de células con formas de bacilos y su respuesta a la tinción de Gram fue negativa, todas produjeron bacterioclorofila a y en algunos cultivos se detectó espiriloxantina y licopeno. Diez cultivos fueron capaces de utilizar al piruvato, succínato, propionato, glicerol, acetato, etanol y extracto de la levadura; ocho utilizaron maltosa, manosa y sacarosa. Los sustratos menos utilizados fueron lactosa, benzoato, sacarosa, metanol y cisteína. Con base en lo expuesto por algunos autores y las características registradas en los cultivos de BRNS aisladas, se presume en éstos la presencia de miembros de los géneros Rhodopseudomonas, Rhodobacter, Rhodovulum y Rhodobium. Descriptores: Bacterioclorofila a, Bacterias rojas no sulfurosas, Rhodopseudomonas, Mixtequilla. ABSTRACT Phototrophic bacteria are widely distributed in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These microorganisms are divided in purple and green bacteria (sulfur and nonsulfur), All of them are anaerobic and anoxygenic. Purple non sulfur bacteria (PNSB) are metabolically the most versatile, they are able to use a broad range of organic compounds as carbon and energy sources; by the other hand, they are chemoheterotrophic in the dark with minimal oxygen quantities. In the last years PNSB has been used in biorremediation, agriculture, biotechnology and medicine. The aim of this study was to isolate and to characterize purple non sulfur bacteria from la Mixtequilla wetland. It was obtained ten pure cultures of PNSB isolated from water samples collected at the Mixtequilla. Properties such as morphology, pigment and the use of different energy donors and carbon sources were used for characterizing PNSB. Results showed that liquid cultures were red and brown in color; Gram negative rods, and all produce bacteriochlorophyll a. The cultures mainly use as carbon and energy sources to piruvate, succinate, propionate, glycerol, acetate, ethanol and yeast extract; eight cultures use maltose, manose and sucrose; few cultures use lactose, benzoate, methanol and cysteine. According with these properties in the cultures there are members of the Rhodopseudomonas, Rhodobacter, Rhodovulum and Rhodobium genera. Keywords: bacteriochlorophyll a, purple non sulfur bacteria, Rhodopseudomonas, Mixtequilla.

Cultural evolution, the postbiological universe and SETI

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Dick
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Cosmic Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Biological Universe

The Biological Universe (Dick 1996) analysed the history of the extraterrestrial life debate, documenting how scientists have assessed the chances of life beyond Earth during the 20th century. Here I propose another option – that we may in fact live in a postbiological universe, one that has evolved beyond flesh and blood intelligence to artificial intelligence that is a product of cultural rather than biological evolution. MacGowan & Ordway (1966), Davies (1995) and Shostak (1998), among others, have broached the subject, but the argument has not been given the attention it is due, nor has it been carried to its logical conclusion. This paper argues for the necessity of long-term thinking when contemplating the problem of intelligence in the universe. It provides arguments for a postbiological universe, based on the likely age and lifetimes of technological civilizations and the overriding importance of cultural evolution as an element of cosmic evolution. And it describes the general nature of a postbiological universe and its implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The Tempo and mode(S) of Prebiotic Evolution

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Lazcano
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Early Diversification ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Widespread Phenomenon ◽  
The Origin Of Life

AbstractDifferent current ideas on the origin of life are critically examined. Comparison of the now fashionable FeS/H2S pyrite-based autotrophic theory of the origin of life with the heterotrophic viewpoint suggest that the later is still the most fertile explanation for the emergence of life. However, the theory of chemical evolution and heterotrophic origins of life requires major updating, which should include the abandonment of the idea that the appearance of life was a slow process involving billions of years. Stability of organic compounds and the genetics of bacteria suggest that the origin and early diversification of life took place in a time period of the order of 10 million years. Current evidence suggest that the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds may be a widespread phenomenon in the Galaxy and may have a deterministic nature. However, the history of the biosphere does not exhibits any obvious trend towards greater complexity or «higher» forms of life. Therefore, the role of contingency in biological evolution should not be understimated in the discussions of the possibilities of life in the Universe.

Theodor W. Adorno

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colby Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
History Of Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One

In his somewhat controversial book Remnants of Auschwitz, Agamben makes brief reference to Theodor Adorno’s apparently contradictory remarks on perceptions of death post-Auschwitz, positions that Adorno had taken concerning Nazi genocidal actions that had seemed also to reflect something horribly errant in the history of thought itself. There was within such murderous acts, he had claimed, a particular degradation of death itself, a perpetration of our humanity bound in some way to affect our perception of reason itself. The contradictions regarding Auschwitz that Agamben senses to be latent within Adorno’s remarks involve the intuition ‘on the one hand, of having realized the unconditional triumph of death against life; on the other, of having degraded and debased death. Neither of these charges – perhaps like every charge, which is always a genuinely legal gesture – succeed in exhausting Auschwitz’s offense, in defining its case in point’ (RA 81). And this is the stance that Agamben wishes to hammer home quite emphatically vis-à-vis Adorno’s limitations, ones that, I would only add, seem to linger within Agamben’s own formulations in ways that he has still not come to reckon with entirely: ‘This oscillation’, he affirms, ‘betrays reason’s incapacity to identify the specific crime of Auschwitz with certainty’ (RA 81).

The World after the End of the World

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kas Saghafi
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
End Of The World

In several late texts, Derrida meditated on Paul Celan's poem ‘Grosse, Glühende Wölbung’, in which the departure of the world is announced. Delving into the ‘origin’ and ‘history’ of the ‘conception’ of the world, this paper suggests that, for Derrida, the end of the world is determined by and from death—the death of the other. The death of the other marks, each and every time, the absolute end of the world.

Med. Dr. Adalbert Wraný (1836–1902) – doctor of medicine, mineral collector and donor to the National Museum in Prague

2019 ◽  
Vol 188 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-146
Author(s):  
Martin Bohatý ◽  
Dalibor Velebil
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
The Other ◽  
National Museum ◽  
Industrial Chemistry ◽  
Pediatric Pathology ◽  
Geological Institute ◽  
History Of ◽  
Precious Stones

Adalbert Wraný (*1836, †1902) was a doctor of medicine, with his primary specialization in pediatric pathology, and was also one of the founders of microscopic and chemical diagnostics. He was interested in natural sciences, chemistry, botany, paleontology and above all mineralogy. He wrote two books, one on the development of mineralogical research in Bohemia (1896), and the other on the history of industrial chemistry in Bohemia (1902). Wraný also assembled several natural science collections. During his lifetime, he gave to the National Museum large collections of rocks, a collection of cut precious stones and his library. He donated a collection of fossils to the Geological Institute of the Czech University (now Charles University). He was an inspector of the mineralogical collection of the National Museum. After his death, he bequeathed to the National Museum his collection of minerals and the rest of the gemstone collection. He donated paintings to the Prague City Museum, and other property to the Klar Institute of the Blind in Prague. The National Museum’s collection currently contains 4 325 samples of minerals, as well as 21 meteorites and several hundred cut precious stones from Wraný’s collection.

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