Ghost hunt…

No,  I don’t mean wraiths floating about haunted places.  I’m referring to the scientific search for ghost species,  because human DNA suggests strongly some of our  ancestors are  missing.

When I was in school we learned about Neanderthals, but no one had ever heard of Denisovans,  despite the fact that some living humans can trace as much as 5% of their ancestry to them.

What I find cool  is that the researchers are using deep learning to track down these missing populations resulting from breeding amongst other human species.  This is a type of artificial intelligence in which algorithms are designed to work as an artificial neural network,  or a program that can process information the same way a mammalian brain would.

It’s fascinating work,  as you can see from the charts.

 

Virginia meltdown…

The Democrats are in a  sticky dilemma  mostly of their own making,  since they demand zero tolerance for any perceived racism or anti-feminism.  The top three office holders in Virginia have blackface and sexual assault claims whacking them mercilessly in the press and the Democratic Party is hysterically bouncing back and forth between throwing them all under the bus  —  to hell with due process, right?  — and claiming that Democrats shouldn’t be held liable for something which may or may not have happened decades ago, etc.

Meanwhile, there are disappointments and meetings and concerns aplenty to go along with lies,  obfuscation, and extreme hypocrisy.