A multi-disciplinary review of late Quaternary palaeoclimates and environments for Lesotho

Lesotho provides a unique context for palaeoclimatic research. The small country is entirely landlocked by South Africa, yet has considerable variation in topography, climate, and associated vegetation over an approximate east–west transect. The region has been of archaeological interest for over a century, and hosts many Early to Late Stone Age sites with occupation preceding 80 000 years before present. The eastern Lesotho highlands are of interest to periglacial and glacial geomorphologists because of their well-preserved relict landforms and contentious evidence for permafrost and niche glaciation during the late Quaternary. However, continuous proxy records for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for Lesotho are scarce and hampered by a range of methodological shortfalls. These challenges include uncertain ages, poor sampling resolution, and proxies extracted from archaeological excavations for which there may be bias in selection. Inferences on palaeoclimates are thus based predominantly on archaeological and palaeogeomorphological evidence for discrete periods during the late Quaternary. This review paper presents a more detailed multidisciplinary synthesis of late Quaternary conditions in Lesotho. We simultaneously considered the varying data that contribute to the under-studied palaeoenvironmental record for southern Africa. The collective palaeoenvironmental data for eastern Lesotho were shown to be relatively contradictory, with considerable variations in contemporaneous palaeoclimatic conditions within the study area. We argue that although methodological challenges may contribute to this variation, the marked changes in topography result in contrasting late Quaternary palaeoenvironments. Such environments are characterised by similar contrasting microclimates and niche ecologies as are witnessed in the contemporary landscape. These spatial variations within a relatively small landlocked country are of importance in understanding broader southern African palaeoenvironmental change.NCS201

The ‘mosaic habitat’ concept in human evolution: past and present

The habitats preferred by hominins and other species are an important theme in palaeoanthropology, and the ‘mosaic habitat’ (also referred to as habitat heterogeneity) has been a central concept in this regard for the last four decades. Here we explore the development of this concept – loosely defined as a range of different habitat types, such as woodlands, riverine forest and savannah within a limited spatial area– in studies of human evolution in the last sixty years or so. We outline the key developments that took place before and around the time when the term ‘mosaic’ came to wider palaeoanthropological attention. To achieve this we used an analysis of the published literature, a study of illustrations of hominin evolution from 1925 onwards and an email survey of senior researchers in palaeoanthropology and related fields. We found that the term mosaic starts to be applied in palaeoanthropological thinking during the 1970’s due to the work of a number of researchers, including Karl Butzer and Glynn Isaac , with the earliest usage we have found of ‘mosaic’ in specific reference to hominin habitats being by Adriaan Kortlandt (1972). While we observe a steady increase in the numbers of publications reporting mosaic palaeohabitats, in keeping with the growing interest and specialisation in various methods of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, we also note that there is a lack of critical studies that define this habitat, or examine the temporal and spatial scales associated with it. The general consensus within the field is that the concept now requires more detailed definition and study to evaluate its role in human evolution

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

A key to morphogenera used for Mesozoic conifer-like woods

International audienc

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CRETACEOUS DIAMONDIFEROUS GRAVEL DEPOSIT AT MAHURA MUTHLA, NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

Rewbell Jean François. Élection de MM. l’abbé Besse, Fournier de La Charmie et Verchère de Reffye comme secrétaires de l'Assemblée, lors de la séance du 7 mai 1791. In: Archives Parlementaires de 1787 à 1860 - Première série (1787-1799) Tome XXV - Du 13 avril 1791 au 11 mai 1791. Paris : Librairie Administrative P. Dupont, 1886. p. 658

Botanical remains from a coprolite from the Pleistocene hominin site of Malapa, Sterkfontein Valley, South Africa

A coprolite probably from a carnivore described in this paper was recovered from the decalcified sediments of Facies D, close to the cranium of a hominid child, Australopithecus sediba, at Malapa, and is dated at 1.95–1.78 Ma based on a combination of faunal, U-Pb and palaeomagnetic dating techniques. Maceration of the coprolite yielded wood fragments and pollen of Podocarpus sp. as well as phytolith morphotypes that occur in leaves of Podocarpus and many other woody taxa. The Malapa site today is in the Grassland Biome, close to the transition to the Savanna Biome. Podocarpus/Afrocarpus occurs about 30km distance in the Northern Afromontane Forest Biome and is restricted to small patches in the mountain kloofs or small canyons (altitude: 1500–1900 m). The occurrence of this vegetation at Malapa in the past implies that the cooler, moister forest vegetation was more widespread

Botanical remains from a coprolite from the Pleistocene\ud hominin site of Malapa, Sterkfontein Valley, South Africa

A coprolite probably from a carnivore described in this paper was recovered from the decalcified sediments of Facies D, close to the cranium of a hominid child, Australopithecus sediba, at Malapa, and is dated at 1.95–1.78 Ma based on a combination of faunal, U-Pb and palaeomagnetic dating techniques. Maceration of the coprolite yieldedwoodfragments and pollen of Podocarpus sp. as well as phytolith morphotypes that occur in leaves of Podocarpus and many other woody taxa. The Malapa site today is in the Grassland Biome, close to the transition to the Savanna Biome. Podocarpus/Afrocarpus occurs about 30km distance in the NorthernAfromontane Forest Biome and is restricted to small patches in the mountain kloofs or small canyons (altitude: 1500–1900 m). The occurrence of this vegetation at Malapa in the past implies that the cooler, moister forest vegetation was more widespread

Palynostratigraphic correlation of the Springbok Flats coalfield to other coal-bearing successions in the Karoo basins of southern Africa

Strata of the Springbok Flats, Ellisras and Tshipise (Soutpansberg-Pafuri) basins of South Africa are considered to have been deposited contemporaneously with those of the main Karoo Basin (MKB), but lithological differences complicate precise correlation. In this study, palynofloras from recently drilled boreholes in the Springbok Flats Basin (SFB) are used to correlate the Springbok Flats coal zones with other southern African coal-bearing successions. Permian palaeoenvironments of the SFB are reconstructed through a combination of palynology, sedimentology, and coal petrology. The lower coal zone (LCZ) palynoflora best correlates with Palynozone K4 in the MKB (equivalent to the Witbank No. 4 seam, Vryheid Formation) and can also be associated with Biozone D of the Waterberg Coalfield (Ellisras Basin), and the Vereeniging top seam in the New Vaal Colliery, northern Karoo Basin. The upper coal zone (UCZ) palynoflora of the SFB correlates closely with the Gwembe Formation (mid-Zambezi Basin, Zambia), Biozone E of the Waterberg Coalfield (Ellisras Basin), and Biozone KK 3 (Kalahari Karoo Basin, Botswana). A new radioisotopically constrained palynozonation for the MKB allows relative ages to be assigned to the coal zones of the SFB: Kungurian for the LCZ, and Roadian for the UCZ. Palynology is a useful tool in correlating these economically important strata across southern Africa

<i>Sulfolobus</i> Spindle-Shaped Virus 1 Contains Glycosylated Capsid Proteins, a Cellular Chromatin Protein, and Host-Derived Lipids

Geothermal and hypersaline environments are rich in virus-like particles, among which spindle-shaped morphotypes dominate.Currently, viruses with spindle- or lemon-shaped virions are exclusive to Archaea and belong to two distinct viral families. Thelarger of the two families, the Fuselloviridae, comprises tail-less, spindle-shaped viruses, which infect hosts from phylogeneticallydistant archaeal lineages. Sulfolobus spindle-shaped virus 1 (SSV1) is the best known member of the family and was one ofthe first hyperthermophilic archaeal viruses to be isolated. SSV1 is an attractive model for understanding virus-host interactionsin Archaea; however, the constituents and architecture of SSV1 particles remain only partially characterized. Here, we have conductedan extensive biochemical characterization of highly purified SSV1 virions and identified four virus-encoded structuralproteins, VP1 to VP4, as well as one DNA-binding protein of cellular origin. The virion proteins VP1, VP3, and VP4 undergoposttranslational modification by glycosylation, seemingly at multiple sites. VP1 is also proteolytically processed. In addition tothe viral DNA-binding protein VP2, we show that viral particles contain the Sulfolobus solfataricus chromatin protein Sso7d.Finally, we provide evidence indicating that SSV1 virions contain glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids, resolvinga long-standing debate on the presence of lipids within SSV1 virions. A comparison of the contents of lipids isolatedfrom the virus and its host cell suggests that GDGTs are acquired by the virus in a selective manner from the host cytoplasmicmembrane, likely during progeny egress