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AUGUST 5, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Grandfatherly Giraffes
Giraffes make great grandparents. According to a new study, female giraffes stop having children early so they can help take care of their grandchildren. According to the authors, certain females spend up to 30 percent of their lives in a “post-reproductive state” to help raise successive generations of offspring in later life and ensure the preservation of their genes. This evolutionary trait is known as the “grandmother hypothesis” and has been used to explain why
humans live such a comparatively long time after reproduction. In comparison, other species also follow this trend. Elephants spend 23 percent of their lives in a post-reproductive state; killer whales spend 35 percent of their lives in the “grandparent” stage. The grandmother hypothesis, put forward by evolutionary biologist William Hamilton in a 1966 paper, has been applied to humans and other animals. In the theory, Hamilton posits that the older generation helps to take care of the grandchildren so the mothers have more time and energy to have more children. Spread from north to south Africa, there are four distinct species of giraffe: Northern giraffe, Reticulated giraffe, Masai giraffe and Southern giraffe.
Belarusian Olympian Seeks Asylum Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya on Monday requested asylum from the Polish Embassy
in Tokyo after refusing to board a flight home. Tsimanouskaya’s request followed an attempt by members of her Olympic team to remove her from Tokyo, Japan, after she publicly criticized her coaches.
In a video posted on social media, Tsimanouskaya said, “They are trying to get me out of the country without my permission. I ask the IOC [International Olympic Committee] to intervene.” She also sought help from Tokyo police. According to the report, Tsimanouskaya had criticized her coaches for assigning her to an additional Olympic event on short notice, after teammates were not eligible to compete. The IOC said that Tsimanouskaya is “safe and secure.” A Polish Foreign Ministry official said she had been offered a humanitarian visa. According to the Belarusian Olympic Committee, Tsimanouskaya was removed from the games due to her “emotional and psychological state.” Tsimanouskaya is expected to fly to Poland later this week; her supporters claim her life would be in danger if she were to be flown back to Belarus. Tsimanouskaya is “afraid of repression on her family in Belarus. This is the main concern for her right now,” Anatol Kotau, a member of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, said.
Another of Russia’s new nuclear submarines, the Yasen-class, is able to evade detection by the U.S. military.
Also featured in the parade were surface vessels such as the Kasatonov, which was designed to carry 3M22 Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s new vessels “can detect underwater, surface, or aerial enemies and target them if a lethal strike is necessary.” Though the U.S. also has nuclear weapons, it is estimated that dozens of Russia’s weapons have already been deployed and that Russia is revamping its entire nuclear arsenal. According to the Washington Examiner, Russia “is also strengthening its force disposition on its Western border.” The superpower plans to conduct joint military exercises with Belarus in September, in response to NATO activity over the past year. “By the end of the year, about 20 formations and military units will be formed in the Western Military District,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said.
Second Gold for Israel – Ever
Russia’s Nuclear Naval Modernization Russia has unveiled a Borei-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine at a recent military show. Six associated strike weapons are in development. The unveiling of the weapons occurred just weeks after a British warship neared the coast of Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014.
Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat, 24, took home the gold in floor gymnastics and is already planning
