The Hominid Post

Somalia is racing to preserve Radio Mogadishu's archive of tens of thousands of recordings spanning more than 70 years -- music, poetry, drama, literature, speeches and news. UNESCO warns that humidity, age and conflict could erase material found nowhere else unless digitization moves quickly.

A China-wide analysis found that 36.4% of mercury accumulated by staple crops returns to soil through crop residues, while 43.4% enters the food chain through grain and straw fed to livestock. Pollution does not remain where it is deposited -- farming practices move mercury among air, soil, crops, animals and people.

The Federal Reserve held the federal-funds target at 3.50%-3.75% by a 9-3 vote. Three members preferred a quarter-point increase as inflation remained above 2% and energy-related supply shocks raised prices. Holding rates does not freeze consumer borrowing costs -- bond markets and lender risk premiums continue moving.

Researchers assembled 2,110 centromeres from 28 population groups, identifying 226 haplotypes, twentyfold differences in mutation rates and evidence of archaic-hominin introgression. Chromosome structures essential for cell division are far more diverse and rapidly evolving than previously measured.

More than a century of African childhood-malaria data suggests warming increased prevalence in East and southern Africa but reduced climatic suitability in parts of West Africa. The continent-wide net estimate was near one excess case per 1,000 children, with a confidence interval ranging from four fewer to six additional cases.

A multi-ancestry analysis of 48,694 Hashimoto's thyroiditis cases and more than 1.04 million controls identified 155 independent genetic associations, including 45 variants and 19 loci not previously linked to hypothyroidism. Genetic association does not establish causation or support individual diagnosis.

UNESCO and ECLAC project Latin America will have 38.3 million fewer school-age people by 2050. Regional fertility declined from 5.8 children per woman in 1950 to 1.8. Smaller cohorts can reduce pressure on classrooms, but also invite budget cuts before coverage and quality gaps are closed.

Meta's revenue rose 28% to $60.8 billion, but expenses increased 55%, operating income fell 8% and capital expenditure reached $31.08 billion. Free cash flow was only $784 million despite $31.86 billion in operating cash flow. AI infrastructure produces returns over several years -- one quarter cannot establish its ultimate economics.

Five years of monitoring along southern Thailand's Na Thap River identified cadmium, lead, copper and nickel exceeding national surface-water standards at certain locations and times. February produced unsafe conditions across every monitoring site in the study. Seasonal averages can conceal short periods of concentrated exposure.

WFP describes the eastern DRC Ebola outbreak as the fastest-spreading on record. It has delivered more than 160,000 hot meals and provides monthly food assistance to 14,000 people under quarantine. People cannot reliably isolate if doing so means losing access to food -- WFP says $101 million is required for the six-month regional response.