Un team di ricerca dell’Istituto per la ricerca e l’innovazione biomedica del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche di Messina ha identificato una tecnica per diagnosticare la Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica (SLA) di tipo sporadico. I risultati sono stati pubblicati sulla rivista Cells
Una nuova tecnica per la diagnosi della Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica (SLA) di tipo sporadico è stata messa a punto da un’équipe di ricercatori dell’Istituto per la ricerca e l’innovazione biomedica del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche di Catania (Cnr-Irib).

In at least 400 European caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens groups drew, painted and engraved non-figurative signs from at least ~42,000 BP and figurative images (notably animals) from at least 37,000 BP. Since their discovery ~150 years ago, the purpose or meaning of European Upper Palaeolithic non-figurative signs has eluded researchers. Despite this, specialists assume that they were notational in some way. Using a database of images spanning the European Upper Palaeolithic, we suggest how three of the most frequently occurring signs—the line <|>, the dot <•>, and the <Y>—functioned as units of communication. We demonstrate that when found in close association with images of animals the line <|> and dot <•> constitute numbers denoting months, and form constituent parts of a local phenological/meteorological calendar beginning in spring and recording time from this point in lunar months. We also demonstrate that the <Y> sign, one of the most frequently occurring signs in Palaeolithic non-figurative art, has the meaning <To Give Birth>.