copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-04-18): NASA has chosen a diverse team of four volunteers, including Sri Lanka's Piyumi Wijesekara, to embark on a simulated mission to Mars at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Scheduled to enter the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) on May 10th, the crew will endure 45 days of living and working in conditions akin to those on the Red Planet. This mission aims to study how astronauts adapt to isolation and remote environments, crucial for future deep space expeditions. Piyumi, a postdoctoral research scientist specializing in radiation biophysics, brings a wealth of expertise to the team, emphasizing the mission's scientific significance. With partners like the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, NASA continues to advance human space exploration, paving the way for future endeavors beyond Earth's orbit.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-06-07): Misleading Posts About Piyumi Wijesekera's Participation in NASA's Simulated Mars Mission [...] The claim that Piyumi Wijesekera is going on a NASA mission to Mars is misleading. Piyumi Wijesekera, along with Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, and Shareef Al Romaithi, is part of NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) mission. This mission is a simulated Mars mission, not an actual space mission. The purpose of HERA is to study how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions similar to what astronauts would experience on long-duration space missions. [...] Piyumi Wijesekera is not currently selected to go on an actual Mars mission. She is participating in a simulated mission as part of NASA’s research to prepare for future deep space exploration. The social media posts suggesting otherwise are inaccurate and misleading.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-05-01): NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days. The crew will exit the facility on June 24 after they "return" to Earth. Jose Baca and Brandon Kent are this mission’s alternate crew members. [...] Piyumi Wijesekara is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Her research focuses on developing tissue models to investigate the effects of spaceflight stressors, including ionizing radiation and lunar dust on the human respiratory system.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-04-18): Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekara among new NASA crew for next simulated Mars journey [...] Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekera has been selected as one of NASA’s four new volunteer crew members for a simulated mission to Mars, taking place within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston. [...] This crew marks the second group of volunteers to participate in a simulated Mars mission in HERA this year, with two more missions planned before the end of 2024. Piyumi Wijesekera, a postdoctoral research scientist at NASA Ames Research Centre in California’s Silicon Valley, specializes in developing tissue models to study the effects of spaceflight stressors on the human respiratory system.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-04-18): (MENAFN- Colombo Gazette) NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers, including a Sri Lankan, to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency's Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10. [...] Wijesekara is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. Her research focuses on developing tissue models to investigate the effects of spaceflight stressors, including ionizing radiation and lunar dust on the human respiratory system.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-06-25): Misleading Posts About Piyumi Wijesekera's Participation in NASA's Simulated Mars Mission [...] Sri Lankan Scientist, Dr. Piyumi Wijesekara Selected for NASA’s Simulated Mars Mission [...] Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekara among new NASA crew for next simulated Mars journey ft.lk - Thu, 18 Apr 2024
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-10-05): Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekara among new NASA crew for next simulated Mars journey Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekera is among NASA’s four-member new volunteer crew selected to participate in a simulated mission to Mars...
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-04-18): Dr. Piyumi Wijesekera, a scientist of Sri Lankan descent, has been chosen by NASA to join a four-member volunteer crew for a simulated Mars mission at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Scheduled to commence on 10th of May, the team, including Dr. Wijesekera, will enter the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) for this mission. Over approximately 45 days, they will undergo simulations replicating the conditions of a Mars mission, with their return to Earth slated for 24th of June. [...] Dr. Piyumi Wijesekera, currently serving as a postdoctoral research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, specializes in developing tissue models to investigate the impact of spaceflight stresses on the human respiratory system. Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her doctoral research focused on stem cell and organ engineering, particularly in generating engineered lung models for studying respiratory diseases.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-06-12): Sri Lankan born NASA scientist Piyumi Wijesekera has been chosen for NASA’s simulated Mars journey, NASA announced recently. In a powerful inspirational leap for women in science and a proud moment for Sri Lanka, Piyumi Wijesekera has been selected by NASA to participate in the next simulated Mars mission. This groundbreaking endeavor aims to prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. [...] Piyumi Wijesekera’s involvement in NASA’s simulated Mars mission goes beyond scientific contribution; it serves as a powerful symbol of breaking barriers and redefining what is possible for women, especially from underrepresented nations in science. Her participation shines a spotlight on the capabilities and potential of Sri Lankan scientists on the global stage, encouraging a new generation of young girls in her home country and beyond to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-04-18): Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekera is among NASA’s four-member new volunteer crew selected to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston. [...] Piyumi Wijesekara is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Centre in California’s Silicon Valley. Her research focuses on developing tissue models to investigate the effects of spaceflight stressors, including ionising radiation and lunar dust on the human respiratory system. [...] Wijesekara currently lives in San Francisco. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, running along the San Francisco Bay, reading, hiking, volunteering at the food pantry, and attending concerts and musicals.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-06-13): Sri Lankan born NASA scientist Piyumi Wijesekera being chosen for NASA’s simulated Mars journey [...] Sri Lankan born NASA scientist Piyumi Wijesekera has been chosen for NASA’s simulated Mars journey, NASA announced recently. [...] In a powerful inspirational leap for Women in science and a proud moment for Sri Lanka, Piyumi Wijesekera has been selected by NASA to participate in the next simulated Mars mission. This groundbreaking endeavor aims to prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet.
Claim: Piyumi Wijesekera’s Was Selected to a NASA’s Mars Mission !! (Social Media Users, 2024-06-06)
Evidence (2024-06-01): Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekera Joins NASA’s Simulated Mars Mission Crew Piyumi Wijesekera from Sri Lanka has been chosen as one of NASA’s four new volunteer crew members for a simulated mission to Mars, to be conducted at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. [...] This mission is the second of four planned simulated Mars missions in HERA this year. Piyumi Wijesekera, a postdoctoral research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, specializes in developing tissue models to study the effects of spaceflight stressors on the human respiratory system.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2023-12-28): Humans are not carnivores. Humans are omnivorous animal species. But with the evolution of the change in diet patterns, humans have faced the problem of gaining weight and more stored fat with modern lifestyle. A carnivorous diet is not the solution to controlling this issue. Having a balanced diet with all the nutrients will be the best option.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2024-06-16): The carnivore diet, or high-meat diet, is getting more popular by the day. From a biological perspective, the trend is surprising, as humans are not natural carnivores and thus, eating like a carnivore mismatches our anatomy and physiology. Read our article on the carnivore diet dangers here. [...] Humans are not biological carnivores. We are frugivorous omnivores. [...] Those are just a few examples, but they certainly strongly suggest we should question if humans are naturally meant to eat meat. While we are obviously not carnivores, we seem confused about what we actually have evolved to eat. Humans are omnivores, but we come from a highly frugivorous ancestry! Our closest relatives – apes – are all still highly frugivorous and thus have evolved as specialized fruit-eaters. Chimpanzees are omnivorous frugivores, and humans, too!
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2020-01-15): Some vegans claim that humans are herbivores, not omnivores, and that we are not physiologically designed to eat meat (see here: http://www.peta.org/living/food/natural-human-diet/). "According to biologists and anthropologists who study our anatomy and our evolutionary history, humans are herbivores who are not well suited to eating meat. Humans lack both the physical characteristics of carnivores and the instinct that drives them to kill animals and devour their raw carcasses. Although many humans choose to eat a wide variety of plant and animal foods, earning us the dubious title of "omnivore," we’re anatomically herbivorous." They go onto claim that we don't have tiger claws and teeth for catching and eating meat, that our jaws and teeth are designed for grinding plants not meat, that our stomach acid is too week to break down meat, that our intestinal tract is long like a herbivore for digesting plants and that it takes so long for meat to pass through that it rots and poisons us causing cancer, that we lack a hunting drive, that meat with it's cholesterol and protein is the cause of all disease so obviously its poison that we are not supposed to eat, that we get food poisoning from meat (like that never happens with vegetables...) and that the only reason humans started eating meat was to survive in times when there was a lack of plant foods available but according to our anatomy it's clear we're actually herbivores not designed for eating meat.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2022-06-11): Are humans carnivores? You probably think you already know the answer; humans are omnivores. Right? [...] Humans are indeed carnivores. [...] When you think about the word carnivore, what comes to mind? Most people envision a pride of lions hunting zebras in the Serengeti, isolating the weakest member of the herd and savagely ripping its throat with razor-sharp teeth before a bloody feast. In truth, there’s a carnivore a little nearer and dearer to all of us. You only need to look in the mirror to catch a glimpse. Humans are carnivores.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2019-08-22): The first animal likely was a carnivore, new research finds. Humans, along with other omnivores, belong to a rare breed. [...] - Many species living today that are carnivorous—those that eat other animals—can trace this diet back to a common ancestor more than 800 million years ago. [...] The survey suggests that across animals, carnivory is most common, including 63% of species. Another 32% are herbivorous, while humans belong to a small minority, just 3%, of omnivorous animals.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2021-07-31): The Truth: Are Humans Vegetarian, Carnivore, or Omnivore? A Review [...] The Truth: Are Humans Vegetarian, Carnivore, or Omnivore? A Review Based on the Anatomy and Physiology of the Human [...] The debate regarding the true dietary nature of humans
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2024-08-13): We are told by many people, including doctors and other apparent experts, that animal products are essential to a healthy diet. This advice reflects the majority view that humans are fundamentally omnivorous. Still, the debate over what is normal or natural for our species will not die. On the one side, you have people who believe we evolved to eat a diet with substantial proportions of meat, including paleo dieters and devoted carnivores, but also many individuals consuming a standard American diet who implicitly buy into the importance of meat; on the other hand, many vegans insist that humans are not even natural omnivores. [...] Anatomically, we have far more in common with herbivores than carnivores. Our mouth openings are smaller and our jaws allow for side-to-side and front-to-back movements ideal for grinding. Our canines are short and blunt, and our front teeth are flat. Our flat molars, like the rest of our teeth and jaw structure, are ideal for eating plants, not tearing flesh. Our salivary amylase activity is high, reflecting an ability to digest starchy foods that many carnivores completely lack.[3] Our small intestines are longer than carnivores’ small intestines, and our stomach capacities are smaller than carnivores’ stomach capacities. Our closest primate relatives consume overwhelmingly herbivorous diets.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2022-09-16): Expósito-Granados M, Castro A, Lozano J, Aznar-Sanchez J, Carter N, Requena-Mullor J et al (2019) Human-carnivore relations: conflicts, tolerance and coexistence in the American West. Environ Res Lett 14(12):123005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5485 [...] Lozano J, Olszańsk A, Morales-Reyes Z, Castro AA, Malo AF, Moleón M, Sánchez-Zapata JA, Cortés-Avizanda A, von Wehrden H, Dorresteijn I, Kansky R, Fischer J, Martín-Lópeza B (2019) Human-carnivore relations: a systematic review. Biol Conserv 237:480–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.07.002
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2021-12-06): They concluded that humans likely were apex predators who ate mostly meat for around 2 million years, up until 12,000 years ago, when the last ice age ended. The review, published in 2021 in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, argued that humans have more physiological similarities to carnivores than to herbivores, such as highly acidic stomachs to break down complex proteins and kill harmful bacteria, and the high body fat capable of carrying carnivores through a period of fasting before the next big kill. [...] But even if we were once apex predators with meat-heavy diets, that doesn't mean modern humans should ascend the trophic ladder, Ben-Dor told Live Science. "It doesn't necessarily follow that because we were carnivores in the past, we are today at the top of the food chain," he said. "However, our love for meat has everything to do with our Pleistocene carnivorous past."
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2021-04-04): Israeli researchers studying the nutrition of Stone Age humans say the species spent some 2 million years as hyper-carnivorous "apex predators" that ate mostly the meat of large animals. [...] The researchers blended genetics, metabolism, physiology, morphology and archaeology of tool development to resolve the question of whether Stone Age humans were specialized carnivores or generalist omnivores. [...] "As Darwin discovered, the adaptation of species to obtaining and digesting their food is the main source of evolutionary changes, and thus the claim that humans were apex predators throughout most of their development may provide a broad basis for fundamental insights on the biological and cultural evolution of humans," Barkai said.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2016-07-14): No matter what the most militant of vegans or vegetarians would like to think, there’s an abundance of scientific evidence that we humans evolved to be predator apes. [...] To claim we shouldn’t eat meat because we aren’t anatomically identical to carnivores demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of how evolution has worked. Humans and carnivores, like dogs and hyenas, are very different kinds of mammals, separated by around 100 million years of evolutionary history.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2021-04-07): A look through hundreds of previous studies on everything from modern human anatomy and physiology to measures of the isotopes inside ancient human bones and teeth suggests we were primarily apex predators until roughly 12,000 years ago. [...] Above: Graph showing where Homo sapiens sat on the spectrum of carnivore to herbivore during the Pleistocene and Upper Pleistocene (UP). [...] It all tells a story where our genus' trophic level – Homo's position in the food web – became highly carnivorous for us and our cousins, Homo erectus, roughly 2.5 million years ago, and remained that way until the upper Paleolithic around 11,700 years ago.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2012-04-20): The other study finds that humans and some other primates have stuck with being omnivores for a very long time. That's unlike many of our mammal friends, who used the omnivore lifestyle as a mere rest stop on the way from herbivore to carnivore. [...] For instance, carnivores are usually the first to go extinct when times are tough, because they depend on other animals for their food source. [...] They found that all the animals stopped nursing when their brains hit a certain stage of development, regardless of diet. All the meat-eaters, including ferrets, killer whales, and humans, reached that point of brain development earlier than herbivores or omnivores, the researchers found. (They classified humans as carnivores based on the percentage of meat in the typical human diet.)
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2016-02-19): The tale of how humans became such avid carnivores begins 65 million years ago. The dinosaurs have just gone extinct, together with over half of Earth’s species. In rainforests that carpet vast areas of the planet, among soaring trees ribboned with vines, our next ancestor has just evolved. It’s the first primate ever known: Purgatorius. It doesn’t look much like you or me, or even like a chimp. It resembles a cross between a mouse and a squirrel. And if it were still alive today, it would likely pass for a cute pet.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2015-08-20): The human species really is unlike any other predator on the planet, especially when it comes to our choice of prey. Across the animal world, predators focus their efforts on juveniles. Humans, by contrast, are far more likely to be killing big strapping adults, particularly among carnivores on land and fish in the ocean. [...] In some cases, such as with herbivores on land, they found that humans kill adult prey at about the same rate as non-human predators do. But the harvest of adult carnivores by humans was nine times that of other large carnivores, which were mostly killing each other through competition. In the oceans, the situation is even more dramatic. Marine predators harvest about 1 percent of adult biomass each year. Humans take a median of 14 percent—and as much as 80 percent or more in extreme cases. [...] The human species was able to become a superpredator through technology, which has allowed us to escape the limits usually found in predator-prey relationships. Better weapons mean that hunting and fishing are relatively safe activities, at least compared with animal hunts. Use of powerful boats and better nets means people can access deep oceans where our bodies would not survive. People can purse prey at high speed with cars and airplanes. Industrial-scale processing and refrigeration and freezing allow a human to take far more individual prey than they alone could eat. And consumers don’t have to live or work anywhere near the site where the prey lives.
Claim: The humans are carnivorous species !! (Dr. Janaka Wannaku, 2023-12-28)
Evidence (2021-04-19): The first humans were mega-carnivores who took down prey with savvy hunting skills, a controversial new study suggests. [...] The ancient human species Homo habilis was eating meat at least 2.6 million years ago, Ben-Dor said. Another early human species, Homo erectus, seems to have been a particularly enthusiastic meat eater by 1.8 million years ago; its teeth and gut shrank compared with earlier ancestors — adaptations for digesting meat instead of plants — and it used stone tools capable of butchering meat. [...] Despite the limited evidence from humanity's early evolution, the researchers said there is more work to be done to show whether these human ancestors truly were specialized carnivores. This might include more work on the abundance of animals of different sizes throughout the Pleistocene, explorations of genetic changes over time that would have altered humans' ability to digest different foods and comparisons of trends in prey size over time.