Scientists Uncover Talismans of 'Unknown Mummy' in Egypt

 A mummy is seen inside the newly discovered burial site in Minya, Egypt May 13, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)
A mummy is seen inside the newly discovered burial site in Minya, Egypt May 13, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)
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Scientists Uncover Talismans of 'Unknown Mummy' in Egypt

 A mummy is seen inside the newly discovered burial site in Minya, Egypt May 13, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)
A mummy is seen inside the newly discovered burial site in Minya, Egypt May 13, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)

Since the beginning of the archeological excavations in the region in 2014, archeologists discovered 30 mummies inside 23 cemeteries dating back to different eras in the Agha Khan area, Aswan, last week. One of the mummies has an unfamiliar state.

The mummy was intact and wrapped with linens, but, the coffin in which it was placed and the cemetery accommodating the coffin didn't feature any engraves that determine its identity. The mummy, which dates back to the late period of ancient Egypt has been classified as "unknown."

The lack of information that may help in proceeding DNA tests and comparing them with other mummies' DNA makes it almost impossible to reach data determining the identity of the mummy. But, according to Director General of Aswan Antiquities Abdel Moneim Saeed, scientists will be able to gather information that at least precise the class to which the mummy belongs, its work, and whether it had diseases or not.

Saeed told Asharq Al-Awsat: "once discovered, the mummy was moved to the study lab at Aswan Museum, and then it will be moved into Aswan University Hospital to undergo a CT scan that helps us gather more data within six months."

This is not the first time scientists rely on CT scans in their studies on mummies. In February 2017, CT scans were used to examine four mummies discovered at the nobles' cemeteries in Aswan by the archeological mission of the University of Jaén, aiming at detecting the disease history of the mummies, and analyzing the scientific and medical advancement that had been achieved by the ancient Egyptians in diagnosing and treating diseases. The scan took place after detecting clear symptoms of breast cancer in one of the mummies.

Saeed says: "these scans provided us with a great result. It showed that the lady (mummy) took a treatment that helped her survive for a long time," noting that after moving the mummy to the hospital for further tests, they will likely need six months before they announce their findings on the mummy.



Google-Backed Coalition to Help Scale Ocean, Rock Carbon Removals

A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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Google-Backed Coalition to Help Scale Ocean, Rock Carbon Removals

A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)

A coalition backed by Google, Stripe and Shopify will spend $1.7 million to buy carbon removal credits from three early stage firms on behalf of the tech giants to help scale up the nascent markets, an executive told Reuters.

The world is expected to need to suck between five and 10 billion tons a year of carbon emissions out of the atmosphere by mid-century to reach its climate goals, yet at the moment most technologies are small scale.

The coalition, called Frontier, is also backed by H&M Group, JPMorgan Chase and Salesforce, among others.

The group, which aggregates demand from its members, will spend $1.7 million to buy credits from US-firm Karbonetiq, Italy-based Limenet and Canadian firm pHathom.

By contracting to buy early, the firms are better able to hire, raise finance and get the technologies off the ground, said Hannah Bebbington, head of deployment at Frontier.

"It allows companies to demonstrate commercial viability," she said.

Frontier's support for these early stage firms, which aim to lock emissions away in the ocean or in rocks and industrial waste, marks its fifth series of commitments.

Frontier, which was set up in 2022, aims to invest at least $1 billion in carbon removal credits between 2022 and 2030. It has already committed $600 million, some on the series of pre-purchases and the bulk on a series of off-take agreements with larger firms. Last week, it agreed to pay $41 million for 116,000 tons from waste biomass firm Arbor.

For oceans, the aim is to increase the alkalinity of the water, helping it to lock away more carbon emissions. This is often done by adding "quicklime", made from limestone.

For the mineralization technologies, meanwhile, projects attempt to speed up the process whereby rocks and industrial waste naturally absorb carbon dioxide, for example by crushing up the material to create a larger surface area.

Bebbington said both technologies had the potential to be impactful because they could be scaled quickly and cheaply.

"We think (they) are extremely compelling from that really cheap at really large scale perspective."