jorolat's blog
Neanderthals have always been considered genetically closer to us than any other members of the genus Homo. It has even been suggested that Neanderthals achieved adulthood faster than modern humans do today.
A research team from the United Kingdom, France and Italy has recently shed new light on this theory by studying this species' teeth...
"...The machine, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Europe's particle physics laboratory, in Switzerland, was commissioned as a GBP4.2bn sledgehammer to crack some of the most compelling mysteries of the universe.
...The project may prise open extra dimensions and create baby black holes; it may reveal enigmatic "dark energy" that drives the expansion of the universe. It should certainly discover what some call the God particle..."
"...[This] evolutionary experiment, reported in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science, reveals that, even though evolution can seem like a slow process, its driving force - natural selection - can shift like the wind.
The study also supports a somewhat controversial idea in biology: Animals' behavior in response to environmental change can spur evolutionary adaptations."
Human Origins: 10 Classic Papers from the Leakeys (Louis, Mary, and Richard - seperate papers), Johanson, Dart, White, etc.. From 1925 to 1994 - Open Access/Free.
"A new study by scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) is the first to show that a mother's diet during pregnancy influences the health of her grandchildren by changing the behavior of a specific gene."
The 'related links' give access to full-text online papers.
The first ever catalogue of the different types of proteins found in sperm could help reveal the origins of sex and explain some of the mysteries of infertility.
"Jeffrey Meldrum holds a Ph.D. in anatomical sciences and is a tenured professor of anatomy at Idaho State University. He is also one of the world's foremost authorities on Bigfoot - and that makes him an outcast."
Includes links to several Bigfoot videos (some enhanced), a paper by Meldrum on the evolution of bipedalism, and the recent news report.
"Scientists are reconstructing the genome of Neanderthals - the close relations of modern man.
The ambitious project involves isolating genetic fragments from fossils of the prehistoric beings who originally inhabited Europe to map their complete DNA."
"How is it, asks Richard Dawkins, that despite science having exposed old religious myths, militant faith is back on the march? The mechanism for perpetuating beliefs that Dawkins describes as leading to murderous intolerance, is by imposing religion on children who are too inexperienced to judge it for themselves"
"In the first of a two-part Channel 4 (UK) series, Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as 'a process of non-thinking called faith'." (Running time: 48 minutes)
Tokyo - Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land
In many countries with large Muslim populations the pendulum of power is swinging away from secular (but mostly undemocratic) government back to where it was for many centuries: to Islamist regimes, and Islamic law. What does this mean for Muslim scientists and science?
From The Scotsman: "A Loch Ness Monster theory which suggests the creature is a living dinosaur has been dealt a blow by scientists..."
News reports plus links to live webcams overlooking Loch Ness and info on Urquhart Castle.
From Norway's Aftenposten: A mysterious gelatinous ball has puzzled and fascinated researchers after undersea photographer Rudolf Svensen spotted it while diving at the mouth of the Matre fjord in Hordaland, western Norway...
Washington, D.C. - If you're Happy and you know it, pat your head. That, in a peanut shell, is how a 34-year-old female Asian elephant in the Bronx Zoo showed researchers that pachyderms can recognize themselves in a mirror - complex behavior observed in only a few other species.
