There's a video on the evidence for evolution going around, but turns out the artist that made that video has made a number of them, including this one on the scientific understanding of a gene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQdXjRPHmQ via Videos / What Exactly is a Gene? - Stated Clearly. What's interesting about this, is that the definition of … Continue reading Video on what exactly a gene is
Tag: Evolution
Does evolutionary theory need a rethink?
Biologists debate whether evolutionary theory needs to be revised: Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? : Nature News & Comment. There seems to be two broad camps. Those that feel that the traditional view of evolution: random unguided mutation plus natural selection, remains sufficient, and those who feel that a fundamental rethink is in order. Does … Continue reading Does evolutionary theory need a rethink?
Who was the first person to have an afterlife?
Click through for full sized version and the red button caption. via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. The idea that only humans have an afterlife has always been one that I find interesting. If only humans have them, at what point in our evolutionary history did we obtain them? Did Neanderthals have them? What about Homo-erectus? If … Continue reading Who was the first person to have an afterlife?
Survival machines versus engineered machines; why fears of AI are misguided
I've seen a lot of posts lately like this one by Ronald Bailey looking at Nick Bostrom's book on the dangers of AI. People never seem to get tired of talking about the dangers of AI. And stories about AIs who revolt against humanity are pretty much a staple of science fiction. I've written before on … Continue reading Survival machines versus engineered machines; why fears of AI are misguided
Learning the smell of fear: Mothers teach babies their own fears via odor, animal study shows.
Some of the ways that mothers can teach offspring is pretty primal: Learning the smell of fear: Mothers teach babies their own fears via odor, animal study shows -- ScienceDaily. Babies can learn what to fear in the first days of life just by smelling the odor of their distressed mothers, new research suggests. And not … Continue reading Learning the smell of fear: Mothers teach babies their own fears via odor, animal study shows.
Are you alone? (In the universe)
This a cool video on what we are and where we came from. We are, each of us, a temporary intersection of matter and energy that is part of the overall whole of the universe, patterns of elementary particles that have, at least for a while, achieved self awareness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKMQzkIiB0Y via Are You Alone? In The … Continue reading Are you alone? (In the universe)
The evolutionary paradox of sex
Megan Scudellar has a fascinating article up at The Scientist Magazine on the mystery of why sexual reproduction evolved to be so pervasive: The Sex Paradox | The Scientist Magazine®. Sarah “Sally” Otto was sitting in a lab meeting of evolutionary biologist Marcus Feldman’s group at Stanford University in 1988 when she overheard a graduate student … Continue reading The evolutionary paradox of sex
Chimpanzees have language
I've read in several places that language is the last uniquely human characteristic. Well, it turns out chimps communicate with a language of gestures: Researchers Translate the Meaning of Over 60 Gestures Used by Chimps. In the first systematic study of a non-human primate language, scientists from St. Andrew's University have deciphered the meaning of 66 wild … Continue reading Chimpanzees have language
Extinct human cousin gave Tibetans advantage at high elevation
It looks like ancient humans got around. It's pretty well known now that most of us have Neanderthal DNA, but apparently a lot us also have Denisovan DNA: Extinct human cousin gave Tibetans advantage at high elevation -- ScienceDaily. Tibetans were able to adapt to high altitudes thanks to a gene picked up when their ancestors … Continue reading Extinct human cousin gave Tibetans advantage at high elevation
Vitamin D apparently has nothing to do with skin color
This article is a reminder that in science, nothing is certain until you have evidence (even then, nothing is totally certain): In human evolution, changes in skin's barrier set northern Europeans apart -- ScienceDaily. The popular idea that northern Europeans developed light skin to absorb more UV light so they could make more vitamin D -- vital … Continue reading Vitamin D apparently has nothing to do with skin color
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