Afarensis: Anthropology, Evolution and Science

Moving to Wordpress

2009-05-20T23:46:00.001-05:00

After leaving ScienceBlogs one of my goals was to find a place where I could combine my posts from Blogger and ScienceBlogs. After messing around with Blogger for about a week I have decided to move to Wordpress - which has a wide variety of importing tools. Something lacking in blogger. You can find me in my new, and hopefully permanent home at Afarensis: Anthropology, Evolution, and Science.

Were Neandertals Cannibalized By Anatomically Modern Humans?

2009-05-19T23:45:00.000-05:00

And can you really call it cannibalism if they are not Homo sapiens neanderthalensis? The lemur/adapid/anthropoid paper is not the only anthropology paper out this week, nor is it the only one that has been the subject of over exuberant reporting. The gist of the story is that the jaw below contains cutmarks:The jaw may also be a Neanderthal jaw associated with an Aurignacian site. I don't have

Corporate America and Wage Theft

2009-05-17T00:02:00.001-05:00

Kim Bobo has an interesting discussion of the subject. Having worked in corporate America all my working life, I particularly liked this part:The worker who steals from the employer is fired and may go to jail. The consumer who shoplifts goes to jail. The employer who steals wages will probably not get caught. In the last decade, if an employer were caught stealing wages, the employer might have

Stupid Creationist Quote of the Week

2009-05-14T21:32:00.008-05:00

Today we have comments by two commenters at UD. First up is a commenter named Barb. Barb left a rather lengthy comment talking about Lucy. The part that earned her a "stupid creationist quote" award is this:The paucity of fossil evidence makes knowing all of human evolutionary history impossible. The best evidence for Lucy came, not from bones or teeth, but from footprints.There are over 250

Do Deep Sea Fish Have Good Hearing?

2009-05-12T20:08:00.002-05:00

An interesting article over at National Geographic looks at that question:Roughly 90 percent of the ocean is completely dark, beyond the reach of the sun's rays.The researchers wondered if the fish had evolved to have sharper hearing, which might help them catch prey, find mates, or elude predators in the darkness. The researchers were looking at fish that lived in waters as deep as 1.6 miles.

Adapidae, Omomyidae, and Anthropoid Origins: Updated

2009-05-11T19:35:00.005-05:00

In a previous post I discussed competing views about adapids and omomyids. In that post I said:There is a further complication. In both 2 and 3 above tarsiers are grouped with anthropoids and adapids are grouped with lemurs and lorises. The problem is adapids share quite a few traits with anthropoids, tarsiers share some traits with anthropoids but not lemurs and lorises. Paleontological data

Remodeling In Progress

2009-05-09T23:20:00.002-05:00

Well, after three years or so I am back at my old blog. Trying to spruce it up a little. More to come...

Profile

2007-07-01T14:41:00.001-05:00

Thylacine and Wolf Skulls

2007-01-26T20:57:00.000-06:00

Helping Science Education

2006-06-15T10:40:00.002-05:00

The ScienceBlogs/DonorsChoose raise-money-to-help-science-classrooms-a-thon!Although I am not an educator or an academic, science education is important to me. One of the reasons I blog is to try and explain the methods and techniques of anthropology - and related subjects - to people who do not know that much about the field. I have even started a second blog devoted to providing educational

Science Journals

2006-06-09T00:36:00.001-05:00

Acta Anthropologica SinicaActa Geologica HungaricaActa Geologica SinicaAfrican Study MonographsAmerican AnthropologistAmerican ArchaeologyAmerican AntiquityAmerican EthnologistAmerican Journal of ArchaeologyAmerican Journal of Human GeneticsAmerican School of Prehistoric Research BulletinAmerican ScientistAmpuriasAnatomischer Anzeiger - See Anatomischer Anzeiger.Anatomy, Anthropology, Embryology,

Transitions

2006-01-25T11:06:00.000-06:00

I will be picking a new Site of the Week for Transitions soon. Be sure to check out my new blog at ScienceBlogs

ScienceBlogs

2006-01-11T19:41:00.001-06:00

ScienceBlogs is an effort of Seed Media, publishers of Seed Magazine. The goal is to get some of the best and brightest science bloggers to all blog in the same place. Below is a list of the people posting at ScienceBlogs:Pharyngula Chris MooneyAetiology Dispatches from the Culture WarsStranger FruitEvolgenCognitive DailyAdventures in Ethics and Science DeltoidGene ExpressionsLiving the

Afarensis Goes to Seed: Part II

2006-01-10T23:02:00.001-06:00

As mentioned previously, I have been asked to join a new blog effort created by Seed Media. Future posts of mine can be found at: afarensis:Anthropology, Evolution and ScienceMy most recent post is on Redating the Vindija FossilsI may occasionally put up a post here, but for the most part my blog home will be at the above address (and at Transitions, of course). Please look for me there and

People from the Bog

2006-01-10T12:38:00.000-06:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4589638.stm From BBC News comes this story about bog people: “Archaeologists have unveiled two Iron Age "bog bodies" which were found in the Republic of Ireland. The bodies, which are both male and have been dated to more than 2,000 years old, probably belong to the victims of a ritual sacrifice. In common with other bog bodies, they show

Excavations in the Cyclades

2006-01-10T00:09:00.000-06:00

Photo from the Museum of Cycladic ArtArchaeologists are to begin new excavations on the Greek island of Keros in April 2006. From ABC News:British and Greek archaeologists are preparing a major excavation on a tiny Greek island to try to explain why it produced history's largest collection of Cycladic flat-faced marble figurines.*snip*Now experts are seeking insight into the island's possible

Mystery of Mozart's Skull Continues

2006-01-08T22:12:00.000-06:00

According to a story on ABC News the question of Mozart's skull remains unresolved. Researchers were testing DNA extracted from the skull against skeletal material that came from the graves of his maternal grandmother and a niece. They assumed this would settle the question once and for all. An unexpected problem has defeated the attempt:Experts had assumed the remains were of Mozart's maternal

Howard Dean Rules!

2006-01-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

Via Eschaton Howard Dean destroys Blitzer and demonstrates what's wrong with the MSM. WOW!

How Does a Tyrannosaurus rex Sit Down?

2006-01-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

In most movies, such as Jurassic Park (and it's sequels), Tyrannosaurs are portrayed running about eating anything that moves. Presumably, at some point they require rest. So the question naturally arises as to what is the resting posture of the T. rex.An attempt to answer this question was presented at the June 2005 Symposium "100 Years of Tyrannosaurus rex". Rex,Sit examines the question:The

Transitions Site of the Week

2006-01-08T10:51:00.000-06:00

I have selected a new Site of the Week for Transitions. If you love fossils you will like this site, check it out! Really, you will love all the fossil pics!In the meantime, I am working on cross posting the next two posts in Evolgen's series on detecting natural selection, but am having formatting issues with the Punnet squares. As soon as I get that fixed I'll post links.

Oh Hell, What Next?

2006-01-07T15:45:00.000-06:00

Homeland Security opening private mail:In the 50 years that Grant Goodman has known and corresponded with a colleague in the Philippines he never had any reason to suspect that their friendship was anything but spectacularly ordinary. But now he believes that the relationship has somehow sparked the interest of the Department of Homeland Security and led the agency to place him under

Bush and Spying

2006-01-07T12:51:00.000-06:00

Analysts: Bush spying rationale legally shaky: Memo questions use of presidential power in wiretapping without approval:A report by Congress's research arm concluded yesterday that the administration's justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments.*snip*The 44-page report said that Bush probably cannot

6th Century Greek Temple Discovered in Albania

2006-01-06T23:22:00.000-06:00

According to this press release a new greek temple dating to the 6th century BC has been found in Albania:The temple they have discovered, located in coastal Albania, is only the fifth known stone temple in Albania. It stands out both because of its age and its size.The site is just outside of the ancient Greek city-state of Apollonia, and dates back to the late 6th century B.C. That would put

PZ Myers on Daily Kos

2006-01-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't stumbled across this elsewhere, Darksyde interviewed PZ Myers here. Fascinating stuff...A couple of my favorites:"...if I started babbling about tiny changes in feeding behavior in different strains of zebrafish, or error rates in cell migration in the presence of teratogens, there'd be maybe two or three people in the world who'd care, and they'd just check in once every six

In Memorium: Lou Rawls

2006-01-06T12:03:00.000-06:00

From MSNBC: Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to record such classic tunes as “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” died Friday of cancer. He was 72. Rawls died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer, said his publicist, Paul Shefrin. His wife, Nina, was at his bedside

Hippos and Tortoises

2006-01-06T07:06:00.000-06:00

From National Geographic News comes this interesting story:The strength of a unique male bond between a young hippopotamus and a 130-year-old tortoise will be tested later this spring when conservation workers introduce a female hippo to the mix.The pending introduction serves as an intriguing plot twist to the unlikely story of a hippo and tortoise brought together at Haller Park wildlife

Viking Teeth

2006-01-05T18:46:00.000-06:00

According to New Scientist VIKING warriors may have filed deep grooves into their teeth to indicate class or military rank.From the article:Caroline Arcini of Sweden's National Heritage Board analysed 557 skeletons from four major Viking-age Swedish cemeteries and discovered that around 10 per cent of men, but none of the women, bore horizontal grooves across the upper front teeth.The marks,

Maya Writing Found Dating to 2,300 BP

2006-01-05T16:23:00.000-06:00

From National Geographic News: Evidence of Maya writing that dates to 2,300 years ago has turned up in a pyramidal structure in Guatemala.Researchers excavating the site—ruins at San Bartolo in the northeastern part of the country—say the finding could be among the earliest Maya written material ever found.Currently the oldest known writing system in all of Central and South America dates to

Tangled Bank #44

2006-01-04T22:09:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Tangled Bank # 44! When I volunteered to host this edition of the Tangled Bank I was expecting to read a lot of good science writing on a lot of interesting subjects. Even so, I fear I have underestimated how good and interesting science bloggers really are! Pat yourselfs on the back you are good!I originally thought that I would do a clever layout involving the stratigraphy of the

Zimmer

2006-01-04T12:04:00.000-06:00

http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/2006/01/03/let_me_draw_your_attention.php Hysterical! If I had known about it I would have included it in the Tangled Bank. Really, check it out!

2006-01-04T10:31:00.000-06:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10707035/ This is good news! From the link above: Ted Koppel has joined the Discovery Channel to make news documentaries, bringing his former top producer and eight other ex-"Nightline" staff members, the cable channel announced Wednesday. *snip* Koppel will host and produce long-form programming examining major global

2006-01-03T14:36:00.000-06:00

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0103_060103_thai_fossils.html This is cool! From National Geographic News (link above): "The next morning Yaowalak and her Bangkok-based team from the Thailand Department of Mineral Resources traveled to the site. The scientists soon began unearthing a treasure trove of fossils: skulls of a gavial (a

Tangled Bank Reminder

2006-01-01T11:25:00.000-06:00

I will be hosting the next Tangled Bank on 1/4/06. Please send me links to your submissions!

What Kind Of World Leader Are You?

2006-01-01T11:12:00.000-06:00

Via Buridan's Ass comes the following quiz! What Famous Leader Are You?personality tests by similarminds.comFirst I was shocked by the "emaciated do gooder" label, but then I read the description and had to agree...

Papers I Have Read This Week

2005-12-31T19:00:00.000-06:00

One of the things Santa brought me for Christmas was a subscription to Current Anthropology. So I have read a bunch of articles from that:Sealy and Pfeieffer, 2000. Diet, Body Size and Lanscape Use among Holocene People in the Southern Cape, South Africa. CA 41(4):642-654. Stable isotope (nitrogen) analysis of a series of Kalahari San skeletons spanning the last 10,000 yearsDobson and Geelhoed,

The Dover Lawyers

2005-12-31T10:55:00.000-06:00

Others have already mentioned this article on Eric Rothschild and Stephen G. Harvey - the lawyers who were instrumental in the Dover Trial. There are two sentences in the article that I find fascinating:The next scheduled talk, and by no accident, will be in Kansas, where an intelligent design battle is brewing. Rothschild and Harvey said they feel connected to this controversy and will not stop

New Species of Mammal Discovered in Australia

2005-12-30T20:03:00.000-06:00

From National Geographic News:Dubbed Kryoryctes cadburyi—as in Cadbury chocolate—the dinosaur-era mammal was roughly the size of a large cat, covered with quills, and toothless.A distant relative of today's spiny anteater, the species lived about 106 million years ago alongside dinosaurs in what is now Australia. Why cadburyi?Helen Wilson, then a student at Australia's Monash University, was one

Evolution in Action

2005-12-30T10:17:00.000-06:00

Wow, according to the CDC a new mutated virus (actually a bacterium - afarensis) is going around. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10644538/from/RS.5/ The virus, Clostridium difficile, is particularly nasty: “…a growing number of young, otherwise healthy Americans who are being stricken by the bacterial infection known as Clostridium difficile -- or C. diff

Zooarchaeology, Pokemon Archaeology and Climate Change

2005-12-29T20:29:00.000-06:00

The above are pictures of pika's, small north american species related to rabbits and hares:Pikas breed in March or April and have a litter of three or four young after a gestation period of about 30 days. Some females have a second litter. Like many mammals, pikas shed in late spring from their long winter coats to a shorter summer coat, then shed again in the fall. Because of the short warm

New Post at Transitions

2005-12-29T20:23:00.000-06:00

Aydin Orstan has a new post up over at Transitions. It is about Baracles:Darwin's Old Buddies. The title is a reference to the fact that Darwin spent eight years classifying baracles and made several interesting discoveries concerning them. Check it out!

Late Archaic Projectile Points

2005-12-29T15:24:00.000-06:00

This is cool...Michael J. Rogers, associate professor of anthropology at Southern Connecticut State University and his student, Nancy Parsons, have found almost 5,000 stone artifacts at the site, including several unfinished points and at least one unbroken dart point.The discovery reveals the importance of stone ridges to the hunter-gatherers of 3,000 to 4,000 years ago and adds details to the

Sevens Meme

2005-12-27T16:26:00.000-06:00

Oldwhitelady has tagged me with the "Sevens" meme so here goes:Seven Things To Do Before I Die1)Get a Ph.d2)Finish The Structure of Evolutionary Theory3)When 2 is done read everything in the Library of Congress4)Visit Greece5)Visit the Smithsonian6)Sail around the world7)After 1 is complete publish a paper in a professional peer-reviewed science journal so I can legitimately claim that I have

Open Access Journals and the Evil Darwinian Orthodoxy

2005-12-24T11:36:00.000-06:00

Geotimes has an interesting discussion of open access journals:Open-access publishing has been heralded both as the savior of scientific literature and the death of publishing, but after less than a decade of the practice, its impact remains uncertain. A new review indicates that the success of these free and open journals also remains to be seen.The movement to make scientific journals freely

Transitions News

2005-12-24T11:30:00.000-06:00

The next post in Evolgen's series on Detecting Natural Selection has been crossposted on Transitions: The Genetics Page. The series gets more fascinating with each post, and would dare I say, make a great book (just a hint)! Check it out!In the meantime, I am in the process of selecting a new site of the week but the competition is tough!

Tangled Bank Reminder

2005-12-23T21:43:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder, I'll be hosting Tangled Bank 44 on January 4th. You all know what to do...

Footprints are Springing Up All Over the Place

2005-12-23T21:13:00.000-06:00

From Yahoo News:Hundreds of human footprints dating back to the last Ice Age have been found in the remote Australian Outback, an official and media reported Thursday.ADVERTISEMENT[-78160]The 457 footprints found in Mungo National Park in western New South Wales state is the largest collection of its kind in the world and the oldest in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.The

Interesting Website

2005-12-23T18:22:00.000-06:00

I'll probably do a post later, but in the meantime I thought I would bring this website to your attention Paleobiology Website.It's pretty cool to play around with.

Fish with Two Mouths

2005-12-22T19:16:00.000-06:00

Here"It's probably a genetic deformity," he said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with it."Ummm, I don't really have anything to add (other than to recommend that somebody should check pollution levels in the lake it came from - Montgomery Burns would be so proud).

Mammoth Nuclear DNA says African Elephant, Mitochondrial DNA Says Asian

2005-12-22T18:27:00.000-06:00

Okay, now I'm confused! I have posted on the Mammoth DNA study several times. One The articles I read stated that one of the conclusions was that Mammoths are more closely related to Asian elephants than African. Yet the story linked to above claims the exact opposite:A mammoth was chosen for the study, in part, because of its close evolutionary relationship to the African elephant, whose nuclear

More on Mammoth DNA

2005-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

Added Later: Sorry for the weird formatting. I have been experimenting with posting via email.National Geographic News has a story on mammoth DNA:"The DNA revealed that woolly mammoths had more genetic similarities to modern Asian elephants than to the African species, though not by much, Hofreiter's team reports. The DNA also showed that elephant species split from each other more quickly

Is MSNBC Spending to Much Time on Discovery Institute Propaganda

2005-12-21T07:53:00.000-06:00

You be the judge

More on Dover

2005-12-20T22:00:00.000-06:00

Hysterical:In addition, Professor Beheagreed that for the design of human artifacts, we know the designer and itsattributes and we have a baseline for human design that does not exist for design ofbiological systems. Professor Behe’s only response to theseseemingly insurmountable points of disanalogy was that the inference still works inscience fiction movies.Sick:In the midst of this panoply,

Some Snark about Dover

2005-12-20T18:37:00.000-06:00

Redesign the strategy Bill:The first mention of the Vise Strategy appeared on this blog here. I devised the Vise Strategy to aid the Thomas More Law Center in interrogating the ACLU’s expert witnesses in the Dover Trial. Since all witnesses in that trial have now been called (all that remains is for Judge Jones to render his verdict), I am making available the full-blown Vise Strategy here.Worked

Sour Grapes from the Discovery Institute

2005-12-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

I am laughing too hard at this to say morehehehehe!

The Decision

2005-12-20T10:53:00.000-06:00

The decision can be found and it's big!

Dover

2005-12-20T10:48:00.000-06:00

Wohooo, We WON!Added later: I posted this via email and the formatting wasn't good, so I have tidied it up.

Mammoth Mitochondrial DNA Partially Decoded

2005-12-19T18:07:00.000-06:00

According to BBC News the mitochondrial genome of the mammoth has been partially decoded:It shows that the mammoth was most closely related to the Asian rather than the African elephant.The three groups split from a common ancestor about six million years ago, with Asian elephants and mammoths diverging about half a million years later."We have finally resolved the phylogeny of the mammoth

Luzia, Kennewick and the Peopling of the Americas

2005-12-18T18:23:00.000-06:00

National Geographic News has an interesting story on some research on a large collection of skeletons found in Brazil. The skulls themselves date to about 10,000 years ago. The story is incredibly interesting, since it impacts theories about the peopling of the americas.The skeletal material comes from the Lagoa Santa region of Brazil. Caves containing skeleatal material were first discovered in

Whats Your Elf Name?

2005-12-18T13:40:00.000-06:00

PZ is cranky cause his elf name is Ditzy Slave O' Santa. All I have to say is it could be worse. Check out my elfname!Your Elf Name Is...Candy FluffernutterWhat's Your Elf Name?Which would you rather be?

The War on Christmas: Santa Launches a Counterattack

2005-12-17T21:41:00.000-06:00

Santa's pissed according to this article on MSNBC:A group of 40 people dressed in Santa Claus costumes, many of them drunk, rampaged through New Zealand’s largest city, robbing stores and assaulting security guards, police said Sunday.The rampage, dubbed “Santarchy” by local newspapers, began early Saturday afternoon when the men, wearing ill-fitting Santa costumes, threw beer bottles and

Bush Admits Spying on Americans

2005-12-17T11:09:00.000-06:00

Added Even Later: Dear Kitty has more. I think is important to stress that this is not just one agency that has been given permission to spy on american citizens. The Pentagon has as well. My guess is that all intelligence agencies are doing so - but I can't prove it. In the meantime, if you have done a post on the subject I would be happy to link to it...Added Later: A good sign is that

This is Brilliant!

2005-12-17T10:22:00.000-06:00

From BBC News and Science:A road ramp that uses passing cars to generate power has been developed.*snip*Plates in the ramp move up and down as vehicles pass over them, driving a generator."The ramp is silent, comfortable and safe for vehicles," Mr Hughes said. (the inventor of the ramp - afarensis)Depending on the weight of the vehicle passing overhead, between five and 50kW can be generated. One

Genome Complexity and Population Size

2005-12-17T10:07:00.000-06:00

Added Later: I think one of these is the original 2003 paper (scroll down to the technical comments papers - those by Daubin and Moran and Lynch and Conery are both accessible without a subscription). This is interesting:Biologists at Georgia Tech have provided scientific support for a controversial hypothesis that has divided the fields of evolutionary genomics and evolutionary developmental

Dwarf Mistletoe Joins War on Christmas, Attacks Christmas Trees

2005-12-17T09:18:00.000-06:00

“It’s ironic that the plant associated with love and well-being at Christmas can be the kiss of death for the trees we’ve come to associate with the same holiday,” said one individual at hearing the news.It was recently revealed that dwarf mistletoe has been routinely attacking christmas trees for years. A picture of the christmas hating plants in action is below.Even more disturbing:Dwarf

Curious

2005-12-16T21:54:00.000-06:00

Within the past 24 hours I have had an unusually large number of hits on some of my posts on ID (including some of my older ones). Curious. I wonder why?

Napoleon, Body Lice and the Russian Retreat

2005-12-15T22:17:00.000-06:00

Added Later: Tara over at Aetiology has also posted on this. Check it out.Added Even Later: Honesty compells me to point out that Tara catches afarensis having a "Homer Simpson" moment. DOH!Everyone is familiar, or should be, with the story of Napoleon's unfortunate invasion of Russia. Long story short, Napoleon marched into Russia with an army of approximately 500,000 soldiers. Winter came,

afarensis is Going to Seed!

2005-12-14T19:20:00.000-06:00

Since the cat has poked his nose out of the bag I'll help it out a little further. I have been asked to join to Seed Magazine's new blog consortium as well. It looks like a fascinating opportunity. As Ed Brayton says, arrangements will be made so you won't even have to change your bookmarks. Unlike Ed, however, I do plan on using this opportunity to make a few - minor - changes that I have been

Stuff I Probably Won't Have Time to Blog About , But Find Incredibly Cool!

2005-12-14T18:24:00.000-06:00

From the BBC Humans may have moved into England 200,000 years earlier than previously thought. The tools above were found at a sight dating to approximately 700,000 years ago:A team of researchers from the UK, Italy and Canada found a total of 32 flint tools in a fossil-rich seam at Pakefield. They say it represents the earliest unequivocal evidence of human activity in northern Europe.New

Torture - Pentagon Re-writes the Rules

2005-12-14T05:48:00.000-06:00

Via EschatonThis is just sick...Added Later:Apparently, the defense department is also spying on americans:A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.A secret 400-page Defense Department document

Mayan Mural Discovered Dating to 100 B.C.

2005-12-13T18:32:00.000-06:00

The above is one panel the oldest known Mayan Mural. It was discovered in 2001 and tells the Mayan story of creation:The first part of the mural shows the establishment of order to the world.The world is propped up by trees with roots leading to the underworld and branches holding up the sky, Saturno said.Four deities, who are representations of the maize god's son, provide a blood sacrifice and

Science Comes to Daily Kos

2005-12-13T06:36:00.000-06:00

Fellow science blogger (and one of the first contributors to Transitions) Darksyde has been asked to be one of the guest bloggers at Daily Kos. Congratulations DarkSyde!

More on PNAS

2005-12-12T19:00:00.000-06:00

The Abstract:Comparative morphological studies of the earliest human skeletons of the New World have shown that, whereas late prehistoric, recent, and present Native Americans tend to exhibit a cranial morphology similar to late and modern Northern Asians (short and wide neurocrania; high, orthognatic and broad faces; and relatively high and narrow orbits and noses), the earliest South Americans

AAARGH! PNAS is Driving Me Crazy!

2005-12-12T18:44:00.000-06:00

No Really, it's a plot! You see MSNBC has an article on some 7,500-11,000 year old Brazillian skulls. That's one below:It's of a female the discoverers have nicknamed Luzia:However, a new study examining the largest collection of South American skulls ever assembled suggests that a different population may have crossed the bridge to the New World 3,000 years before those Siberians.Scientists

Skhul CT Scans

2005-12-11T10:35:00.000-06:00

Incidently, CT scans and animations(such as the one below)Can be found atThe Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Though, special software is required to saee it, which is available here

Papers I have Read This Week

2005-12-11T09:29:00.000-06:00

Adami, C, Ofria, C, and Collier, T. C., (2000) Evolution of Biological Complexity. PNAS 97(9):4463-4468Cameron, C. B., Garey, J. R., and Swalla, B. J. (2000) Evolution of the Chordate Body Plan: New Insights from Phylogenetic Analysis of Deutersome Phyla. PNAS 97(9): 4469-4474. Still reading this one actually.A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central AfricaMICHEL BRUNET, FRANCK GUY,

One Reason Why I Don't Fly

2005-12-11T09:11:00.000-06:00

Passengers: Shot suspect mentioned no ‘bomb’:The airline passenger shot to death by federal marshals who said he made a bomb threat was agitated even before boarding and later appeared to be desperate to get off the plane, some fellow travelers said.One passenger said he “absolutely never heard the word ’bomb’ at all” during the uproar as the Orlando-bound flight prepared to leave Miami on

Mirecki Threatens to Sue KU

2005-12-10T11:24:00.000-06:00

More atEvolving ThoughtsAdded Later: Thoughts From Kansas also has info on the story.

Major Triumph for Bush!

2005-12-09T20:54:00.000-06:00

In a major triumph for Bush polls indicate he has succeded in raising his poll numbers to...42%! Oh, never mind. The way the media was portraying it I thought he was back in the 60's:Shifting into campaign mode to reverse his slide in public opinion polls, Bush has boosted his support among key constituency groups — particularly in the Northeast and West — on his handling of Iraq and the economy,

More on Dawgs, Gigantopithecus and Mayan Women

2005-12-09T19:54:00.000-06:00

Evolgen has solved the mystery of the shared 5% between mice, dogs and humans...National Geographic News has a story about the gigantopithecus find I blogged about here. You may remember I complained about the fact that gigantopithecus is frequently drawn as some kind of giant gorilla looking thing, even though it is believed that they are more closely related to Orangs... Well:Much Better! The

"...But They are Still Dogs..."

2005-12-07T22:02:00.000-06:00

Added Later: Here is a link to the NIH press release and, for those with Real Player, here is a link to a webcast about it. Concerning the 5% issue this is the only further info I have - in case it gives a clue to those who know a lot more about genetics than I do: While dogs occupy a special place in human hearts, they also sit at a key branch point, relative to humans, in the evolutionary tree.

Big Brains Means Small Testes

2005-12-07T21:34:00.000-06:00

According to a new study reported by New Scientist there is a correlation between brain size ans testes size in...bats. Researchers examined 334 species of bats for the studies. They found an inverse correlation between brain size and testes size. They relate the results to breeding systems. In bat species with highly promiscuous females, male bats had smaller brains but larger testes - related

Missouri Science Standards: Where We Rank

2005-12-07T20:51:00.000-06:00

The Fordham Foundation's report on science standards has been released. The report, The State of State Science Standards 2005 examines how well, or poorly, states are doing in creating science standards for education. Missouri was given a "C". The evaluation for Missouri is available here. The grade seems to be due to inconsistencies in application, but judge for yourself.In the meantime,

Olduvai George

2005-12-06T23:14:00.000-06:00

I've not really covered this since PZ Meyers and Carl Zimmer, among others, have mentioned it on their blogs. However, I feel flattered that an artist of quality of Carl Buell would link to me so I have to return the favor. I have added Olduvai George to my blogroll and would encourage you all to do the same. Also, visit his site, you will be richly rewarded.Welcome to the blogosphere Carl!

Finally, Something Good Comes from Dembski

2005-12-06T19:48:00.000-06:00

Namely, a link to this, which is hysterical!What makes it even funnier is the thought of an ID proponent linking to a guy making fun of creationists and using that as evidence of a culture war?? Anybody see the irony?

Professor Mirecki Beaten

2005-12-05T22:56:00.000-06:00

I first stumbled across this at Pharyngula. There is also a story at Red State Rabble who links to this story. Apparently Professor Mirecki - the Kansas professor who was going to teach a religios studies class debunking ID - was assaulted earlier today. I guess since lost in the world of science, lost in Dover, and are losing in the court of public opinion they have resorted to other methods of

I'm Sorry, I Can't Resist...

2005-12-05T18:18:00.000-06:00

I have, as you may have noticed, been following the 40,000 year old footprint story with keen interest. I realize, however, that we are ignoring the methodology that could settle the question for us. Yup, Intelligent Design. ID advocates are always trying to claim archaeology is all about detecting design and argue that archaeology could benefit from ID. Well, here is their chance to prove it!

I Fibbed

2005-12-05T18:03:00.000-06:00

Apparently, I have a little more time to write a short post. I emailed the author of the press release about the way the British team's dating methods. His response was that C-14 was the main source of the British team's dates. He mentioned he wasn't familiar with with the other methods used so he asked Dr. Renne about them ans was told they were not as accurate as Ar/Ar dating.Having said that,

Strange Behavior

2005-12-05T17:57:00.000-06:00

By Blogger that is. I can log in and write posts but can't get to my site to respond to comments - of which there are several I would like to respond to. In the meantime, Mrs. afarensis needs the computer so you probably won't here anything from me till tomorrow.

Outrageous: Rape Victim Made To Pay

2005-12-04T13:47:00.000-06:00

Check out the story here.Totally apalling. This judge needs to be removed from the bench! You can also go here:The Washington County District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the case against the men. Robert Hermann, the county's district attorney, said prosecutors reviewed all the information and statements but didn't think they could prove a rape allegation.Ted Naemura, the assistant

A Cure for Gassy Cows?

2005-12-04T13:02:00.000-06:00

No, really! Scientist in the UK (those daffy Brits) are working on decreasing methane emissions from cows:Cows belching and breaking wind cause methane pollution, but British scientists say they have developed a diet to make pastures smell like roses — almost.“In some experiments we get a 70 percent decrease (in methane emissions), which is quite staggering,” biochemist John Wallace told Reuters

40,000 Year Old Footprints: Revisited

2005-12-04T12:23:00.000-06:00

Something is bothering me about this story. Consider this quote (from the press release:Renne determined the new date using the argon/argon dating technique, which reliably dates rock as young as 2,000 years or as old as 4 billion years. The British-led researchers, however, relied mainly on carbon-14 dates of overlying sediments. Carbon-14 cannot reliably date materials older than about 50,000

Platynereis dumerlii, Acropora millepora and the Human Genome: Part Three

2005-12-04T09:16:00.000-06:00

There are two issues. One is that a large number of genes in Drosophilia melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans are highly modified. Another is that, as mentioned in previous posts, D. Melanogaster and C. elegans may be more closely related to each other than to vertebrates. The two combined suggest that comparisons based only on these organisms could be misleading. What about using a different

The FBI and CIA: Protecting You from Terrorism

2005-12-04T08:41:00.000-06:00

Worried about terrorism? Don't worry the FBI is on the job:FBI officials mishandled a Florida terror investigation, falsified documents to try to cover mistakes and retaliated against an agent who complained about the problems, The New York Times reported in its Sunday edition.Citing a draft report of an investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general's office, a copy of which was

Casey Luskin: Working in the Quote Mines

2005-12-03T09:29:00.000-06:00

Casey Luskin discusses chromosomal fusion. I'll be doing a post on this later, but in the meantime I can't resist pointing this out:One way around the problem in (1) is to find a mate that also had an identical chromosomal fusion event. But Valentine and Erwin imply that such events would be highly unlikely:"[T]he chance of two identical rare mutant individuals arising in sufficient propinquity

Transitions: The Genetics Page

2005-12-03T08:34:00.000-06:00

Two more parts of Evolgen's series on "Detecting Natural Selection" are up at Transitions: The Genetics Page. Check them out and don't forget to visit Evolgen

Archaeopteryx and the Raptors

2005-12-01T20:33:00.000-06:00

National Geographic News and New Scientist are announcing the publication of a new archaeopteryx fossil - pictured below.Actually, it's not so much new as previously unavailable:Nine previously known specimens of archaeopteryx have led palaeontologists to conclude that birds probably evolved from small meat-eating dinosaurs, and are closely related to the dromeosaurs, a group that includes the

40,000 Year Old Mexican Footprints: Update

2005-12-01T20:08:00.000-06:00

Abnormal Interests has an update on the story. He also has an interesting take on Dembski's comment about the intelligent designer. Check them out!Added Later: Proponnents of the 40,000 year old date have responed here:It is clear that the dates reported by Renne’s group need to be replicated and independently confirmed. This is important because we applied the Ar-Ar method as well and had no

Interactive 3-D Mouse Brains

2005-12-01T20:00:00.000-06:00

You will find them here. You do have to register. Cool Stuff!

Platynereis dumerlii, Acropora millepora and the Human Genome: Part Two

2005-11-30T20:02:00.000-06:00

Let's approach this from another direction we can look at nematodes and compare their genome with flies and humans. So researchers compared more than 100 nuclear protein alignments. The original study used the 18S rRNA. In nematodes this has particularly long branches, indicating an increased rate of sequence change. What this means is that, basically, nematodes have an increased rate of

My International Readers

2005-11-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

There is a post over at Pharyngula comparing international readership on liberal vs. conservative blogs . Here are my stats. I'm happy to note that 44% of my visitors came from overseas. 56 56.57% United States United States 7 7.07% United Kingdom United Kingdom 6 6.06% Denmark Denmark 6 6.06% Canada Canada 4 4.04% Ireland Ireland 4 4.04% Australia Australia 4 4.04% Netherlands