BIOLOGY



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ANATOMY EVOLUTION ANIMALS
DNA & RNA Abiogenesis Terrestrial
Cells All Life Birds
Viruses Human Insects
Sex Epigenetics Marine Life
Microbiology Plants Dinosaurs


DNA & RNA


12/27/18

There are specific points along the DNA molecule that control ...

the timing of replication


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1/23/17

The first stable semisynthetic organism has been created.

Can you spot the error in this story?
(hint: it's right at the beginning)

The first paragraph ignores the fact
that 5methylcytosine is part of the genetic code.
So now we're up to 5 bases.
They also ignored the fact
that RNA is also part of the genetic code.
RNA substitutes uracil in place of thymine.
So that is a 6th base that they ignored.


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5/7/14



Those wacky scientists. Now look at what they've done:
They've gone and expanded the genetic code ...

and just when I had finally gotten those 5 bases memorized


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Cells


6/23/22

The world's largest bacterium has been discovered in a swamp on a Caribbean island.
It is so big, that despite being only a single cell ...

it is visible to the naked eye


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6/28/17

Bacteria isn't the only thing on our skin

Sometimes I wonder if I just might be happier ... by staying dumb.


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1/11/17

Our molecular machines (6:20)




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12/8/16

The mitochondria's electron transport chain (7:44)




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4/27/16

A brain and nervous system are not requirements for learning

Scientists find a single-celled organism capable of learning


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1/8/16

What type of cell makes up most of the human body?

It all depends on how you measure them: by number or by mass

If measured by mass then muscle cells win.
If measured by number, then the answer varies:
the average human body contains between 40-74% bacterial cells
with an average of around 57%.
That means that most people do have more bacterial cells than human cells ...
but many do not.

I am absolutely ... almost certain ...
that I fall within that last group.


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12/3/13

Cell type changed in a single process.

Transcription Factor ELT-7


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Viruses




You have 2 giant boxes.
In one box you put everything in the universe that is not alive.
In the other box you put all living things.
Now you are standing there holding one last object - a virus.
So which box does it go in?

In the box of living things you will not find 2 that are identical.
They all differ from one another in some way.
But they do have one thing in common ...
they are all made of genetic material.
That is something you will never  find in the other box.



11/1/21

Viruses are part of the Tree of Life

Like Pluto-deniers, some of these scientists simply cannot accept the fact that
science keeps advancing as more and more knowledge is added;
and this requires updating one's mental database.

Perhaps they would be happier switching to a career
where they only have to work on Sundays and the laws never change?

Classification of viruses


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5/13/18

The deadliest creature on Earth is a virus called "Bacteriophage" (7:08)




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9/21/15

For those of you who don't believe that viruses should be classified as life

"Life" is merely one direction that the evolution of matter can take.
There is no boundary line between life and nonlife,
other than the arbitrary one created by humans for our convenience.


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9/13/12

Those who claim that viruses are not part of the Tree of Life
take a huge hits from science.

Tree of Life Continues To Be Refined

Is the Pandora Virus a new life form?


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Sex


3/3/15

Results from the one of the most recent, large, scientific studies of ...

Penis Size

I thought it was interesting that their choice of a visual aid
was not one of an erect penis ... but of a tape measure.
I think that is called "Playing it safe."

UPDATE 2/15/23

Penis size has increased by 24% in only 30 years

I don't know that I buy into such a drastic increase in such a short time
without more supporting data. In other words ... it sounds fishy to me.


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2/9/12

Genesis 3:16 - To the woman He said,
"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth,
in pain you will bring forth children ...."

I think a Hyena must have stolen fruit from God's favorite tree


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1/14/12

Laci Green explains the clitoris (3:51)




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Microbiology


8/18/24

Newly discovered protein stops DNA damage and ...

even repairs it


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10/7/22

Just when I thought I had outgrown
all my childish fears of monsters, I read this ...

Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able to 'crawl' and spread on teeth

Now, where did I put that phone number of my therapist?


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10/10/21

The Nobel Prize in medicine goes to researchers who discovered ...

how temperature and touch are recognized by our bodies


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7/28/20

How old are the oldest animals on Earth?

Try 100 million years


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11/22/19

Scientists find a place on Earth where no life exists ...



a volcano in Ethiopia


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1/25/17

Death is more complicated than we imagined.
Some genes continue to try to repair the body ...

even days after the heart stops


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12/1/15

Scientists discover that interferons
are not our first line of defense against viruses and bacteria ... but our second

(note: the story is in a pop-up window - so don't dismiss it)


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5/10/14

Three 16-year-old girls win Google's global science competition

They discovered a naturally occurring bacteria in soil called Diazotroph.
They determined that the bacteria could be used to speed up
the germination process of certain crops, like barley and oats, by 50 percent,
potentially helping to fulfill the rising demand for food worldwide (4:45)

Diazotroph


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9/27/12

Everything eats everything ... that's just the way it is.

Soil Bacteria Prey on E-coli


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8/28/11

No matter how big or how small you are ... life is brutal.

Amoeba attacks 2 paramecium (0:44)


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5/20/06

Only 1 creature was injured in the filming of this video (0:29)




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Abiogenesis


6/29/23

The gateway to life on Earth may have been ...

urea


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3/18/22

For the first time researchers have been able to create
an RNA molecule that replicates, diversifies, and develops complexity ...

following Darwinian evolution


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11/18/20

The building blocks of life (amino acids) can form in deep space ...

long before stars appear


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1/17/19

Complex molecules emerge without evolution or design

That one will keep those little Creationist freaks busy for awhile.


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6/18/15

Researchers find the first direct experimental evidence
for how primordial proteins developed the ability
to accelerate the central chemical reaction necessary to synthesize proteins ...

and thus allow life to arise


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6/1/15

The hypothesized "RNA world" was probably preceded by the ...

Peptide - RNA world


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5/12/15

Chemical evolution (9:14)




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4/27/15

The evolution from inorganic elements to organic chemical molecules
has been shown to be feasible in the environment of ...

undersea hydrothermal vents


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12/24/14

This video from Aron Ra on Abiogenesis
should be required viewing for every high school student in America (11:34)




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4/23/14

The RNA World Hypothesis




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9/13/13

Another abiogenesis breakthrough ... "Urzymes"

Scientists continue to zero-in on the origins of life,
and every time they do ... the Bible fades ever farther into oblivion.


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6/10/13

Early bioenergetic evolution

Their definition of life:
"The harnessing of chemical energy in such a way
that the energy-harnessing device makes a copy of itself."

Most definitions of life do not take into account the evolutionary steps
that led from inorganic matter evolving into organisms that we recognize as alive.
This definition, however, recognizes that life is a process:
it is just one direction that the evolution of matter can take.


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6/3/13

Reactive phosphorus was an essential component to the creation of life

Where did early Earth get the phosphorus from?


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4/4/13

Yet another abiogenesis model enters the race: proteins before RNA

I emailed the author, Michael Blaber, and he clarified one statement in the article
regarding the contribution of green plant life to the Earth's atmospheric oxygen,
by adding that plants would have contributed to an 'increase' in atmospheric oxygen
which was already present as a result of the Great Oxygenation Event, 2 billion years earlier.


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11/9/12

The gaps, where God is inserted by Creationists, just keep getting fewer and fewer.

Precursor to RNA found in Cyanobacteria


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10/14/09

Here's another LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) candidate ...

a rock


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1953

When Stanley Miller created amino acids from inorganic compounds
in his lab in 1953, the religious world went nuts.
For over 60 years they have furiously and desperately fought back
with feeble and humiliating attempts to discredit his discovery.

Well, it's time for Ghost Worshipers to go nuts again.
In addition to Miller's work, they will now have to tackle this new discovery:
amino acids can also be created by comet and meteor impacts.

This is the best example you will ever get,
of the logical fallacy known as "Moving the Goalposts."
Creationists are forced to retreat ever further each time science advances.
The goalposts are no longer on the field; they have been moved into the stands,
out of the stadium, and are currently located somewhere outside the state.
Yet they will never give up.
They will go to their graves holding on to their childish, ancient fairy tales.

Pascal asked "what have they got to lose ?"

Nothing; if you don't mind living, the only life you will ever know ...

in Fantasyland

And in case you need to refresh your memory ...

Here's the original Miller-Urey experiment


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All Life


8/28/24

Mysterious new organism found in Mono Lake, California ...

could rewrite the history of life


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1/22/24

Animals whose evolutionary development
has enabled them to achieve ...

amazing camouflage abilities


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1/12/24

Largest primate ever discovered (up to 10 feet tall) ...

went extinct around 300,000 years ago in China


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5/22/23

Butterflies evolved from moths
about 100 million years ago in Pangaea ...

in what is now North and Central America




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1/12/22

This one, if true, could be a game-changer ...

Study challenges the evolutionary theory that DNA mutations are random

Sure would like to be around long enough
to see how this one plays out.
But I think it will take a long, long time
before scientists can conclude one way or the other.


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7/2/21



400,000 years ago, elephants somehow made it to Sicily;
and within a mere 1,300 years became ...

dwarfs


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2/24/21

Sulfur metabolism may have paved the way for the evolution of multicellularity.

Slime molds (Dictyostelium Discoideum)


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2/22/19

Researchers document unicellular to multicellular evolution in algae ...

in response to predation


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6/19/18

When did fish first begin to breath air?

Video - 9:07

We've come a long way, baby.


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5/30/18

In a contest of visual acuity in the animal kingdom ...

humans did pretty well


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5/2/18



Transitional fossil between dinosaurs and birds has been discovered:

It is a bird ... with teeth


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2/7/18

Giant viruses share a set of genes with eukaryotes called "core histones," indicating ...

a common ancestor

It's bad enough that we are related to jellyfish ... but viruses?
I don't know how much more of this "humbling" I can take.


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5/5/16



A key gene, responsible for multicellularity in all creatures ...

has been identified in algae


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12/12/13



This is the candidate for "First Known Animal" ... the comb jelly

UPDATE - 12/1/15



UPDATE - 2/22/16

More evidence supporting the theory
that the "Sea Sponge" was the Earth's first animal



UPDATE - 4/10/17



But wait - the Comb Jelly fans aren't ready to throw in the towel, just yet.

Here is evidence that comb jellies may have been the first animal

UPDATE - 11/30/17

But the sponges bounce back with powerful evidence and ...

regain the lead

UPDATE - 3/23/20

And now a new candidate appears (a tiny wormlike creature)

That creature came along way after the sponges and jellies
but is considered a direct  ancestor of all animals.
Hopefully, more research will provide further clarification
and explain how this creature fits in (in relation to the sponges and jellies).

Stay tuned ... it ain't over till it's over

UPDATE 5/17/23

Comb Jellies are back out in front once again!

This article gives a more detailed explanation

UPDATE 8/19/24

It's still too close to call


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5/7/15



Scientists may have discovered ... The God Gene

Okay, they didn't actually call it that ... but they could have


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3/3/15

It's been a pretty rough day for the late, great, biologist Stephen Jay Gould

First, his famous theory of punctuated equilibrium takes a hit

Then his theory about the evolution of ecological function
undergoing an early burst during the dawn of animal life ...

gets dinged


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2/2/15

Is this a ray of hope for evolution deniers?

Organism discovered that hasn't evolved in 2 billion years

Nah. Just another ... in a long line of neverending defeats.


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12/11/14

And the discoveries of science just keep getting weirder and weirder

Evolution ... in reverse


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11/6/14

The evolution of multicellularity

How utterly embarrassing for humans:
even single cells figured it out (working together) ...

but we can't


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9/30/14

Bird's wings are the result of an evolutionary reversal ...

from dinosaur arms


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9/28/14

The evolutionary arms race doesn't just exist between species.
It also exists inside ...

each of us


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9/17/14

How fast can evolution happen in multicellular creatures?

Pretty damn fast

I think the lights will be burning deep into the night at ...
The Discovery Institute


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7/9/14

So ... in addition to being indebted to green algae for giving us plants

We also owe sex to green algae

There are some debts ... that we will just never be able to repay


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6/5/14

Bromine is essential for all animal life (3:58)




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5/28/14

Extinction of the world's megafauna has often been blamed on climate change.

So who is really to blame?

Yep, the usual suspects ... humans

It's now called The Holocene Extinction

UPDATE - 10/19/17

History - from the future

Humans are causing the Earth's 6th extinction event.
Nothing is safe from us; not even ...

the insects

Combine this story with the one about half the ocean's fish being gone
and it should become obvious that humanity is racing at top speed ...

toward the edge of the cliff


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9/2/13

Need a reply to those pesky Creationists
who argue that evolution promotes only vicious competition?

Tell them to stay current on the latest research ...
to avoid further embarrassment


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3/27/13

One of the worst days in Earth's history

The day the dinosaurs got hit

But out of that tragedy, there arose survivors (our ancestors)
who would benefit from the dinosaur's demise, and change the world forever.


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1/16/13

Fire ants come in two varieties ... defined by their DNA

Fire Ant evolution


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11/26/12

Genes ... explained (4:56)




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10/23/12



Remember the recent discovery of a new form of life at Mono Lake in California?
(A discovery that scientists have not embraced)

Well this would make a better candidate


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Human Evolution


2/28/24

Researchers discover the mechanism
that led to our human ancestors ...

losing their tails


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2/2/24

Contrary to prior belief,
it turns out that our appendix ...

actually does provide us with some benefits


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11/6/23

The primate history of North America ...

adds a new player


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4/15/23

Every blue-eyed human on Earth
evolved from a single European ancestor who lived ...

between 6,000-10,000 years ago


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10/28/21

The "Missing Link" has been found: Homo Bodoensis

"This species lived in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene,
around half a million years ago,
and was the direct ancestor of modern humans."


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10/4/21

Homo Sapiens conquered the world by eliminating the competition (8:43)




Currently, we are in the process of eliminating one last homo species ...

Ourselves


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9/27/21

Here is an excellent explanation of human evolution,
followed by the new evidence for North American habitation ...

over 20,000 years ago


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6/25/21

A new species of human has been found in China.
And it appears more closely related to us than Neandertals. Meet ...

Dragon Man (2:04)


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6/25/21

DNA recovered from soil taken from Denisova cave in Siberia
has added important details to the story of human evolution

We were not alone

UPDATE 7/3/24

More on Denisovans and other human ancestors


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6/24/21

The puzzle that is human evolution
has just had another missing piece filled in.
Introducing ...

Nesher Ramla Homo


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1/30/20

Scientists discover that Africans also have Neandertal DNA ...

they attribute that to a re-migration back from Europe


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4/27/19

A bone in the knee thought to be disappearing in humans ...

is returning

the fabella


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1/16/19

Possible new human ancestor discovered ...

it's a hybrid Neandertal/Denisovan


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8/23/18

First inter-species human has been discovered ...

she's half Neandertal and half Denisovan


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6/7/17

The evolutionary beginning of modern humans
"may be" much earlier than we thought ...

over 300,000 years ago


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8/28/14



If you are hoping to have sex tonight,
make sure that you and your significant other,
do not read this until ...

afterwards


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7/2/14

How did Tibetans evolve the ability to survive at low-oxygen elevations?

Their ancestors "partied" with a different species of human


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4/30/14

Carl Woese, a scientist few have ever heard of, is to biology ...
what Einstein is to physics.
The 16SrRNA gene led Woese to the discovery of our ancestors ...

the Archaea

"I didn't come from no monkey !"

That's right Bubbles ... the truth is far worse than that


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12/18/13



With each new discovery, human origins get more complicated ...

but better defined

Family tree of the four groups of early humans
living in Eurasia 50,000 years ago
and the gene flow between the groups due to interbreeding.
(The tree is easier to understand if you read it upwards from the root)


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12/4/13

In the quest to unravel ancient human history, scientists examine ...

300,000-400,000 year-old DNA


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11/5/13



Misleading article claims that a new knee ligament has been discovered

Actually, the ligament had been discovered long ago;
but researchers only recently discovered the "purpose" of this ligament.


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8/1/13

Worldwide analysis of the Y-chromosome
yields a date range for the last common human male ancestor.

and it is remarkably close to the estimated range
for the last common human female ancestor

No. This doesn't mean Adam and Eve were real.


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3/1/13



The date for the emergence of modern humans
may have been pushed back from 200,000 to 338,000 years ...

as molecular biology fills in the gaps in the fossil record

The x-chromosome (female) is the large one;
the y-chromosome (male) is the small one.


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12/1/12

How many "senses" do humans possess?

Hint: it's a lot more than 5


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5/1/09

The most diverse DNA on the planet has been found among ...

the San people of the Kalahari Desert (in Namibia and Botswana)

This is strong evidence for the birthplace of modern humans.

UPDATE 7/2/22

Australopithecus Africanus fossils in South Africa are older than "Lucy"


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2/14/07

DNA evidence conclusively links humans to apes (4:23)

chromosomes 2 and 13 fused


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Epigenetics & Lamarckism


2/6/19

Snakes still have the DNA for limbs. So where are they?

The answer lies in the epigenome


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6/4/15

Methylation reprograms our epigenetic switches ...

and can be passed on to our offspring


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4/7/15

Richard Dawkins explains "The Baldwin Effect" (6:07)

He also explained why the learned behavior being inherited by the offspring
was not Lamarckianism.


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4/6/15

Scientists are learning how to control the gene enhancers and promoters ...

that make up our epigenetics


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3/3/15

Contrary to what we have always been told ...

Height is not solely determined by genetics


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2/4/15

As some recent studies have suggested,
it has now been proven that ...

DNA is not responsible for ALL inherited traits


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9/18/14

How epigenetic memory is passed across generations

"Epigenetic modifications do not affect the DNA sequence of genes,
but change how the DNA is packaged and how genes are expressed."


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12/18/13

The fear of certain smells is passed on by mice to their offspring

Maybe science shouldn't have been so harsh to Lamarck

Lamarckism

But before passing judgment, it might be wise to weigh this opinion from

UPDATE - 3/14/16

You are ... what your parents ate

UPDATE - 6/16

Richard Dawkins

It looks like this debate is far from over

RELATED

microbes can influence their host's evolution


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Plants








9/13/22

Human destruction of trees threatens the planet's ...

entire ecosystem


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6/1/22

The world's Largest Living Organism has been discovered in the ocean off Australia.
How big is this plant?

3 times the size of Manhatten Island

RELATED 11/8/24

And here is a candidate for the "Heaviest Living Organism"


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5/3/22

Plants that thrive in drought may help in the battle against ...

global warming


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5/12/21

the Cavendish banana



One of the world's most popular fruits ... is going extinct

Enjoy it while it lasts

UPDATE ... that gives us hope 8/19/24

The disease's capacity to damage a host
was reduced when the genes producing nitric oxide ...

were eliminated


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10/3/19

Plants can warn their neighbors when they are under attack ...

by using airborne chemicals


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3/26/18

Scientists find the mechanism used by a fungus to destroy ...

30% of the world's rice supply


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2/6/18



Who are those brave insects who pollinate the dangerous Venus Fly Trap?

Here's what happens when you come to visit ... but don't pollinate




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12/22/17

When competing with neighbors for light ...

plants reveal decision-making abilities


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8/4/16

Why sunflowers "follow the sun" (1:14)




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6/24/13

No, this is not a joke. Science gets more amazing every day.

Plants calculate using division

This means that Creationists have now been moved farther down the Tree of Life.
They are currently listed just above ... carrots


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10/30/12

How do tall trees get water up to the top?

Tree biology (7:23)


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Terrestrial Animals


11/16/23

Bonobo society is virtually the opposite of chimpanzee society.

Could an important factor be that Bonobo society is ... matriarchal?


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6/14/22

The Mongoose



The mongoose is one of only a handful of mammals who engage in warfare

But no animal on Earth has perfected the art ... as much as we have.


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3/28/22

How vampire bats developed their taste for blood ...

they lost 13 genes


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3/27/22

Why don't constrictors suffocate when swallowing large prey?



Because breathing duties are transferred to other areas


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12/12/21



Devices have been developed
that allow communication between ...

humans and their pets


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2/5/20



This little guy hasn't moved in over 7 years

What has me intrigued, is his secret for surviving boredom.


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12/6/18



Geckos can run on top of water

So that's how Jesus did it - He channelled His inner gecko


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4/20/17



Naked mole rats are amazing little critters

But personally, and this is just me,
I would rather live with the cancer risk and fear of suffocating
than live in the dirt and look like that.


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11/9/16

The Peregrine Falcon holds the world record in the animal kingdom
for the highest speed ever attained in the skies (over 200 mph).
However, that speed occurs when the bird is diving (gravity-assisted).
So which animal holds the record (over 100 mph) for horizontal flight speed?

Hint: it ain't a bird


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10/6/16

The more we learn about our fellow great apes ...

the more we discover just how smart they really are


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8/22/16



Even chimps understand that cooperation is preferable to competition

Based on human history and current events,
a strong case could be made that the iconic procession of images
from chimp-like creature to an upright walking human ...

might be backwards


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12/16/15

In another embarrassment for Ayn Rand's Objectivists ...

even dogs demonstrate altruism

What could be more humiliating than being outperformed by a dog in a test of ...

being human


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6/6/14

Creationists would rather commit hara-kiri
than admit that humans evolved from apelike mammals.
But after reading the story below,
I think it's the chimps who should be offended ...

at being compared to humans

And I don't even want to try to imagine
how bad the chimps would have humiliated Creationists.


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2/15/13

Altruism in Meerkats

What an embarrassment for Objectivists: even lowly Meerkats get it.


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1/14/13

An embarrassment for many humans ...

even chimps pass 'fairness test'


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11/12/12

And the winner of the 2012 biggest "Duh" research award is ...

Captive animals show signs of boredom


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9/25/12



Why it won't be so easy to regenerate limbs like salamanders do

UPDATE 6/1/22
The axolotl, a Mexican salamander, is now all but extinct in the wild

"The axolotl is a champion of regeneration, with the ability to regenerate almost any body part,
including brain, heart, jaws, limbs, lungs, ovaries, spinal cord, skin, tail, and more."

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4/10/12

Measuring traits in animals which are usually associated only with humans



What's embarrassing is how many of these animals are more human ...

than many humans


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Birds


2/5/22

Crows in Sweden retrieve cigarette butts from the streets ...

and exchange them for food

imho: those birds are a lot smarter than the smokers.

5/24/24 - More on crow intelligence

Crows can count out loud


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9/26/17

You had better think twice before calling someone a "Bird Brain"

Pigeons are as fast, and sometimes faster than humans at multitasking

While their brains are smaller, that disadvantage is offset by the fact
that their neurons are packed more tightly.


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3/3/15

Scientists have learned that crows
are among the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom.
(I would dare to add: smarter than some people)

Now we have evidence that they also possess a strong moral sense ...

(I would dare to add: more than many people)


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5/1/14

African "drongos" (black birds) imitate dozens of different warning sounds

to trick animals into abandoning their food


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2/4/14

You won't believe how smart this crow is (3:19)




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1/9/14

An eagle ... fishing (2:52)




Now - imagine if this eagle met this guy ...



Place your bets lady and gentlemen

Incredible science videos like that last one can give a skeptical thinker pause;
which brings up an interesting side story:

Many years ago, a magazine that I trusted (Discover) ran a story about "Hotheads."
They were carnivorous mole rats who gathered beneath people and animals
who were traversing thin ice in the arctic.
The group could produce enough heat with their heads (hence the term "Hotheads")
to melt the ice and deliver their dinner to them.

It turned out to be an April Fools prank.
But they didn't bother to note that after the story.
Based on all the incredible things that I've learned about the animal world
(like the bird-catching fish above),
I tended to accept even bizarre stories when they were from reputable sources.

It was quite embarrassing to find out later that I had been fooled.

Hotheads


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9/12/07

The "Einstein" of parrots has passed away (2:40)




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Insects


3/9/23

Social learning among bumblebees suggests that ...

animal culture might be widespread


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6/15/22

Researchers discover an Achilles Heel in the mosquito ...

that has the potential to eliminate many diseases


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8/4/20

After being swallowed, a water beetle travels through the frog's digestive tract ...

and escapes with its life 2 hours later when the frog defecates (video: 20 seconds)

You thought I made that up didn't you?


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11/19/19

When stuck in water, bees create a wave with their wings ...

and then surf to the edge and to safety


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2/11/19

Insects are disappearing rapidly from the Earth.

Main causes include habitat loss and widespread pollution

The 6th worldwide extinction event is upon us; and this time ...

WE are the ones to blame

UPDATE 4/24/20

Bugs are going extinct at an alarming rate


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9/25/18

"It is well known that many hymenoptera insect species
(which include bees, wasps, and ants) " ...

are essentially all-female societies

I didn't know that.
Since it is "well known" ...

I guess I just got my slice of humble pie for the day


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7/5/18

Spiders don't have wings, so how do they fly?
It's called "ballooning" and involves using their silk
to take advantage of both the wind and ...

the atmosphere's electric field (video - 3:24)


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5/28/18

The fairy tale about storks delivering babies ... may be true after all.

The eggs of pregnant insects can survive the trip through a bird's intestines

Betcha didn't know that one.


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3/26/18

The longest animal the world has ever known was up to 55 meters long (180 feet).

But it wasn't a dinosaur ... it is still alive today

And as if being 180 feet long wasn't scary enough ... it's also poisonous.


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2/14/18

African Matabele ants are the only non-human creatures ever discovered ...

that give medical aid to their fallen comrades


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3/9/17



Amazing evolution on display
as beetles have evolved the ability
to blend into a ravaging army ant horde ...

in order to prey upon the ant's brood.


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4/15/15

As if it weren't already difficult enough to study the distant past
now we find out that we also have to contend with ...

bone-eating worms


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6/18/14



What else do spiders catch and eat?

Would you believe ...

fish?


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11/26/13



Science has yet to explain the attraction
that some girls have to "Bad Boys."
Heck, they still haven't figured out how to explain
the often fatal attraction that some guys have to ...

"Bad Girls"


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10/8/12



Preserved in amber: a spider attacking a wasp captured in its web ...

100 million years ago


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9/26/12



Ever wondered what an insect looked like ...

300 million years ago?


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8/3/12



Here is a fascinating story of interspecies dependency and competition:
the picture above shows an Azteca Ant attacking a beetle
which had been preying upon the 'green coffee scale' insects ...

upon which the ants depend


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4/25/11

File this under "Animals are aMAZing"

How fire ants survive a flood


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Marine Life


7/16/24

Scientists may now know why Greenland sharks are
the longest-living vertebrates on Earth.

They can live hundreds of years


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12/8/23

A worm’s rear end develops its own head ...

and then wanders off to mate

It doesn't get much weirder than that.


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11/1/23

Sea Stars ("starfish") don't have "a" head ...

their head region is distributed throughout their bodies

So they are more like a crawling head.
Their "arms" are used like feet, allowing them to move and hunt.
What they lack is a torso.

UPDATE 11/29/23

Brittle Stars can be trained ...

That means that even without a brain - they can learn


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5/16/23

Do fish ever hold their breath?

Scientists found one that does ...

a Hammerhead Shark


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5/3/21

Polycarpa mytiligera (sea squirts)



This species of ascidian can regenerate all of its organs ...

even after being sliced into 3 separate pieces


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7/10/17



Sea Spiders don't use their hearts to supply oxygen to their bodies. They use ...

their guts


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9/21/16



Scientists are unlocking the secrets to the Tardigrade's incredible powers.
Also known as "Water Bears" these hardy survivalists can withstand
boiling temperatures; temperatures near absolute zero ...

and even survive outside spacecraft while being bombarded by radiation

another excellent article on Tardigrades

8/14 - more on Tardigrades


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10/9/15

Check out this guy:



The Good News: It can live forever
The Bad News ...

It defecates through its mouth ... forever


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3/4/15

Do fish drink water?
(2:26)




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3/20/15



Okay, because it is so tiny, maybe you weren't all that impressed
when I told you about an animal that could theoretically live forever (the hydra)
But how about one that could live forever, and ...

grow to the size of a whale


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12/19/14

Scientists discover a fish that lives below 8,000 meters
(a new world record)

Watch it swim (3:00)


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11/27/14



After "The Great Dying" (252 million years ago) ...

life may have recovered sooner than we thought


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11/16/14

I thought humans were the only creatures depraved enough
to attempt to have sex outside of their biological class.

But apparently ... we are not alone in our depravity


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12/4/13

The more science delves into the intelligence of animals ...
the smarter we find that they are.
What's the latest animal to be removed from the moron list?

Crocodiles


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10/1/13



Imagine an intelligent alien with a brain that is distributed throughout its many arms.

Well that alien lives right here on Earth ... right now.


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6/12/13

Men can store their sperm, thus giving life after they are gone

Guppies can do the same thing ... without all the technology


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2/26/13

This video will test your gag reflex (2:35)



UPDATE 10/26/21

Atlantic Croaker infected for the first time


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11/13/12



Science proves the Bible wrong again

The existence of the hydra is scientific proof
that Jesus Christ is not the only path to eternal life.

In fact ... these guys can do it too




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6/09/12

Discovery of a century-old penguin study shocks scientists.
They exhibited many of the same criminally sexual behaviors found in police stories.

Perverted Penguins

I thought the most interesting part of the story was when they discussed the fact
that it was not published in order to "preserve decency."
How does hiding the truth about animal behavior preserve human decency?

Your guess is as good as mine.
Besides, since World War 1 began the next year,
I would offer that human decency could only go in one direction ...
even if it mimicked penguins.


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Dinosaurs


2/28/23

Animal flight was made possible by the evolution of ...

the propatagium tendon


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3/29/19

The evidence for Walter Alvarez's theory on the demise of the dinosaurs ...

keeps getting stronger


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10/18/15



Dinosaur extinction

Whatever the reason for their extinction - we should thank our lucky stars

UPDATE 2/21/19

Scientists are closing in on the cause of dinosaur extinction


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11/22/13



These were the guys who kept the early T-Rexes in line.
(before T-Rexes grew enormously in size)
Once these guys went extinct, the T-Rexes were free to grow ...

and replace them as the top predator


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11/6/13



New T-Rex cousin discovered in Utah

Utah, like China, is now a hotbed of fossil discovery.


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9/12/13

The ability to bring back dinosaurs (as in the movie 'Jurassic Park') has been ...

disproven


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10/18/12

Why did it take millions of years for life on Earth
to recover from the worst extinction event in history?

Extreme Global Warming


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10/3/12



Heterodontosaurs

As you can tell by the name,
this dinosaur has been approved by both Christians and Muslims
who have made it "the official dinosaur for traditional marriage."

Creationists are also thrilled because they believe
that this is further proof that tyrannosaurs were gentle tofu eaters.
The fact that, even today there exist fanged deer and sharp-toothed fruit bats,
has no effect on any discovery that they think they can use
to trick the intellectually naive.


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