Clipmarks | Silkweaver's 'evolution' clips

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:31:17 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks:

As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state.

Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held "theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling.

"Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force, but because a higher intelligence, 'God' if you will, is pushing them down," said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.

Burdett added: "Gravity—which is taught to our children as a law—is founded on great gaps in understanding.

Isaac Newton himself said, 'I suspect that my theories may all depend upon a force for which philosophers have searched all of nature in vain.' Of course, he is alluding to a higher power."

Tags: humor

Cell Division Study Resolves 50-year-old Debate

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:49:46 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: This is a basic biology must know breakthrough.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

A new study at Oregon State University has finally resolved a controversy that cellular biologists have been arguing over for nearly 50 years, with findings that may aid research on everything from birth defects and genetic diseases to the most classic "cell division" issue of them all – cancer.

The exact mechanism that controls how chromosomes in a cell replicate and then divide into two cells, a process fundamental to life, has never been completely pinned down, researchers say.

Two distinct theories were formed, called polar relaxation and equatorial stimulation, to explain this aspect of cell division – and some scientists have spent much of their careers arguing for one side or the other.

Turns out, Zhang said, that both sides were correct. Nature and evolution have actually created a basic way for a cell to divide with a backup system that can work if the other approach fails.

The findings, Zhang said, add significantly to the basic understanding of cell biology

Tags: biology, cell biology

Future for clean energy lies in 'big bang' of evolution

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:45:01 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: For humans now there is the tantalising possibility of tweaking the photosynthetic reactions of cyanobacteria to produce fuels we want such as hydrogen, alcohols or even hydrocarbons, rather than carbohydrates.
Progress at the research level has been rapid, boosting prospects of harnessing photosynthesis not just for energy but also for manufacturing valuable compounds for the chemical and biotechnology industries. Such research is running on two tracks, one aimed at genetically engineering real plants and cyanobacteria to yield the products we want, and the other to mimic their processes in artificial photosynthetic systems built with human-made components. Both approaches hold great promise and will be pursued in parallel, as was discussed at a recent workshop focusing on the photosynthetic reaction centres of cyanobacteria, organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF).

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Amid mounting agreement that future clean, "carbon-neutral", energy will rely on efficient conversion of the sun's light energy into fuels and electric power, attention is focusing on one of the most ancient groups of organism, the cyanobacteria.

Dramatic progress has been made over the last decade understanding the fundamental reaction of photosynthesis that evolved in cyanobacteria 3.7 billion years ago, which for the first time used water molecules as a source of electrons to transport energy derived from sunlight, while converting carbon dioxide into oxygen.

The light harvesting systems gave the bacteria their blue ("cyano") colour, and paved the way for plants to evolve by "kidnapping" bacteria to provide their photosynthetic engines, and for animals by liberating oxygen for them to breathe, by splitting water molecules.

Tags: clean energy, molecular biology

On Law and Neuroscience

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:06:32 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: An interesting read describing the influence of evolution theory and neuroscience on basic legal and moral concepts such as responsibility and free will.

Clip Source: darwinianconservatism.blogspot.com

Farahany is a law professor at Vanderbilt University who brings together law, philosophy, and biology in studying the fundamental assumptions about human nature in criminal law.

paper on "Law and Behavioral Morality

In this paper, she considers how research in evolutionary science and neuroscience might influence our view of criminal responsibility and culpability.

She claims that as evolutionary biology and cognitive neuroscience provide biological explanations of human morality, this will strengthen the power of "behavioral morality--the idea that any behavior with a physical cause is either not blameworthy, or is less so.

She seems to assume that "blameworthiness" presupposes "free will" understood as an uncaused cause.

I disagree with her. As I have said in some previous posts, I see no reason to believe that legal responsibility and culpability must rest on the idea of "free will" understood as uncaused cause.

Tags: law, morality, neuroscience

Exploding chromosomes fuel research about evolution of genetic storage

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:01:12 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Dinoflagellates are stuffed at the core with tightly compacted chromosomes, yet these organisms contain neither histones nor nucleosomes. "What takes care of neutralizing DNA, to allow chromosomes to condense?" Levi-Setti asked. "Most biology books do not tell you."

Other scientists had already identified positively charged atoms called cations as neutralizing factors. They found that dinoflagellate chromosomes explode upon the removal of calcium and magnesium cations.

Levi-Setti has produced the first images of the distribution of these cations in dinoflagellate chromosomes. These images verify that cations, mainly of calcium and magnesium, neutralize DNA's enormous negative charge, and further suggest a critical role in folding the protein as well.

The finding raises questions about the evolution of chromosomes, Rizzo said. "Did dinoflagellates once have histones and then lost them? Or did dinoflagellates never have histones and just 'figured out' a different way to fold lar

Clip Source: www.labspaces.net

Human cells somehow squeeze two meters of double-stranded DNA into the space of a typical chromosome, a package 10,000 times smaller than the volume of genetic material it contains.

"It is like compacting your entire wardrobe into a shoebox," said Riccardo Levi-Setti, Professor Emeritus in Physics at the University of Chicago.

Now research into single-celled, aquatic algae called dinoflagellates is showing that these and related organisms may have evolved more than one way to achieve this feat of genetic packing.

Even so, the evolution of chromosomes in dinoflagellates, humans and other mammals seem to share a common biochemical basis

Packing the whole length of DNA into tiny chromosomes is problematic because DNA carries a negative charge that, unless neutralized, prevents any attempt at folding and coiling due to electrostatic repulsion.

In humans and mammals, proteins called histones partially neutralize the DNA's negative charge.

Tags: genetics, chromosomes, evolution

Transformers - The Nature of Alien Life

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:52:47 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The driving factor is a pragmatic desire to improve mental capacity. Alien beings may have already reached a point in their evolution where, having exhausted the potential of their biological brains, they have taken the next logical step and opted for robotic brains equipped with artificial intelligence. This brain swap may not be as far off for humans as one might think. In only a few decades, the computer revolution here on Earth has produced supercomputers capable of performing more than a quadrillion calculations per second.

According to research by Hans Moravec, an artificial-intelligence expert at Carnegie Mellon University, that rate trumps the human brain’s estimated top speed of 100 trillion calculations per second. Some scientists speculate that in a few decades, an event called the technological singularity will occur, and machines armed with computer brains will become sentient and surpass human intelligence. Civilizations equipped with technology light-years ahead

Clip Source: kemo-d7.livejournal.com

The existence of a race of sentient alien robots might be
not just possible, but inevitable.

Daniel C. Dennett points out that we do not consider chemicals to be alive. Even self-replicating crystals and clever nanobots are not "living"; we consider them to be completely mechanical. Yet we are made of these non-living, "mechanical" chemicals. Not only are we made of robots, and we still consider ourselves to be valid conscious life, but the evolution of all life is from such mindless robots.

As life is based in biology, and biology in biochemistry, chemistry is based on the cold, non-living laws of physics.

Given the current pace of development, it is easy to imagine artificial life venturing out into the universe and leaving us fragile humans behind.

In fact, we might be living in a "post-biological universe" right now, in which intelligent extraterrestrials somewhere have exchanged organic brains for artificial ones.

Tags: ai, science fiction, alien life

Big-brained Animals Evolve Faster

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:35:22 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: a substantial body of evidence has confirmed that animals with larger brains, relative to their body size, have more developed skills for changing their behavior through learning and innovation, facilitating the invasion of novel environments and the use of novel resources. Despite the progress, the role of the brain in the adaptive diversification of animals has remained controversial, mostly due to the difficulties to demonstrate that big-brained animals evolve faster.

Now, ecologist Daniel Sol of CREAF-Autonomous University of Barcelona and evolutionary biologist Trevor Price of the University of Chicago, provide evidence for such a role in birds in an article in The American Naturalist. Analyzing body size measures of 7,209 species (representing 75% of all avian species), they found that avian families that have experienced the greatest diversification in body size tend to be those with brains larger than expected for their body size.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Ever since Darwin, evolutionary biologists have wondered why some lineages have diversified more than others.

A classical explanation is that a higher rate of diversification reflects increased ecological opportunities that led to a rapid adaptive radiation of a clade.

This and other examples have led some to think that the progenitors of the major evolutionary radiations are those that happened to be in the right place and at the right time to take advantage of ecological opportunities.

However, is it possible that biological diversification not only depends on the properties of the environment an ancestral species finds itself in, but also on the features of the species itself?

Now a study supports this possibility, suggesting that possessing a large brain might have facilitated the evolutionary diversification of some avian lineages.

Tags: animal life, evolution, diversity, brain

Does the Milky Way Influence Earth's Biodiversity Cycles? Research Says "Yes"

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:49:25 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The boost in cosmic-ray exposure may have a direct effect on Earth's organisms, according to paleontologist Bruce Lieberman. The radiation would lead to higher rates of genetic mutations in organisms or interfere with their ability to repair DNA damage. In this way, the process could lead to new species while killing off others.

If future studies confirm the galaxy-biodiversity link, it would force scientists to broaden their ideas about what can influence life on Earth. "Maybe it's not just the climate and the tectonic events on Earth," Lieberman said. "Maybe we have to start thinking more about the extraterrestrial environment as well."

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Horoscope enthusiasts will be happy to hear that a grand cosmic force does indeed seem to be responsible for controlling the direction of all life on Earth. However, this grand cosmic cycle has more to do with extinction than finding a tall, handsome stranger.

Research has revealed that the rise and fall of species on Earth seems to be driven by the undulating motions of our solar system as it travels through the Milky Way.

Some scientists believe that this cosmic force may offer the answer to some of the biggest questions in our Earth’s biological history—especially where evolution has fallen short.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that marine fossil records show that biodiversity increases and decreases based on a 62-million-year cycle.

Our own star moves toward and away from the Milky Way's center, and also up and down through the galactic plane. One complete up-and-down cycle takes 64 million years- suspiciously close to the Earth's biodiversity cycle.

Tags: astronomy, life cycles, evolution, biodiversity

Did Neanderthals Share the "Language Gene" with Homo Sapiens?

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:41:33 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Interesting Read.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

In a surprising discovery, scientists believe they have found modern man's language gene in the DNA of the extinct race of Neanderthals, raising the possibility that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, Neanderthals may have whiled away the winter with conversation, gossip and debate.

The language gene is shared with only one other species, Homo Sapiens. If true, the Neanderthals may have had their own distinct culture, customs and history.

Professor Svante Paabo, who has been leading the Neanderthal genome project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said the presence of the language gene would change the way people view Neanderthals.

The discovery of the gene, called FOXP2, have provided the strongest evidence yet that these heavily built species were capable of speech, although the researchers are unable to say what extent their linguistic ability would have been.

Tags: evolution, language, neanderthals

THE ORIGIN OF BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:13:40 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Yet Muller and Newman insist that population genetics, and thus evolutionary biology, has not identified a specifically causal explanation for the origin of true morphological novelty during the history of life. Central to their concern is what they see as the inadequacy of the variation of genetic traits as a source of new form and structure. They note, following Darwin himself, that the sources of new form and structure must precede the action of natural selection (2003:3)–that selection must act on what already exists. Yet, in their view, the “genocentricity” and “incrementalism” of the neo-Darwinian mechanism has meant that an adequate source of new form and structure has yet to be identified by theoretical biologists. Instead, Muller and Newman see the need to identify epigenetic sources of morphological innovation during the evolution of life. In the meantime, however, they insist neo-Darwinism lacks any “theory of the generative”

Clip Source: www.answertheskeptic.com

In a recent volume of the Vienna Series in a Theoretical Biology (2003), Gerd B. Muller and Stuart Newman argue that what they call the “origination of organismal form” remains an unsolved problem.

In making this claim, Muller and Newman (2003:3-10) distinguish two distinct issues, namely

(1) the causes of form generation in the individual organism during embryological development and

(2) the causes responsible for the production of novel organismal forms in the first place during the history of life.

To distinguish the latter case (phylogeny) from the former (ontogeny), Muller and Newman use the term “origination” to designate the causal processes by which biological form first arose during the evolution of life.

They further argue that we know more about the causes of ontogenesis, due to advances in molecular biology, molecular genetics and developmental biology, than we do about the causes of phylogenesis–the ultimate origination of new biological forms during the remote past.

Tags: theoretical biology, evolution, phylogeny, ontogeny

Drug tries to offset 10,000 years of evolution

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:59:14 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Gene therapies, expected some time between 2015 and 2020, promise to correct this genetic problem caused by nature, but many obese people do not want to wait. They are hoping that Nastech’s new nasal spray can provide a solution now.

Within 20 to 35 minutes after taking a whiff, this new drug moves quickly through the nasal lining and into the bloodstream, sending a message to the brain that our tummy is full. So far the drug has had no negative side effects.

PYY is undergoing clinical trials now, and is expected to be in drug stores by 2009 or 2010. Obesity is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death in America, so this drug offers a great chance for more people to improve their health and get ready to enjoy our “magical future”.

Clip Source: memebox.com

Squirting a little nasal spray up the nose before mealtime is helping obese people shed an average of 50 lbs in a year.

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company of Bothell, WA said its compound, known as PYY, addresses obesity and other ailments suffered by overweight patients – diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.

In an Associated Press interview, Nastech CEO Steven Quay stated that in tests, PYY reduced patients’ daily calorie intake by 30 percent.

PYY is a naturally occurring hormone that our body sends to the brain 45 minutes after eating to tell us we’re full. This mechanism kept our ancestors from eating too much, but it doesn’t kick in fast enough for people eating today’s high-calorie, high-fat foods. Obesity, researchers say, is a direct result of our inherited genes.

But while our diet has changed radically over the last 10,000 years, our genes remain unchanged. We are still designed to feed a hunter-gatherer who gets a ton of exercise every day

Tags: obesity, gene therapy, biotechnology, diet

The Intelligent Egg

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:50:00 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The ramifications are enormous as we imagine homes that customize themselves to us and our needs. Adjusting temperature, music, lighting, and putting a pot on boil are all things that could be done automatically. Taken a step further we look at intelligent environments, where the home is constantly monitoring our health and safety, and is prepared to respond quickly. An intelligent home of the future may also ask us what time we want to wake up when we hit the sack.

A plausible prediction is that these intelligent environments and or ambient intelligence will take away many of our chores and allow us to focus on productivity, learning, and leisure. They may stream customized interactive information that serves to create a nurturing environment. Differing from ubiquitous computing, it would allow us to create an intimitate connection with technology.

Clip Source: memebox.com

James Law Cybertecture International has just debuted its design of the so called Intelligent Egg, a building that represents an unprecedented combination of architecture and technology.

The intelligent environments created in the design offer a glimpse into what we might see in homes and buildings in the next ten years.

Intelligent environments (also called ambient intelligence) offer the opportunity to drastically change our quality of life, our level of interaction with our surroundings, and our ability to choose our surroundings.

They represent a plausible evolution that brings aspects of the virtual world into our built environment.

Intelligent systems and design are incredibly ambitious in the so called “Egg” project.

So called cybertecture is a form of design that integrates multimedia, intelligent systems, technology, and interactivity to create customizable living and working spaces focused on experiences, health, and productivity.

Tags: architecture, intelligent environment

Were Ancient Viruses a Key to Human Evolution?

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:30:05 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Heidmann believes that without endogenous retroviruses mammals might never have developed a placenta, which protects the fetus and gives it time to mature, which eventually led to live birth, one of the hallmarks of human evolutionary success over birds, reptiles, and fish. Eggs cannot eliminate waste or draw the maternal nutrients required to develop the large brains that have made mammals so versatile. “These viruses made those changes possible. It is quite possible that, without them, human beings would still be laying eggs.”

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Endogenous retroviruses, however, once they infect the DNA of a species they become part of that species: they reside within each of us, carrying a record that goes back millions of years.

These viral fragments are fossils that reside within each of us, carrying a record that goes back millions of years.

Because they no longer seem to serve a purpose or cause harm, these remnants have often been referred to as “junk DNA.

That is until Thierry Heidmann who runs the laboratory at the Institut Gustave Roussy, on the southern edge of Paris, brought one to life.

Heidmann named the virus Phoenix, after the mythical bird that rises from the ashes, because he is convinced that this virus and others like it have much to tell about the origins and the evolution of humanity.

endogenous retroviruses are two things at once: genes and viruses. And those viruses helped make us who we are today just as surely as other genes did.

I am not certain that we would have survived as a species without them.

Tags: genetics, virology, evolution

Incredible Fish Armor Could Suit Soldiers

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:38:31 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: That doesn't surprise me that millions of years or hundreds of millions of years of evolution would be a good starting point for what we need for this day and age

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

African fish that have trolled for prey in murky freshwater pools for nearly 100 million years sport the best of the best in body armor. Now a team of engineers has dissected the aquatic armor, figuring out how it works in an effort to suit up future soldiers.

The armor of the fish, Polypterus senegalus, is so effective because it is a composite of several materials lined up in a certain way, the engineers state in a their analysis detailed in the July 27 issue of the journal Nature Materials.

"Such fundamental knowledge holds great potential for the development of improved biologically inspired structural materials," said lead MIT researcher Christine Ortiz, "for example soldier, first-responder and military vehicle armor applications."

The different chemical properties of each material, the shape and thickness of each layer and the junctions between layers all contributed to the armor's strength.

Tags: biomimickry, animal life

New You By 2018

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:53:24 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Therapeutic: Cloning for tissue replacement is already happening, as stem cells have successfully grown new heart tissues in patients. Researchers believe replacing muscle, bone, skin; even neurons, teeth, eyes, and other organs could be in beginning stages by 2018.

Augmentation: Procedures expected to be in place by as early as 2015 include improved memory recall, simultaneous language translation, long range and microscopic vision on demand, wide spectrum hearing, distinctive voice projection, and stronger muscles. And by mid-to-late-2020s, “nanobots” monitoring each of our cells could keep us ageless and forever healthy.

Designed Evolution: These could include memory, intelligence, speed, agility, and other behavioral and physical attributes. Eliminating undesired genes that might pre-dispose a child to cancer, heart disease or alcoholism could be possible by about 2015.

Clip Source: aftermathnews.wordpress.com

Clip Source: www.positivefuturist.com

In just ten short years, you may be looking into the mirror and wondering, “Who is that gorgeous creature?” Your reflection would reveal a much younger and healthier you; with natural hair color, youthful skin, perfect vision, real teeth, a spring in your step, and an incredibly sharp mind and memory.

Welcome to tomorrow’s futuristic world of biotech enhancements, which forward thinkers believe will be widely available and affordable by 2018.

The Institute for Global Future’s Dr. James Canton believes a trillion dollar health enhancement market will evolve in the next decade.

Enhancements fall into three categories: Therapeutic, Augmentation, and Designed Evolution.

Therapeutic refers to restoring normal capabilities to disabled or dysfunctional patients.

Augmentation means enhancing performance levels beyond the norm.

Designed Evolution refers to modifying our children prior to conception and after birth

thoughts of improving humans beyond what some consider “natural” will evoke controversy

Tags: futurism, augmentation, future medicine, singularity