Category: Biology

North American Monkeys?

May. 10 Biology, News, Paleontology no comments

animals-monkeys35For an interesting weekend read, from Popular Science: Why are there no native monkeys in North America?

“Primates came to the New World (meaning North and South America) from, we think, Africa. As improbable as it sounds, scientists think early primates crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed on the shores of both continents tens of millions of years ago, probably on some kind of vegetation raft. That’s how most plants and animals get to isolated islands–which the Americas were, at the time. Fossils have been recovered of early primates in Texas a whopping 43 million years ago, the oldest primate fossil ever found in North America. But the continents looked very different then, compared to now; most importantly, North and South America were completely different islands. The Isthmus of Panama, which we now refer to as Central America, didn’t appear until much later, by which time the climate on both Americas was very different from when the primates first landed there.”

Read here.

 

Upcoming Vatican Stem Cell Conference

Apr. 10 Biology, Biotechnology, Ethics, Medicine, News, Stem Cells, Vatican no comments

Dome of St. Peter's Basilica (Public domain)

 

The Vatican Information Service reports:

“Vatican City, 5 April 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present the Second International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference, “Regenerative Medicine: A Fundamental Shift in Science & Culture”, which will place in the new Synod Hall of the Paul VI building in the Vatican from 11–13 April. Participating in the press conference were: Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Dr. Robin Smith, president of The Stem for Life Foundation and CEO of NeoStem; and Msgr. Tomasz Trafny, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture’s Science and Faith foundation.

[...]

[Msgr. Trafny explained,] “We want “to have a cultural influence on society, pointing to research models of excellence that are, nevertheless, in tune with the highest moral values of protecting the life and dignity of the human being from the moment of conception. However, we are aware that you cannot permanently influence society and culture without the constant and far-sighted support that comes from religious, social, and political leaders, from the community of entrepreneurs and from benefactors who are ready to commit to developing long-term scientific, bioethical, and cultural research.”

Read the story here.

More information is also available from Zenit.

Drycopus pileatus

Apr. 09 Biology, General no comments

Dryocopus pileatus

This gal—I think it’s a gal—has been poking around the yard a lot the past week: Drycopus pileatus, a pileated woodpecker. Both sexes have similar coloring, but the male’s crest is a bit bigger and brighter. Also, males have distinctive red stripes running from the bill to the neck, which are black in females (see here, for example.)

And if you want to know what she’s been up to, just compare the tree on which she is sitting to the one on the left.

DNA Study Suggests More Recent Migrations

Mar. 27 Anthropology, Genetics no comments

From the University of Tübingen:

“The researchers also used the radiocarbon age of the fossils to estimate human mutation rates over tens of thousands of year back in time. This was done by calculating the number of mutations in modern groups that are absent in the ancient groups, since they had not yet existed in the ancient population. The mutation rate was estimated by counting the number of mutations accumulated along descendent lineages since the radiocarbon dated fossils.

Using those novel mutation rates – capitalizing on information from ancient DNA – the authors calculate the last common ancestor for human mitochondrial lineages to around 160,000 years ago. In other words, all present-day humans have as one of their ancestors a single woman who lived around that time.

The authors also estimate the time since the most recent common ancestor of Africans and non-Africans to between 62,000-95,000 years ago, providing a maximum date for the mass migration of modern humans out of Africa. Those results are in agreement with previous mitochondrial dates based on archaeological and anthropological work but are at the extreme low end of the dates suggested from de-novo studies that suggest a split of non-Africans from Africans about thirty thousand years earlier.”

Read here.

Monday Links

Feb. 18 Biology, Chemistry, Medicine, News, Physics, Theology no comments

Pitch drop (U. of Queensland)

 

Gene therapy cures diabetes in early dog-based trial;

and Francis Phillips argues that virtuous atheism is not enough;

and the University of Queensland is still performing the world’s slowest experiment.

 

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Links: NewScientist, Catholic Herald, and University of Queensland
Image: University of Queensland

Wednesday Links

Jan. 31 Astronomy, Biology, Notes, Physics 1 comment

Milky Way with Halley's Comet (NASA)

If you thought Einstein was all settled, there’s still a few wrinkles to work out. For instance, John Farrell is taking a look at the equivalence principle and new attempts to figure out just what’s going on when we say that acceleration and gravity are physically indistinguishable…

…and a scientist who claims to have found a contradiction between relativity and electrodynamics has stirred up some responses…

…and, just for fun, if you think that the Galaxy is just good for pretty pictures and intellectual puzzles, you’re clearly not a dung beetle. 

Monday Links

Jan. 21 Astronomy, Biology, News, Notes, Physics Comments Off

Four-stranded DNA structure (Nature/J.-P. Rodriguez)

Four strands–of DNA, a bit different than the textbook double-stranded kind. While this squarish form of DNA is known to be chemically possible, a new study suggest that it may actually be present in living cells, in some cases, and may play a biological role;

Three dimensions of exoplanetary atmospheres may one day be open to investigation, according to a new technique that studies the different rotation patterns of exoplanet images obtained at different wavelengths;

One billion dollars are being invested by the South Korean government into a project to make fusion a feasible means of power production.

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Links: Nature, Sky & Telescope
Image: Nature/J.-P. Rodriguez

 

 

 

Flynn on Shapiro on Evolution

Jan. 03 Biology, Evolution, Notes Comments Off

Michael Flynn offers some thoughts on James Shapiro’s views on evolution:
 

“Dr. Shapiro’s point is that the usual model of slow, gradual mutations driven by natural selection is simply not the way evolution actually takes place in practice.  Researchers, he points out, have never managed to create a new species by selection; but they have created many new species by hybridization.  Selection, he says, is good for fine-tuning a species, but cannot account for the sudden appearance of new forms and structures.  It is not “natural selection,” but “natural genetic engineering” that accounts for the biggies.”

Read here.

New Carnivorous Sponge Discovered

Nov. 08 Biology, News 2 comments

Yes, this is an animal.

The “harp sponge” is a newly discovered species of carnivorous sponge that lives at depths of over 10,000 feet off the coast of California. These creatures were first described in the scientific literature only last month, after being spotted by researchers using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s robotic submersibles. Sponges are the most basic of animals: they share the same basic cellular structure as animals and survive by ingesting organic materials (unlike plants or decomposers like fungi) but otherwise live fairly “vegetative” lives. These harp sponges use hooked barbs to capture tiny crustaceans that drift by in the oceans currents, and then digest the prey in membranes. The upright “branches” also produce the reproductive cells of the sponges and allow them to be transported by ocean currents. The video above describes more.

The animals were described recently in Invertebrate Biology.

(Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Image: MBARI

Vatican Stem Cell Conference Announced

Nov. 05 Biology, Biotechnology, Ethics, Medicine, News, Stem Cells, Vatican Comments Off

The Pontifical Council for Culture, together with NeoStem, the Stem for Life Foundation, and STOQ International have announced next year’s Vatican-hosted conference on adult stem cell research. From the press release:

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Stem for Life Foundation, NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS), The Pontifical Council for Culture, and STOQ International today announced that they will host The Second International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference: Regenerative Medicine — A Fundamental Shift in Science & Culture, from within The Vatican, April 11-13, 2013.

This event is part of a five-year collaboration between The Stem for Life Foundation, a not-for-profit organization devoted to raising global awareness of the therapeutic potential of adult stem cells, NeoStem, an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy industry, The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and its foundation, called STOQ International (Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest).

With renowned journalists serving as moderators — Meredith Vieira from NBC News, Bill Hemmer from The Fox News Channel, Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal and Dr. Max Gomez from WCBS-TV — The Second International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference will feature leading adult stem cell scientists and clinicians, thought leaders of faith, ethics and culture, business leaders as well as Ministers of Health, Ambassadors to The Holy See and regulatory officials from around the world. During the event, adult stem cell scientists and clinicians will present an array of medical advancements and ongoing research occurring throughout the world, including the ability to grow replacements for damaged and diseased organs; restoring heart function after a heart attack; growing new skin for burn victims; rebalancing our own immune systems, pushing back a rising tide of chronic disease; advancements in cancer therapy; preventing organ rejection and addressing a range of other conditions and trauma, such as MS, traumatic brain injuries and cardiovascular disease via adult stem cell therapies. Throughout the event, patients will share their own stories of the unique, powerful treatments that have helped address their disease and reduce suffering.

Read here.

The website for the conference is online here.