Happy Atheist Forum

Would anybody happen to know of a website that allows you to subscribe for daily emails, similar to that of Dictionary's 'Word of the Day', only for facts about animals or plants? I'm so fascinated by all that's out there and I feel like I don't even know the half of it.

Hmm, I know there's plenty of random science fact sites but I don't know any that you can subscribe to.  I had something like a science fact of the day thread on my old website but I went into a bit more detail about it than just one sentence.  When doubt, start a sticky thread.

Well... here's a general science site I get weekly updates from:
http://www.world-science.net/ (http://www.world-science.net/)

They also have a yahoo group:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldScience/ (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldScience/)

... at least some of it is biology.

So, I got that going for me,
JoeActor

Thanks Joe!

Squid, what's a sticky?

A thread that sticks to the top of the forum.

On a related note, what is brown and sticky?
[spoiler:1agwfxbl]A STICK![/spoiler:1agwfxbl]
Classic

Quote from: "SSY"On a related note, what is brown and sticky?
[spoiler:x9u2v9fv]A STICK![/spoiler:x9u2v9fv]
Classic

Lol. I love that joke.

Here's a bological fact i find super cool:

Some species of aphid can be pregnant with offspring which are themselves also pregnant with offspring. This is known as telescoping generations and reminds me of a Russian doll.

Quote from: "Sophus"Thanks Joe!

Squid, what's a sticky?

A sticky thread - a thread that stays on top of all the others for quick finding.

Quote from: "Squid"A sticky thread - a thread that stays on top of all the others for quick finding.

Oh cool. Is it too late for that?/how do I do that?  

You can't, only mods have the sticky sauce to stick things with.

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "Squid"A sticky thread - a thread that stays on top of all the others for quick finding.

Oh cool. Is it too late for that?/how do I do that?  

Well, if ya want you can either make a new thread or I can make this one a sticky if ya want and we can all start sharing our biology facts which I think is cool.

Oh, I see. I like that idea!

I'll start off with this awesome little guy:

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.whatsthatbug.com%2Fimages%2Famazon_caterpillar_snake.jpg&hash=9ea7535c139294bd4b38a4a2e11293a97f9e7a26)

Looks like a snake, right? Well it's actually a caterpillar.
The Hawkmoth Caterpillar (Sphingidae) has a tail that mimics a snake's head to protect itself from predators. If that's not crazy cool I don't know what is.

Quote from: "Sophus"Oh, I see. I like that idea!

I'll start off with this awesome little guy:

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.whatsthatbug.com%2Fimages%2Famazon_caterpillar_snake.jpg&hash=9ea7535c139294bd4b38a4a2e11293a97f9e7a26)

Looks like a snake, right? Well it's actually a caterpillar.
The Hawkmoth Caterpillar (Sphingidae) has a tail that mimics a snake's head to protect itself from predators. If that's not crazy cool I don't know what is.

Seriously, that is crazy cool.  

Here is another awesome guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Bsu4z9Y3k

Convergent evolution

If two animals exploit similar biological niches, they may eventually evolve features very similar to each other, but which their latest common ancestor did not have. These features are called homologous, sharing the same form but from different origins, as opposed to analogous, where features share the same origin, but may be different in form.

Example
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.naturfoto-cz.de%2Fphotos%2Fothers%2Flegless-lizard-136.jpg&hash=1c293585bd62444a44d23d8a430da1ca9c99a72c)
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wallpaperbase.com%2Fwallpapers%2Fanimals%2Fsnakes%2Fsnake_2.jpg&hash=995107ff75bb9ec8a15278e3960d19b68e3ff2d7)

The top image shows a legless lizard(Pygopodidae), and the second a snake(green boa). If we compare the top picture to this picture of a skink (another lizard)
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jaxshells.org%2Fskink.jpg&hash=e37136b77a3341a07b4fc7553f7bdcec6e13c6a6)

we can clearly see the similarity in head shape. This shows that a variety of animals can evolve the same features, regardless of their origin, quite a nice example of natural selection.

The venom from a Funnel Web spider (atraxotoxin) is non-lethal to cats and dogs but highly lethal to primates.
They are also the stuff nightmares are made of.  

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozanimals.com%2Fimage%2Falbums%2Faustralia%2FSpider%2Fsydney-funnel-web-spider.jpg&hash=c3c2684a68bb95de0d0312ae744b38f83adfa276)

Neanderthal Genome Yields Insights Into Human Evolution and Evidence of Interbreeding With Modern Humans (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141549.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 6, 2010) " After extracting ancient DNA from the 40,000-year-old bones of Neanderthals, scientists have obtained a draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome, yielding important new insights into the evolution of modern humans.

Quote from: "Tank"Neanderthal Genome Yields Insights Into Human Evolution and Evidence of Interbreeding With Modern Humans

 (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141549.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 6, 2010) â€" After extracting ancient DNA from the 40,000-year-old bones of Neanderthals, scientists have obtained a draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome, yielding important new insights into the evolution of modern humans.

[/url]

I WAS GOING TO POST THIS!!!  Dammit.  Pretty damn cool though.  

Quote from: "pinkocommie"

Quote from: "Tank"Neanderthal Genome Yields Insights Into Human Evolution and Evidence of Interbreeding With Modern Humans

 (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141549.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 6, 2010) â€" After extracting ancient DNA from the 40,000-year-old bones of Neanderthals, scientists have obtained a draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome, yielding important new insights into the evolution of modern humans.

[/url]

I WAS GOING TO POST THIS!!!  Dammit.  Pretty damn cool though.   :headbang:

What Is a Grass? Chloroplast DNA Reveals That a Grass May Not Be a Grass (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100427171810.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2010) â€" A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but it would no longer be a rose. If a grass is booted out of the grass family, where does it go?

Leah Morris and Dr. Melvin Duvall from Northern Illinois University recently investigated the evolution of grasses, one of the most economic and ecologically important plant families, by sequencing the chloroplast DNA of an early diverging grass genus, Anomochloa, and comparing it to the chloroplasts of other grasses. Their results are published in the April issue of the American Journal of Botany. There is only one known species of Anomochloa, and it is native to the coastal forests of Brazil in an increasingly fragmented habitat...

Lensless Imaging of Whole Biological Cells With Soft X-Rays (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100427171844.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 8, 2010) â€" A team of scientists working at beamline 9.0.1 of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has used x-ray diffraction microscopy to make images of whole yeast cells, achieving the highest resolution -- 11 to 13 nanometers (billionths of a meter) -- ever obtained with this method for biological specimens. Their success indicates that full 3-D tomography of whole cells at equivalent resolution should soon be possible.

Quote from: "Tank"Neanderthal Genome Yields Insights Into Human Evolution and Evidence of Interbreeding With Modern Humans

 (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141549.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 6, 2010) â€" After extracting ancient DNA from the 40,000-year-old bones of Neanderthals, scientists have obtained a draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome, yielding important new insights into the evolution of modern humans.

[/url]

I misread that as 'neanderthal gnome'...  

The Elephant is the only mammal with four forward-facing knees.

Hops Helps Reduce Ammonia Produced by Cattle (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100420152837.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2010) â€" An Agricultural Research Service (ARS ) scientist may have found a way to cut the amount of ammonia produced by cattle. To do it, he's using a key ingredient of the brewer's art: hops.

 

Kiss of Death: Research Targets Lethal Chagas' Disease Spread by Insect That Bites Lips (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429111012.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 2, 2010) â€" It makes your skin crawl -- a bug that crawls onto your lips while you sleep, drawn by the exhaled carbon dioxide, numbs your skin, bites, then gorges on your blood. And if that's not insult enough, it promptly defecates on the wound-and passes on a potentially deadly disease.

Small Dogs Originated in the Middle East, Genetic Study Finds (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223191924.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (Mar. 13, 2010) â€" A genetic study has found that small domestic dogs probably originated in the Middle East more than 12,000 years ago. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology traced the evolutionary history of the IGF1 gene, finding that the version of the gene that is a major determinant of small size probably originated as a result of the domestication of the Middle Eastern gray wolf.

Scientists Create First Synthetic Cell, Opening New Era in Biology (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559004575256470152341984.html)

Quote* U.S. NEWS    * MAY 20, 2010, 2:28 P.M. ET
Heralding a new era in biology, scientists for the first time have created a synthetic cell, completely controlled by man-made genetic instructions, which can survive and reproduce itself, researchers at the private J. Craig Venter Institute announced Thursday.

"We call it the first synthetic cell," said genomics pioneer Craig Venter, who oversaw the project. "These are very much real cells."

Created at a cost of $30 million, this experimental one-cell organism opens the way to the manipulation of life on a previously unattainable scale, several researchers and ethics experts said. Scientists have been altering DNA piecemeal for a generation, producing a menagerie of genetically engineered plants and animals, but the ability to craft an entire organism offers a new power over life, they said.

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsi.wsj.net%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fimages%2FOB-IO390_0520li_G_20100520131247.jpg&hash=16b00abfc9aa6eeb5e80c3e0674aefa13a843146)

Quote from: "elliebean"Scientists Create First Synthetic Cell, Opening New Era in Biology (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559004575256470152341984.html)

Seriously and totally cool!

Quote from: "Tank"Kiss of Death: Research Targets Lethal Chagas' Disease Spread by Insect That Bites Lips (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429111012.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 2, 2010) â€" It makes your skin crawl -- a bug that crawls onto your lips while you sleep, drawn by the exhaled carbon dioxide, numbs your skin, bites, then gorges on your blood. And if that's not insult enough, it promptly defecates on the wound-and passes on a potentially deadly disease.

:eek:

Quote from: "Cecilie"

Quote from: "Tank"Kiss of Death: Research Targets Lethal Chagas' Disease Spread by Insect That Bites Lips (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429111012.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 2, 2010) â€" It makes your skin crawl -- a bug that crawls onto your lips while you sleep, drawn by the exhaled carbon dioxide, numbs your skin, bites, then gorges on your blood. And if that's not insult enough, it promptly defecates on the wound-and passes on a potentially deadly disease.

:eek:

Just sleep with your mouth shut  

Quote from: "Tank"Just sleep with your mouth shut  :secret:

Four Winged Dinosaur.

[youtube:62zy6yqn]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL0UIzU0EEc[/youtube:62zy6yqn]

Catalog Details 1.25 Million Species of Organisms Across the World (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517091948.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 18, 2010) â€" The world's most valuable asset, on which we all depend, is silently slipping through our fingers -- it is the world's astounding biodiversity, in some cases lost before it is even discovered.

Close encounter with a bizarre venomous beast

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_ ... 149148.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10149148.stm)

(It's actually rather cute!)

Quote from: "Tank"Close encounter with a bizarre venomous beast

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_ ... 149148.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10149148.stm)

(It's actually rather cute!)

Mmmm.... maybe a little cute. Dunno about that nose though.  

Vaginal Microbes Vary Among Healthy Women (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100603132500.htm)

Quote from: "ScienceDaily (June 3, 2010)"â€" The delicate balance of microbes in the vagina can vary greatly between healthy women, according to a new study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences. Researchers hope further study will lead to personalized reproductive medicine for women, allowing doctors to tailor each woman's treatment and health maintenance strategies to her individual microbial make-up.

How Whales Have Changed Over 35 Million Years (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100528211150.htm)

Quote from: "ScienceDaily (May 31, 2010)"â€" Whales are remarkably diverse, with 84 living species of dramatically different sizes and more than 400 other species that have gone extinct, including some that lived partly on land. Why are there so many whale species, with so much diversity in body size?

I saw this on a discovery special a while back, now that I want to watch it again I can't find the video  
http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/perma ... ction.html (http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/9-2006/sheep-need-virus-for-reproduction.html)

QuoteRetroviruses are unique for their ability to permanently insert their genetic material into the DNA of host cells, he said. During evolution of mammals, some retroviruses infected the germline (cells of the ovary and testis that have genetic material that are passed to their offspring) of the host, which is then inherited by their children. These retroviruses, known as endogenous retroviruses, are present in the genome of all mammals, including humans. Consequently, endogenous retroviruses can be considered remnants of ancient retroviral infections, Spencer said.

^^^ Well I'll be darned!

Quote from: "KDbeads"I saw this on a discovery special a while back, now that I want to watch it again I can't find the video  
http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/perma ... ction.html (http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/9-2006/sheep-need-virus-for-reproduction.html)

QuoteRetroviruses are unique for their ability to permanently insert their genetic material into the DNA of host cells, he said. During evolution of mammals, some retroviruses infected the germline (cells of the ovary and testis that have genetic material that are passed to their offspring) of the host, which is then inherited by their children. These retroviruses, known as endogenous retroviruses, are present in the genome of all mammals, including humans. Consequently, endogenous retroviruses can be considered remnants of ancient retroviral infections, Spencer said.

Approximately 8% of the human genome is composed of HERVs or human endogenous retroviruses:

QuoteThe precise count of repeats is obviously underestimated because the genome sequence is not finished, but their density and other properties can be stated with reasonable confidence. Currently recognized SINEs, LINEs, LTR retroposons and DNA transposon copies comprise 13%, 20%, 8% and 3% of the sequence, respectively. We expect these densities to grow as more repeat families are recognized, among which will be lower copy number LTR elements and DNA transposons, and possibly high copy number ancient (highly diverged) repeats.

International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium. (2001). Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. Nature, 409, 860â€"921.

QuoteAnalysis of the human genome revealed that some 45% of it consists of various kinds of transposable elements. Around 8% of the human DNA is derived from retrovirus-like elements. They originate from ancient retroviral infections or are relics of retroviral transposomal activity in the germ-line cells. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) comprise a part of these elements. They have undergone substantial changes such as mutations of all kinds, deletions and insertions of other transposons, recombinations and mini- and micro-satellite expansion. This is why it is often difficult to identify individual retroviral genes and other retroviral DNA regions.

Pačes, J., Pavlíček, A. and Pačes, V. (2002). HERVd: database of human endogenous retroviruses. Nucleic Acids Research, 30, 205-206.

Retroviruses work by using an enzyme (reverse transcriptase) to copy their RNA into a host DNA. These insertions can be copied into the germline cells making it so that they are passed on to offspring.

QuoteThe retroviruses carry within their virion the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which enables them to make a DNA copy of their RNA. This is a very important step in the life cycle of these viruses because the DNA copy can be integrated into the cell's DNA (pp. 330).

Batzing, B. (2002). Microbiology. Pacific Grove: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Thanks for the references!!!  Now to find that video....

I love biology! This was one of the most amazing things I ever saw about the natural world:

[youtube:2p7bkhu0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y[/youtube:2p7bkhu0]

Quote from: "Cecilie"

Quote from: "Tank"Kiss of Death: Research Targets Lethal Chagas' Disease Spread by Insect That Bites Lips (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429111012.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (May 2, 2010) â€" It makes your skin crawl -- a bug that crawls onto your lips while you sleep, drawn by the exhaled carbon dioxide, numbs your skin, bites, then gorges on your blood. And if that's not insult enough, it promptly defecates on the wound-and passes on a potentially deadly disease.

:eek:

This is the bug: Triatoma infestans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triatoma_infestans) and there are plenty of them here in Brazil.

I'm afraid it really won't help if you close your mouth while sleeping, they usually bite your face or neck (in Portuguese the common name for this insect is 'barbeiro', which means 'barber'). If they themselves are infected with the protozoa responsible for Chagas disease, and if the poo they lay on your skin after digesting your blood does not enter the wound, their bites itches and so you'll scratch it while sleeping, putting it right into the broken skin. The protozoa will then travel to your heart and nest themselves inside your cardiac cells, enlargening them and causing numerous heart conditions (thicker muscle walls inside the heart lead to insuficiency). There is no cure.

Yeah I was a bit too fond of parasitology a while back...

I'm never going to South America...

Quote from: "Cecilie"I'm never going to South America...

Big place South America. There are a lot of places where you won't get bitten by bugs that then defecate on your face!  

Quote from: "Tank"Vaginal Microbes Vary Among Healthy Women (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100603132500.htm)

Quote from: "ScienceDaily (June 3, 2010)"â€" The delicate balance of microbes in the vagina can vary greatly between healthy women, according to a new study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences. Researchers hope further study will lead to personalized reproductive medicine for women, allowing doctors to tailor each woman's treatment and health maintenance strategies to her individual microbial make-up.

I'll be happy to help the research.

Quote from: "Tank"

Quote from: "Cecilie"I'm never going to South America...

Big place South America. There are a lot of places where you won't get bitten by bugs that then defecate on your face!  :P

Quote from: "Cecilie"

Quote from: "Tank"

Quote from: "Cecilie"I'm never going to South America...

Big place South America. There are a lot of places where you won't get bitten by bugs that then defecate on your face!  :P

But you'd never see one of these! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Anteater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Anteater)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.animalpicturesarchive.com%2Fanimal%2Fa7%2FGiant_anteater-by_John_White.jpg&hash=a009c12c3e41a7df2996fbc2ca282c088be0d2cf)

[youtube:2eucb6xr]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tmIpmCI4I8[/youtube:2eucb6xr]

Quote from: "ScienceDaily"(Nov. 11, 2009) â€" Were dinosaurs "warm-blooded" like present-day mammals and birds, or "cold-blooded" like present day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you'd snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter's evening.

In a study published this week in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of researchers, including Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has found strong evidence that many dinosaur species were probably warm-blooded.

It may be old, but I love dinosaurs.

Ant chat!
The genus Polyergus is neat. They lack a proper worker caste and are all either the queen, a drone (male), or a soldier (female). Their sharp dagger-like mandibles aren't useful for caring for a brood or even feeding themselves. So, Polyergus has developed a parasitic relationship with the ant genus Formica. Polyergus will routinely organize "slave raids" on Formica nests. This rarely results in violence though. The Polyergus will approach the target nest en masse and give the inhabitants time to evacuate. They'll then steal all the eggs and larva they can from the hatchery and carry them back to their own nest where they'll be raised by the current Formica servants. Once they become adults they take on the mixed-species scent of the nest and become full-fledged members of the Polyergus nest.

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"

Quote from: "ScienceDaily"(Nov. 11, 2009) â€" Were dinosaurs "warm-blooded" like present-day mammals and birds, or "cold-blooded" like present day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you'd snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter's evening.

In a study published this week in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of researchers, including Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has found strong evidence that many dinosaur species were probably warm-blooded.

It may be old, but I love dinosaurs.

This is for you, buddy.

Quote from: "Discovery News"The world's largest dinosaur graveyard has been discovered in northern Alberta, Canada, according to David Eberth of the Royal Tyrrell Museum and other scientists working on the project.

The Vancouver Sun reports that the massive dinosaur bonebed is 1.43-square miles in size. Eberth says it contains thousands of bones belonging to the dinosaur Centrosaurus, which once lived near what is now the Saskatchewan border.

http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/worlds-largest-dinosaur-graveyard-found.html

Scientists Watch as Bacteria Evolve Heat Resistance Under Stress:New Details of Evolutionary Mechanism (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100617111247.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (June 18, 2010) â€" Scientists in Munich report evidence that high concentrations of the molecular "chaperone" proteins GroEL and GroES -- intracellular machines that can stabilize folding proteins under stress -- play a critical role in increasing the maximum temperature at which E. coli bacteria can grow. Massively and permanently elevated levels of the GroE proteins were found in bacteria adapted, step-wise over a period of years, for growth at 48.5 degrees C. This genomic change persisted for more than 600 generations, and molecular analyses ruled out other mechanisms that might account for the increase in heat resistance...

World's Oldest Fig Wasp Fossil Proves That If It Works, Don't Change It (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100615191649.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (June 16, 2010) â€" The world's oldest known example of a fig wasp has been found on the Isle of Wight. The fossil wasp is almost identical to the modern species, proving that this tiny but specialized insect has remained virtually unchanged for over 34 million years...

Quote from: "pinkocommie"

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"

Quote from: "ScienceDaily"(Nov. 11, 2009) â€" Were dinosaurs "warm-blooded" like present-day mammals and birds, or "cold-blooded" like present day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you'd snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter's evening.

In a study published this week in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of researchers, including Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has found strong evidence that many dinosaur species were probably warm-blooded.

It may be old, but I love dinosaurs.

This is for you, buddy.

Quote from: "Discovery News"The world's largest dinosaur graveyard has been discovered in northern Alberta, Canada, according to David Eberth of the Royal Tyrrell Museum and other scientists working on the project.

The Vancouver Sun reports that the massive dinosaur bonebed is 1.43-square miles in size. Eberth says it contains thousands of bones belonging to the dinosaur Centrosaurus, which once lived near what is now the Saskatchewan border.

http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/worlds-largest-dinosaur-graveyard-found.html

Whoa, amazing.  Thanks!

Fin to limb evolution clue found (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10396532.stm)

QuoteA study has shed light on a key genetic step in the evolution of animals' limbs from the fins of fish, scientists say.

A team of researchers identified two new genes that are important in fin development.

They report in the journal Nature that the loss of these genes could have been an "important step" in the evolutionary transformation of fins into limbs.

Marie-Andree Akimenko, from the University of Ottawa in Canada, led the research.

She and her colleagues began their study by looking at the development of zebrafish embryos. They discovered two genes that coded for proteins that were important in the structure of fins...

In a lab at Yale University, a rat inhales. Every breath this rodent takes is a sign of important medical advances looming on the horizon, for only one of its lungs comes from the pair it was born with. The other was built in a laboratory.

This transplanted lung is the work of Thomas Petersen and a large team of US scientists. Their technique isn’t a way of growing a lung from scratch. Instead it takes an existing lung, strips away all the cells and blood vessels to leave behind a scaffold of connective tissues, and re-grows the missing cells in a vat. It’s the medical equivalent of stripping a house down to a frame of beams and struts and rebuilding the rest from scratch. The whole process only took a few days and when the reconstituted lung was transplanted into a rat, it worked.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/06/24/lungs-rebuilt-in-lab-and-transplanted-into-rats/

Quote from: "pinkocommie"In a lab at Yale University, a rat inhales. Every breath this rodent takes is a sign of important medical advances looming on the horizon, for only one of its lungs comes from the pair it was born with. The other was built in a laboratory.

This transplanted lung is the work of Thomas Petersen and a large team of US scientists. Their technique isn’t a way of growing a lung from scratch. Instead it takes an existing lung, strips away all the cells and blood vessels to leave behind a scaffold of connective tissues, and re-grows the missing cells in a vat. It’s the medical equivalent of stripping a house down to a frame of beams and struts and rebuilding the rest from scratch. The whole process only took a few days and when the reconstituted lung was transplanted into a rat, it worked.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/06/24/lungs-rebuilt-in-lab-and-transplanted-into-rats/

Wow!!!

Ecological Change in the Abyss: The Amperima Event (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100624104808.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (June 25, 2010) â€" Even in the dark abyss of the deep ocean animal communities can undergo rapid, widespread and radical changes. Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre are at the forefront of monitoring these changes and understanding the mechanisms responsible. Their latest research is published in a special issue of the journal Deep Sea Research II...

This sort of thing just goes to show that the most interesting planet in the solar system is the one we already live on.

Animals That Live Without Oxygen (http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/04/scienceshot-animals-that-live-wi.html)

QuoteScientists have found the first multicellular animals that apparently live entirely without oxygen. The creatures reside deep in one of the harshest environments on earth: the Mediterranean Ocean's L'Atalante basin, which contains salt brine so dense that it doesn't mix with the oxygen-containing waters above. Previous samples taken from the water and sediments in the basin showed that single-celled life was present, but a new study published  this week in BMC Biology has identified multi-cellular animals that apparently live and reproduce in the sediments under the salt brine.

^^^ Very interesting!

Behold!  The mighty Leviathan!

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/06/30/behold-leviathan-the-sperm-whale-that-killed-other-whales/

In today’s oceans, killer whales hunt other species of whales, working in packs to take down their much bigger prey. But living whales have it easy. Those that swam off the coast of Peru around 12 million years ago were hunted by a far bigger predator, a recently discovered animal with a very appropriate name: Leviathan.

Leviathan melvillei, named after the Biblical sea monster and the author of Moby Dick, was a giant sperm whale that has just been discovered by Belgian scientist Olivier Lambert. At between 13.5 and 18.5 metres in length, it was no bigger than the modern sperm whale, but it was clearly far more formidable.

[youtube:3j3jco1i]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECqBBLcFNNc[/youtube:3j3jco1i]

Leviathan was at the very top of the food chain and it must have needed a lot of food. While modern sperm whales mainly eat squid, Lambert thinks that Leviathan used its fearsome teeth to kill its own kind â€" the giant baleen whales. At the same point in prehistory, baleen whales started becoming much bigger and they were certainly the most common large animals in the area that Leviathan lived in. Lambert thinks that the giant predator evolved to take advantage of this rich source of energy. He says, “We think that medium-size baleen whales, rich in fat, would have been very convenient prey for Leviathan.”

Quote from: "pinkocommie"Behold!  The mighty Leviathan!

This is obviously a fake by evolutionists. Whales definitely don't live in the desert. Ha! How could you be so stupid to fall for that one! Hahahahahahahaha!

(I'm just sayin'......somebody out there is gonna say this. Just beating them to the punch).
 

Very cool find. Thanks for posting the video. Hadn't seen this yet.

This one deals with your Biology: the secret to a deep sleep is a busy brain....

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/08/busy-brains-make-for-deeper-slee.html

Quote from: "Sophus"This one deals with your Biology: the secret to a deep sleep is a busy brain....

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/08/busy-brains-make-for-deeper-slee.html

Interesting link. This appears to be true in the 5 members of our family.

From my blog:

In the latest edition of the medical journal Lancet: Infectious Diseases, an article details the detection of a new superbug. The culprit is a gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae which has shown resistance to most known antibiotics so far with the exception of tigecycline and colistin.

Enterobacteriaceae is not a single bacterium but a family of bacteria which includes some bugs that people are more familiar with like Salmonella and E.coli. Gram negative refers to the reaction of the bacteria to a staining procedure sometimes called Gram's method but most widely called Gram staining. Gram refers not to a unit of measurement but the name of the Danish scientist who developed the technique, Hans Gram.

Tigecycline was approved by the FDA in 2005 and was developed in response to antibiotic resistance bacterial strain prevalence. Colistin is an antibiotic and another drug targeted at resistant bacteria but is not approved for use in the U.S.

The bacteria apparently gained their resistance from a particular gene which was given the name New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 or NDM-1. The researchers analyzed samples from areas in Southern and Northern India and cases referred to the U.K.'s national reference laboratory.

The researchers identified 44 isolates which carried the NDM-1 gene in India, the U.K. and Pakistan. The NDM-1 gene was found mostly in E. coli and K. pneumoniae. However, the really troubling part is that the gene was found in most of the isolates to be carried on plasmids. Why is this troubling? Let me explain.

Plasmids are "rings" of DNA found naturally within bacteria and a few other microorganisms. Plasmids can replicate independently in a viable host and are often transferred between bacteria. Since the NDM-1 gene is found mostly on plasmids this means the motility of that gene and the possibly of it spreading quickly is a great concern.

The CDC released a short statement about NDM-1 in their Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report back during the last week of June warning of the detection of the NDM-1 gene here in the U.S.:

"Antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria is a well-recognized problem, and a new resistance mechanism found in three U.S. Enterobacteriaceae could compound this challenge. This new mechanism, New Delhi Metalol-beta-lactamase (NDM-1), is linked to receipt of medical care in India or Pakistan, where it is common among enteric bacteria. NDM-1 is an enzyme that destroys many commonly used antibiotics, rendering them ineffective. It is carried on a mobile element that can readily spread to other bacteria. In order to prevent transmission of bacteria possessing NDM-1 in the U.S., CDC is alerting clinicians to be aware of NDM-1 in patients who have recently received medical care in India or Pakistan and requesting that carbapenem-resistant enteric bacteria from these patients be sent to CDC for further investigation. Also, CDC is reiterating the importance of implementing CDC recommendations to prevent the spread of these highly resistant organisms."

Thanks Squid... Great explanation, and a frightening little bugger!

After reading the book "Panati's Endings", I'm amazed we haven't had a more recent pandemic.

Dunno about any sites that provide this, but I wouldn't mind betting we coome come up with a new biology fact every day that the majority aren't aware of. Here's one that I didn't know until a short while ago, and it was one that surprised me somewhat:

The fusion of chromosome #2 in humans accounts for none of the difference between humans and chimpanzees.

Quote from: "hackenslash"Dunno about any sites that provide this, but I wouldn't mind betting we coome come up with a new biology fact every day that the majority aren't aware of. Here's one that I didn't know until a short while ago, and it was one that surprised me somewhat:

The fusion of chromosome #2 in humans accounts for none of the difference between humans and chimpanzees.

Where did you find his interesting little snippet?  

I can't remember. It was probably from one of the biology geeks at RDF.

Oh, and since I've posted today, I might as well provide an factoid:

Koala fingerprints are indistinguishable from human fingerprints.

Quote from: "hackenslash"I can't remember. It was probably from one of the biology geeks at RDF.

Oh, and since I've posted today, I might as well provide an factoid:

Koala fingerprints are indistinguishable from human fingerprints.

So the Koala did it!

Mitochondrial Eve': Mother of All Humans Lived 200,000 Years Ago (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100817122405.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2010) â€" The most robust statistical examination to date of our species' genetic links to "mitochondrial Eve" -- the maternal ancestor of all living humans -- confirms that she lived about 200,000 years ago. The Rice University study was based on a side-by-side comparison of 10 human genetic models that each aim to determine when Eve lived using a very different set of assumptions about the way humans migrated, expanded and spread across Earth...

Interesting. Incidentally, it isn't remotely clear that mitochondrial Eve was actually an example of Homo sapiens. This has to be stated, of course, with due reference to the 'discontinuity of mind' inherent in any discussion of species. In reality, organismal history doesn't fit into neat little boxes. Speaking of which, it's always amusing that cretinists talk about the gaps in the fossil record. If the fossil record were actually complete, the concept of species would be absolutely meaningless and without merit, because we simply wouldn't be able to draw lines between one species and another, or at least, not within a particular lineage.

Here's a Biology question for the day: Why do pelicans vuln?

Quote from: "Sophus"Here's a Biology question for the day: Why do pelicans vuln?

To feed their young?

Quote from: "humblesmurph"

Quote from: "Sophus"Here's a Biology question for the day: Why do pelicans vuln?

To feed their young?

I don't know. The dictionary reads that it was "originally thought" that it was done to feed their young. Has that belief changed?

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "humblesmurph"

Quote from: "Sophus"Here's a Biology question for the day: Why do pelicans vuln?

To feed their young?

I don't know. The dictionary reads that it was "originally thought" that it was done to feed their young. Has that belief changed?

They do it to strain the water out before they swallow fish.  They also turn their pouches inside out which really looks weird.  They probably do that to pop the feather mites off the sides of their bills.  Brown Pelican bills have two razor sharp ridges toward the inside center of the bill.  These ridges run the entire length of the inside of the bill.  If grabbed by a pelican do not pull away without opening the bill first.  Otherwise you will be bleeding.   I love pelicans.  Used to volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation center.  Hard work, great fun.
Here is a video of two rehabbers washing a pelican.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdXQlCtw8o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdXQlCtw8o)

The woman is holding the pelican's mouth open because pelicans don't have nares (nostrils).  If the mouth were held closed the pelican would suffocate.

When an oiled bird comes the first step is to remove the oil by lifting it off the feathers with Canola oil.  When the petrochemicals or tar are gone the Canola oil is removed by washing the bird with Dawn dish washing soap and then rinsing thoroughly.  Canola oil is the easiest oil to remove and Dawn is the best detergent because it rinses clean.  This process is used all over the world. A lightly oiled bird or animal will take about 1 hour to clean not counting drying time.

Did anyone see the David Attenborough program where some pelicans visit a bird rookery?
They somehow fit some very large plump chicks into their bills, I wouldn't have thought it possible.

Pelicans here have trouble with fishing line and hooks.

The fishing line is bad enough and it is very bad.  The hooks are even worse because they are barbed and as the pelican tries to get the hook out she tangles herself tighter and tighter in the line.  The line cuts through the pelicans skin and infection sets in.  Some "fishermen" pull the pelican in when she is hooked and wrap the line around her, then throw her back.  Quite horrible.

If some kind person can reach the pelican within a day  or two and takes her to a wildlife center, there is a very good chance that the pelican will heal and be released in a couple of weeks.  Our wildlife center had salt water pools for the larger sea birds.  I slipped and fell in one and I swear the pelicans were laughing.

I learned today that that little pink fleshy bit in the corner of the eye is possibly an eyelid similar to that of a crock ... ya know the clear one they use to see underwater.... how neat would that be to have?!?!

Some locals at the boat ramp.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLawe1.jpg&hash=13f877122bbffc68447265b7a8643b50249f2907)

Quote from: "hackenslash"Interesting. Incidentally, it isn't remotely clear that mitochondrial Eve was actually an example of Homo sapiens. This has to be stated, of course, with due reference to the 'discontinuity of mind' inherent in any discussion of species. In reality, organismal history doesn't fit into neat little boxes. Speaking of which, it's always amusing that cretinists talk about the gaps in the fossil record. If the fossil record were actually complete, the concept of species would be absolutely meaningless and without merit, because we simply wouldn't be able to draw lines between one species and another, or at least, not within a particular lineage.

Yes.  The joy of discovering a new species is dampened by the fact that we've created two gaps where previously there was only one.

The bastages.

Quote from: "url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-causes-hiccups]Scientific American[/url]"]omewhere in the brain we have a "central pattern generator," or CPG, for hiccups. In other words, there is a neuronal circuit designed for generating hiccups similar to the ones we have for actions such as breathing, coughing and walking. And like most of those CPGs, it is an oscillator: it sends out a recurring, periodic signal to set off a hiccup. We don't have hiccups all the time, however, so the oscillator must be a "conditional oscillator" that fires only under certain conditions.

By the way, sex can cure the hiccups.

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-causes-hiccups]Scientific American[/url]"]omewhere in the brain we have a "central pattern generator," or CPG, for hiccups. In other words, there is a neuronal circuit designed for generating hiccups similar to the ones we have for actions such as breathing, coughing and walking. And like most of those CPGs, it is an oscillator: it sends out a recurring, periodic signal to set off a hiccup. We don't have hiccups all the time, however, so the oscillator must be a "conditional oscillator" that fires only under certain conditions.

By the way, sex can cure the hiccups.

Citation please!

Try and get away with that in public.
You: "Yes officer I was trying to cure her hiccups!"
Officer:"But she hasn't got hiccups!"
You: "See, it works!"

This does beg the question what sort of sex  

Quote from: "Tank"

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-causes-hiccups]Scientific American[/url]"]omewhere in the brain we have a "central pattern generator," or CPG, for hiccups. In other words, there is a neuronal circuit designed for generating hiccups similar to the ones we have for actions such as breathing, coughing and walking. And like most of those CPGs, it is an oscillator: it sends out a recurring, periodic signal to set off a hiccup. We don't have hiccups all the time, however, so the oscillator must be a "conditional oscillator" that fires only under certain conditions.

By the way, sex can cure the hiccups.

Citation please!

Try and get away with that in public.
You: "Yes officer I was trying to cure her hiccups!"
Officer:"But she hasn't got hiccups!"
You: "See, it works!"

This does beg the question what sort of sex  

Yes I think that post was lacking in rigour, not even a you tube link.

It's a fun fact I remembered from this old TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/549 Ta da!

Are you... BioCurious?

Interesting site:
http://www.biocurious.org (http://www.biocurious.org)

Not sure I fully understand what they're trying to achieve (or how potentially dangerous it might be).
Take a look - I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on it.

You can also contribute to their KickStarter project if you're so inclined.

Hmmm...
JoeActor

"A centuries-old religious ceremony of an indigenous people in southern Mexico has led to evolutionary changes in a local species of fish, say researchers at Texas A&M University. Apparently since before Columbus arrived, the Zoque people would venture each spring into the sulfuric cave Cueva del Azufre to beg the gods for bountiful rain. As part of the ritual, they released into the cave's waters a leaf-bound paste made of lime and the ground-up root of the barbasco plant, a natural fish toxin. The rest is worth reading, but the upshot is that the fish living in the cave waters eventually got wise, genetically speaking."

http://scienceblog.com/39940/moved-by-r ... -to-toxin/ (http://scienceblog.com/39940/moved-by-religion-mexican-cavefish-develop-resistance-to-toxin/)

... and now for something that is on topic:

QuoteThe tobacco mosaic virus is a destructive beast infecting over a hundred different species of plants, including tomatoes. But it may have a weird eco benefit: Incorporated into lithium batteries, it can increase storage capacity ten times.

from:
http://gizmodo.com/5711175/this-plant-v ... 10x-longer (http://gizmodo.com/5711175/this-plant-virus-can-make-lithium-batteries-last-10x-longer)

Quote from: "joeactor"... and now for something that is on topic:

QuoteThe tobacco mosaic virus is a destructive beast infecting over a hundred different species of plants, including tomatoes. But it may have a weird eco benefit: Incorporated into lithium batteries, it can increase storage capacity ten times.

from:
http://gizmodo.com/5711175/this-plant-v ... 10x-longer (http://gizmodo.com/5711175/this-plant-virus-can-make-lithium-batteries-last-10x-longer)

That is weird/cool. Thanks Joe!

Quote from: "joeactor"from:
http://gizmodo.com/5711175/this-plant-v ... 10x-longer (http://gizmodo.com/5711175/this-plant-virus-can-make-lithium-batteries-last-10x-longer)

Wow!  Just the fact that a virus can bind to metal is surprising enough, for yours truly.

This was interesting:

Quote from: "The Article"then tobacco growers around the world may find themselves contributing something more positive to society

I guess the question they'd be asking themselves is, who will pay me more, the cigarette maker or the batter maker?  Unless perhaps the virus can be harvested without destroying the tobacco for cigarette purposes?

Agreed Sophus and Droid.

I'm a fan of the bio/tech cross-over stories.
Guess the cyborg craze of 2055 is right up my alley!

Actually SSY, you've mixed up homologous and analogous features. homologous features share similar structure indicating common descent, such as the same skeletal components in the forelimb of man, dog, whale, bat, etc. (divergent evolution) analogous structures may result from convergent evolution, resulting in similarly functioning structures in organisms which do not share recent common ancestry. for example, a bat wing and a butterfly wing.

A Japanese salmon species thought to be extinct for 70 years is alive and well in a lake near Mount Fuji, a science professor said Wednesday. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/scientist-says-he-found-j_n_796978.html)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.huffpost.com%2Fgen%2F228328%2Fthumbs%2Fs-JAPANESE-SALMON-large.jpg&hash=e55846a6c91080eb6fc69af7724e77b61f0b4379)

I thought about posting this in its own thread, but it works for this one...

BBC: Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12059564)

This is the first I've heard about these Denisovans.  I guess I should be keeping my ear to the ground better!

Another BBC article about the discovery from this past March. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8583254.stm)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbcimg.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F50547000%2Fgif%2F_50547826_human_family_tree304.gif&hash=74e21fec2f88bf8a53f6222891294952e85ddbdb)


It's too bad, but I guess not all that surprising, that we're the only species of homo left around.  In another way, it's probably just as well though.  Just imagine the prejudice they would suffer if they were still sharing the world with us. It's likely that xenophobia is one of the main reasons that all we have from them is a contribution to our DNA.

Crows can use tools. Seriously cool video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtmLVP0HvDg

:cool:

Quote from: "Recusant":) I agree, it's a very cool little video.  I've flogged (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5818&p=83466#p83466) it on this forum at least twice (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5788&p=99010#p99010) (corvid enthusiast that I am).  I'm glad that somebody else has seen its worth. :eek2:

Yeah, crows are awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

I tried to find a specific clip but it isn't on youtube. A few years back i saw a programme about crows. There was a service station up north where some clever crows had divised a way to retrieve food from open-topped bins. Basically, their wing span was too wide to let them escape the confines of a bin after getting in there. So, working together, a few crows would stand on the lip of the bin whilst a few others lifted the bin liner a tad. They would then stand on the part of the liner pulled up to anchor it. They would repeat the process until the bottom of the bin liner (and the refuse contained therein) was close to the top. They'd then grab all the goodies and throw it on the ground for the others.

Bloody clever.

Quote from: SophusCrows can use tools. Seriously cool video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtmLVP0HvDg

I've seen this before. Clever little bastards.

The Fusiform Face Area of the Fusiform Gyrus in the Temporal Lobe is responsible for the ability to identify faces.  Without it, you can't.

The Southern Right Whale has the largest testicles of any creature, weighing in at one ton for the pair. They are attached to a 12 ft long prehensile penis! 

(https://scontent.fpoa4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/67926449_10157419003312365_3461603405598818304_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_oc=AQnjuh6io-8tampS3rrMbEJ8w_XyM-3D-w_pV9bRbskOKAK3NPoEnTxidtn_YW50iZY&_nc_ht=scontent.fpoa4-1.fna&oh=64a5d76b3e535858ecaf389267d957d4&oe=5DEC6CB0)