The latest DNA evidence for the earliest humans appeared this week with fossil samples placing on the timeline at 400,000 years ago. This is a four fold earlier extension on the previous best DNA evidence. How is the science doing at the other end of the timeline though, the contention that various Cryptids are surviving relict populations of extinct humans or human like animals? Unsurprisingly, not at all well with no meaningful evidence despite years of "research". Leaving aside Brian's Dunning recent behaviour there is much to admire in Skeptoid and his podcasts on the Almas, (surviving Neanderthals), the Yeti (relic populations of Gigantopithecus) and the Orang Pendek (unknown human species) are well worth a listen.
Rbutr promises to be a useful new tool as you can use it to track down rebuttals and opposing view's to any online article you may be reading. Whilst I haven’t found it that effective yet, to be fair it is early days for this newly launched browser based extension. The “Rebuttals” are crowd sourced though so it will be interesting to see how the developers can maintain the high levels of quality control needed for it to be useful.
Rbutl did however source for me useful rebuttals to journalist David Dobbs recent attack on what he sees as the prevailing gene mutation dominated view of evolution. In “Die Selfish Gene, die” Dobbs argues that this dominant view is overstated and how genes are expressed is more important a driver of evolution than random mutations. He uses the example of the placid grasshopper contrasted with the aggressive locust. Whilst these animals differ in terms of both appearance and behavior they are in fact the same species and a single common genome shares the genetic instruction for both. Whether the genome is “read” for grasshopper or locust is dependent on environmental factors. Similarly consider how a single bee genome can variously be read for drone, queen or worker in order to make up a fully functioning hive.
The natural world is full of other examples of a single genome producing
variation in this way and Dobbs's point is that the importance of this gene
expression has been marginalized as the focus is on teaching how gene mutations
are the main drivers for evolution. As he puts it, it's "how the book is
read rather than what is written " that is most important. Whilst the
article did find it's supporters notably PZ
Myers, most rebuttals were negative for example from Jerry
Coyne. And then Dawkins
himself chimes in and accusing Dobbs of trying to create controversy where none
exists; most evolutionary biologists have accepted the importance of genetic
expression and Dawkins had already said as much way back in "The Selfish
Gene”.
A new study shows that due to the gravitational effects of Jupiter, Europa’s oceans are most likely very turbulent and chaotic. This is good news for Europa’s claim to be the most likely other place in our Solar system to support life as any life would benefit from the resulting nutrient stir and flow. Outside our solar system a gas giant orbiting further than expected from its sun has brought into questions our theories of planetary formation. Is the search for dark matter entering its final stages, or maybe it was already discovered in 1997 during an earlier study and nobody noticed?
The anti GM brigade lost their favourite study this week. The much hyped report that GM corn causes cancer in laboratory rats has been retracted – turns out to have been a crappy study after all.
On a final note, Lady Gaga announced she will be gigging in space by 2015!
This week’s round-up was provided by Steven Ebrey. If you would like a go at contributing to the round-ups let us know.
A new study shows that due to the gravitational effects of Jupiter, Europa’s oceans are most likely very turbulent and chaotic. This is good news for Europa’s claim to be the most likely other place in our Solar system to support life as any life would benefit from the resulting nutrient stir and flow. Outside our solar system a gas giant orbiting further than expected from its sun has brought into questions our theories of planetary formation. Is the search for dark matter entering its final stages, or maybe it was already discovered in 1997 during an earlier study and nobody noticed?
The anti GM brigade lost their favourite study this week. The much hyped report that GM corn causes cancer in laboratory rats has been retracted – turns out to have been a crappy study after all.
On a final note, Lady Gaga announced she will be gigging in space by 2015!
This week’s round-up was provided by Steven Ebrey. If you would like a go at contributing to the round-ups let us know.
