evolution

The evolution of science, science fiction, and mankind throughout the years.

Why Are We Hairless?
We are called the naked ape because we show more skin than any other primate. The gentleman in the picture appears hairless, but we know his hair has been removed for the shot. However, it may surprise you to know that we have just as many hair follicles as a chimpanzee. Our hair is just finer and much shorter. So why do we show so much more skin than any other primate?
By Monica Bennett8 years ago in Futurism
Language
So much has been written about speech and language, someone could open a library with no other topic. Some will argue that speech is different from language, but here they will be treated as one and the same. So much has been written about the FOXP2 gene lately, but language concerns more than just one gene. Since we now have the Neanderthal genome to work with, we know they also had FOXP2. Molecular techniques show the gene is older than Neanderthal, going back to at least 400,000 years ago. Did Neanderthal have language? The proof is presumptive. They lived in groups, hunted in teams, probably buried their dead, and new research shows they also made cave paintings. It seems unreasonable they did these things in relative silence. Both Stephen Jay Gould, the evolutionary biologist, and Noam Chomsky, the language guru, believed language was a side effect of a bigger brain. They believe language was not selected for, in the traditional Darwinian way, but occurred because of its association with a non-language gene. It happens that the FOXP2 is not only related to speech, but also digestion. If that is the gene that allowed for speech, then speech may be a side effect of its digestive function. Another gene related to language is CNTNAP2. Disruption in this gene is associated with both Autism and specific language impairment. Neanderthal did not have this gene, which produces a neurexin-family neural growth factor. They have to do with carrying impulses in the brain across the synapse between neurons. Language may also have been a side effect of either brain development or reorganization. The ability to gather ancient DNA may, in the future, supply answers to these questions.
By Monica Bennett8 years ago in Futurism
Big Cities are Evolving Animals🐸🐒🐆
We all know to some degree that the Anthropocene (human influence👩🏾🌾) is having a huge effect on the earth's 🌎 atmosphere🌫, hydrosphere🌊 (ocean, rivers), cryosphere (ice sheets) and the biosphere🌲.
By Rezzary Doug8 years ago in Futurism
Humans Are Chaos
All humans are inherently evil. Science has proven time and time again that humans are born with many malevolent possibilities, even though not everyone may show it. Different factors, such as the way each human is raised and the environment they grow up in are what set the moral guidelines that suppress such evil. Although not everyone acts upon the darkness within, they are all born being capable of great destruction.
By Carolyn Hannigan8 years ago in Futurism
Slavery
Phrenology: the study of the skull in association with personality traits. It's straight-up pseudoscience. But it's amazing what people will tell themselves to justify their own cruelty.
By Russell Brummer8 years ago in Futurism
The Ethical Problem of CRISPR?
CRISPR is becoming a demanding technology. Experimental trials are going to be held in the coming year, but is society welcoming the most important scientific discovery of our generation?
By Sarah Lee8 years ago in Futurism
Homosexuality Is Evolutionary
If you don't know where I am going with this, you can go ahead and read the article. I will be posting a blog post on these two books soon on my WordPress blog.
By Heather Wilkins8 years ago in Futurism
Humanity's Fitting Place on the List of Mass Extinction Events
Let's be honest: apart from the Cyanobacteria that first introduced oxygen into the atmosphere, no other species has had such a significant influence on the Earth than mankind. So much so, in fact, that it is said we are now entering the next mass extinction event. This is a statement that shouldn't be taken lightly, considering that previous extinction events were caused by the likes of Chicxulub impact, the 170 km wide meteor that killed off the dinosaurs. Having us, as a species, put in the same list as such events has a very profound effect of putting things in perspective. In the 4.5 billion years of Earth’s existence, it has experienced a lot of change, from the creation of life, to severe ice ages and interglacials, to massive volcanic eruption and finally to us, a stage in the Earth's life known as the Anthroposcene Epoch. That’s right, a whole epoch has been named after us, a single species. When looked at from the perspective of a human life span, the changes don't seem too severe, making it hard to actually comprehend the fact that our influence on the planet does fit in this list rather well. We need to look at it on a scale of millions of years in order to fully appreciate what we have done; something which I am aware is very hard to comprehend.
By Sam Baker8 years ago in Futurism
A Conversation Between a Man and a Lion
A lion's roar travelled through unfamiliar scenery. In the golden age one would expect a lion’s roar to be restricted to Africa, but that was a long time ago. The monstrous deep green pines shivered unyielding as the sound waves emitted from the jaws of the king passed in-between the thin branches. This was not their true king for he belonged to the jungle, not a forest. But that was a long time ago.
By Connor 8 years ago in Futurism
Advancements in Biotechnology
It is no secret that we have come a long way with technological advancements within our society. But now there are rumors of possibly bringing back extinct animals…could biotechnology be advanced enough today to complete such a task? Scientists think that it could be done. For those of you that do not know, extinction is when a species of animals dies off; like dinosaurs for instance… The passenger pigeon, the dodo, and the woolly mammoth are just a few of the species wiped off the Earth by changing environments and human activities. Could you imagine walking outside to find a woolly mammoth walking through your yard? The recent advances in biotechnology could enable bringing certain species back from the grave, but critics are arguing that the practice would only hinder conservation efforts by resurrecting creatures that could of course not survive in the wild that they are not used to.
By Alyssa Horn8 years ago in Futurism
The Perfection of Life
Technology is rapidly growing at an increased rate with every passing year. Computers are storing more memory, the internet is becoming faster and more widespread, graphics are getting ever more realistic, and robots are even being made to do tedious tasks of which we don’t want to do.
By Rebecca Sharrock9 years ago in Futurism
Origin of Life
When I was just a little kid, I was convinced that life popped up from just about anything, especially things that were rotting. It wasn't long before a discarded apple core turned into a cloud of tiny flies. A little dirt from the park across the street yielded all kinds of worms after sitting in a jar of water. Yep, life was just a force of Nature.
By Arthur M.9 years ago in Futurism