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Skeptical Debunker

Scientists reveal driving force behind evolution - 0 views

  • The team observed viruses as they evolved over hundreds of generations to infect bacteria. They found that when the bacteria could evolve defences, the viruses evolved at a quicker rate and generated greater diversity, compared to situations where the bacteria were unable to adapt to the viral infection. The study shows, for the first time, that the American evolutionary biologist Leigh Van Valen was correct in his 'Red Queen Hypothesis'. The theory, first put forward in the 1970s, was named after a passage in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass in which the Red Queen tells Alice, 'It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place'. This suggested that species were in a constant race for survival and have to continue to evolve new ways of defending themselves throughout time. Dr Steve Paterson, from the University's School of Biosciences, explains: "Historically, it was assumed that most evolution was driven by a need to adapt to the environment or habitat. The Red Queen Hypothesis challenged this by pointing out that actually most natural selection will arise from co-evolutionary interactions with other species, not from interactions with the environment. "This suggested that evolutionary change was created by 'tit-for-tat' adaptations by species in constant combat. This theory is widely accepted in the science community, but this is the first time we have been able to show evidence of it in an experiment with living things." Dr Michael Brockhurst said: "We used fast-evolving viruses so that we could observe hundreds of generations of evolution. We found that for every viral strategy of attack, the bacteria would adapt to defend itself, which triggered an endless cycle of co-evolutionary change. We compared this with evolution against a fixed target, by disabling the bacteria's ability to adapt to the virus. "These experiments showed us that co-evolutionary interactions between species result in more genetically diverse populations, compared to instances where the host was not able to adapt to the parasite. The virus was also able to evolve twice as quickly when the bacteria were allowed to evolve alongside it."
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    Scientists at the University of Liverpool have provided the first experimental evidence that shows that evolution is driven most powerfully by interactions between species, rather than adaptation to the environment.
Skeptical Debunker

Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution - Yahoo! News - 1 views

  • Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction." "The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program." Those who don't, however, often feel isolated and frustrated from trying to find a textbook that fits their beliefs. Two of the best-selling biology textbooks stack the deck against evolution, said some science educators who reviewed sections of the books at the request of The Associated Press. "I feel fairly strongly about this. These books are promulgating lies to kids," said Jerry Coyne, an ecology and evolution professor at the University of Chicago. The textbook publishers defend their books as well-rounded lessons on evolution and its shortcomings. One of the books doesn't attempt to mask disdain for Darwin and evolutionary science. "Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling," says the introduction to "Biology: Third Edition" from Bob Jones University Press. "This book was not written for them." The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and parents, warning in its "History of Life" chapter that a "Christian worldview ... is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is."
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    Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her 10-year-old's biology lessons. Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed Charles Darwin's theory. "I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's like, 'This is not true!'"
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    Home Fooling.
Erich Feldmeier

#complexity #evolution @biogarage Mit Sex die Informatik verbessern - 0 views

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    "Die Natur produziert die besten Lösungen: Keine Maschine klettert so wendig engste Rohre hinauf wie eine Ratte. Und eine effektivere Schmutzabwehr als bei der Lotusblüte gibt es kaum. Den Erfolg der Evolution in der Natur auf die Informatik übertragen, will nun ein internationales Team.. Denn obwohl Partner benötigt werden - und diese zu finden einen beträchtlichen Aufwand bedeutet -, scheint sich Sex zu lohnen, wie die Evolution beweist. Das Ergebnis der sexuellen Fortpflanzung - „die Lösung" - ist robuster, selbst bei veränderter Umgebung. Ob und wie sich dieser evolutionäre Prozess auf Algorithmen, die anders als in der Natur z. B. auch mehr als zwei „Partner" rekombinieren können, übertragen lässt, das wird Prof. Friedrich gemeinsam mit einem neuen Postdoktoranden in Jena untersuchen. Dabei ist ihm durchaus bewusst, dass die Natur viel zu komplex ist, um sie 1:1 zu übertragen"
Erich Feldmeier

Was Darwin über die Evolution der Religion schrieb - Meine erste Radioprodukt... - 0 views

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    "Ich eröffnete meinen Vortrag mit der Ankündigung, dass ich ihnen zur „Evolution der Religion" die Überlegungen eines Theologen vorstellen würde. Skepsis und Entsetzen machte sich auf den Gesichtern breit; die meisten Biologinnen und Biologen haben von Religionsgelehrten selten Gutes gehört. Doch dann ließ ich hinter mir das Bild des Gelehrten aufscheinen - und die Zurückhaltung, die im Raum quasi physisch zu spüren war, ging in Überraschung und schließlich Gelächter über. Denn hinter und über mir schaute niemand Geringeres in den Saal als der Begründer der Evolutionsbiologie selbst: Charles Darwin! Ja, es ist wahr. In den meisten Kurzbiografien wird Charles Darwin als „Naturforscher" vorgestellt. Und bis heute treffe ich auf großes Erstaunen, wenn ich darauf aufmerksam mache, dass der bedeutendste Wissenschaftler des 19. Jahrhunderts einen einzigen Studienabschluss erworben hatte - den eines Bachelors in christlich-anglikanischer Theologie! Darwin schnitt als zehntbester seines Jahrgangs in Cambridge ab und wäre beinahe Landpfarrer geworden"
Erich Feldmeier

Dossier: scinexx | Hormone als Schlüsselelemente: Biochemischer Signalweg für... - 0 views

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    "Hormone als Schlüsselelemente Biochemischer Signalweg für chemische Verteidigung aufgeklärt" Ökologie Evolution Landwirtschaft - Ökologie, Evolution, Landwirtschaft, Waffen, Verteidigung, Gift, Düft, Signalmoleküle, Nikotin, Jasmonsäure, Ameisen, Pflanzen, Schädlinge, Pflanzenfresser, Parasiten, Tabak, Nachtschatten, Kieselalgen, Diatomeen, Kohl, Kohlmotte, Raupen
astrafizik

AI Evolution: Unraveling the Future of Artificial Intelligence - Astrafizik - 1 views

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    The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has experienced remarkable growth and development in recent years, pushing the boundaries of what was once thought possible. In this article, we'll explore the current state of AI evolution and where this fascinating field is heading in the future. We'll delve into various aspects of AI development, including machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, and AI ethics, as well as the role of quantum computing in AI's future.
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    AI Evolution: Unraveling the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Erich Feldmeier

MPG: Ana Catarina Miranda: Persönlichkeits-Typen werden vererbt - 0 views

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    "Eine eindeutige Erklärung für diese Unterschiede in den Persönlichkeitstypen zwischen Stadt- und Landamseln haben die Wissenschaftler bis jetzt noch nicht. „Möglicherweise müssen Amseln in der schnelllebigen Stadtwelt permanent mit neuen Situationen zurechtkommen, wohingegen das Landleben mit seinen gleichförmigeren Abläufen verlässlichere Lebensbedingungen bietet", vermutet Catarina Miranda vom Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie in Radolfzell das Ergebnis. „Die Evolution scheint im Laufe der Besiedlung von Städten daher bestimmte Persönlichkeitstypen begünstigt zu haben", so Miranda. Diese Erklärung wird durch eine jüngst veröffentlichte Studie gestützt: Gene, die wahrscheinlich an der Ausprägung der hier untersuchten Verhaltensweisen beteiligt sind, zeigen in Stadtamseln eine andere Struktur als in den Waldamseln. Die Amselpersönlichkeit scheint also genetisch festgelegt und kann demnach durch Evolution während des Verstädterungprozesses verändert worden sein. ***** Ana Catarina Miranda, Holger Schielzeth, Tanja Sonntag & Jesko Partecke Urbanization and its effects on personality traits: a result of microevolution or phenotypic plasticity?, Global Change Biology, 19 June 2013 Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23681984"
thinkahol *

Hyper realistic reconstruction, Paleoanthropology, Human Evolution: Atelier Daynes - 0 views

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    Elisabeth Daynès’ hyper realistic reconstructions, based on fossil hominids, make a unique contribution to paleoanthropology and art, by retracing the path of human evolution and origins
Barry mahfood

SINGULARITY & THE PRICE OF RICE - Singularity in Bite-Sized Bits: Accelerated Evolution... - 0 views

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    Researchers at Biodesign Institute have revved the engine of biological evolution to unheard of speed, creating completely new proteins in an infinitesimal fraction of the time it took nature to do the same thing.
evo ata

Future Human Evolution - 0 views

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    Scientific and speculative articles about the future of human evolution regarding to artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, transhumanism, nanotechnology, space colonization, time travel, life extension and human enhancement
thinkahol *

Robots learn to share: Why we go out of our way to help one another - 1 views

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    ScienceDaily (May 4, 2011) - Using simple robots to simulate genetic evolution over hundreds of generations, Swiss scientists provide quantitative proof of kin selection and shed light on one of the most enduring puzzles in biology: Why do most social animals, including humans, go out of their way to help each other? In the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, EPFL robotics professor Dario Floreano teams up with University of Lausanne biologist Laurent Keller to weigh in on the oft-debated question of the evolution of altruism genes.
thinkahol *

Evolution: Not only the fittest survive - 2 views

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    ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2011) - Darwin's notion that only the fittest survive has been called into question by new research published in the journal Nature. A collaboration between the Universities of Exeter and Bath in the UK, with a group from San Diego State University in the US, challenges our current understanding of evolution by showing that biodiversity may evolve where previously thought impossible.
Erich Feldmeier

Sanne Moormann: wissenschaft.de - Gesangsstunde mit Zebrafinken #spatzenhirn - 0 views

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    Sanne Moorman (Utrecht University) et al.: PNAS; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1207207109 "Junge Zebrafinken und Kleinkinder haben offenbar mehr miteinander gemein als bisher gedacht: Bevor sie klingen wie die Erwachsenen, brabbeln sie erst einmal alles nach, was ihnen die Eltern vormachen - und nutzen dabei fast ausschließlich ihre linke Gehirnhälfte. Von Menschen ist dies zwar schon lange bekannt, für Tiere ist das jedoch relativ ungewöhnlich. Entdeckt haben die unerwartete Gemeinsamkeit jetzt Forscher der Universität in Utrecht. Ihre Schlussfolgerung: Zumindest in Bezug auf die Kommunikation muss die Evolution von Singvögeln und Menschen parallel verlaufen sein."
Erich Feldmeier

Official SCIENCE*: HIGH HEELS make you SEXY (Ladies) * The Register - 0 views

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    "There is a strong contemporary association between high heels and female sexuality. We investigated the hypothesis that one motivation for women wearing high heels is that it artificially increases the femininity of gait. Biomechanical analyses revealed that wearing high heels led to increased femininity of gait including reduced stride length and increased rotation and tilt of the hips. This groundbreaking study was published this month in the scientific journal Evolution and Human Behavior. It was written by Paul H. Morris, Jenny White, Edward R. Morrison and Kayleigh Fisher"
Erich Feldmeier

Können Tiere zählen? - Hans Gross - Bienenforscher 2012 - Biologie in unserer... - 0 views

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    "Seit über 140 Jahren wissen wir bereits, dass der Mensch die angeborene Fähigkeit besitzt, nur bis zu vier Objekte korrekt zu erkennen, wenn das Zählen strikt verhindert wird. Auch viele Wirbeltiere sowie die Arbeiterinnen der Honigbiene, die wie alle Tiere natürlich unfähig sind zu zählen, können sich bis zu vier Objekte merken. Diese angeborene, Menschen und Tieren gemeinsame numerische Kompetenz regt zu interessanten Fragen zum Nutzen und zur Evolution dieser Fähigkeit an. Die "magische" Zahl Vier ist offensichtlich ein neurologisches, historisches und mythologisches Rätsel."
Erich Feldmeier

Becoming Human - 0 views

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    Becoming Human is an interactive documentary experience that tells the story of our origins. Journey through four million years of human evolution with your guide, Donald Johanson.
Erich Feldmeier

Katharina Schlegel: Biologischer Nanomotor mit Hybridantrieb entdeckt - 0 views

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    "Wie die Forscher in der Fachzeitschrift PNAS berichten, nutzt das Archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans die bei der Methanbildung freiwerdende Energie, um Natriumionen und Protonen aus dem Zellinneren zu pumpen. Damit wird über der Membran ein elektrochemischer Gradient erzeugt, ähnlich dem Aufladen einer Batterie. ATP-Synthasen nutzen nun diesen „Batteriestrom" zur Synthese von ATP. Dazu verfügen sie über eine membrangebundene Turbine. Angetrieben wird sie durch Ionen, die in das Cytoplasma zurückfließenden, ähnlich einer Turbine, die „Wasserkraft" in elektrischen Strom umwandelt.. Volker Müller. „Da M. acetivorans bisher das einzige bekannte Lebewesen ist, das beide Ionengradienten nutzen kann, liegt es nahe, es als Bindeglied der Evolution anzusehen""
Janos Haits

Semantically-Enabled Science Data Integration | Tetherless World Constellation - 0 views

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    This project, the Semantically-Enabled Science Data Integration (SESDI), will demonstrate how ontologies implemented within existing distributed technology frameworks will provide essential, re-useable, and robust, support for an evolution to science measurement processing systems (or frameworks) as well as for data and information systems (or framework) support for NASA Science Focus Areas and Applications.
Erich Feldmeier

@biogarage #diversity Kim Hughes: The hottest guy guppies stand out in a crowd | Scienc... - 0 views

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    "Evolution likes to keep what works best. The rest falls by the wayside. In theory, this means that the most "fit" variations, say, a color that looks poisonous or one particularly attractive to the ladies, would become the most common. By this logic, the many colors of the guppy should have conformed to a single common pattern long ago. But they haven't. Instead, the male guppies continue to show not only bright colors but also a high diversity of colors. What keeps the variety going? The rare-male effect. Female guppies prefer the males that are rare, no matter what their color pattern actually is. This effect has been documented in the laboratory in guppies and in other species like fruit flies."
Charles Daney

A skull that rewrites the history of man - Science, News - The Independent - 0 views

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    The conventional view of human evolution and how early man colonised the world has been thrown into doubt by a series of stunning palaeontological discoveries suggesting that Africa was not the sole cradle of humankind. Scientists have found a handful of ancient human skulls at an archaeological site two hours from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, that suggest a Eurasian chapter in the long evolutionary story of man.
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