Inside the Bizarre Genome of the World’s Toughest Animal
If you want good evidence of the common origins of living organisms on Earth, it would be difficult to find anything better than the tardigrades or water bears.
These strange little creatures live just about everywhere on Earth from mountain tops to ocean depths, from hot springs to polar ice. They will even be found living in your guttering, and they are almost indestructible. They are so different to other creatures that they are given a phylum all of their own, the Tardigrada. There are something like 1,150 different species.
They survive long periods of extremely inhospitable conditions by withdrawing all their appendages inside
Religion, Creationism, evolution, science and politics from a centre-left atheist humanist. The blog religious frauds tell lies about.
Thursday 26 November 2015
Sunday 22 November 2015
Evolution Is Winning The Battle In USA
Majority of Unaffiliated Believe Evolution Occurred Through Natural Processes | Pew Research Center
We're in the End Times. The signs are unmistakable. Any day now, real soon...
The End-times for religious fundamentalism in America, that is. There are now clear and unmistakable signs that the battle in the USA between scientific evolution and biblical creationism is being won by science, and, if Europe is anything to go by, religion in the USA is standing on the brink and staring into the abyss.
Firstly, there was the Pew Research Centre survey into Americans, Politics and Science Issues published on 1st July 2015 from which the chart on the right is taken. This shows how acceptance of evolution has recently shown significant upswing in a year, having been almost static for the previous five. The movement is not large in absolute terms, from about 61 to 65% but this is far larger than anything recorded over the previous five years. There is also a corresponding downward swing in the proportion of people who believe in creationism.
We're in the End Times. The signs are unmistakable. Any day now, real soon...
The End-times for religious fundamentalism in America, that is. There are now clear and unmistakable signs that the battle in the USA between scientific evolution and biblical creationism is being won by science, and, if Europe is anything to go by, religion in the USA is standing on the brink and staring into the abyss.
Firstly, there was the Pew Research Centre survey into Americans, Politics and Science Issues published on 1st July 2015 from which the chart on the right is taken. This shows how acceptance of evolution has recently shown significant upswing in a year, having been almost static for the previous five. The movement is not large in absolute terms, from about 61 to 65% but this is far larger than anything recorded over the previous five years. There is also a corresponding downward swing in the proportion of people who believe in creationism.
Friday 20 November 2015
Idiot Design - Why Mice Have Longer Sperms Than Elephants
Honestly! They are THAT big! |
When it comes to sperm, size does matter, but bigger is not always better.
In fact, according to a paper published by a University of Zurich team and published in the Royal Society of London Proceedings B, the bigger the species the better it is to have small sperms while the smaller the species, the better are sperms with big tails. Better, of course, being defined as being better able to find and fertilise the egg.
There are couple of reasons for this, one of which is
Labels:
Biology
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
"God Hates Humans!" Winning The Antibiotic Arms Race
Escherichia coli |
Creationists and especially the 'Intelligent Design' version, have some serious explaining to do.
Although they habitually try to hide the fact that creationism has a politico-religious agenda by pretending it is some sort of valid alternative science, to a person they are religious fundamentalists, usually Young Earth loons, and invariably oppose secularism and try to dismantle the 'wall of separation' which secular nations build between church and state. So, to assume they believe in a benevolent, anthropophilic
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Health
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Science
Wednesday 18 November 2015
Ancient Teeth Show Human Roots
Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from two Denisovan individuals | PNAS
If the name Svante Pääbo doesn't strike fear into the heart of creationist frauds they haven't done enough reading.
Svante Pääbo heads up the Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany which has perfected the art of DNA recovery and is producing masses of DNA data and analysis showing how the modern human species , Homo sapiens, not only evolved but how we interbred with related species as we initially diverged, especially out of Africa. Pääbo's team were the first to extract Neanderthal DNA and to show how non-African H. sapiens have around 4% of Neanderthal DNA and thus must have interbred with them when we migrated out of Africa and found an ancient population of H. neanderthalensis already in Eurasia.
They also isolated DNA from a finger bone found in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia and showed that a third species of Homo, related to but distinct from Neanderthals, co-existed in East Asia with both us and Neanderthals and contributed a variable amount of their DNA to the H. sapiens of Southeast Asia and Oceania.
If the name Svante Pääbo doesn't strike fear into the heart of creationist frauds they haven't done enough reading.
Svante Pääbo heads up the Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany which has perfected the art of DNA recovery and is producing masses of DNA data and analysis showing how the modern human species , Homo sapiens, not only evolved but how we interbred with related species as we initially diverged, especially out of Africa. Pääbo's team were the first to extract Neanderthal DNA and to show how non-African H. sapiens have around 4% of Neanderthal DNA and thus must have interbred with them when we migrated out of Africa and found an ancient population of H. neanderthalensis already in Eurasia.
They also isolated DNA from a finger bone found in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia and showed that a third species of Homo, related to but distinct from Neanderthals, co-existed in East Asia with both us and Neanderthals and contributed a variable amount of their DNA to the H. sapiens of Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Labels:
Anthropology
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Sunday 15 November 2015
Mormon Cult Losing Members Over Homophobic Bullying
Thousands To Quit Mormon Church Over New Anti-Gay Decree – Public Mass Resignation Event Saturday - The New Civil Rights Movement
News that thousands of Mormons are planning to leave the cult in protest at its decision to increase the persecution of homosexuals is evidence that the Mormon cult, like other churches, is struggling to keep up with the penetration of humanist values into society.
Like the Catholic Church which is haemorrhaging members in the developed world over it's persecution
News that thousands of Mormons are planning to leave the cult in protest at its decision to increase the persecution of homosexuals is evidence that the Mormon cult, like other churches, is struggling to keep up with the penetration of humanist values into society.
Like the Catholic Church which is haemorrhaging members in the developed world over it's persecution
No More Arguments - Birds Are Modern Dinosaurs
Bird embryos uncover homology and evolution of the dinosaur ankle : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group
Science is like a detective story. You accumulate evidence, examine it and let it lead you to the truth. But in that body of evidence there may be a few little pieces that seem to be pointing to a different truth or to falsify the truth that everything else seems to be pointing to. The question is, how strong is this little bit of contrary evidence? Can the overall conclusion live with it or is it fatal so that some other truth has to be found to accommodate it and all the other evidence?
Often, the problem can be solved by a closer reassessment of this evidence. Things look very different under a microscope.
Science is like a detective story. You accumulate evidence, examine it and let it lead you to the truth. But in that body of evidence there may be a few little pieces that seem to be pointing to a different truth or to falsify the truth that everything else seems to be pointing to. The question is, how strong is this little bit of contrary evidence? Can the overall conclusion live with it or is it fatal so that some other truth has to be found to accommodate it and all the other evidence?
Often, the problem can be solved by a closer reassessment of this evidence. Things look very different under a microscope.
Labels:
Biology
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Birds
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Friday 13 November 2015
Jumping Genes Jump All Over Creationism
Grabbing a parasite by the tail: Team solves 'jumping gene' mystery: First demonstration of the poly(A) tail's key role in LINE-1 retrotransposition -- ScienceDaily
Here's a conundrum for creationists.
What intelligent purpose could there possibly be for creating short pieces of DNA that randomly cause genetic diseases such as haemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and cancer by randomly jumping from one location to another in our genome and sometimes landing in the middle of an essential gene causing it to mutate?
I can only think of two reasons, if you can call the second one a reason. Malevolent intent or mindlessness. Perhaps a creationist can suggest a benevolent reason for it because I can think of none whatsoever.
Apparently, these short 'jumping' genes come in two forms. Both need a 'tail' of a short stretch of multiple copies of adenosine (poly(A)) so that a protein called ORF2p can attach
Here's a conundrum for creationists.
What intelligent purpose could there possibly be for creating short pieces of DNA that randomly cause genetic diseases such as haemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and cancer by randomly jumping from one location to another in our genome and sometimes landing in the middle of an essential gene causing it to mutate?
I can only think of two reasons, if you can call the second one a reason. Malevolent intent or mindlessness. Perhaps a creationist can suggest a benevolent reason for it because I can think of none whatsoever.
Apparently, these short 'jumping' genes come in two forms. Both need a 'tail' of a short stretch of multiple copies of adenosine (poly(A)) so that a protein called ORF2p can attach
Labels:
Biology
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Thursday 12 November 2015
My Books - What The Critics Say
I love Amazon's book reviews. Basically, anyone can say anything they want. Fortunately, there is a check that they've bought the book (a verified purchase) but anyone can write anything they want, truth or lies, accurate or inaccurate. Even semi-literate creationist trolls are free to post their abuse apparently with impunity.
Despite that though, and I'm fairly sure most of these people have actually bought or read the books, there are some really flattering reviews.
From Amazon UK
Despite that though, and I'm fairly sure most of these people have actually bought or read the books, there are some really flattering reviews.
From Amazon UK
- Excellent tonic for the rational. (Amazon Customer, verified purchase)
- Well written if a little heavy going for someone like me. If you've enjoyed Rosa's blog postings over the years you'll enjoy this with a mix of new articles and some older ones that have been updated. (Wulf)
- Garbage. A compilation of bullocks from his blog written under a fake name that you can google for free if you want to waste your time. (Timothy - ie Timothy Kerchner, Tiny Tim the habitual Internet abuser and creationist.)
- Bought for husband - he hasn't put it down since it arrived - looks like other volumes will be excellent Christmas present - if he can wait that long ! (Mrs J Busby)
Labels:
Atheism
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Creationism
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Humanism
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My Books
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Science
Wednesday 11 November 2015
Religious 'Nones' Quickly Becoming Less Religious
Religious 'nones' becoming more secular | Pew Research Center
More signs of the growing penetration of secular Atheism into that bastion of Christian fundamentalism, the USA, was published today by the Pew Research Center. One wonders if there will ever again be an honest survey which is good news for religion. It has been relentlessly bad news for about the last 50 years and seems to be getting much worse.
Recent surveys have tended to concentrate not so much on the growth of Atheism in America per se but in the growth on 'nones' as a proportion of the population and consequent decline in the proportion of groups such as Catholics, Episcopalian, Baptist and other Protestants, etc.
Several people have rightly pointed out that 'none' is not the same as Atheist and that many 'nones' remain religious, some deeply so. It simply means anyone who doesn't self-identify as affiliated to any particular faith or denomination.
More signs of the growing penetration of secular Atheism into that bastion of Christian fundamentalism, the USA, was published today by the Pew Research Center. One wonders if there will ever again be an honest survey which is good news for religion. It has been relentlessly bad news for about the last 50 years and seems to be getting much worse.
Recent surveys have tended to concentrate not so much on the growth of Atheism in America per se but in the growth on 'nones' as a proportion of the population and consequent decline in the proportion of groups such as Catholics, Episcopalian, Baptist and other Protestants, etc.
Several people have rightly pointed out that 'none' is not the same as Atheist and that many 'nones' remain religious, some deeply so. It simply means anyone who doesn't self-identify as affiliated to any particular faith or denomination.
Labels:
Atheism
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Religion
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Secularism
The Power Of Magical Thinking
Believing What We Do Not Believe: Acquiescence to Superstitious Beliefs and Other Powerful Intuitions | PsycNET
How do religious people manage to hold two mutually exclusive view simultaneously?
How for example, does someone like Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project and passionate advocate for evolution on an old Earth in an older Universe, whose entire academic career depended on his understanding and acceptance of the role of DNA in evolution, still manage to believe he needs to beg forgiveness because he inherited the 'sin' of a founding pair of humans who were made by magic a few thousand years ago?
How do religious people manage to hold two mutually exclusive view simultaneously?
How for example, does someone like Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project and passionate advocate for evolution on an old Earth in an older Universe, whose entire academic career depended on his understanding and acceptance of the role of DNA in evolution, still manage to believe he needs to beg forgiveness because he inherited the 'sin' of a founding pair of humans who were made by magic a few thousand years ago?
Labels:
Creationism
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Psychology
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Religion
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Science
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Superstition
Tuesday 10 November 2015
Blessed Are The Cringe-Makers...
Talking Jesus Booklet | Evangelical Alliance, Church of England & Hope Together
I wrote a few days ago about a survey showing that 39% of English people believed Jesus is fiction. This survey, carried out by Barna Group and ComRes, has now been published in the form of a booklet - and it makes some more astonishing reading.
Firstly, it found that, of those English adults who believe Jesus was real, only 20% believe he was a god. 47% think he was a normal human being, a prophet or a spiritual leader of some sort. If anything, this finding is even more encouraging than the 39% who think Jesus is fiction.
I wrote a few days ago about a survey showing that 39% of English people believed Jesus is fiction. This survey, carried out by Barna Group and ComRes, has now been published in the form of a booklet - and it makes some more astonishing reading.
Firstly, it found that, of those English adults who believe Jesus was real, only 20% believe he was a god. 47% think he was a normal human being, a prophet or a spiritual leader of some sort. If anything, this finding is even more encouraging than the 39% who think Jesus is fiction.
Labels:
Atheism
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Christianity
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Religion
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Secularism
Sunday 8 November 2015
Evolution In Progress In Europe's Smallest Bird
Female Western goldcrest (R. r. regulus) Photo credit: Missy Osborn Source: Wikipedia |
Against the backdrop of a leaden sky and slightly damping but unseasonably mild breeze, and following a fair amount of rain yesterday, we decided to go for a slightly muddy walk in St Mary's Fields in Kidlington. What we saw leads me to another illustration of the logical absurdity and scientific sterility of the cult of creationism in its various sub-flavours.
We had to go to Kidlington to check on some work being done to a cottage for an absent relative, so stuck for something to do we decided to explore this village to the north of Oxford which claims to be the biggest
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Biology
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Birds
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Friday 6 November 2015
Good Without God - Children of Atheists More Generous
The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World | Current Biology
Despite their posturing as paragons of moral virtue, often shouted out from what more resembles the sewer beneath gutter than the rooftops they imagine they are standing on, a study has shown that children of religious parents, and so it must be assumed the parents from whom these children get their morals, are actually less moral than the children of Atheist parents.
Despite their posturing as paragons of moral virtue, often shouted out from what more resembles the sewer beneath gutter than the rooftops they imagine they are standing on, a study has shown that children of religious parents, and so it must be assumed the parents from whom these children get their morals, are actually less moral than the children of Atheist parents.
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Atheism
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Morality
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Religion
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Secularism
Thursday 5 November 2015
How Humans And Rice Co-Evolved
Three geographically separate domestications of Asian rice : Nature Plants
Here is a good example of how a change in a species' environment can cause evolution and how that evolutionary change can feed back into the environment to cause changes in yet another species. In this case it's about how the different varieties of rice evolved and how these new varieties then facilitated changes in human populations and human culture.
It has generally been assumed that rice cultivation began in China along the Yangtze River Valley some
Here is a good example of how a change in a species' environment can cause evolution and how that evolutionary change can feed back into the environment to cause changes in yet another species. In this case it's about how the different varieties of rice evolved and how these new varieties then facilitated changes in human populations and human culture.
It has generally been assumed that rice cultivation began in China along the Yangtze River Valley some
Tuesday 3 November 2015
The Darwin Creationist Award 2015 - Call For Candidates
After a gap of a year, I've decided to reinstate the prestigious Darwin Creationist Award. Well, there are far too many hilarious anti-science, pro-ignorant superstition posts on Facebook and Twitter to waste on the gullible and credulous who probably don't appreciate the funny side or the sheer 22 caret gold balm-pot lunacy that lurks in creationism, so we might as well have a good laugh and allow a wider audience to enjoy them too.
And what better way to discredit creationism than a display of creationist... er... creativity, and lack of critical thinking skills, than to put them on public display?
Unlike the Darwin Award, which is given to anyone who, by an act so stupid, improved the human gene pool by removing themselves and their genes from it, the Darwin Creationist award is given to the creationists who, by a post on the social media so stupid that it helps to improve the human meme pool by removing creationism from it. The winner will be decided by popular vote. The prize will be getting their effort to a wider audience so they can enjoy it too.
Recent winners can be see here, and here. Can anyone beat Joe Cienkowski's winning entry from 2013?
Post links in comments below, in reply to the post on G+ or to my Facebook timeline here or the dedicated Darwin Creationist Award Facebook page. Please supply a link to the candidate post with enough detail to identify the poster and include an optional citation explaining why the candidate is worthy of the award. Posts must be original. Creationists may not nominate themselves, even if under the impression that the award is intended as an endorsement of their post.
Here's a starter:
And what better way to discredit creationism than a display of creationist... er... creativity, and lack of critical thinking skills, than to put them on public display?
Unlike the Darwin Award, which is given to anyone who, by an act so stupid, improved the human gene pool by removing themselves and their genes from it, the Darwin Creationist award is given to the creationists who, by a post on the social media so stupid that it helps to improve the human meme pool by removing creationism from it. The winner will be decided by popular vote. The prize will be getting their effort to a wider audience so they can enjoy it too.
Recent winners can be see here, and here. Can anyone beat Joe Cienkowski's winning entry from 2013?
Post links in comments below, in reply to the post on G+ or to my Facebook timeline here or the dedicated Darwin Creationist Award Facebook page. Please supply a link to the candidate post with enough detail to identify the poster and include an optional citation explaining why the candidate is worthy of the award. Posts must be original. Creationists may not nominate themselves, even if under the impression that the award is intended as an endorsement of their post.
Here's a starter:
- Nominee: Richard Haralambos (Facebook) - 03 Nov 2015
Text: Lots nonsense they drape in science that are nothing but (theories) they call it but rare nothing but logical fallacy and strawman invented stories....
Smaller then the head of a pin.... Idiots with no common sense can tell that's weak and stupid...
Citation: In typical creationist self-worshipping style, Richard feels he doesn't need to learn any science because his intuition tells him everything he needs to know, including the 'fact' that scientists are mentally defective for not agreeing with him.
Labels:
Atheism
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Monday 2 November 2015
Evolution In Progress: New Wasp Species Emerging
Utetes canaliculatus, one of the wasps in the process of evolving. |
And another mainstay of creationism - the nonsensical dogma that new species can't arise by evolution - comes crashing down, as does the dogma that speciation has never been observed.
Evolution is primarily driven by environmental change because these changes open up new opportunities for random variations to be an advantage in, so creating something for natural selection to select for (or not to select against). In this way, biodiversity feeds upon itself to give more biodiversity.
Labels:
Biology
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Saturday 31 October 2015
Jesus Is Fiction Say 39% of English People
Jesus 'not a real person' many believe - BBC News
According to a poll of 3,000 people living in England, conducted jointly by the Church of England, Hope and the Evangelical Alliance, 39% of those questions didn't believe Jesus was a real person. This was particularly marked amongst the under 35 year-olds who were 25% more likely to reject the historicity of Jesus than the over 35's.
The same survey also found that 'over 43%' of those interviewed believe Jesus rose from the dead. Stated that way round it doesn't look quite so bad for
According to a poll of 3,000 people living in England, conducted jointly by the Church of England, Hope and the Evangelical Alliance, 39% of those questions didn't believe Jesus was a real person. This was particularly marked amongst the under 35 year-olds who were 25% more likely to reject the historicity of Jesus than the over 35's.
The same survey also found that 'over 43%' of those interviewed believe Jesus rose from the dead. Stated that way round it doesn't look quite so bad for
Labels:
Atheism
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Christianity
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Religion
Friday 30 October 2015
Transitional Human Ancestor From Spain
Reconstruction of the skull and representation of Pliobates cataloniae. Photo credit: Marta Palmero, Institut Català de Paleontologia |
I said the other day that this was shaping up to be another bad week for creationists (are there ever any good ones?). Now scientists have only gone and found another of those 'non-existent transitional fossils'.
This one is from the our branch of the evolutionary tree at a point soon after the divergence of primates into the Old World or catarrhine monkeys and the anthropoid apes and close to the point where the anthropoid branch diverged again into the gibbons or hylobatids and the hominoids (great apes, including humans). It suggests that the last common ancestor of ours and gibbons was more gibbon-like than has generally been assumed.
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Biology
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Creationism
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Evolution
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Science
Wednesday 28 October 2015
Unlike Creationists, Ravens Can Tell Right From Wrong
Tolerance and reward equity predict cooperation in ravens (Corvus corax) : Scientific Reports
Who would you expect to be better at telling right from wrong and deciding on an ethical course of action, a devoutly religious person or a Raven?
The answer, if we take the word of creationists, religious fundamentalists and even many serious theologians, is maybe surprising.
Who would you expect to be better at telling right from wrong and deciding on an ethical course of action, a devoutly religious person or a Raven?
The answer, if we take the word of creationists, religious fundamentalists and even many serious theologians, is maybe surprising.
Labels:
Creationism
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Evolution
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Humanism
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Morality
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