Hooray new dolphins!
(via New species of dolphin discovered off Australia – Light Years - CNN.com Blogs)
I really like this way of thinking about it and explaining it.
Bang Goes the Theory: Evolution Made Simple (by TreVelocita)
Dr Yan attempts to demonstrate evolution by drawing a couple of lines.
The relatively large size of the mammalian brain evolved due to a capacity for endurance exercise, researchers conclude in a recent study.
In the study published in the journal PLoS ONE this month, anthropologists David A. Raichlen of the University of Arizona and Adam D. Gordon of the University at Albany conclude that the brain size in mammals may have evolved in conjunction with increases in exercise capacity, rather than solely in response to natural selection for higher cognitive abilities.
Mammals have larger brains than non-mammalian animals of the same body size; primates (apes, monkeys, humans, lemurs, and lorises) have larger brains than non-primate mammals of the same body size; and humans have larger brains than non-human primates of the same size. Anthropologists have long attempted to discern the reasons humans and other primates have relatively large brains compared to other animals species. The theories offered include the need for greater cognitive power to process visual information, and an increased capacity to manage complex social interactions in large groups.
Gordon said, “Brains are very energetically expensive to maintain, so most previous research has asked why certain species need big, expensive brains. We’re asking a slightly different question: how do species grow and maintain expensive big brains in the first place?”
Earlier research in experimental settings had shown that endurance exercise boosts brain growth in some mammals. Controlling for associations with body size, the researchers examined the correlation between brain size and a metric known as the maximum metabolic rate (MMR), the measurement of the limit for aerobic exercise frequency and capacity. By collecting brain sizes and MMRs in mammals, they analyzed the relationship between body mass and the correlation of residual brain size to residual MMR. They found a significant correlation between maximum metabolic rate and brain size across a wide range of mammals.
Yay exercise! Yay brains!
These researchers spent who knows how much time and money to (poorly, and very complexly) recreate something that human children can do by the time they are a few years old. Video of the thing running if you click on the link.
The point is, running is pretty difficult, and humans are really good at it - so run.
That said, they did do a pretty decent job making the mechanics of it look like an actual person running.
(via MABEL running robot snags bipedal speed title, cue ‘Rocky’ theme (video) — Engadget)
Ants with transparent abdomens drinking colored sugar water.
I hate ants, but this is pretty cool.
First thing I though of when I saw this was sternum + ribs.
two water drops hitting each other.
“We’re number 1! We’re number 1! We’re number 1!”
…
Why are these regulations even in place if anyone, without consequence, can just decide they don’t want to follow them?
Finally! I was trying to find this list (I don’t know why I forgot to check wikipedia in the first place…and really I could have tried harder), but why, after reading countless “news” articles on this, with no mention of but a few other things on this list, did I finally find it linked in a Daring Fireball article? I guess more context would cut down on the “CELLPHONES CAUSE CANCER!! THE WHO SAYS SO!!” headlines.
Also, skimming this list, firefighters who use their cellphones and drink coffee are totally screwed.
We’re all racers at heart. We were born that way.
Don’t pet me.
(via Armadillos Transmit Leprosy to Humans, Study Confirms - NYTimes.com)
(It’s been a while since I’ve found an interesting article. Too much Top Gear on Netflix, not enough reading, I suppose.)
I still can’t forget one of my MCAT review course teachers who kept calling them “sacromeres.” I’m blaming her as to why it took me 3 tried to get into med school.
sarcomeres
This pretty well explains my former tendency to, whenever I drank too much, explain how alcohol inhibits water reabsorbtion in your kidneys, making you pee more.
Seriously, the more you know about the world, the more amazing it becomes.
(via xkcd: Beauty)
Understatement of the last 30 years? How about:
“Too much exercise has not been a big problem in America.”
Ya think?
carl sagan (via wakingthekadabra)
Ain’t that the truth. Very unfortunate, and it seems like it’s either getting worse, or the anti-science nutjobs are just getting more vocal.
“Which States Have the Most Obese Children?”
…or, “Which states have the least responsible parents?”
Ok, maybe “responsible” is a bit harsh. Maybe, “In which states are parents least able, for whatever reason, to effectively care for their children.” More accurate, but it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well.
An interactive map of obesity rates by state. - Time to Trim - Slate Hive
