03-24-2009, 01:17 PM | #721 |
Quasi Evil
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Maryland, US
Posts: 4,634
|
Well Ive been called worse.
__________________
"People's political beliefs don't stem from the factual information they've acquired. Far more the facts people choose to believe are the product of their political beliefs." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |
04-17-2009, 03:56 PM | #722 |
Spammer of the Happy Thread
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posts: 3,512
|
A completely female species
A species of ant consisting only of females has been found. This is interesting both because this causes clonal colonies of ants and because usually, unfertilised ants only are able to produce males: in Hymenoptera (e.g. ants, bees and wasps) females are produced from fertilised eggs (and are thus diploid) whereas males are produced from unfertilised eggs (ie. they're haploid - this also means males have no sons or fathers). The species in question is both able to produce diploid, unfertilised eggs that develop into females and is apparently not producing any males at all. This is quite an amazing alternative evolutionary path. Mycocepurus smithii is a fungus-growing ant whose range is from Mexico to the Caribbean and Argentina. They grow a clonal fungus for food and in exchange, the fungus is spread by the ants to new colonies: when new queens are produced and leave their maternal nest, they take a piece of the fungus in their mandibles, which they then use when they're establishing their own colony. The ants also keep their fungus clone pure. This symbiosis has been readily studied in many ants. Similar symbioses exist between some termites and fungi - ants and termites are very distant relatives and these similar symbioses have evolved independently from each other. Mycocepurus smithii in its fungus garden. The researchers used several sources and experiments to conclude that M. smithii most probably is an ant species which completely lacks males. First, they noticed that when held in laboratory conditions, colonies of M. smithii didn't produce any males, but did produce queens and workers (which both are female). The 30 other species of closely related ants were held in the same lab and all produced males as well as females. Unmated females of the species were also observed to produce offspring, but only females (note again that in other ant species, unmated queens can only produce haploid eggs that develop into males). Second, genotyping of 12 colonies of M. smithii showed that the genotypes of the queen and all her offspring was identical, pointing to clonal (asexual) reproduction. Last, the reproductive organs of the M. smithii queens were degenerated. A structure that the male reproductive organs lock into during mating were missing and no spermatheka (spermfilled sacs in the female - in ants, the queens mate during one mating flight, after which they store the sperm they get hold of until they die, in many species up to 20 years) were found in any of the queens taken from natural colonies. M. smithii presents a very interesting case for many reasons. For example, asexuality is often associated with greater susceptibility to disease due to the lack of variation in disease resistance (if one gets infected, all can theoretically be infected) and with evolutionary disadvantage due to the slow production of new genotypes. The case is also interesting because of the changes it brings to traditional parent-offspring conflicts that are very much present in sexual ant species (and other eusocial insect societies). Source: Himler et al. 2009. No sex in fungus-farming ants or their crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Published online 15 April 2009. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0313 (the abstract of the article: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.o....0313.abstract)
__________________
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. " - C. Sagan My (photography) website My Flickr page Last edited by Nerdanel : 04-17-2009 at 03:58 PM. |
04-17-2009, 10:40 PM | #723 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
Very interesting. And they could be geographicalised as Amazonian, too.
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
04-20-2009, 04:24 AM | #724 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ilha Formosa
Posts: 2,068
|
__________________
Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."- Winston Churchill |
04-20-2009, 04:32 AM | #725 | |
Spammer of the Happy Thread
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posts: 3,512
|
Quote:
__________________
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. " - C. Sagan My (photography) website My Flickr page |
|
04-21-2009, 04:36 AM | #726 | |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ilha Formosa
Posts: 2,068
|
And while we're feeling antsy:
Quote:
"I am Spartacus!" "No, I am Spartacus!" No, I am ....." x 500,000. From Scienceblogs; highly recommended. http://scienceblogs.com/
__________________
Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."- Winston Churchill Last edited by GrayMouser : 04-21-2009 at 04:38 AM. |
|
04-26-2009, 04:00 PM | #727 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
12-16-2009, 12:02 AM | #728 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
That Artic ice is just not declining like Al Gore wants it to!
The real science (from Canada even!) http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/content_c...Extent_eng.PDF stuff ain't going away!
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
12-16-2009, 10:03 AM | #729 |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium)
Posts: 14,363
|
That's three seperate threads now you're posting in about Gore, Inked. It's starting to look an aweful lot like spamming. Keep your global warming links in one thread from now on, please.
__________________
We are not things. |
12-16-2009, 09:31 PM | #730 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
Sorry, Earniel, it's just that Copenhagen thingy and reality don't meet. No intention of spamming.
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
01-10-2010, 02:45 PM | #731 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
TOP TEN BIOETHICS CONCERNS ... "As we come to the end of the first tenth of the 21st century, pundits are making lists about the decade just past: the biggest stories, the worst movies. In that spirit, here’s a list of the top ten stories in bioethics.
This isn’t an idle exercise. Bioethics matters. The field exerts tremendous influence over the most important questions of public policy and moral values: How should we treat the most vulnerable and dependent among us? What makes us human? Indeed, is it even morally relevant that one is human? Trends in bioethics, thus, illuminate where we are as a society and the nature of the culture we are creating for our progeny." http://article.nationalreview.com/pr...E5ZDEyOGU4Mzk=
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
10-06-2010, 05:47 AM | #732 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ilha Formosa
Posts: 2,068
|
Nobel goes to developer of IVF in humans.... a little surprising, given that it's very applied, not basic stuff.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society...ies-behind-IVF
__________________
Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."- Winston Churchill |
10-07-2010, 11:26 PM | #733 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
"It has been an incredibly controversial research from the beginning. Despite the incredible promises it offers, it's also raised significant bioethical issues that divide many people in society," says Nita Farahany, a philosophy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and a member of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. IVF "could raise issues that may be relevant to the work of the commission," she adds. [Editor's note: The last sentence and quote in this paragraph were revised to better reflect Ms. Farahany's overall comments.]
Edwards's Nobel is a nod to a clinical achievement with an appreciable and personal impact on the families of IVF babies. But what such babies will look like in the future may also help define Edwards's ultimate legacy. Says Mr. Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania: "If you hold up a baby that was begun in a dish and designed through genetic engineering, which is taller, smarter, and healthier than its parents, will people still smile?" op cit
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
10-08-2010, 01:29 AM | #734 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
|
They might just be a tad abhorred.
|
10-08-2010, 01:34 AM | #735 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
|
On another matter -
What do you think of laser-induced fission of the Carbon and Oxygen in the unhealthy combination it presents in CarbonDioxide? This process would force apart the Carbon, which will, I suppose, turn into powder or something, and the Oxygen, which can be easily stored in tanks. Glad to have your views on the matter. |
10-08-2010, 03:26 AM | #736 | |
Entmoot Attorney-General,
Equilibrating the Scales of Justice, Administrator ♎ Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 3,891
|
Quote:
While laser fission might be feasible on a very small scale, it sounds like it would require a lot of energy per CO2 molecule. Enzymatic cleavage of CO2 would probably be more efficient (as the very nature of enzymes is to lower the energy needed for a chemical reaction to take place). But I dare say the most cost-effective strategy would be to just bind or capture the CO2 in a way that separates it from the atmosphere.
__________________
An unwritten post is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody entry that’s ever been written. ☻ |
|
10-10-2010, 07:20 AM | #737 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ilha Formosa
Posts: 2,068
|
Yea, bioengineering will be one of the big concerns of the 21st c.
If you were a parent who was a carrier of Huntingdon's or Tay-Sach's disease and you could prevent your future child from inheriting it through genetic manipulation, wouldn't you do it? But then of course comes the problem of 'improvement'. How about dwarfism? But then how tall is tall enough?- after all, 'heightism' is probably the most wide-spread form of discrimination in the world- shouldn't your child get that advantage? "O Brave New World" indeed.
__________________
Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."- Winston Churchill |
11-10-2010, 09:19 PM | #738 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol
Posts: 3,114
|
Speaking of that, are these "lies, damn lies, or statistics" (apologies to Mark Twain)? http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
Two decades (plus) ago when I was in medical school, the claim was for 10% of the population? What has happened?
__________________
Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
11-10-2010, 11:43 PM | #739 |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ
Posts: 6,433
|
The problem with any statistic like that is that it's personal report. If someone walked up to me on the street and asked me to fill out something like that, I would not admit to being homosexual regardless of whether it was anonymous. For that matter, if people come right out and ask me in person I don't admit to it. If they want to somehow go digging through my past and they find out about it on their own that's their problem, but I don't just tell them.
I can think of two other people I know, who are atheists and in relationships, who do the same thing. |
11-10-2010, 11:47 PM | #740 |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 10,820
|
Yeah, it's pretty widely acknowledged that there is significant difference between those who are predominantly or significantly same-sex attracted and those who will identify themselves as such.
__________________
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Paradise Lost | Brill | General Literature | 106 | 01-10-2014 08:13 PM |
GOOD new/recent Science Fiction/Fantasy? | bropous | Fantasy and Sci-Fi Novels | 4 | 03-12-2007 01:36 PM |
Why you believe what you believe I | Rían | General Messages | 1173 | 02-01-2005 03:56 PM |
Science Museum. | Arian | General Messages | 13 | 03-01-2002 11:13 PM |
Science Fiction Books Worth Reading | Quazar | Fantasy and Sci-Fi Novels | 2 | 12-18-2001 11:42 AM |