Unique ancient spider attack preserved in amber Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web -- a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time. The extraordinarily rare fossils are in a piece of amber that preserved this event in remarkable detail, an action that took place in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar in the Early Cretaceous between 97-110 million years ago, almost certainly with dinosaurs wandering nearby. Aside from showing the first and only fossil evidence of a spider attacking prey in its web, the piece of amber also contains the body of a male spider in the same web.
Does the Color Pink Exist? Scientists Arent Sure In a blog post, Robert Krulwich of the public radio show Radiolab noted that there is no pink in the colors of the rainbow. Pink is actually a combination of red and violet, two colors, which, if you look at a rainbow, are on the opposite sides of the arc. Remember the old colors of the rainbow mnemonic ROYGBIV?
Introduction to Evolutionary Biology Introduction to Evolutionary Biology Version 2 Copyright © 1996-1997 by Chris Colby[Last Update: January 7, 1996] volution is the cornerstone of modern biology. It unites all the fields of biology under one theoretical umbrella. It is not a difficult concept, but very few people -- the majority of biologists included -- have a satisfactory grasp of it. One common mistake is believing that species can be arranged on an evolutionary ladder from bacteria through "lower" animals, to "higher" animals and, finally, up to man.
The Tree of Life If you want a hardcopy of this poster, you can either (1) download the PDF file here for free and take it to a print shop (Kinkos will work) and get it printed as a large poster (it prints 24" x 48"), or (2) buy it online at Zazzle.com (click here to jump to the poster). The words in the image above may look a bit blurry because this web page is displaying a compressed JPEG image on this web site (to improve download time). If you make a print from the PDF file (or zazzle) all the words and lines will be crisp and clear. I created the poster with the Xara Xtreme drawing program. Keywords: Tree of Life, evolution, cladogram, cladistics, darwin, phylogenetic tree, phylogenetics, evolutionary tree, darwin, poster.
What would happen if I drilled a tunnel through the center of th& Want to really get away from it all? The farthest you can travel from home (and still remain on Earth) is about 7,900 miles (12,700 kilometers) straight down, but you'll have to journey the long way round to get there: 12,450 miles (20,036 kilometers) over land and sea. Why not take a shortcut, straight down? You can get there in about 42 minutes -- that's short enough for a long lunch, assuming you can avoid Mole Men, prehistoric reptiles and underworld denizens en route. Granted, most Americans would end up in the Indian Ocean, but Chileans could dine out on authentic Chinese, and Kiwis could tuck into Spanish tapas for tea [sources: NOVA; Shegelski]. Of course, you'd be in for a rough ride.
The Origin and Evolution of Life the basic outline of the origin of life is believed to be: formation of earth 4.6 bya formation of monomers (simple amino acids, sugars, etc) formation of polymers (proteinoids, nucleic acids, etc) lipid synthesis for membranes (phospholipids) formation of a protobiont 5 Ways To Hack Your Brain Into Awesomeness Much of the brain is still mysterious to modern science, possibly because modern science itself is using brains to analyze it. There are probably secrets the brain simply doesn't want us to know. But by no means should that stop us from tinkering around in there, using somewhat questionable and possibly dangerous techniques to make our brains do what we want. We can't vouch for any of these, either their effectiveness or safety. Human Evolution Evidence Scientists have discovered a wealth of evidence concerning human evolution, and this evidence comes in many forms. Thousands of human fossils enable researchers and students to study the changes that occurred in brain and body size, locomotion, diet, and other aspects regarding the way of life of early human species over the past 6 million years. Millions of stone tools, figurines and paintings, footprints, and other traces of human behavior in the prehistoric record tell about where and how early humans lived and when certain technological innovations were invented. Study of human genetics show how closely related we are to other primates – in fact, how connected we are with all other organisms – and can indicate the prehistoric migrations of our species, Homo sapiens, all over the world. Advances in the dating of fossils and artifacts help determine the age of those remains, which contributes to the big picture of when different milestones in becoming human evolved.
Future Computer by Jakub Záhoř & Yanko Design - StumbleUpon Future Touch Tech This concept computer-of-the-future by designer Jakub Záhoř allows the user to operate the device anywhere they can find a glass surface. The user simply attaches the central unit to any glass surface like a window or coffee table, switches on the power, and watches their system light up before their eyes. The display appears as an interactive hologram on the glass that the user merely has to touch to operate. Building Bodies Primate Bipedalism: Understanding Standing Up <p>This site requires Javascript, please update your browser...</p><p></p> Anthropologists and evolutionary biologists agree that upright posture and the subsequent ability to walk on two legs was a crucial major adaptation associated with the divergence of the human lineage from a common ancestor with the African apes. Efficient upright walking required numerous changes in the anatomy of the limbs and pelvis and we are the result of the variations and selection pressures that forged this new ability. The ability to walk on two legs was later followed by other human evolutionary trends that lead to tool manufacture and the enlargement of the brain.
Scientist creates lifelike cells out of metal Scientists trying to create artificial life generally work under the assumption that life must be carbon-based, but what if a living thing could be made from another element? One British researcher may have proven that theory, potentially rewriting the book of life. Lee Cronin of the University of Glasgow has created lifelike cells from metal — a feat few believed feasible.
Timeline: The evolution of life - life - 14 July 2009 Read full article Continue reading page |1|2|3|4 There are all sorts of ways to reconstruct the history of life on Earth. Pinning down when specific events occurred is often tricky, though. Beagle Voyage 26 December 1831 - to - 27 February 1832 Crossing the Atlantic Ocean: H.M.S. Beagle leaves Plymouth Harbor A tour of the Madeira and Canary islands Landfall at the Cape Verde islands The weather was now quite fine and the Beagle was ready to set sail on 26 December. Unfortunately, the opportunity was lost due to the entire crew being either missing or drunk from the festivities of the night before (for Christmas). On the morning of 27 December 1831, H.M.S. Adaptation For centuries, human beings have looked at the complexity of the natural world in wonder. From the delicate design of the more than 18,000 species of orchids that exist (Figure 1), to the breathtaking flight of birds, humans have struggled to understand what the driving force behind the diversity of life is and why so many remarkably different shapes and features exist in the natural world. In 1802, the English priest William Paley wrote that the complexity of animals and plants is of "a degree which exceeds all computation," and he argued that only a divine being could have created these organisms.