Old Weblog Archive - September 2002

Blondes 'to die out in 200 years' #
The last natural blondes will die out within 200 years, scientists believe. A study by experts in Germany suggests people with blonde hair are an endangered species and will become extinct by 2202... They suggest that dyed-blondes are more attractive to men who choose them as partners over true blondes.
BBC: 27-Sep-02
Of course, we all know how difficult it is for natural blondes to find partners. Silly, silly, silly. (Oh, and by the way, blondes aren't a species.)
Warning: The article contains a photograph of Ann Widdecombe.

Humans and chimps 'not so close' #
Chimpanzees may be the closest relation to humans among animals, but we may not share as much DNA as previously thought. Most studies suggest that 98.5% of our genetic code can also be found in the chimp. However, a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says the true difference may be much larger.
BBC: 25-Sep-02
...Although we shouldn't get carried away with percentages: we share about half our DNA with bananas!

Glimpse of Darwin's legacy #
Millions of preserved creatures from across the world - including some collected by Charles Darwin himself - are going on view at a London museum.
BBC: 24-Sep-02
See also: All creatures great and small [BBC: 29-Sep-02]

Sexing the plants #
To Coleridge he was 'the most original-minded man', but Erasmus Darwin's poetry, which saw man's scientific endeavours reflected in nature, was too much for his time.
Guardian: 21-Sep-02
Warning: Contains seriously flowery verse.

British plant 'bible' published #
The most comprehensive survey yet of plantlife across the British Isles has been published. The New Atlas Of The British And Irish Flora details the remarkable changes that have taken place in the countryside since the investigation was last undertaken in the 1950s.
BBC: 17-Sep-02

Putting Darwin in His Place #
After years of immersion in Charles Darwin's 14,000 letters at the Cambridge Library, Janet Browne - an editor of the Darwin correspondence project - has published the second half of her sprawling, magnificent biography.
Scientific American: 16-Sep-02

Hoist by his own polemic #
Steven Pinker's invective against Marxists, feminists and all those who think they can change human minds in The Blank Slate is entertaining, but is it justified?
Guardian: 15-Sep-02
See also: It's all in the mind [Guardian: 21-Sep-02]

Battle of the sexes 'prehistoric style' #
Dinosaurs took part in mighty displays to attract a mate, a US scientist has proposed. The males showed off their ornate frills and crests, while the females looked on.
BBC: 13-Sep-02
...And I thought they did it for cheap frills.

Scientists sketch out life after mankind #
Scientists say mankind will be replaced by giant land squid, flying killer fish and intelligent baboons. Evolution experts have been asked to predict the kind of animals which will be around in the next few million years. They based their predictions on the kind of climate and geographical changes expected to take place in the distant future.
Ananova: 11-Sep-02
A bit of harmless fun, I suppose.

Obesity is changing human shape #
The abundance of food in affluent societies is presenting the human species with one of its greatest evolutionary challenges.
BBC: 09-Sep-02
Speaking as a particularly well-rounded individual, I tend to take scare-stories like this with a pinch of salt, a smattering of mayonnaise, two thick slices of bread and butter, and a chocolate mousse for dessert.

Life reached land a billion years ago #
Life colonised the land more than a billion years ago, far earlier than previously thought. A geologist at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, has evidence that some ancient sandy surfaces were covered in a film of bacteria, a so-called biocrust.
BBC: 09-Sep-02

Who's a pretty boy, then?: Investigating the peacock's tail #
How did the peacock get his tail? It sounds like a Just So story, but it's a question that has tormented zoologists for more than a century.
Independent: 26-Aug-02
Strange, you never really think about the torment suffered by zoologists.

The Origin of Specious - and why reductionists are winning the Darwin wars #
Stephen Jay Gould, who died of cancer at the age of 60 this past May, defined a place in American culture likely to remain vacant now that he is gone... In the heated, often venomous battle over Charles Darwin's legacy, Gould faced a redoubtable crew from the fields of sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, genetics and philosophy.
The American Prospect: 23-Sep-02
I have been saving the title The Origin of [the] Specious for ages now, waiting for the right opportunity. Now someone has beaten me to it... Damn!
I have considerable sympathy with the view expressed in this article that we need a few more Gould-type trouble-makers in current debates about evolution.

Dino protein made in test tube #
A prehistoric protein has been recreated in the test tube. It gives an insight into a world 240 million years ago when reptiles ruled the Earth.
BBC: 05-Sep-02
...But the scientists used a computer to predict the sequence of an early dinosaur gene - so it's not dino[saur] protein at all.

Neanderthal skeleton rediscovered #
The beautifully preserved and extremely rare skeleton of a newborn Neanderthal, thought to have been lost to science for almost 90 years, has been rediscovered. It could lead to new insights into the evolution of modern humans and our relationship with our extinct cousins.
BBC: 04-Sep-02