Old Weblog Archive - November 2002

New ape population found #
A secret population of orang-utans has been discovered in the forests of the island of Borneo. Conservationists believe about 2,000 rare apes are living out of sight in a remote lowland region of East Kalimantan
BBC: 26-Nov-02
Fantastic.

Origin of dogs traced #
Dogs today come in all shapes and sizes, but scientists believe they evolved from just a handful of wolves tamed by humans living in or near China less than 15,000 years ago.
BBC: 22-Nov-02

University of Cambridge wins Queen's Anniversary Prize #
177 years after he made his now famous voyage to the Galapagos Islands and 120 after his death, Charles Darwin is still making history. The University of Cambridge has won a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the Darwin Correspondence Project, which is transcribing, editing and publishing more than 14,500 letters written and received by Charles Darwin throughout his life.
Cambridge University Press Release, 14-Nov-02
This is great news. The work of the Darwin Correspondence Project has been truly magnificent. Apparently, volume 13 (covering Darwin's 1865 correspondence) will be published before the end of 2002, with the entire series scheduled for completion in 2024. Well, that's my birthday present list sorted out for the next 22 years.
See also:
New win helps Darwin evolve into superhero [Cambridge News, 19-Nov-02]
Letters from the Beagle [Humanities, Nov/Dec-02]

Bison bones open ancient window #
Scientists have for the first time managed to retrieve an intact protein from a fossil bone more than 55,000 years old.
BBC: 14-Nov-02

Darwin's finches at risk #
Many of the so-called Darwin finch species on the Galapagos Islands are being attacked by the larvae of parasitic flies and scientists are deeply concerned for the birds' long-term welfare.
BBC: 08-Nov-02
It would be ironic indeed if Darwin's finches were to become extinct because they were ill-adapted to combat an introduced parasitic species.

What made Darwin a creative thinker #
Great creative thinkers like Darwin and Gandhi have one thing in common - they had at least one elder brother or sister.
BBC: 06-Nov-02
The idea that younger sibling are more competitive and, therefore, more creative is, of course, a crap theory. I could just as easily propose an equally crap counter-theory, which states that only-children are more creative, because they don't waste any time competing with siblings. My highly selective evidence: Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

Genetic clue to 'girl power' #
Women may be less prone to "geekiness" because of their genes. The key is the female X chromosome, which seems to protect against disorders linked with poor social interactions.
BBC: 05-Nov-02
Surely it makes more sense to say that the X chromosome is associated with social skills, rather than protecting against social disorders... Will you just listen to me? I'm starting to sound like a sociobiologist!