"It was there last night."
Lines Like Those in Nazca Found in the Middle East
Nazca lines are not only in South America. Similar lines have been found in the Middle East. Satellite-mapping brought the lines to light in Jordan. The lines are not composed of base desert cleared of stones. They are made of stone and go from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
Many designs can be seen, the most common being spoked wheels. They go through lava fields and are 2,000 years old. This is much older than the Nazca lines. The area covered is more extensive than Nazca.
The sections with the spoked wheels have a function. They are part of kites which "funnel" animals thus trapping them. Other lines are cairns that run from burial sites. Walls and other structures have no apparent purpose. Some areas have clusters of spoked wheels. They are believed to have ritual significance linked to the seasons as in Nazca.
Many designs can be seen, the most common being spoked wheels. They go through lava fields and are 2,000 years old. This is much older than the Nazca lines. The area covered is more extensive than Nazca.
The sections with the spoked wheels have a function. They are part of kites which "funnel" animals thus trapping them. Other lines are cairns that run from burial sites. Walls and other structures have no apparent purpose. Some areas have clusters of spoked wheels. They are believed to have ritual significance linked to the seasons as in Nazca.
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Archeology
High Blood Pressure Caused by Many Genetic Variants
It is now common knowledge that the propensity to get high blood pressure is genetic. A billion people in the world suffer from it. Persistent high blood pressure ultimately leads to heart disease and stroke.
The genetic work is complicated. Sixteen new genetic variations have been identified. These genetic factors can be counted: the greater the number people have the more likely they are to suffer from high blood pressure.
There are three kinds of genetic variants predisposing hypertension. One regulates blood pressure. Another affects pulse. The third type controls arterial pressure.
It appears that the modern diet has happened too fast for humans to stop the selection of these gene variants. Children are now suffering from this complaint. The variants will only be "selected-out" if these children do not reach child bearing age. This is a hard fact to accept, but this is the way natural selection works.
The genetic work is complicated. Sixteen new genetic variations have been identified. These genetic factors can be counted: the greater the number people have the more likely they are to suffer from high blood pressure.
There are three kinds of genetic variants predisposing hypertension. One regulates blood pressure. Another affects pulse. The third type controls arterial pressure.
It appears that the modern diet has happened too fast for humans to stop the selection of these gene variants. Children are now suffering from this complaint. The variants will only be "selected-out" if these children do not reach child bearing age. This is a hard fact to accept, but this is the way natural selection works.
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Science
New Dolphin Species Found in Australia
It is amazing that a species of dolphin has been living along the coast of Australia and scientists did not know it - until now. The Burrunan dolphin is the third new species to be identified since the 1800s. Named Tursiops australis, the new mammal is represented by two small groups living among bottle-nosed and common dolphins living off the Victorian coast.
They are quite distinct from other dolphins having different body shape, skulls and DNA sequence. The discovery came as quite a shock and shows that new species of other animals could be living unidentified in regions already extensively examined.
Man may be going into space but much of our planet still remains unexplored. New species still need to be classified in South America. The behavior of some creatures is not yet fully understood. For example, giant catfish in Asia are suspected of taking people swimming across rivers.
They are quite distinct from other dolphins having different body shape, skulls and DNA sequence. The discovery came as quite a shock and shows that new species of other animals could be living unidentified in regions already extensively examined.
Man may be going into space but much of our planet still remains unexplored. New species still need to be classified in South America. The behavior of some creatures is not yet fully understood. For example, giant catfish in Asia are suspected of taking people swimming across rivers.
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Biology
Wild Cockatoos Are Swearing at People
Australian wild cockatoos have been "infiltrated" by domesticated cockatoos who have escaped. Wild birds are copying words learned by escaped household pets. Cockatoos are not the only wild birds being affected in this way. Galahs and corellas shout out words that startle people. Escaped birds breed with their wild counterparts and chicks learn to talk from parents.
The parrot family is extremely good at mimicking sounds they hear. Songbirds and hummingbirds can also do this to a degree. The problem is cockatoos and parakeets are social animals. To wild birds a word is just a new sound to be learned and used socially. Human babbling to learn language is called subsong in birds, where chicks learn by trial and error.
Like humans, cockatoos continue to learn "words" all through their lives. "Natural" cockatoo sounds go together to form a language which has its own grammar. Human words are being integrated into this language.
A pet bird may only hear a word once and the word is remembered for life, particularly swear words that are spoken with some gusto.
The parrot family is extremely good at mimicking sounds they hear. Songbirds and hummingbirds can also do this to a degree. The problem is cockatoos and parakeets are social animals. To wild birds a word is just a new sound to be learned and used socially. Human babbling to learn language is called subsong in birds, where chicks learn by trial and error.
Like humans, cockatoos continue to learn "words" all through their lives. "Natural" cockatoo sounds go together to form a language which has its own grammar. Human words are being integrated into this language.
A pet bird may only hear a word once and the word is remembered for life, particularly swear words that are spoken with some gusto.
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Wildlife
Penguins Moved to Africa Many Times But Died Out
Penguins are funny little creatures though they are interesting to study. They first made landfall in Africa millions of year ago but they went extinct. They had a second go at colonization. This failed as well.
They preferred Antarctica, South America and Australia living there for a very long time. There are two ocean currents that could have brought penguins to Africa. Neither goes further north than the equator so colonization would have occurred only in south west Africa.
The third or perhaps fourth intrusion onto the African continent was successful. Blackfooted Penguins live their today. They are related to other banded penguins found in South America and the Pacific. There is evidence that four other types of penguins once existed in Africa. These were analysed to see if they were related. Two of the four were sufficiently complete for this. They were found not to be related to Blackfooted penguins or to each other, so colonization happened many times.
They preferred Antarctica, South America and Australia living there for a very long time. There are two ocean currents that could have brought penguins to Africa. Neither goes further north than the equator so colonization would have occurred only in south west Africa.
The third or perhaps fourth intrusion onto the African continent was successful. Blackfooted Penguins live their today. They are related to other banded penguins found in South America and the Pacific. There is evidence that four other types of penguins once existed in Africa. These were analysed to see if they were related. Two of the four were sufficiently complete for this. They were found not to be related to Blackfooted penguins or to each other, so colonization happened many times.
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Science
Childcare Makes Men More Effeminate
Men become more effeminate after marriage. When men marry, particularly when they have children, the level of testosterone in men's bodies falls. Tests on Filipino men highlighted this phenomenon. It appears that the more men care for children, adopting female behavior, the lower their testosterone.
Research subjects were 21 years old on average. They were tested at the beginning and after 4 years. At the latter time 50 per cent were married. These married men had very high testosterone levels initially, which indicates that testosterone makes men more attractive as marriage partners.
Very low testosterone was found in married men with a child less than one month old. Males who cared directly for a child had 80 per cent of the testosterone level of men who left childcare to mothers.
Obviously behavior drives hormone level. This is a new discovery. If testosterone is affected by behavior it is possible that other hormones levels are determined by the way people act.
Research subjects were 21 years old on average. They were tested at the beginning and after 4 years. At the latter time 50 per cent were married. These married men had very high testosterone levels initially, which indicates that testosterone makes men more attractive as marriage partners.
Very low testosterone was found in married men with a child less than one month old. Males who cared directly for a child had 80 per cent of the testosterone level of men who left childcare to mothers.
Obviously behavior drives hormone level. This is a new discovery. If testosterone is affected by behavior it is possible that other hormones levels are determined by the way people act.
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Society
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