"I'm going to find out all I can about these pesky cats."
Academic Papers Could Soon Be Publicly Available
The era of academic journals being closed off from the general public by financial barriers is coming to an end. Publishers are terrified by this. It means they will have to get funding from other sources rather than annual subscriptions. There will be a time limit placed on articles, so after a short period they will have to be released so everyone can read them.
This move is being put forward by the UK government. It is pushing for open access from the very beginning of publication. Unfortunately, the government intends to make authors pay publishers. This is unrealistic. Admittedly, university lecturers are in a secure financial position. However, scientists find it difficult to get funding and allocating part of income on publication is another financial burden.
Universities are saying that the government is looking after publishers, protecting their income while passing the cost onto educational institutions. Martin Hall says we must move forward to get full funding in advance. Unfortunately, he does say how this money is to be obtained. UK researchers are planning to offer some work for free while saving their best for payment from journal publishers. This is too much like the present where only 5 per cent of articles are in gold open access.
This does look bleak for publishers who will steadily "go to the wall", and Universities who will pay either way. If most articles are going to be free, then the cost of the fewer "advanced" papers will cost much more. Governments will ultimately pay for the cost as the institutions are largely public bodies. In the current economic climate this cannot be sustained.
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Science
Crocodile Hunting Safaris Could Go Ahead in the Northern Territory
Crocodile safaris in Australia could soon be established - take a trip to Australia and go hunting. Saltwater crocodiles are carefully managed to assure their survival, so hunting will not seriously affect their numbers. Indeed, present numbers are at an all-time high.
If the Federal government agrees to safaris, money will flood into the Northern Territory providing jobs for Aboriginals. The Northern Territory government is in favor of it. Initially, it is intended for 50 crocodiles to be hunted over a two year period. This is very low and there will be strong demand from overseas visitors to hunt more.
The Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) claims that killing crocodiles with guns is a skilled job. Ordinary people with guns will botch up the kill and crocodiles will suffer. The Northern Territory environment minister, Karl Hampton counters this by saying wild pigs and Buffalo are already efficiently killed by hunters. Any crocodile safaris will be regulated under the Animal Welfare Act.
Crocodile numbers in Australia are topping 150,000. Two people die every year as they walk along river banks or swim. Protection of the seven meter long animals has been ongoing since the 1970s.
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Tourism
Neanderthals and Humans Could Have Fertile Offspring
The presumption that humans and Neanderthals interbred is gaining ground among scientists, despite the two lines having a different number of chromosomes (this is not yet absolutely proven to be scientific fact). Horses and donkeys interbreed to produce mules. Occasionally a few of these mules are fertile and can have offspring, so a different number of chromosomes is not an absolute barrier.
Neanderthal DNA is present in humans. However, there is no mitochondrial DNA: this is passed along the line of the mother. Visual evidence of interbreeding can be observed. Tatjana Schmidt-Derstroff noted decades ago that there are two types of Australian Aboriginals, desert living long-legged gracillis and coastal living muscular robustus. Both are dark skinned. Robustus carry a red/blond haired gene (not passed on by shipwrecked European sailors). The more muscular type is roughly similar in features to Neanderthals. For the most part these two different kinds of Aboriginal remained separate, though some interbreeding did occur. Today, most Aboriginals have part European ancestry.
Tatjana Schmidt-Derstroff is happy with the hypothesis that humans and Neanderthals had fertile offspring, along the male line of course. This would engender a male Neanderthal mating with a female human. With male offspring passing on respective genes. Ms Schmidt-Derstroff also holds that the major leap from Neanderthal to human is about to take place again to modern space-travelling humans. Well, this change is already taking place as people move to new countries and different "races" interbreed to create a new tan colored human.
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Anthropology
Monkey Overeat Like Humans but the Animals Do Not Get Fat
Monkeys, like humans, overeat. Monkeys gorge themselves on low protein fruit. Extremely large quantities are ingested which could lead to an increase in body fat. Food intake for monkeys is tied to the level of protein in food. If food has a high protein level they will eat less of it before feeling full.
Shoots and leaves have a high protein level. So they eat less of these to obtain their daily intake of 12 grams of protein. The reason that eating fruit does not make them fat is that it takes a lot of energy to obtain the fruit.
In Western countries we seek high carbohydrate food because we are trying to satisfy our craving for protein. The conclusion has been reached by scientists that human obesity began 40,000 years ago when people substituted meat with crude bread made out of wild grain. Humans have become fatter as easier ways of harvesting grains have developed.
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Evolution
Cave Art in Spain Was Made by Neanderthals
It was believed that early humans painted the cave art in Europe. Scientists are leaning toward associating this art with Neanderthals. The old theory surmised that humans created cave art soon after they moved into Europe from Africa.
New tests show the paintings are older than first thought. They are now known to go back 41,000 years. This puts them clearly in the era of Neanderthals. Art was not a sudden achievement. It developed slowly over tens of thousands of years.
The age of cave paintings was established by U-series dating. Samples of calcite that directly covered the paintings were taken. Paintings in El Castilo Spain were dated specifically to 40,800 years ago. Art in other Spanish caves were pushed back in time from 17,000 to 35,000 years. At this time humans were new to Europe but Neanderthals had been for there much longer. Early jewelry and use of ochre were part of Neanderthal culture.
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Anthropology
More Support for Euthanasia
Hopes rise for the right to die as the world population ages. Opponents, generally based on a fixed belief system about the afterlife, fight on to stop it. Despite greater tolerance in Western countries toward religious belief, strongly religious people continue to force their views on others. Everyone is entitled to follow some form of religion, established or otherwise. The right to choose when and how to die, as well as abortion will always be areas of contention.
As the proportion of elderly people in the world population increases, a point will be reached where there will not be sufficient resources to look after them. Euthanasia will then be seen as a potential option. In the bible it is said: "Though shalt not kill". Nowhere does it say: "Though shalt not take one's own life". The problem should not be fought on religious grounds.
The new French President has said he supports euthanasia "under strict conditions". Politicians in other countries are waiting for one 'mainstream' government to bring it into law. Then the floodgate will open. Germany will probably follow France. With half of all medical costs being spent on the last six months of life, clearly some change has to be made. More and more people are flying into Switzerland to end their lives in a way that they chose, with little impact on others. Even close relatives are in favor of it because it reduces suffering.
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Society
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