"Do you want this mouse master, or shall I take it outside?"
We Would not Be Here if Dinosaurs had not Existed
If an asteroid hadn't collided with the Earth 65 million years ago we would not be here today. Reptiles would still probably rule the world and apes would never have evolved. There was so much devastation after the impact that only small animals survived - very small mammals. These small creatures only came out into the open to take over the world when it was safe after the dinosaurs had gone.
Mankind's development actually depended on the dinosaurs existence. Small animals evolved to give birth to live young so dinosaurs could not eat their eggs. Even giving milk to their young was to avoid the danger from dinosaurs. Becoming warm blooded allowed them to hunt at night which dinosaurs could not do.
After the dust had settle it was a virtual paradise for mammals. The sun came out and they basked in it. A niche for large animals was vacant so mammals grew large and were successful. The climate changed and trees disappeared. Large mammals grazed happily until an intelligent ape began hunting them. Then large mammals died out and these apes, men, bred and spread all round the globe. Unfortunately, this "intelligent" animal is now threatening small mammal with extinction.
Mankind's development actually depended on the dinosaurs existence. Small animals evolved to give birth to live young so dinosaurs could not eat their eggs. Even giving milk to their young was to avoid the danger from dinosaurs. Becoming warm blooded allowed them to hunt at night which dinosaurs could not do.
After the dust had settle it was a virtual paradise for mammals. The sun came out and they basked in it. A niche for large animals was vacant so mammals grew large and were successful. The climate changed and trees disappeared. Large mammals grazed happily until an intelligent ape began hunting them. Then large mammals died out and these apes, men, bred and spread all round the globe. Unfortunately, this "intelligent" animal is now threatening small mammal with extinction.
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Paleontology
Taking Marijuana and Driving Could Be Safe?
If you drink alcohol your ability to drive a motor vehicle is definitely negatively affected. What about other drugs though? A US attorney Matt Abel claims that "stoned" drivers were much safer than those who did not use marijuana. The attorney is leading a petition calling for the decriminalization for people 21 and over.
He cites research studies that show marijuana affected drivers moved more slowly. Their body actions were slow. This, he claims makes them safer drivers. If a driver has another car speeding toward him from the rear, he would prefer that the other driver had extremely fast reflexes, not slow ones.
Some research has found that some marijuana smokers performed as well as they did without the substance, but there was no improvement. Most studies, however, show clear negative affects on driving from marijuana intoxication. In Australia marijuana smokers were most likely to be at fault in motor vehicle accidents. Like alcohol the more marijuana consumed the worse you drive.
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Society
Baboons Can Recognize words
It was thought that monkeys and chimpanzees were unable to use language as humans do because they do not have the required language centers in their brains. Tests on baboons turned this theory on its head. Monkeys learned the rules of words, for example consonants and vowels, so they could recognize real words in a bundle of made up nonsense.
Humans must first build up words from letters before they get meaning. We need to construct words as if they were tables and chairs, from the legs up.
Baboons were tested by encouraging them to "play" with computers. When they selected a real word they got wheat as a reward. Each computer had a cross and a circle so the baboons could show words and non-words by pressing either symbol. The words were only four uppercase letters long, but each baboon did up to 60,000 tests and they were 75 per cent correct. The best baboon learned 308 words
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Science
Search for Smart Genes
It seems the level of intelligence is determined by a few genes. This must surely be too simplistic, particularly because specialists cannot agree on what intelligence is. How do you compare memorizing general knowledge to the skill of knitting a fine jumper? There are people who know just about everything about Australian rugby league, but this is their only area of expertise.
Finding will be made easier, apparently, by questioning the crowd rather that by brain scans, etc. It is believed that the sought after genes affect brain size. Considering that Neanderthals had larger brains than modern man, this seems to be the wrong hypothesis to start with.
While "the team" is sure they will find the genes they do admit that culture, education, health and upbringing can affect intelligence. How are they going to filter these things out? Obviously they can't. Twenty one thousand subjects were catalogued and brain imaging was used. Strangely, when the team was reaching its conclusions they discovered that another group was doing the same research with more people. Now that is clever.
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Society
Yowie Takes a Dog in Darwin
Australia's Bigfoot, the Yowie, has been causing problems. It seems it has taken and killed a dog. This has happened in Darwin. The owner of the seven-month old puppy says the head was ripped from its body. At first he thought it was done by dingoes. But a researcher, Andrew McGinn, says it was done by a hairy ape-like beast, a Yowie.
Goat owners in this area have seen their animals decapitated by a tall hairy creature for a hundred years, he says. It is a typical Yowie kill. A local woman saw a hairy humanoid in August 1997. Photographs of footprints were taken the next day.
If the Australian Yowie exists it is certainly very secretive. For hundreds of year there have been sightings. Yet no real evidence has been left, apart from footprints which can be made by anyone.
Goat owners in this area have seen their animals decapitated by a tall hairy creature for a hundred years, he says. It is a typical Yowie kill. A local woman saw a hairy humanoid in August 1997. Photographs of footprints were taken the next day.
If the Australian Yowie exists it is certainly very secretive. For hundreds of year there have been sightings. Yet no real evidence has been left, apart from footprints which can be made by anyone.
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Society
Felons With Guns Are Percieved as Being Larger
Though widely accepted in law courts it is well known that witness evidence is suspect. Even victims in many cases get it wrong. A querk in humans beings is the ability to identify members of one's own race, for the most part, but the noticable inability to recognize people of other races. The phrase "you all look alike" is relevant here.
What people see can be distorted by a felon carrying a weapon. Human perception is still based on how our ancestors saw danger. An opponent carrying a weapon was more dangerous so was perceived as being big and strong.
A current study shows that a witness describing someone with a gun said the gun carrier was larger and taller than he/she actually was. This brings into question prevailing theories on memory. Could a person be seen as being bigger if more aggression was shown without a weapon?
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Society
Society and High Intelligence Go Together
We have large brains due to social interaction. In early societies culture meant things had to be remembered. Another important function leading to large brains was tools use, though chimpanzees use tools. The most intelligent people would inevitably become leaders and have the choice of mates, thus passing on their genes.
Intelligence and brain size are of course interdependent. Animals such as dolphins and elephants have social structures. They are also very intelligent. Higher intelligence appears to be naturally selected for in any species.
Apparently, when society develops intelligence must increase otherwise an individual will be "put upon" by the smarter ones. There is some evidence that really clever individuals tend to be disruptive to a society. The naive are certainly at a disadvantage.
A thorn in the side of the above theory is that some highly structured societies are composed of small creatures with tiny brains. Ants, bees and wasps are in this category.
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Society
Cane Toads Are Killing off Saltwater Crocodiles
You Don't have to be big to kill a crocodile. A small imported pest can kill one. Cane toads are in plague proportions in the Northern Territory.
Cane toads have poisonous sacks on their heads. When a saltwater crocodile eats one assuming it to be a tasty snack the crocodile ingests the poison and dies.
The problem is so serious that the population has fallen by half in some areas. Because the species takes a long time to breed up numbers, the crocodiles could become very scarce in some regions.
Introducing cane toads was a great mistake by Australian scientists. They were brought in to combat beetles destroying sugar crops in 1935. But the toads ignored the beetles and now threaten many native species by eating what they eat. To travel faster around the country some toads have developed larger hind legs to cover a greater distance before the sun goes down.
Cane toads have poisonous sacks on their heads. When a saltwater crocodile eats one assuming it to be a tasty snack the crocodile ingests the poison and dies.
The problem is so serious that the population has fallen by half in some areas. Because the species takes a long time to breed up numbers, the crocodiles could become very scarce in some regions.
Introducing cane toads was a great mistake by Australian scientists. They were brought in to combat beetles destroying sugar crops in 1935. But the toads ignored the beetles and now threaten many native species by eating what they eat. To travel faster around the country some toads have developed larger hind legs to cover a greater distance before the sun goes down.
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Society
Man Tortures Kangaroo
Culling an animal species is acceptable but cruelty is not. The exact population of kangaroos in unknown. There are at least as many as there are people in Australia.
Culling involves a direct gunshot to the head. Using your car as a weapon to run over a kangaroo, then kicking it to death is definitely not on.
Nigel Franks went even further: he dragged the carcass two kilometers along the road with a rope attached to his car. A woman found the dead animal in the high street of a town.
In court the defendant was told he was in serious trouble. He had already broken the law before, not complying to a community order. He has to return to court on June 4 to find out what his sentence will be.
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Culling involves a direct gunshot to the head. Using your car as a weapon to run over a kangaroo, then kicking it to death is definitely not on.
Nigel Franks went even further: he dragged the carcass two kilometers along the road with a rope attached to his car. A woman found the dead animal in the high street of a town.
In court the defendant was told he was in serious trouble. He had already broken the law before, not complying to a community order. He has to return to court on June 4 to find out what his sentence will be.
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Law
Housing Not Affordable for the Young
The concept of building one and two bedroom houses instead of the traditional three and four bedroom homes seems doomed to failure. More adult children than ever are going back home to live with their parents. A single person simply cannot earn enough to get a loan for a house. If you are a labourer or a TAFE trained worker this is increasingly the case. As many as 70 per cent of people aged under 35 cannot buy a home of their own.
While specialists say tax incentives are needed to enable young people to buy, this is not the problem. Australia will have a housing shortage for decades because there are not enough qualified builders in outback Australia. This is particularly the case in booming Western Australia with mineral companies being forced to have accommodation built at great cost.
Giving the young tax breaks and just giving them handouts is not a solution. It is a bottom up issue not a top down problem. Getting trades persons from other countries will not make any difference either. Countries have unique building codes. For example, in the UK houses are built in double brick where the two walls hold up the roof. In the US they built much larger houses. In Australia brick veneer is the norm where timber holds up the roof and bricks are just decoration.
The next Australian government will probably be Liberal/National. They will not be inclined to give handouts. Moreover, with the push toward a balanced budget next year the current Labor government has no money to spare.
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~~~~~Society~~~~~
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