Evolution Research - General Evolution News

From BBC News (UK): Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.

Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry (info - 2nd entry) of the London School of Economics (LSE) expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.

The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said - before a decline due to dependence on technology.

People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added. [Evolution, Science, Genetics, Sex, Theory]

Continued at: "Human species 'may split in two'"
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Oliver Curry also reviewed "Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox" (Amazon UK | US) edited by Hilary Rose and Steven Rose

Technorati: bbc, news, uk, humanity, split, two, sub, species, hg wells, evolutionary, oliver, curry, london, school, economics, lse, genetic, upper, class, underclass, human race, dependence, technology, sexual, partners, sub-species, evolution, science, genetics, sex, theory, rationality, adaptive, hilary, steven, rose

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 4:26 PM 0 comments

Edmonton - For the first time, researchers at the University of Alberta have been able to put a name and a description to an ancient mammal that still defies classification.

The findings, published recently in the Journal of Paleontology provide the first and only comprehensive account of the creature, named Horolodectes sunae, for the unusual shape of the crowns of the teeth. Horolodectes lived about 60 million years ago, soon after the dinosaurs went extinct, in a period known for its rapid diversification of small mammals. Based on careful examination of tooth and jaw fragments that have been unearthed over the past 30 years, the U of A researchers have now determined Horolodectes was a small fur-bearing animal that measured 10 centimetres in length and, due to its powerful jaws, likely had a strong bite.

..."It had sharp crests on the teeth which formed blades, indicating it was likely carnivorous," said Craig Scott (homepage), a PhD candidate and lead author of the study.

[Science, Evolution, Research, Palaeontology]

Continued at "Researchers give name to ancient mystery creature"
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Based on "Horolodectes Sunae, An Enigmatic Mammal From The Late Paleocene Of Alberta, Canada": Abstract - Full Text currently available from here (open access)

Books on Paleontology from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Technorati: ancient, mystery, creature, university, alberta, classification, journal, paleontology, crowns, teeth, dinosaurs, extinct, period, rapid, diversification, small, mammals, tooth, jaw, fragments, fur, animal, jaws, bite, crests, carnivorous, enigmatic, late, paleocene, canada, science, evolution, research, scott, craig, palaeontology

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 6:23 AM 0 comments

Researchers have discovered an isolated, self-sustaining, bacterial community living under extreme conditions almost two miles deep beneath the surface in a South African gold mine. It is the first microbial community demonstrated to be exclusively dependent on geologically produced sulfur and hydrogen and one of the few ecosystems found on Earth that does not depend on energy from the Sun in any way. The discovery, appearing in the October 20 issue of the journal Science, raises the possibility that similar bacteria could live beneath the surface of other worlds, such as Mars or Jupiter's moon Europa.

"These bacteria are truly unique, in the purest sense of the word," said lead author Li-Hung Lin (homepage), now at National Taiwan University, who performed many of the analyses as a doctoral student at Princeton and as a postdoctoral researcher at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory.

As Lin explained: "We know how isolated the bacteria have been because our analyses show that the water they live in is very old and hasn't been diluted by surface water. In addition, we found that the hydrocarbons in the local environment did not come from living organisms, as is usual, and that the source of the hydrogen (H2) needed for their respiration comes from the decomposition of water (H2O) by radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium."

Continued at "Otherworldly bacteria that use radiated water for food discovered two miles down"
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Based on "Long-Term Sustainability of a High-Energy, Low-Diversity Crustal Biome" (Abstract)

Featured Book: "Extremophiles: Microbial Life in Extreme Environments" (Amazon UK | US)

[Microbes, Evolution, Research, Extremophiles, Africa, Geology, Sulphur, Ecosystem]

Technorati: south african, sulfur, sulphur, hydrogen, ecosystems, earth, energy, sun, discovery, journal, science, bacteria, mars, jupiter, moon, europa, unique, taiwan, university, princeton, carnegie, water, hydrocarbons, environment, respiration, decomposition, radioactive, uranium, thorium, potassium, biome, microbes, evolution, research, extremophiles, geology, ecosystem, decay

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 6:40 PM 0 comments

From The Independent (UK):

Intro: The image of the old man on the 10 pound note is misleading. When Charles Darwin boarded 'HMS Beagle' in 1836 and made his now celebrated journey to the Galapagos, he was just 22 years old and poised to produce a diary as gripping as his scientific discoveries. As Darwin's complete works are put online, Richard Dawkins explains why he matters more than ever. And, overleaf, we publish extracts from the journals that transformed the way the world thinks about its origins.

Article by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion: Amazon UK | US) follows:

Charles Darwin (On the Origin of Species: UK | US) is surely one of the most admirable men that ever lived. The idea that he launched upon the world in 1859 is a prime candidate for the title of the greatest idea ever to occur to a human mind.

If we measure the power of a scientific theory as some sort of ratio of how much it explains divided by how much it needs to assume, the theory of natural selection surely stands alone. This is why it is so important to have his complete works available online, and free of charge.

See "Charles Darwin's Complete Works Go Online - Open Access!"

[Science, Evolution, Random Mutations, Voyage]

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 1:02 PM 0 comments

From National Geographic News: A fish that swam on an ancient barrier reef in Australia 380 million years ago had fins and nostrils remarkably similar to the limbs and ears of the first four-limbed creatures to walk on land, according to a new study.

Four-limbed land animals, also known as tetrapods, such as modern amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, evolved from lobed-finned fish.

That transition from water to land has long fascinated scientists, but the fossil record of how it occurred is still incomplete.

The new finding suggests that certain aspects of tetrapod ears and limbs can be traced much further back in "fishy looking" fish than had been previously known, says John Long, head of sciences at Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.

Continued at "Ancient Fish Fossil May Rewrite Story of Animal Evolution"
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Based on "An exceptional Devonian fish from Australia sheds light on tetrapod origins" (Abstract)

Featured Book: "Fossil Fish Found Alive: Discovering the Coelacanth" (Amazon UK | US)

Books on Paleontology from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 8:03 AM 0 comments

From BBC News UK: Charles Darwin's works go online - The complete works of one of history's greatest scientists, Charles Darwin, are being published online.

The project run by Cambridge University has digitised some 50,000 pages of text and 40,000 images of original publications - all of it searchable.

Surfers with MP3 players can even access downloadable audio files.

The resource is aimed at serious scholars, but can be used by anyone with an interest in Darwin and his theory on the evolution of life.

'The idea is to make these important works as accessible as possible; some people can only get at Darwin that way,' said Dr John van Wyhe, the project's director.

Continued at "Charles Darwin's works go online"
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"The Complete Works Of Charles Darwin Online" website is located at http://darwin-online.org.uk/:

WELCOME to the largest collection of Darwin's writings ever assembled. For a basic, non-academic, entryway click here. For a complete list click contents.

This site currently contains more than 50,000 searchable text pages and 40,000 images of both publications and handwritten manuscripts. There is also the most comprehensive Darwin bibliography ever published and the largest manuscript catalogue ever assembled. More than 150 ancillary texts are also included, ranging from secondary reference works to contemporary reviews, obituaries, published descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens and important related works for understanding Darwin's context.

Also repoted by The Washington Post: "Darwin Evolves on the Web"

[Science, Open Access, Webcast, Podcast, HMS]

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 6:24 AM 0 comments

Tokyo, Japan:

Intelligent Design - New scientific paradigm?

Intelligent Design (ID) theory claims that the complexity of life cannot be explained by Darwin's evolutionary theory, nor can the origin of life or the birth of the universe be elaborated by naturalism (a materialistic theory in science), that tries to explain them by a purely materialistic process. It proposes that they can be far better explained by assuming the involvement of an intelligent designer.

With heightened debate over the theory in 2005, numerous articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines. But many of these articles tend to be biased and, like the U.S. liberal media, label ID theory as 'creationism' or 'religious theory.'

These include, for example, a column entitled "Dangerous fundamentalism that threatens logic," which appeared in the September 2005 issue of the Japanese scientific journal Nikkei Science. An article entitled "Genes know everything," by Darwinist and Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins, appeared in Newsweek's January 4, 2006 issue, and an article entitled "Endless battle of evolution theory vs. creationism" appeared in the April 2006 issue of the Japanese monthly Chuo Koron. All these attempted to exclude ID from science based on a dogmatic belief in Darwinism. This series will elucidate how shortsighted these views are. [Evolution, Book]

Continued at "The challenge to Darwin's theory of evolution - Part 1"
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Part 2: "The ID movement's rapid growth"
Part 3: "Darwin's natural selection theory"

Featured book: "Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design" (Amazon UK | US)

Other books on Intelligent Design: UK | US

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 2:52 PM 0 comments

Richard Dawkins on Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report' (October 17th, 2006) discussing God, The God Delusion (Amazon UK | US), Creationism, and Intelligent Design:

[Video is working as of 29th October - please email if it stops!]

From the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science Newsletter:

What an interview it was!

Richard held his own and then some tonight on Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report.' Stephen began the segment by saying "My guest tonight is a scientist who believes there is no God. You know what, he'll have an eternity in hell to prove it."

Stephen Colbert contributed to "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" (Amazon UK | US)

Books on Creationism from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Books on Intelligent Design from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Books on 'Science and Religion' from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

[Evolution]

Technorati: richard dawkins, comedy, central, colbert, report, god, god delusion, creationism, intelligent design, richard, dawkins, foundation, reason, science, eternity, hell, evolution

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 11:14 AM 0 comments

Buffalo, New York - To celebrate the launching of the University at Buffalo's new graduate program in evolution, ecology and behavior, the founding departments in the College of Arts and Sciences are screening the film, 'Flock of Dodos,' and holding a roundtable discussion about intelligent design and science communication.

The screenings and the roundtable discussion will be held on November 2 and 3 at UB and Buffalo State College.

'Flock of Dodos,' an official selection of the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, is a serious and often humorous examination of the ongoing public argument between proponents and opponents of Intelligent Design.

Continued at "'Flock of Dodos' Events to Focus on Intelligent Design Controversy"
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More info and ABC News interview with clips from film (13 minutes)

Featured book: "Flock of Dodos: Behind Modern Creationism and Intelligent Design" (Amazon UK | US)

[Behaviour, Religion, ID, Video, Webcast, Podcast]

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 7:46 AM 0 comments

On Tuesday, October 17, the SETI Institute will unveil a new center to study life in the universe and a fund-raising strategy to counter NASA's proposed budget cuts for astrobiology research. From 10 to 11 a.m. at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, a distinguished panel of institute trustees and staff will announce the formation of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe. The center's activities will focus on astrobiology and be dedicated to the memory of planetary scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan. The panel will explain a new emphasis on fundraising from private sources to offset a proposed 50 percent budget cut by NASA for astrobiology research.

Continued at "SETI Institute Announces New Astrobiology Center - The Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe"
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Featured book: "SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Amazon UK | US)

[Science, Evolution]

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 9:06 PM 0 comments

Scientists at the Carnegie Institution and Pennsylvania State University have discovered evidence showing that microbes adapted to living with oxygen 2.72 billion years ago, at least 300 million years before the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere. The finding is the first concrete validation of a long-held hypothesis that oxygen was being produced and consumed by that time and that the transition to an oxygenated atmosphere was long term.

The results are published in the on-line early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), to appear the week of October 16th.

It is generally believed that before 2.4 billion years ago, Earth's atmosphere was essentially devoid of oxygen. Exactly when and how oxygen-producing photosynthesis evolved and began fueling the atmosphere with the gas that much of life depends on has been hotly debated for some time. Plants, algae, and cyano-bacteria (blue-green algae) emit oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis - the process by which sugar, essential for nutrition, is made from light, water, and carbon dioxide. [Science, Evolution, Archaea, Ecosystem, Discovery, Botany]

Continued at "Learning to live with oxygen on early Earth"
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Based on "Late Archean rise of aerobic microbial ecosystems" (Abstract)

Featured book: "Climate Modes of the Phanerozoic" (Amazon UK | US)

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 5:50 PM 0 comments

BBC Health News: The faces we pull when we are happy, sad or angry may be passed from generation to generation, according to researchers.

An Israeli team discovered facial expressions among family members bore striking similarities.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they said their findings suggested expressions may be hereditary.

This confirms an idea posed by Charles Darwin in 1872.

In his famous work, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Amazon UK | US), he suggested facial expressions were innate.

To test this, University of Haifa researchers analysed the facial expressions of 21 volunteers who had been blind from birth along with those of their relatives.

Continued at "Facial expressions 'hereditary'"
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Based on "Hereditary family signature of facial expression" (Abstract)

[Science, Evolution, Genetics, Israel]

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Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 11:16 AM 0 comments

First new fossil mammal from the Philippines in 50 years:

Chicago, Illinois - Almost 50 years ago, Michael Armas, a mining engineer from the central Philippines, discovered some fossils in a tunnel he was excavating while exploring for phosphate. Forty years later, Dr. Hamilcar Intengan, a friend of his who now lives in Chicago, recognized the importance of the bones and donated them to The Field Museum.

If not for the attention and foresight of these two individuals, science might never have documented what has turned out to be an extremely unusual species of dwarf water buffalo, now extinct.

The new species, described in the October issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, has been named Bubalus cebuensis (BOO-buh-luhs seh-boo-EN-sis) after the Philippine island of Cebu, where it was found. Its most distinctive feature is its small size. While large domestic water buffalo stand six feet at the shoulder and can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, B. cebuensis would have stood only two-and-one-half feet and weighed about 350 pounds.

B. cebuensis, which evolved from a large-sized continental ancestor to dwarf size in the oceanic Philippines, is the first well-supported example of 'island dwarfing' among cattle and their relatives.

"Natural selection can produce dramatic body-size changes. On islands where there is limited food and a small population, large mammals often evolve to much smaller size," said Darin Croft (homepage), lead author of the study and a professor of anatomy at Case Western Reserve University.

Continued at "Fossils: New dwarf buffalo discovered by chance in the Philippines"
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Based on "Fossil Remains of a New, Diminutive Bubalis (Artiodactyla:Bovidae:Bovini) from Cebu Island, Philippines" (Abstract)

Also see "A cross between a Dog and a Hare: New mammal discovery made by Case paleontologist"

Books on 'Mammals and Evolution' from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Books on Paleontology from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

[Island Rule, Palaeontology, Paleontology, Science, Evolution]

Technorati: fossil, philippines, fossils, phosphate, chicago, illinois, bones, field, museum, science, species, unusual, dwarf, water, buffalo, journal, mammalogy, island, cebu, small, ancestor, size, large, natural selection, mammals, darin, croft, anatomy, case, western, university, reserve, remains, discovery, island rule, palaeontology, paleontology, evolution, extinct

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 7:17 AM 0 comments

The latest 'Intelligent Design The Future' Webcast:

Use the small scrollbar to browse the archives and then click on the one you want. Allow time for the program to begin loading. If your browser does not show the embedded Player, or if you would like to read descriptions of the podcast entries, click here.

On this episode of ID The Future, Casey Luskin interviews CSC biologist Dr. Jonathan Wells about the intersection of science and religion, and the incompatibility of Darwinian evolution with religion. In his book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design (Amazon UK | US), Wells deals with Darwinism's war on traditional Christianity. According to Wells there is no inherent conflict between science and religion, and there is no conflict between evolution and religion when evolution is defined as simple change over time. The conflict is between Darwinian evolution, the idea that the origin of all living things are descended from a common ancestor by unguided, undirected processes such as random mutation acting on natural selection. Well's explains how this idea does not fit with traditional Christianity.

Listen to "Are Science and Religion Incompatible?" here (and view the archives).

[Center for Science and Culture, Creationism, Darwin, Podcast, Audio]

Technorati: intelligent design, future, podcast, audio, csc, jonathan, wells, science, religion, incompatible, darwinian, evolution, politically, incorrect, guide, war, traditional, christianity, change, time, conflict, darwin, origin, common, ancestor, random mutation, natural selection, archives, center, culture

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 11:05 PM 0 comments

Polish European Parliament deputy and biology professor, Maciej Giertych, is calling for an end to the monopoly of Darwinian theory in the teaching of evolution in schools:

'I am a scientist, I am a geneticist, my specialty is population genetics and I reject the theory of evolution on the basis of the field of science I represent. I find that in many fields of science there are scientists who reject the theory of evolution because in their fields they also find evidence against the theory.' says MEP Maciej Giertych.

For the past decades, biology classes in Poland and around the world have focused practically exclusively on Darwinian theory when tackling the subject of evolution. Prof. Giertych and his colleagues see room for reform in this respect.

'Schools are teaching evolution as a fact and there seems to be very little reference to new research that would either support or negate the theory of evolution. There is so much new evidence that is being simply ignored by the school textbooks.'

Continued at "Polish MEP calls for 'scholarly debate' on evolution"

There is an associated mp3 audio file.

Also see "Keep Darwin's 'lies' out of Polish schools: education official" (Posted Saturday, October 14, 2006)

[Radio Polonia, Webcast, Podcast]

Technorati: polish, european, parliament, deputy, biology, professor, giertych, maciej, monopoly, darwinian, theory, evolution, teaching, schools, population, genetics, science, mep, poland, research, school, textbooks, polish, mp3, audio, podcast, webcast, radio, polonia

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 4:01 PM 0 comments

Niles Eldredge (info) says the goal was merely to continue a series of New York exhibits on the world's great scientists. First came Leonardo da Vinci, then Albert Einstein. Why not Charles Darwin?

Somewhere along the way, a certain Pennsylvania school board decided that Darwin's theory of evolution had 'gaps' and 'problems,' and the ensuing media spotlight was brighter than any museum official could have hoped.

'In a sense, it was dumb luck,' says Eldredge.

'Darwin' drew a half-million visitors at New York's American Museum of Natural History, where Eldredge, the exhibit curator, is a celebrated paleontologist. Now the show, billed as the broadest ever devoted to the British scientist, is at the Franklin Institute.

Though preparations began before controversy erupted in Dover, Pa., the exhibit nevertheless devotes ample space to the debate.

Continued at "A theory's evolution: Franklin Institute's exhibition on Charles Darwin"
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Featured book: Niles Eldredge's "Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life" (Amazon UK | US)

[Science, Intelligent Design]

Technorati: niles eldredge, new york, exhibits, great, scientists, leonardo, da vinci, albert, einstein, charles darwin, pennsylvania, school, board, darwin, theory, evolution, media, spotlight, museum, eldredge, exhibit, curator, american, natural, history, show, british, franklin, institute, dover, evolution, science, intelligent design, debate

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 1:01 PM 0 comments

From George Mason University's History News Network: "Global warming," which may regionally include cooling, drying, humidification, or changes in the seasonality of winds and precipitation, is only one dynamic factor among many contributing to the constant flux of the biosphere. Another factor that will inevitably interact with any climate trend is the continuing redistribution of biota.

Organisms besides humans are affected by climate change, regardless of its causes. If average temperatures rise in the Arctic Ocean and the pack ice shrinks, polar bears and some seals lose habitat. If pack ice becomes rare enough, these animals will be at an ecological, and therefore evolutionary, disadvantage. They might even "blink out" altogether."

... As exemplified by the polar bears, climate change puts the existing biota of any set "place" on the map at mounting risk of being selected against. As prevailing conditions change, adaptations that once promoted survival become irrelevant or even disadvantageous. As far as polar bears are concerned, once the ice melts, "there is no 'there,' there." When abiotic factors shift, biotic ones must shift as well. When it happens too quickly for evolutionary adjustments to occur within populations, other populations - outside populations - better equipped to meet the new challenges may take advantage of the opportunity.

Written by Matt Chew (info - 2nd entry) of Arizona State University and continued at "Global Warming: Life as We'll Know It"

[Ecology, Extinction, Environment, Evolution, Science, Biology]
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See "The End of Eden: Gaia and James Lovelock*" at the Washington Post.

Featured book: "Global Warming: The Complete Briefing" (Amazon UK | US)

(*James Lovelock's latest book, "The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity" is currently appearing on the 'Featured Books' page of the Evolution Book Store: UK | US - or go directly to the Amazon book webpage: UK | US).

Books on Global Warming from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Technorati: university, global warming, changes, biosphere, climate, biota, organisms, humans, arctic, ocean, pack, ice, polar, bears, seals, habitat, evolutionary, climate change, adaptations, survival, shift, populations, arizona, state, life, end, eden, james, lovelock, gaia, washington post, revenge, earth, ecology, extinction, evolution, science, biology

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 6:53 AM 0 comments

Running time: 10 minutes.

If the video player doesn't appear you can watch the video here.

Also see "Richard Dawkins and Nobel Prize Winners on 'Science Friday' (Webcast)" (Posted Friday, October 06, 2006):

In his new book "The God Delusion" (Amazon UK | US) evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins says fundamentalist religion "subverts science and saps the intellect." Join guest host Joe Palca in this hour of Science Friday for a chat with Dawkins on religion, the teaching of evolution and creationism in science class, and his call for atheists to "out" themselves.

Books on 'Science and Religion' from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

[BBC News interview with Huw Edwards: Atheism, Podcast, Webcast]

Books on Creationism from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Books on Intelligent Design from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Books on 'Science and Religion' from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US

Technorati: video, player, richard dawkins, nobel, prize, winners, science, friday, god, delusion, amazon, us, uk, dawkins, religion, intellect, evolution, creationism, class, bbc, news, interview, huw, edwards, atheism

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 6:42 PM 0 comments

Mitochondrial DNA may not hold the key to your origins after all.

A study published in the open access journal BMC Biology reveals that fewer than 10% of African American mitochondrial DNA sequences analysed can be matched to mitochondrial DNA from one single African ethnic group. There has been a growing interest in the use of mitochondrial DNA to trace maternal ancestries, and several companies now offer to analyse individuals' mitochondrial DNA sequences to obtain information about their origins. The current study suggests that only one in nine African Americans may be able to find clues about where their ancestors came from, in their mitochondrial DNA.

Bert Ely from the University of North Carolina, and colleagues from other Universities in the USA analysed a database of the human variable region, or HVS-1 region, of mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences from sub-Saharan Africa. [Science, Genetics, Mitochondria, mtDNA, Sahara]

Ely et al.'s results show that more than half of the African American HSV-1 sequences were found in many different sub-Saharan ethnic groups. Forty percent of the African American HSV-1 sequences did not match any sequences in the database and fewer than 10% were an exact match to a sequence from a single African ethnic group.

Source: BioMed Central

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Based on:

African-American mitochondrial DNAs often match mtDNAs found in multiple African ethnic groups

Bert Ely, Jamie Lee Wilson, Fatimah Jackson and Bruce A Jackson

BMC Biology 2006, 4:34
doi:10.1186/1741-7007-4-34

Abstract

Background

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes have become popular tools for tracing maternal ancestry, and several companies offer this service to the general public. Numerous studies have demonstrated that human mtDNA haplotypes can be used with confidence to identify the continent where the haplotype originated. Ideally, mtDNA haplotypes could also be used to identify a particular country or ethnic group from which the maternal ancestor emanated. However, the geographic distribution of mtDNA haplotypes is greatly influenced by the movement of both individuals and population groups. Consequently, common mtDNA haplotypes are shared among multiple ethnic groups. We have studied the distribution of mtDNA haplotypes among West African ethnic groups to determine how often mtDNA haplotypes can be used to reconnect Americans of African descent to a country or ethnic group of a maternal African ancestor. The nucleotide sequence of the mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVS-I) usually provides sufficient information to assign a particular mtDNA to the proper haplogroup, and it contains most of the variation that is available to distinguish a particular mtDNA haplotype from closely related haplotypes. In this study, samples of general African-American and specific Gullah/Geechee HVS-I haplotypes were compared with two databases of HVS-I haplotypes from sub-Saharan Africa, and the incidence of perfect matches recorded for each sample.

Results

When two independent African-American samples were analyzed, more than half of the sampled HVS-I mtDNA haplotypes exactly matched common haplotypes that were shared among multiple African ethnic groups. Another 40% did not match any sequence in the database, and fewer than 10% were an exact match to a sequence from a single African ethnic group. Differences in the regional distribution of haplotypes were observed in the African database, and the African-American haplotypes were more likely to match haplotypes found in ethnic groups from West or West Central Africa than those found in eastern or southern Africa. Fewer than 14% of the African-American mtDNA sequences matched sequences from only West Africa or only West Central Africa.

Conclusion

Our database of sub-Saharan mtDNA sequences includes the most common haplotypes that are shared among ethnic groups from multiple regions of Africa. These common haplotypes have been found in half of all sub-Saharan Africans. More than 60% of the remaining haplotypes differ from the common haplotypes at a single nucleotide position in the HVS-I region, and they are likely to occur at varying frequencies within sub-Saharan Africa. However, the finding that 40% of the African-American mtDNAs analyzed had no match in the database indicates that only a small fraction of the total number of African haplotypes has been identified. In addition, the finding that fewer than 10% of African-American mtDNAs matched mtDNA sequences from a single African region suggests that few African Americans might be able to trace their mtDNA lineages to a particular region of Africa, and even fewer will be able to trace their mtDNA to a single ethnic group. However, no firm conclusions should be made until a much larger database is available. It is clear, however, that when identical mtDNA haplotypes are shared among many ethnic groups from different parts of Africa, it is impossible to determine which single ethnic group was the source of a particular maternal ancestor based on the mtDNA sequence.

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