If you know me, you know I love TED Talks. This one is no different. It’s fascinating and quite educational.
A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script, damaged and broken, the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism. In this enthralling talk Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, traces 2600 years of Middle Eastern history through this single object.
So, I was reading an article on Daily Tech and I came across these really great prints by Shepard Fairey. I really would like to purchase them, but two of them are out of print and one of them is $35. I’m broke, so here’s a picture of them instead. My favorite is the one in the middle.
The phases through which chromosomes replicate, divide, shuffle, and recombine are imperfect, as DNA is subject to random mutations. Mutations do not always produce harmful outcomes. In fact, many mutations are thought to be neutral, and some even give rise to beneficial traits. To corroborate Darwin’s theory, scientists would need to find a valid explanation for why a chromosome pair is missing in humans that is present in apes.
Human chromosome 2 has two centromeres instead of one. It also has telomeres in the middle of the chromosome. This is unique to chromosome 2. Human chromosome 2 corresponds directly with chimpanzee chromosome 2p and 2q. This means that humans once had two chromosomes that fused, creating chromosome 2 after a major genetic change.
The logical conclusion is that there could not have been a literal Adam and Eve because they would have had to either be created with 24 chromosomes, with both Adam and Eve having improbable genetic changes shortly after they were created or they were created with chromosome 2 looking like it had been fused, which would be ridiculous on the part of a creator. Creationists would then have to agree that their creator created man to look like man was evolved, making man then believe in evolution. Either way, neither theory holds up to scrutiny.
Telomeric sequences are sequences that do not code for anything, rather they signify the end of coding. During replication, DNA polymerase will slightly cleave part of a coded sequence, fortunately, it will cleave part of the telomere sequence as to not damage part of the valuable code. Some people believe that the consumption of telomeres is what leads to aging. Apes have 24 chromosomes, and humans have 23. The second chromosome of the human is about twice the size of a standard chromosome, and also has double the amount of telomeric sequences than the typical chromosome. Some suggest that at some point during evolution, two chromosomes of the ape essentially fused. This is presenting evidence for that theory.
The general hypothesis today is that we interbred for a long period of time, but experiments in the early 20th century could not produce and viable hybrids, presumably because the two species have drifted too far to be a viable option. There have, however, been successful tests in mice.
You can read more herehere, and here. If you like videos, here are a few to help you better understand the science behind it all.
For the record, I am not a Biologist, and Evolutionary Biologist, Molecular Biologist, Geneticist, or any other kind of “ist.” Okay, technically I have a BA in Anthropology, so, theoretically, I could be called an Anthropologist, but I don’t consider myself one. If you want to learn and understand this stuff, go do it. Don’t rely on my limited knowledge in these fields, find out for yourself.
