Convergent evolution
Topic: Evolution

If it walks like a flamingo and looks like a flamingo, it is not necessarily a flamingo - or even a close relative. A controversial genetic study suggests we have completely misunderstood how the majority of birds are related, and that some species that look almost identical are not related at all.

The discovery comes from an analysis of the evolution of the bird gene beta-fibrinogen. It suggests that the Neoaves, a group that includes all modern bird species except waterfowl, landfowl and flightless birds, actually comprises two distinct lineages called the Metaves and Coronaves, and that many birds which look alike are not in the same lineage.

New Scientist article: here.

"...unlocking the vast unused power of the human brain."
Topic: Evolution
"The Japanese macaques raised in Atsushi Iriki's lab are not particularly gifted. But intriguingly, he expects them soon to be communicating with him vocally, using simple linguistic rules. This isn't just an elegant Dr Dolittle curiosity: it holds the real possibility of understanding autism in humans and unlocking the vast unused power of the human brain.

"Iriki, head of the laboratory for symbolic cognitive development at the Riken Brain Science Institute, says his experiment will tap into neural systems monkeys always had, but have never been activated. He hopes to learn something about monkey thought, but more dramatically, about how language emerged in humans -and what happens when it breaks down in autistic children, for example."

Guardian (UK) article here.

Human (bio) evolution walks hand in hand with behavioral/societal evolution.
Topic: Evolution
It appears that wealth was shuttled massively toward those who specialized in the perpetuation and regeneration of large‑scale social dynamics. Priests, for example, are specialists in social cohesion. The work of anthropologist Mary Douglas hints that religious rituals may be practice for the routines which pin together a society. Rituals inculcate obedience to authority, and act as calisthenics for the sort of simultaneous, coordinated activities--complete with selfless sacrifice-which make massive social structures tick... try thinking of it this way: civility is a set of habits, habits of cooperation and habits of self-restraint. To attain these civilized disciplines, one needs a strong prefrontal cortex-home of the executive functions that rein our more chaotic impulses in. One also needs practice-practice repeated nearly every day. Regular rehearsal keeps the habits of self-control vigorously alive. Religious rituals are calisthenics for the habits indispensable to large-scale social enterprise.

-- Howard Bloom, "Instant Evolution"

the slight chimps of Dover
Topic: Evolution
"DOVER, PA -- In the boldest strike against the teaching of evolution in more than a decade, the school board of this one-stoplight farming town has tilted its textbooks against virtually the entire scientific establishment - and brought home a lesson from this month's presidential election.

"By mandating that ninth-grade biology teachers include "intelligent design" in their instruction, board members set a precedent last month. Never before has a school district decided to offer intelligent design, which suggests that only the action of a higher intelligence can explain the complexities of evolution. Moreover, say observers, it is a sign of what's to come."

Christian Science Monitor article here.

Life's A Gas
Now Playing: "I Am Seeing UFOs" by Dee Dee and Joey
Topic: Evolution

"Some creators announce their inventions with grand eclat. God proclaimed, "Fiat lux," and then flooded his new universe with brightness. Others bring forth great discoveries in a modest guise, as did Charles Darwin in defining his new mechanism of evolutionary causality in 1859: 'I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection.'"

"Darwin himself strongly emphasized the multifactorial nature of evolutionary change and warned against too exclusive a reliance on natural selection, by placing the following statement in a maximally conspicuous place at the very end of his introduction: 'I am convinced that Natural Selection has been the most important, but not the exclusive, means of modification.'"

-- The Evolution Of Life by Stephen Jay Gould

"The human position is no longer tenable." - William S. Burroughs

"Did I get here on a rocket... did I come from another planet? I am seeing UFOs and I guess it's because I had a hard time out with you last night." -- Dee Dee Ramone

Grand Unified Theory of Everything In the Universe Including the Human Soul.
Topic: Evolution
"For those who worry that our ingenuity has upset nature's equilibrium, Bloom has a message that is both reassuring and sobering. 'We are nature incarnate,' he writes. 'We are tools of her probings and if, indeed, we suffer and we fail, from our lessons she will learn which way in the future not to turn.'" -- The New Yorker.

"I am speechless with admiration, overwhelmed by virtuosity." -- Walter J. Freeman, M.D. Walter J. Freeman Neurophysiology Lab, UC Berkeley, author How Brains Make Up Their Mind

In the coming weeks, months, and years, this website will present hors-d'ouevres, desserts, and solid meals for the mind, bits of brainfood harvested from author and mass-behavior expert Howard Bloom's Grand Unified Theory of Everything In the Universe Including the Human Soul.

A "God" Gene?
Topic: Evolution
"...Why is spirituality such a universal force? Why do people from all walks of life, regardless of their religious backgrounds, value spirituality as much as, or more than, pleasure, power and wealth?

"The answer is, at least in part, hard-wired into our genes. Spirituality is one of our basic human inheritances. It is, in short, an instinct -- rooted in a "God gene" folded deep in the intricate strands of our DNA.

"This may sound like a controversial assertion, but it reflects the startling advances of modern biology. The question of "Is there a God?" may be beyond science, but a deeper understanding of why we believe in God may be within our grasp."

(Charlotte Observer article here.)

Living Systems in Evolution
Topic: Evolution
by Elisabet Sahtouris

By lifting a few constraints upon our Western scientific world-view, we can expand it to include the larger cosmo-vision traditionally relegated to religions... Scientists, who have taken over from priesthoods to tell us `how things are' are urged to recognize the one alive, intelligent universe in which spirit and matter are not separable and in which creation is continuous. Religious leaders are urged to recognize the importance of the uniqueness in each religion's story, as well as in that of science, and the fundamental unity of All That Is. Only true communion with each other can lead us to a common understanding that we are co-creators at the leading edge of evolution, and to a common ethic that will bring renewed health to our species and others.

As an evolution biologist, my work and passion are looking at the evolving patterns of biological living systems in order to make sense of our present human affairs in a broad evolutionary context.

more here.