I thought we looked a lot alike

From Veronique Greenwood’s article called: “We Are All Princes, Paupers, and Part of the Human Family”:

But while genetics doesn’t reflect much of our imagined genealogical uniqueness, it’s shown that we’re more closely tied to our species as a whole than we might have realized. We’re all part of this enormous human fabric, full of fascinating tendencies and bizarre biochemistry. And research is revealing more and more about humanity as a whole and our incredibly beautiful, incredibly unlikely perch in the universe. That’s a tradition to be proud of.

And no, this doesn’t mean there was an Adam, an Eve or a talking snake.

Read more.

 

The first 10 minutes of the Moore EF5 Tornado (5/20/2013)

You have to go to youtube to watch this, but it’s worth taking a look.

 

We found what we were looking for: what TYWKIWDBI is posting

TYWKIWDBI is one of my favorite blogs.

Stan posts everything from science articles to unusual stories and photos.

Above is a post called: Here it is!

I’ll post a few more articles of interest for you to check out yourselves. Keep in mind, Tina and I are on a secret mission this weekend. I can’t wait to tell you about it.

• “Retronasal olfaction” – smelling food after it’s in the mouth

• You can see why it’s called a “bloodwood” tree

• Medical nipple tattoos vs. “titoos”

• Michele Bachmann channels Cotton Mather

 

 

He may not love you, but He sure is a super power in this universe

 

Let’s give a shoutout to science.

I’ll take your flower and raise you an Orchid Mantis … bitch

This is an Orchid Mantis.

Be in love and afraid … very, very in love and afraid.

Via Kottke. More here.

 

Go USA!!! Proof we are the greatest nation on the planet!

Where else on earth can children learn vital information to make the rest of the world mock them with great tenacity?

Well, right here in the good ol’ You Ess of Amazing … that’s where.

I mean, look at the above 4th grade test.

That is some doctorate-degree level schtuff!

America, where kids have the freedom to have their parents force them to learn absolute horseshit and stand proud and united because of it.

What? There’s more:

More here at Snopes.

Seen at JMG

 

Astronomical! Big dipper isn’t a constellation

 

Stan over at TYWKIWDBI has broken my heart.

Not since Pluto was downgraded from its planetary status has something depressed me this much.

Apparently the Big Dipper isn’t a constellation. It’s an “asterism.”

From his blog:

This grouping of stars is one of the few things that has likely been seen, and will be seen, by every generation. The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. Although part of the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major), the Big Dipper is an asterism that has been known by different names to different societies.

Find out more

Yes! Anti-vax mom changes her mind

From a mom who changed her mind about vaccinations:

That was, until she caught pertussis – which turns out to mean whooping cough. Which turns out to mean months of pain. It is a highly contagious disease that comes in stages, but that horrible, hacking cough that kept her up all night went on for so many weeks that she was prescribed an inhaler. She was past her first birthday, so unlikely to die of it, like newborns can, but it’s disgusting to watch your child needlessly suffer like that. My parents had to come to help us, and then we grownups all succumbed to the revolting condition too. Of course, having wanted to avoid filling her body with chemicals, I ended up giving her all the medicines I could find.

And yet I still wondered about that list of things that I would now, I suppose, have to surrender to and immunise my child against. Polio, for one – a couple of my parents’ pensioner friends still carry the limp left by their childhood polio, but none of my friends do, because it isn’t around any more. And diphtheria – what was that, even? I knew it had killed one of Queen Victoria’s daughters, but that wasn’t our reality.

Wow. Miracles do come true.

Read on

The divine loved you so much, he gave you spare set of teeth

Science explanations for bizarrities of nature are much more satisfying than religious ones.

And considering that each of us are made perfect in the sight of a divinity or each of us are prone to genetical issues, I’d much prefer to hear from science on this one.

The above condition is Hyperdontia or Supernumerary Teeth.

From this site:

The specific cause of the development of the extra teeth has not yet been established. But there are a number of theories that have been put across to explain their presence. Some theories say that these teeth might be present due to the division of the tooth bud in a way that is not normal while other theories blame the existence of the supernumerary teeth on the dental lamina hyperactivity. It is also believed that a person’s genetics has something to do with this condition because it is considered hereditary.

All life is related, and — for me at least — here’s another example.

Seen at TYWKIWDBI.

The evolution of soft robots … without sex organs

The smart kids in the room — you know who they are — put together a project showing the evolution of soft robots made from multiple materials.

About the project:

More videos: http://jeffclune.com/videos.html

Here we evolve the bodies of soft robots made of multiple materials (muscle, bone, & support tissue) to move quickly. Evolution produces a diverse array of fun, wacky, interesting, but ultimately functional soft robots. Enjoy!

This video accompanies the following paper: Unshackling Evolution: Evolving Soft Robots with Multiple Materials and a Powerful Generative Encoding. Cheney, MacCurdy, Clune, & Lipson. Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference. 2013.

PDF: http://jeffclune.com/publications/201…