Monday, June 12
First Branch on the Tree of Life
Scientists have discovered which animal was the first to branch off from our collective common ancestor.
For years, debate had raged over whether the first to diverge was the sea sponge or the comb jelly.
Thanks to new chromosomal analysis techniques, we finally have an answer.
All animals on Earth share a common ancestor. Trace back the history of any creature from humans to slugs, and you’ll eventually be able to follow all of the branches on the animal tree of life back to its trunk.
But that trunk had to branch off at some point, or we wouldn’t have all of today’s animals. And that first split has been a bit elusive to scientists, due to it taking place around 600 million years ago.
We know a few things, though. Namely, we know that the first split resulted in the birth of two creatures—the ancestor of almost all animals, and the “sister” to that ancestor. That sister is the ancestor of just one group of modern-day animals.
For decades, scientists have debated which group of animals traces its lineage back to the “sister” of literally all other animals. They had two contenders for a long time—sea sponges and comb jellies. READ MORE...
All animals on Earth share a common ancestor. Trace back the history of any creature from humans to slugs, and you’ll eventually be able to follow all of the branches on the animal tree of life back to its trunk.
But that trunk had to branch off at some point, or we wouldn’t have all of today’s animals. And that first split has been a bit elusive to scientists, due to it taking place around 600 million years ago.
We know a few things, though. Namely, we know that the first split resulted in the birth of two creatures—the ancestor of almost all animals, and the “sister” to that ancestor. That sister is the ancestor of just one group of modern-day animals.
For decades, scientists have debated which group of animals traces its lineage back to the “sister” of literally all other animals. They had two contenders for a long time—sea sponges and comb jellies. READ MORE...
Transformation of America
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - is a huge problem especially since these migrants are violating the rule of law with how they enter the country. But, they will not be staying at my house, nor will many of them want to live in East Tennessee because the state is basically conservative and very few liberals live here.
INFLATION - is another huge problem but my wife and I don't live high on the hog so there is no real impact on our finances. If it costs us more to do some of the extra things we want to do, we will just do less... I am 75 and she is 70 and there is really not that many places we want to visit, outside of Myrtle Beach.
NATIONAL DEBT - is also a huge problem but not for me nor my wife nor our children... however, their children will pay the price for all the money that is being spent today.
WOKE/CRT/BLM/REPARATIONS - is really more of a joke than it is a serious movement because 12% of the US population is trying to tell the other 88% how the BLACKS should be treated as a result of slavery taking place here.
NOTE: one of the comments that I really like from East Tennessee is the following: THE SUN DON'T SHINE ON THE SAME DOG'S ASS EVERYDAY...
Sooner or later the other 88% is going to wonder why 12% is telling them what to do... and, when that happens, shit really will hit the fan.
TRANS-INDIVIDUALS - is a minor problem that less than 1% of the population want to turn into a big deal. If women want to be males and males want to be females.... hell fire... let them do what they want to do. Personally, I don't want to have anything to do with them and if something happens where I have to deal with one, I will simply leave. And, they can screw all their pronouns in the process.
What amazes me is that China is growing in strength and power while we are trying to recruit trans people into the military. I cannot imagine being in a firefight with a trans, and I am thankful that I will never have that experience.
When China takes over our economy, the BLACKS and the TRANS can complain to their new leaders...
However, AI/Robots will be replacing most jobs soon, so it will not really matter what these minorities think as they will be unemployed...
Space Based Power
Sci-Fi fans and futurists have long envisioned a mechanism that would capture solar power from space, focus it and transmit it to earth as a way of providing more efficient energy for humanity.
There are many theoretical potential benefits of this if it can be made to work, including less pollution and no fear that the source of power will ever run out.
With the right architecture, space based energy transmitted like this could also make access to energy available with little or no infrastructure. Just set up a device in your yard and there is your power.
How might this work? The video here from Dr. Ali Hajimiri, Caltech Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering and Co-Director of the Space-Based Solar Power Project, explains how:
How might this work? The video here from Dr. Ali Hajimiri, Caltech Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering and Co-Director of the Space-Based Solar Power Project, explains how:
Sunday, June 11
Living With Medical Issues
2008 - Triple bypass type heart attack (5 stents inserted into left side arteries)
2010 - Diagnosed with Melanoma (surgically removed)
2015 - Melanoma returns
2018 - Radiation treatment
2022 - L2-L3-L4-L5-S1 vertebra fused
2023 - Lymphoma starts growing again
Cancer Treatments have included:
- Surgery
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Over 150 infusions
- Over 50 CT and/or PET scans
Living with Cancer and Treatments causes:
- Extreme fatigue (daily)
- Anemia
- No immunity
- Constant nausea (at least weekly)
- Loss of appetite
- Breathing issues
- Thyroid issues
- Negative impact on other organs
My eyesight is worsening
My hearing is worsening
My teeth are worsening
However, there is no direct correlation between cancer treatments and those three areas worsening...
During my over 14 years of treatment, I have never lost my hair, but I have been extremely sick with some of my toxin infusions that caused me to spend the night in the ER.
I am not too worried about my lymphoma growing as there are so many new ways to attack lymphoma that my Oncologist has many tools in his tool box with which to play.
Signals From the Milky Way
Could intelligent aliens be lurking at the heart of the Milky Way?
A new search for extraterrestrial life aims to find out by listening for radio pulses from the center of our galaxy. Narrow-frequency pulses are naturally emitted by stars called pulsars, but they're also used deliberately by humans in technology such as radar.
Because these pulses stand out against the background radio noise of space, they're an effective way of communicating across long distances — and an appealing target to listen for when searching for alien civilizations.
Scientists described the alien-hunting strategy in a new study, published May 30 in The Astronomical Journal. Researchers led by Cornell University graduate student Akshay Suresh developed software to detect these repetitive frequency patterns and tested it on known pulsars to be sure it could pick up the narrow frequencies.
Scientists described the alien-hunting strategy in a new study, published May 30 in The Astronomical Journal. Researchers led by Cornell University graduate student Akshay Suresh developed software to detect these repetitive frequency patterns and tested it on known pulsars to be sure it could pick up the narrow frequencies.
These frequency ranges are very small, at about a tenth of the width of frequencies used by a typical FM radio station. The researchers then searched data from the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia using the method. READ MORE...
Saturday, June 10
Weighing the Odds
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted TWICE by Democratic DAs who would not have indicted fellow Democrats who had done the same thing. The Democrats have weaponized the DOJ and that is setting a dangerous precedent...
In all likelihood, since indictments or even criminal charges do not prevent a candidate from running for President, there is a good chance that Trump will win because of this foolishness.
Arrogant Biden believes that since he beat Trump once he can beat him again. That belief is misguided because of his age, his lack of accomplishments, inflation, immigration, a poor economy, and the fear that Kamala Harris might become the President.
Should Trump win, it will be GOOD for the US on the economy, return to oil, and with international countries but it will be BAD domestically where the division and hatred will just escalate.
INSTEAD, what I wish would happen is that Trump bow out of the race, and take legal action against the DOJ, the FBI, the mainstream media, and a corrupt Biden (along with his son) who has yet to be completely exposed.
Trump needs to fix our corrupt government and he just might be in a better position to do that as a former President than as a President.
Steven Wright One-Liners
This is not Steven Wright
If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the famous erudite (comic) scientist who once said: "I woke up one morning, and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates."
His mind sees things differently than most of us do. Here are some of his gems:
1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you have got to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend... But she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked
something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever... So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn
louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name.
25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is
research.
30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on
it.
33 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.
34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
And the all-time favorite:
35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?
Orange Tooth Rodent Invades
Over the last few decades, a new invasive species has moved into the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported.
Populations of nutria are spreading across a growing portion of the U.S. Many states are taking steps to eliminate the animal before it destroys local wetlands, but some, like Louisiana, are already overrun.
What are nutria?
The nutria is a large, semi-aquatic rodent with orange teeth native to South America that was brought to the United States in 1889 for its fur, according to the National Invasive Species Information Center. It is also referred to as a coypu, coypu rat, nutria rat, or swamp beaver.
While nutria may look cuddly from a distance, they usually weigh in at around 11-22 pounds (and are often more than 20 pounds), making most heavier than the average healthy housecat — and nutria can eat a quarter of their body weight in a day.
Since nutria have few natural predators in the U.S. and can reproduce year-round, nutria populations can multiply quickly. Though most live less than three years in the wild, some live longer, and a female nutria can birth up to 200 babies during a short lifespan. READ MORE...
Friday, June 9
Oldest Burial Site in the World Not Filled with Humans
Paleontologists in South Africa said Monday they have found the oldest known burial site in the world, containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behavior.
Led by renowned palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger, researchers said they discovered several specimens of Homo naledi – a tree-climbing, Stone Age hominid – buried about 30 meters (100 feet) underground in a cave system within the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO world heritage site near Johannesburg.
"These are the most ancient interments yet recorded in the hominin record, earlier than evidence of Homo sapiens interments by at least 100,000 years," the scientists wrote in a series of yet to be peer-reviewed and preprint papers to be published in eLife.
The findings challenge the current understanding of human evolution, as it is normally held that the development of bigger brains allowed for the performing of complex, "meaning-making" activities such as burying the dead.
The oldest burials previously unearthed, found in the Middle East and Africa, contained the remains of Homo sapiens – and were around 100,000 years old. READ MORE...
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