Re:
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:42 am
I didn't think we were allowed to say things like that here.Henry J wrote:No no no - Who's the Doctor; Martha's the companion while he's Jonesing for Rose.
Henry
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I didn't think we were allowed to say things like that here.Henry J wrote:No no no - Who's the Doctor; Martha's the companion while he's Jonesing for Rose.
Henry
Of course, "explosion" isn't really the right terminology for something that took place over several millions of years.The abundant diversity of characteristics within species likely helped fuel the proliferation and evolution of an odd-looking creature that emerged from an unprecedented explosion of life on Earth more than 500 million years ago.
Methinks it was likely the equivalent of what we call an "arms race" - lots of factions developing various strategies to cope with each other. All at once because once a few started developing more advanced strategies, anybody that didn't cope quickly enough went extinct. Leastwise that's my take on it.But during the Cambrian Period, more complex creatures with skeletons, eyes and limbs emerged with amazing suddenness.
And they're cute, too!The giant panda is not at an “evolutionary dead end” and could have a long term viable future, according to new research involving scientists from Cardiff University.
Previous studies have found that the giant panda’s isolation, unusual dietary requirements and slow reproductive rates have led to a lack of genetic diversity that will inevitably lead the species to extinction.
Fascinating, huh?Starving snakes employ novel survival strategies not seen before in vertebrates, according to research conducted by a University of Arkansas biologist. These findings could be used in conservation strategies to determine the health of snake populations.
Squeek!Three years ago, "ultraconserved elements" were discovered in the genomes of mice, rats, and humans. These are DNA sequences 200 base pairs in length or longer — some are over 700 base pairs long — showing 100-percent identity among the three species. They have been perfectly conserved since the last common ancestor of mice, rats, and humans, which lived some 85 million years ago.
(Crikey!)A new study of finger-sized Australian lizards sheds light on one of the most striking yet largely unexplained patterns in nature: Why is it that some groups of animals have evolved into hundreds, even thousands of species, while other groups include only a few?
Harvard University scientists have identified a virtual "speed limit" on the rate of molecular evolution in organisms, and the magic number appears to be 6 mutations per genome per generation -- a level beyond which species run the strong risk of extinction as their genomes lose stability.