Modern humans may have overcome Neanderthals, but they have yet to figure them out. Now a multimillion-dollar project to decipher the genetic code of Neanderthals may help explain not only why humanity’s closest cousin became extinct but also which genetic features have made Homo sapiens so successful. The Neanderthal genome project was unveiled yesterday in a news conference held at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Institute scientists plan to complete the project in two years in collaboration with the American biotechnology company 454 Life Sciences, a subsidiary of the Branford, Conn.-based CuraGen Corp. 454 has developed a speedy new approach to studying DNA. Knowing more about Neanderthal’s genes should give scientists a new window into human evolution. ‘The Neanderthal will be like modern humans in most ways, but more like a chimpanzee in others,’ said Svante Pääbo, the Max Planck geneticist who will head the effort. The skull of a Neanderthal discovered in France. Most scientists believe modern humans and Neanderthals come from a common ancestor but diverged about 500,000 years ago. Neanderthal was a heavy-boned hominid who was adapted to cold, made use of stone tools, and thrived in […]
WASHINGTON — There is room for American workers’ wages to grow and reason to expect it, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Thursday told congressional critics who said pay wasn’t keeping pace with profits. In a second day of testimony on the U.S. central bank’s semiannual economic forecast, Bernanke told the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services panel he expected inflation to moderate and said a wage rise would not impede that. ‘Increases in real wages are entirely consistent with low inflation, there is no contradiction,’ he said in response to a string of questions from lawmakers who said average Americans feel pinched by rising energy and other costs. The Fed chief repeated that the economy was ‘in transition’ toward slower growth that will help contain prices, remarks that sparked a sharp rally in stock markets on Wednesday when he testified before the Senate Banking Committee. Minutes issued on Thursday afternoon from the Fed’s June 28-29 policy meeting reinforced a view that policy-makers were nearing a pause in their two-year campaign of raising interest rates. ‘With the economy slowing and some of the effects of past tightening still in the pipeline, members recognized the value of […]
In Spain, anti-Semitism is the new leftist trend. Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them Keen on populist tirades against the United States ‘Dickhead Bush’ and ‘Ketchup Queen Kerry’, his whole campaign did not bring much attention until the moment Al-Qaeda decided to blow up Madrid trains, killing almost 200 people and bringing to an end Spain’s membership of the West. From that moment on, everybody knew nothing would be the same, and Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them. ‘Understand Nazis’ Although many experts had foretold of the imminent disappearing of European Jews, nobody expected such a virulent explosion of anti-Semitism in Spain, not even under a Leftist government. The first signal came on Monday, 5 December, when during a dinner with the Benarroch family, Zapatero and wife began claiming what Vidal Quadras, member of the European Parliament, described on the radio as ‘a tirade of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism’. By the moment the Benarroch couple had left the table to express their regrets, Zapatero was explaining his lack of surprise about the […]
A third of male fish in English rivers are changing sex due to ‘gender-bending’ pollution, alarming research shows. Experts say female hormones from the contraceptive pill and HRT are being washed into our rivers and causing male fish to produce eggs. The problem – which is country-wide – has raised fears that the pollutants could also be contaminating our drinking water – and even be affecting the fertility of men. The Environment Agency study looked at the health of more than 1600 roach found in 51 rivers and streams around the country. Overall, a third of the male fish were between sexes. However, in one waterway, near a particularly heavy discharge of treated sewage more than 80 per cent had female characteristics. Tests showed the males developed female sex organs and were producing eggs. Such fish also produce less sperm and the sperm that is produced is of low quality. Females may also be affected, producing abnormal eggs. Previous studies have that cod, trout and flounders are all being feminised. Researcher Professor Charles Tyler said that the fish are swimming in a soup of oestrogen-like compounds, found in the Pill and in HRT. […]
On the heels of a presidential veto of legislation to expand federal funding for stem cell research, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has authorized a loan to accelerate California-based work in the field. Schwarzenegger announced this morning that he has directed the California Department of Finance to issue a loan of up to $150 million from the state’s general fund to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The institute was created by Proposition 71, which voters passed in November 2004. ‘California is poised to lead not only this country, but all countries on stem cell research,” the governor said in a statement. Prop. 71, the stem cell initiative, helps circumvent federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. Now that Bush has vetoed federal funding, the state’s role in this field of research could strengthen, said California Institute of Regenerative Medicine president Bob Klein. But litigation has paralyzed the $3 billion in spending Proposition 71 provides. The court challenges by religious and taxpayer groups are expected to be resolved by December, releasing money to repay the new loan. The lawsuits, filed by People’s Advocate, the National Tax Limitation Foundation and the California Family Bioethics Council, were rejected in […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
