9 results found.
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 122: Mar-Apr 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A Genetic Disconnect Bandings on chromosome 9 from humans (H ), chimpanzees (C ), gorillas (G ), orang-utans (O ) If human and chimpanzee nuclear DNAs differ by only 1.5 %, why are the two species so profoundly different in anatomy and behavior? The obvious external differences are body hair, the use of language, the method of locomotion, and of course culture. Less well known is the fact that humans are more susceptible to diseases like as cancer and AIDS. Apparently, superficial comparisons of DNAs slough over genetic details that result in major differences in the living animals. Some of the genetic differences between humans and chimps seem to belie that miniscule 1.5 % difference everyone bandies about. To illustrate, humans have only 46 chromosomes, while the great apes all have 48. The 1.5 % figure doesn't hint at this significant difference. Next, take a look at chromosome #9 in humans and the great apes. Chromosome bandings are different enough to raise further suspicions about the 1.5 % figure. (Gibbons, Ann; "Which of Our Genes Make Us Human?" Science, 281:1432, 1998.) Comments. It is easy to see how gross comparisons of DNA might miss important details. The popular "DNA-hybridization" method simply mixes together strands of DNA from the two species being compared. These are allowed ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 35 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf122/sf122p08.htm
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 18: Nov-Dec 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Descent of man -- or ascent of ape?New Scientist has just published a controversial pair of articles by John Gribbin and Jeremy Cherfas. Summarizing mightily, it seems that: There are no fossils that are unequivocally ancestral to chimpanzees and gorillas but not to man; Therefore, the only good measure of the time when these three species split from one another is the comparison of genetic material; Genetic dating and serological techniques are unanimous in dating the chimp-gorilla-man split at about 5 million years ago. The conclusion that chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans diverged from a com mon ancestor only 5 million years ago is opposed to the widely accepted 20 million years. This conflict in dating is controversial enough, but Gribbin and Cherfas, after considerable fossil analysis, take one more giant step: they suggest that chimps, gorillas, and man descended from an ancestor that was more man-like than ape-like. Chimpanzees and gorillas in this view are descended from man rather than vice versa. (Cherfas, Jeremy, and Gribbin, John; "The Molecular Making of Mankind," and "Descent of Man -- Or Ascent of Ape?" New Scientist, 91:518 and 91:592, 1981.) Comment. This hypothesis is inflammatory enough without our adding more fuel, but the possible connection to the Sasquatch/Abominable Snowman problem should not be overlooked. Reference. The many problems associated ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 34 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf018/sf018p05.htm
... Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Is oliver a "humanzee"?Oliver: male, 30ish, very hairy, height 1.2 meters, weight 50 kilos, erect posture, unusual ears, offensive odor. Oscar always walks on two feet, uses a human toilet (which he flushes), can mix drinks, and enjoys a cup of coffee and a nightcap. Chimps ignore him; humans wonder what he is. Superficially, Oscar is definitely chimp-like; but shave his head and he becomes eerily human. Although Oscar was widely exhibited in the 1970s, his fame diminished in the 1980s. But now, scientists want to count his chromosomes and find out what he really is. One suggestion is a cross between a chimpanzee and a bonobo (a "pygmy chimpanzee"). Or how about a chimp-human hybrid? There have been dark rumors of hushhush experiments in China, Italy, and the U.S . We'll let you know what the geneticists conclude -- unless there is more "hush-hush." (Holden, Constance; "' Mutant' Chimp Gets a Gene Check," Science, 274:727, 1996. Also: Anonymous; "Oo-be-doo, I Want to Be Like You," Fortean Times, no. 95, p. 15, February 1997.) From Science Frontiers #110, MAR-APR 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 24 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf110/sf110p06.htm
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 47: Sep-Oct 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Chromosome Gap "Compared with the chromosomes of humans and other great apes, the pygmy chimpanzee's chromosomes are .. .the most specialized -- they have changed more over time than have the others. 'Surprisingly,' Stanyon and his colleagues conclude, 'the human karotype (chromosome complement) is the most conservative...It has more unchanged chromosomes." (Anonymous; "Chromosomes Show Apes 'More Evolved' Than Man," New Scientist, p. 24, July 17, 1986.) From Science Frontiers #47, SEP-OCT 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 15 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf047/sf047p09.htm
... Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Biological Miscellany Sisterly synchrony. In Utah, three of E. Carey's four daughters gave birth on the same day, March 11, 1998, at 7:18 AM, 3:25 PM, and 8:58 PM. The daughters are aged 28, 27, and 24 -- no twin phenomena here. Odds against this synchrony were said to be 50 million to 1. (Anonymous; "3 Sisters Deliver 3 Babies -- All on Same Day," San Francisco Chronicle, March 14, 1998. Cr.J . Covey.) Oliver is all chimp. That aberrant chimp, Oliver, thought by some to be a humanchimpanzee hybrid (SF#110), is 100% chimpanzee say geneticists at the University of Texas. Even so, Oliver always walks erect and can mix drinks! (Holden, Constance; "Oliver no 'Humanzee'," Science, 280:207, 1998.) Phase changes. He was not frightened by a ghost or abducted by aliens, but the hair of a healthy, 45-year-old French farmer turned from black to pure white in less that 14 days. For six months the embarrassed man endured, but then over a period of four months, his hair grew back to full black. (Nelson, Douglas; "Aaaaaargh," New Scientist, p. 93, April 11, 1998.) Mummified llamas yield superior wool. The wool found on a group of mummified llamas that had been sacrificed ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 15 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf118/sf118p09.htm
... the act. They discovered that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the Guam and Kosrae skinks differed by an amazing 6%, even though both skinks were E. cyanura . Even worse, the Vanuatu skink ( E. impar ) differed from all other E. impar skinks around the Pacific by an astounding 13%. Yet, to the eye, they all looked alike. So much for homology -- unless there is something basically wrong with molecular biology. Biologists now suspect that there are many more "cryptic species": animals that look alike but possess substantially different DNA complements. (Cohen, Philip; "Lizards Keep Their Differences to Themselves," New Scientist, p. 17, July 6, 1996) Comment. The flip side can be seen in humans and chimpanzees. From the standpoints of anatomy and behavior, these species are rather divergent; but their DNAs differ by only 2%! There is something suspicious in all this. Three of the hundred or so basic body plans (phyla): jellyfish (Coelenterata), aphid (Arthopoda), eohippus (Chordata). The present fossil record indicates that all phyla appeared rather suddenly in early Cambrian times. From Science Frontiers #109, JAN-FEB 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 13 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf109/sf109p08.htm
... his basic thesis: Abstract. "The explanation of Man's special nature is to be sought in the original combination formed by a primordial brain, the globular form of the skull and initial bipedalism. The ape, when compared with Man, appears to be rather a vestige of Man's ancestral line than his predecessor, according to the views of Max Westenhofer, Serge Frechkop, Klaas de Snoo and Bernard Heuvelmans. The study of the human morphology allows logically to carry the problem of Man's origin back to a very early stage of the evolution, and not to which has been reached by apes. From chromosomal and DNA comparison in the cells of living apes and people, several researches argue to-day that humans are genetically more like the common ancestor than is either Chimpanzees or other apes. The array of facts and considerations should be sufficient for an unbiased mind to discount away any idea of simian antecedents in Man's ascent." The body of the article supports de Sarre's thesis with observations from embryogenesis, comparative anatomy (skull, hand, foot), and phylogenesis. (de Sarre, Francois; "Initial Bipedalism: An Inquiry into Zoological Evidence," Bipedia , 1:3 , September 1988.) Comment. Obviously, de Sarre is taking an extreme position, and any observations supporting his position are anomalous by definition. From Science Frontiers #65, SEP-OCT 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 13 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf065/sf065b07.htm
... and classifications of sperm types as well as research by R.A . Beatty and D. Ralt. They assert that sperm come in at least four varieties: "Fertilizers," the egg-penetration specialists, "Blockers," the ones that construct copulatory plugs to prevent further insemination, "Search-and destroy sperm" that hunt down as kill "enemy" sperm from other sources, "Family-planning sperm" that kill all sperm. One can liken this array of sperm types to polymorphic ant colonies with their castes of workers, soldiers, and queen. Baker and Bellis go further and suggest that the numbers of each sperm type are under the control (certainly not conscious control) of the males. For example, where promiscuity is observed, as is common in chimpanzee troops, the numbers of seek-and-destroy sperm are very high. All this out of a short review! Unfortunately, the book itself lists at $78.95, and we don't have a copy. (Sozou, Peter D.; "Mating Games," Scientific American, 274:102, January 1996) Comments. Exercising self control, we add only two comments. First, these specialized sperm cannot be as simple as those drawn in the biology books. The search-and-destroy type must have evolved biochemical "devices" that find, identify, and destroy other sperm and maybe even defend itself. Second, one should not ignore the eggs, which are much larger and likely more sophisticated. The receptivity of the eggs may be ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 13 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf104/sf104p02.htm
... Menstruation Fetal Growth Correlated with Solar Activity Evolution of Sex Purpose of Life after Menopause Decline in Sperm Counts Fetus Signals Timing of Birth How Embryo Development Is Controlled and Effected Cycles in Autistic Births Rhythms in Growth Evolution of Lactose Tolerance Twins and Occurrence of Nightmares Timing of the End of Sleep BHG HUMAN GENETICS BHG1 Human Chromosomes Less Evolved Than Ape Chromosomes BHG2 The Presence of Introns in Human Chromosomes BHG3 Human Chromosomes Lack the "Baboon Marker" BHG4 Y-Chromosome Analysis Suggests First Humans Were Pygmies BHG5 Human and Ape Chromosome Numbers Differ BHG6 Identical Twins May Have Different Genomes BHG7 Gene Imprinting: Parental Influence on Genes BHG8 The Accentuation of Inherited Traits in Succeeding Generations BHG9 Higher Variability of Mitochondrial DNA in Subsaharan Africans BHG10 Mitochondrial DNA Evolves Much Faster Than Nuclear DNA BHG11 Disparity between Human and Ape Phenotypes and Genotypes BHG12 Chimpanzee Mitochondrial DNA More Diverse Than That of Humans BHG13 Human Mitochondria Radically Different from Those of Other Organisms BHG14 Paternal Mitochondrial DNA can Be Inherited BHG15 African Nuclear DNA Is Distinct from That of Other Populations BHG16 Chromosome Banding Analysis Incompatible with DNA Analysis BHG17 Involucrin Analysis Conflicts with Mitochondrial DNA Analysis BHG18 Human Molecular Clocks Run More Slowly Than Those of Apes BHG19 Absence of Transitional Forms of Cytochrome C DNA Analysis and the Origin of Modern Populations High Deleterious Mutation Rates in Hominids Fetal DNA in Mother's Blood Epigenetic Inheritance Unique Human Lack of Retroviruses Neanderthal mtDNA Different Persistence of Cystic Fibrosis Gene Humanity's "Missing" Mutations Persistence of ITD Gene Overall Human Mutation Rates Very Low "Junk" Genes and Human Evolution Curious Genetic Homologies HIV-Like Gene in Human DNA BHH HEALTH BHH1 Health and Environmental Electricity BHH2 ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 11 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /cat-biol.htm