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... first place? With their sonar, of course. But these superbly streamlined animals lack the huge external ears of the sonar-using bats. How do they detect the weak echoes bouncing off fleeing fish? P. Zioupos and J. Currey, at the University of York, have drawn attention to the rostrum bone that forms the beaklike upper jaw of Blaineville's beaked whale. At 2.7 grams/cubic centimeter, this bone is 50% denser than the average mammalian bone. "The bone also turned out to have unique chemical properties. It contains 35 per cent calcium by weight -- 13 per cent more than the highest value known previously. Using microscopes, the team showed that the bone is riddled with tiny tunnels. containing highly concentrated minerals." The channelled nature of this bone make it very brittle, making it unlikely that it is used as a ram in mating bouts. Zioupos and Currey propose that this uniquely structured bone is really an acoustical pipe for the beaked whales' sonar signals. (Barnett, Adrian; "Do Whales Talk through Brittle Beaks?" New Scientist, p. 20, May 10, 1997.) Comment. Acoustical pipes were also invented by close relatives of the beaked whales, the dolphins. With the dolphins, it is the lower jaw that has been converted into a "sound pipe" for receiving sonar echoes. Dugongs, too, possess squamosal bones filled with oil that are probably also connected with sound detection. Evolution has been highly innovative -- three times, in different ways -- in designing ...
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... diffuse glows, and aurora-like stripes. For an account of the more enigmatic EQLs, we quote M. Ouellet: "Fireballs a few metres in diameter often popped out of the ground in a repetitive manner at distances of up to only a few metres away from the observers. Others were seen several hundred metres up in the sky, stationary or moving. Some observers described dripping luminescent droplets, rapidly disappearing a few metres under the stationary fireballs. Only two fire-tongues on the ground were reported, one on snow and the other on a paved parking space without any apparent surface fissure. The colours most often identified were orange, yellow, white and green. Some luminosities lasted up to 12 min." (Ouellet, Marcel; "Earthquake Lights and Seismicity," Nature, 348:492, 1990.) Reference. Many observations of earthquake lights are cataloged in GLD8 in the catalog: Lightning, Auroras. For ordering information, see: here . From Science Frontiers #74, MAR-APR 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... focus intently upon the hypnotist. Subjects with left-brain dominance (right-handers) are usually able to concentrate their attention better than right-brain people. They therefore enter the trace state more readily. However, once hypnotized, the left-brain-dominated subjects shift into the right-brain mode. It seems that the hypnotic state, with its dream-like quality, altered time sense, etc., is associated with the right brain. Lefthanders, who are always in the right-brain mode, possess 'broadened attention' and resist hypnotic induction more than right-handers. (Grist, Liz; "Hypnosis Relies on Left-Brain Dominance," New Scientist, 36, August 2, 1984.) Comment. As if to balance things out, Nature has apparently made left-handers more talented in the arts and other endeavors. In any case, only trends are involved here; exceptions are everywhere. From Science Frontiers #39, MAY-JUN 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 114: Nov-Dec 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Standing Stones In North Carolina?A North Carolina reader recently submitted the accompanying photograph of very large, vertically oriented stones that, if found in western Europe, would be quickly assigned to the megalithic culture. Although similar upright stones are known in New England, we have not heard of any in North Carolina before. The stones in question are located in the Boone/Blowing Rock region of western North Carolina near Foscoe, very close to Grandfather Mountain (second highest peak east of the Mississippi). Although they could well be a product of natural forces, they stand out like the proverbial "sore thumb." (Davant, Charles, III; personal communications, July 2 and August 18, 1997.) Row of three, large, erect stones in western North Carolina. From Science Frontiers #114, NOV-DEC 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . 1. Watson, Andrew; "Quantum Spookiness Wins, Einstein Loses in Photon Test," Science, 277:481, 1997. Ref. 2. Buchanan, Mark; "Light's Spooky Connections Set Distance Record," New Scientist, p. 16, June 28, 1997. Ref. 3. Browne, Malcolm W.; "Far Apart, 2 Particles Respond Faster Than Light," New York Times, July 22, 1997. Cr. M. Colpitts.) Comments. "Spookiness" is in the mind of the percipient. We don't usually think of gravity as spooky, but just what does draw two masses together? All action-ata-distance forces are spooky. Everybody is into "codes" these days, as if Nature herself (or God) is not speaking out directly and plainly. We have, for example: The Message of the Sphinx (G . Hancock and R. Bauval); The Bible Code (M . Drosin); and The Biotic Message ( W.J . ReMine). From Science Frontiers #114, NOV-DEC 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... That famous missing link, Archaeopteryx, the flying reptile, continues to make headlines. The major argument at the 1984 International Archaeopteryx Conference, in Eichstaett, was about whether Archaeopteryx could fly at all, despite its advanced, aerodynamically shaped feathers. It certainly could not have flown well since it lacks the supracoracoideus pulley-system that acts as a wing elevator in birds. Archaeopteryx could not have raised its wings above the horizontal, making it a poor flier at best. It also lacked the birds' keel bone to which the wing muscles are anchored. But those exquisitely designed feathers, so modern in appearance, tilted the scales. The consensus of the Conference was that Archaeopteryx could indeed fly. (Howgate, Michael E.; "Back to the Trees for Archaeopteryx in Bavaria," Nature, 313:435, 1985.) The really interesting part of the continuing Archaeopteryx saga comes from the recent charge of Fred Hoyle and others that the Archaeopteryx fossil is an outright forgery. Hoyle et al insist that Archaeopteryx could not have flown at all, given its bones and musculature. Archaeopteryx looks like a reptile and was a reptile. As for the modern-looking feathers, they were probably added to the fossil fraudulently. And there do seem to be parts of the fossils on display in London and East Berlin that look highly suspicious. Conventional paleontologists are, of course, aghast that anyone would question the validity of these key transition fossils. (Vines, Gail; "Strange Case of Archaeopteryx 'Fraud'," New Scientist, p. 3, 1985.) ...
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... not "palpable" enough. Two new experiments have made fractional charges much more tangible. When a layer of electrons, held just above absolute zero, is subjected to a powerful magnetic field, you can almost "hear" the fractional charges. The signals from these experiments have been likened to hail hitting a tin roof. Just as you can gauge the size of hailstones from their impact, so you can estimate the electrical charges involved in these experiments -- they are 1/3 that of the electron. (Ehrenstein, David; "Slicing an Electron's Charge into Three," Science, 277:1766, 1997. Also: Kane, Charles L., and Fisher, Matthew P.A .; "A Shot in the Arm for Fractional Charge," Nature, 389:119, 1997.) Comment. Is there nothing in the subatomic world that is indivisible? From Science Frontiers #115, JAN-FEB 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... ) high, and weighed 5 tons each. The rings of pillars occupied an area about the size of a football field (100 meters in diameter). The Stanton Drew woodhenge was probably too large to have been roofed, but the oak columns might have been carved or decorated. Why would anyone cut, haul, and array hundreds of massive oak pillars in nine concentric circles? Obviously, the ancient Britons used this oaken temple to seek help from supernatural powers! Well, that's what the archeologists say, but who really knows? (Hawkes, Nigel; "Woodhenge Find Rivals Stone Circles," London Times, November 11, 1997. Cr. A.C .A . Silk. Also: Aveling, Elizabeth; "Magnetic Trace of a Giant Henge," Nature, 390:232, 1997.) Contrary to the London Times article, Woodhenges are not unique to Britain. This is an artist's conception of the one at Cahokia, Illinois. From Science Frontiers #115, JAN-FEB 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 71: Sep-Oct 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Sweet Track About 6,000 years old, the Sweet Track is one of the oldest manmade structures in Europe. The Sweet Track is a single line of wooden planks that runs for about 1,800 meters (well over a mile) across a swamp in Somerset, England. Evidence is that this ancient road was overwhelmed by the swamp after only 10 years of use. A jadite axehead found along the Sweet Track probably came from the Swiss Alpa, indicating crossChannel commerce even 6,000 years ago. (Lloyd, Philippa; "A Long and Ancient Road," Nature, 345:577, 1990. Also: Antiquity, 64:210, 199.) From Science Frontiers #71, SEP-OCT 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... than expanding-universe models. The microwave "background" makes more sense as the limiting temperature of space heated by starlight than as the remnant of a fireball. Element-abundance predictions using the Big Bang require too many adjustable parameters to make them work. The universe has too much largescale structure (interspersed "walls" and voids) to form in a time as short as 10-20 billion years. The average luminosity of quasars must decrease in just the right way so that their mean apparent brightness is the same at all redshifts, which is exceedingly unlikely. The ages of globular clusters appear older than the universe. The local streaming motions of galaxies are too high for a finite universe that is supposed to be everywhere uniform. Invisible dark matter of an unknown but non-baryonic nature must be the dominant ingredient of the entire universe. The most distant galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field show insufficient evidence of evolution, with some of them apparently having higher redshifts (z = 6-7 ) than the faintest quasars. If the open universe we see today is extrapolated back near the beginning, the ratio of the actual density of matter in the universe to the critical density must differ from unity by just one part in 1059. Any larger deviation would result in a universe already collapsed on itself or already dissipated. (Van Flandern, Tom; "Top Ten Problems with the Big Bang," Meta Research Bul letin , 6:64, 1997. Bulletin address: P.O . box 15186, Chevy Chase, MD 20825-5186.) From Science ...
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... Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects An Extraordinary Peat Formation Most of Beauchene Island, in the Falklands, is covered with a tussock-forming grass. During the past 12,500 years, a deep accumulation of exceptionally dense peat has formed. The basal peat is lignitic, but is several hundred times too young to be a true lignite. This peat does not decay as rapidly as it should, given its populations of bacteria, yeasts, and other fungi. The peat accumulates about ten times faster than in other peat-forming regions. The authors conclude that the peat-forming process is poorly understood. (Smith, R.I . Lewis, and Clymo, R.S .; "An Extraordinary Peat-Forming Community on the Falkland Islands," Nature, 309:617, 1984.) Comment. If we do not understand how present-day peat forms, how can we be so dogmatic about coal-forming processes millions of years ago? From Science Frontiers #35, SEP-OCT 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 117: May-June 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Unread Biotic Message We have been selling ReMine's book The Biotic Message in which he asserts that life itself is a message of transcendental nature. Every bacterium and human is a cosmic statement. Shifting from the macroscopic to the microscopic (phenotype to genotype), we recall that all macroscopic "statements" are really expressions of DNA -- the genetic code. But when we examine DNA, we find that only about 3% of the DNA in human cells codes for protein manufacture. The remaining 97% is termed "nonsense" or "junk" DNA. But there may actually be sense in nonsense DNA. Statistical analysis of nonsense-DNA "words" (3 -8 bases long) reveals considerable redundancy. Long stretches of nonsense DNA are definitely not random. In fact, the structure of nonsense DNA resembles that of language. The coding or "sense" DNA, on the other hand, lacks this language structure. The implication is that coding and nonsense DNAs carry different kinds of messages. The former consists simply of blueprints; the latter is couched in a language that we have not yet learned to read. (Flan, Faye; "Hints of a Language in Junk DNA," Science, 266:1320, 1994.) Comment. On the microscopic level, we can read only 3% of the biotic message! From Science Frontiers #117, MAY-JUN 1998 . 1998 ...
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... result of an "impressively ubiquitous mechanism" in all elongating plant organs. More simply, it is the elliptical weaving motion seen in the tips of growing leaves, shoots, flower stalks, branch roots, etc. In a 4- to 5-day-old sunflower seedling, the ellipse traced is 6-8 millimeters long and takes about 110 minutes. The ellipses result from differ-ential growth in the elongating plants. No one knew whether the force of gravity played a role in circumnutation until some sunflower seedlings were flown on Spacelab 1. Zero-g did not affect circumnutation at all. (Brown, Allan H. and Chapman, David K.; "Circumnutation Observed without Significant Gravitational Force in Spaceflight," Science, 225:230, 1984.) Comment. Nature seldom indulges in frivolous actions, but we just may have a phenomenon here that has absolutely no deeper significance. From Science Frontiers #35, SEP-OCT 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... of Yuh et al, the article's authors, these promoters are seen to perform as logic circuits, just like those bits of silicon in your PC. These tiny, DNA-based biological logic circuits determine how genes are interpreted (each gene may be interpreted in several ways), and, in the end, how lifeforms develop from embryo to adult. (Yuh, Chiou-Hwa, et al; "Genomic CisRegulatory Logic: Experimental and Computational Analysis of a Sea Urchin Gene," Science, 279:1896, 1998. Also: Wray, Gregory A.; "Promoter Logic," Science, 279:1871, 1998.) Comment. Figuring out how your PC's hardware evolved is child's play compared to elucidating just how random mutation and natural selection evolved the thousands of different logic circuits switching on and off in your body as you read this. It's all due to entropy! The complexity of biological computers is seen in the logic circuits of a promoter for the gene Endo 16. (From: Science, 279:1871, 1998). Computer-carrying sea urchin. Sharp in more ways than one! From Science Frontiers #117, MAY-JUN 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Alvin explorations resulted in the first eye-witness accounts of dead coral (which grows only near the surface) and rock samples containing strands of dead algae that grows only within 100 meters of the surface. The New England Seamounts have therefore either subsided on the order of a kilometer since Eocene times or sealevel has altered drastically. The Alvin dives also discovered a series of very striking and perplexing buttes obviously the results of erosion (see drawing on cover). The buttes are apparently composed of volcanic rock and are only a few meters high. Some unexplained, extremely vesicular (holefilled) rocks seen on the sea floor during the dives seem to be identical to samples occasionally dredged up and formerly classified as cinders jettisoned from old steamships. The underwater surveys suggested that these "cinders" have a natural (still mysterious) origin. (Heirtzler, J.R ., et al; "A Visit to the New England Seamounts," American Scientist, 65:466, 1977.) Reference. Guyots pose several enigmas, see ETH1 in our Catalog: Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds. Ordering information may be found here . From Science Frontiers #1 , September 1977 . 1977-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... qua sars were measured over periods of time by Very Long Baseline Interferometers (VLBIs). In the case of quasar 3C279, the apparent velocity of expansion was ten times that of light. The quasars all have rather large redshifts, indicating great distances from earth, but the lone galaxy displaying "superluminal" expansion has a redshift of only 0.032. This fact suggests that superluminal velocities cannot be employed as arguments against redshifts being cosmological; that is, measures of distances from earth. Therefore, if the redshift is truly a measure of distance (as it seems to be), some astronomical structures (perhaps not matter itself) seem to grow faster than the velocity of light. (Cohen, M.H ., et al; "Radio Sources with Superluminal Velocities," Nature, 268:405, 1977.) From Science Frontiers #1 , September 1977 . 1977-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Hedgehogs Use Toad Venom For Defense European hedgehogs chew toad skins to extract venom from the paratoid glands. They then lick their spines with the saliva-venom mixture. Experiments with human volunteers prove that the venomanointed spines are much more painful and irritating than clean ones. Such hedgehog behavior is innate and fully developed before the juveniles leave the nest. Tenrecs, which are similar to hedgehogs but in an entirely different family, display a somewhat different self-anointing type of behavior that must have developed independently. Conclusion: self-anointing with toad venom is so useful that it developed twice under evolutionary pressures. (Brodie, Edmund D., Jr.; "Hedgehogs Use Toad Venom in Their Own Defense," Nature, 268:627, 1977.) Reference. Hedgehog anointing and other idiosyncrasies may be found in Chapter BMB in Biological Anomalies: Mammals I. This book is described here . From Science Frontiers #2 , January 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Yeti or wild man in siberia?Reports from Russia tell of a creature known locally as the "Chuchunaa" which is over 2 m tall, clad in deerskin, and unable to talk, although it does utter a piercing whistle. A man-eater, the Chuchunaa often steals food from settlements. Observers say that the creature has a protruding brow, long matted hair, a full beard, and walks with its hands hanging below its knees. Soviet scientists speculate that the Chuchunaa represents the last surviving remnant of the Siberian paleoasiatic aborigines that retreated to the upper reaches of the Yana and Indigirka rivers. The last reliable sightings were in the 1950s, and this animal may now be extinct. (Anonymous; "Yeti or Wild Man in Siberia?" Nature, 271:603, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #3 , April 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... environments and rocks of all ages. They control to an extraordinary extent regional geology and ore mineralization. To date, some 1,170 circles have been discovered, of which more than half can be visually traced for 360 . Larger circles may exist; one with a diameter of about 2,200 kilometers seems to encircle the southern end of Africa. In the United States, the centers of the circles fall in a northwesterly trend in Arizona; northeasterly in the Appalachians. These circular structures may have been created about 4 billion years ago by intense meteorite bombardment similar to and perhaps identical with the bombardment that marked the surfaces of the moon and other inner planets. (Saul, John M.; "Circular Structures of Large Scale and Great Age on the Earth's Surface," Nature, 271:345, 1978.) Reference. Huge craters and other large circular structures are cataloged at ETC1 and ETC2 in Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds. To order this volume, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #3 , April 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... springtail found in Scotland's Devonian cherts, which conventional dating schemes tell us are about 350 million years old. Some biologists doubt that springtails should be classified as true insects. In any event, these ancient springtails are considered too specialized to be the ancestors of modern winged insects. The next insects in the fossil record appear suddenly in the Upper Carboniferous (300 million years ago) with fully developed wings. There exists an embarrassing 50-million-year gap between the fossil springtails and the more specialized insects. Evolution requires that this gap be filled with many random experiments at insect construction, including the first attempts at fashioning wings. Whalley admits the gap and the total mystification of paleontologists about how insects and biological flight first developed. Perhaps, he surmises, wings may have been the natural extrapolation of flap-like outgrowths required for body cooling. Random mutations would have added the muscles needed to orient the flaps and move them to improve circulation! (Whalley, Paul; "Derbyshire's Darning Needle," New Scientist, 78:740, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #5 , November 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... s missing mass been found?In the above item, an article from Mosaic was quoted to the effect that 90% of the universe is "unseen." In pursuit of this missing mass, a U.S . team of astronomers has now detected previously unseen halos around several spiral galaxies. The halo luminosities are comparable to the brighter imbedded disks when integrated over a large area surrounding the galaxies. The halo masses, however, as inferred from the galaxies' rotation curves far exceed the masses of the bright spiral cores. The big question is "What are the dim but massive halos composed of?" They might consist of small, faint stars or nonluminous matter of some sort. The researchers had to conclude, though, that the halos are galactic components of "totally unknown nature." (Anonymous; "Has the Universe's Missing Mass Been Found?" New Scientist, 80:174, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #6 , February 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 6: February 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Humps Of Particles In The Gulf Stream Peculiar humps or hills of particulate material, thousands of feet long and hundreds high, have been observed in the Florida Current with ultrasensitive, 20-kilohertz sonar. The humps extend from the bottom of the oceanic mixed layer to near the surface. Sediment and plankton probably make up the humps, but the actual constitution and cause of the concentrations are unknown. Conceivably, currents could concentrate the particulate matter; so could some sort of coordinated, collective biological activity. (Proni, John R., et al; "Vertical Particulate Spires or Walls within the Florida Current and near the Antilles Current," Nature, 276:360, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #6 , February 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... been kept. Usually pooh-poohed by scientists because the link between cause and effect seems absent, some impressive statistical evidence now associates heart attacks with geomagnetic and solar activity. Malin and Srivastava have shown that the number of cardiac emergencies in their area of India is very closely tied to geomagnetic activity, which in turn is controlled by the sun. Standard statistical tests confirm an especially strong correlation. But why should the two observables be associated at all? The authors' concluding sentence reads: "The possibility that there is some other cause (or solar origin?) responsible for both the magnetic and medical phenomena should not be ignored." (Malin, S.R .C ., and Srivastava, B.J .; "Correlation between Heart Attacks and Magnetic Activity," Nature, 277:646, 1979.) Top Curve: Magnetic activity index. Bottom Curve: Daily admissions of cardiac emergiencies From Science Frontiers #7 , June 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... periodicity maintained. Evolutionists answer the second question with ease. Periodical cicadas are successful in life because their overwhelming numbers, at such widely separated times, completely saturate the appetites of predators, whose populations are not synchronized with the cicada's . Any deviant cicadas emerging a year or so early or late are quickly snapped up, thus promoting synchronicity. So far, so good; but how did such a novel method of coping with predators evolve? There seems to be no way that the cicada's "adaptive peak" of evolutionary success could have been attained from an initial nonperiodic origin. In other words, the cicada cyclic prison is so strong that evolutionists cannot imagine how the prison was made in the first place. (May, Robert M.; "Periodical Cicadas," Nature, 277:347, 1979.) Comment. Was it a giant, blind evolutionary step that just happened to succeed? From Science Frontiers #7 , June 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 11: Summer 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Numismatic Ufos Jeremiah Epstein has assembled an absolutely fascinating analysis of some 40 "discoveries" of Pre-columbian coins in the United States. The lengthy table detailing the finds and the long list of references are alone enough to make this article a classic. Epstein carefully scrutinizes each find with admirable dispassion. His conclusions: frauds, counterfeits, and recent losses of imported ancient coins suffice to explain all of the data. Supporting and disagreeing comments from researchers active in the field follow Epstein's article. The advocates of Pre-columbian diffusion naturally take issue with Epstein, claiming that there is a residue of cases not adequately explained. (Epstein, Jeremiah, F. et al; "Pre-Columbian Old World Coins in America: An Examination of the Evidence," Current Anthropology, 21:1 , 1980.) Comment. Shades of UFOs, sea serpents, the Kensington Stone and of course ancient humans in America. It is all so familiar. From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... enigmatic bright-and-dark swirl patterns drape craters and mare terrains. Ranging from 10 kilometers across to less than 50 meters, they may be ribbon-like, open-looped, or closed-looped. The swirls are sharply defined but do not appear to scour or otherwise disturb the terrains where they occur. Similar swirl patterns have been recognized on Mercury. Two intriguing characteristics of the lunar swirl patterns are: (1 ) They coincide with strong magnetic anomalies; and (2 ) They appear to be very young, being superimposed on top of essentially all lunar features of all ages. Schultz and Srnka suggest that recent cometary impacts created the patterns. (Schultz, Peter H., and Srnka, Leonard J.; "Cometary Collisions on the Moon and Mercury," Nature, 284:22, 1980.) Comment. The terrestrial implications are obvious: our earth must have been hit, too. Perhaps at the Tunguska site there are similar swirl patterns -- now obliterated by vegetation. Reference. Lunar swirl patterns are cataloged in Section ALE5 in The Moon and the Planets. To order, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... and ultimate parasites, directing the evolution of life only to maximize the production of DNA. This theme is not the subject of this paper by Doolittle and Sapienza. Rather, they wonder about those nonsense DNA sequences that do not code for protein. The presence of these "useless" bits of genetic material is often explained in terms of gene "expression." Emphasis is always on maximizing the "fitness" of the organism (phenotype). Perhaps this seemingly excess genetic material actually maximizes the fitness (survivability) of the DNA itself. Evolution thus occurs at DNA and gene (genome) levels, despite what transpires at the organism (phenotype) level. (Doolittle, W. Ford, and Sapienza, Carmen; "Selfish Genes, the Phenotype Paradigm and Genome Evolution," Nature, 284:601, 1980.) Comment. We know that mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own genetic material; evolution may be occurring at this level, too, independent of pressures for change on the organisms. Waxing speculative, may there not be other hierarchies where systems are trying to maximize their own survivability, even at molecular, atomic, and subatomic levels? Don't laugh! Is not all life implicitly encoded in the properties of the most fundamental particles? If not, reductionism is a lie. From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... sales rather than actual field observations. Looking beyond such superficial information, researchers have discovered that the quantity of pelts offered for sale by the Indians depends upon the amount of time they can divert to hunting pelts. This, in turn, is affected by the abundance of food animals, such as moose and hares. It is food first and pelts second. Furthermore, when the plants consumed by hares are overbrowsed during periods of dense hare population, they defend themselves by generating resins and other compounds toxic or repellent to hares. Thus, the hare abundance cycle is affected by: (1 ) Plant defenses; (2 ) Indian hunting strategies; and (3 ) The lynx. (May, Robert M.; "Cree-Ojibwa Hunting and the Hare-Lynx Cycle,: Nature, 286: 108, 1980.) Comment. Here is another case where the attractiveness of a theoretical model has dampened further inquiry. From Science Frontiers #12, Fall 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... high quality reports. Fifteen of the written reports mentioned anomalous sounds -- hisses, hums, swishes, and crackling sounds heard simultaneously with the visual sighting. Such sounds are anomalous because the meteor is tens of kilometers high and real sound would take a minute or more to reach the ground. (The sound from a detonating meteor is often heard several minutes later.) Keay is convinced of the reality of the anomalous sounds and suggests that the highly turbulent plasma in the meteor wake generates powerful electromagnetic radiation at audio frequencies. This intense radio energy reaches the earth at the same time the visible light does. It may be converted into sound as it interacts with the surface and the observer. (Keay, Colin S.L .; "The 1978 New South Wales Fireball," Nature, 285:464, 1980.) Reference. Sounds from high-altitude meteors (" electrophonic" sounds) are covered in GSH2 in our Catalog: Earthquakes, Tides, Anomalous Sounds. Information on this book is posted here . From Science Frontiers #12, Fall 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Propagation Of Acquired Characteristics Almost all biologists reject Lamarck's idea that characteristics acquired by a parent can be transmitted to the progeny. In the field of immunology, especially, experimental findings are stimulating a revival of forbidden Lamarckism! Taylor reviews several experiments in which acquired immunity seems to be passed along from generation to generation. This, of course, directly contradicts the Dogma of Evolution and Weissmann's closely related doctrine of the inviolatability of the germ plasm. But Taylor goes on to suggest several ways to circumvent Weissmann's doctrine, the most interesting of which employs viruses to carry acquired genetic information from generation to generation. (Taylor, R.B .; "Lamarckism Revival in Immunology," Nature, 286:837, 1980.) Comment. The possible role of viruses and other "disease carriers" in the unfolding (rather than "evolution") of life is only now being widely recognized. Could it be that the price of evolution and/or the responsiveness of life to environmental pressures is a certain level of infection? From Science Frontiers #13, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... , the redshifts of distant objects are directly proportional to their distances from earth. Unfortunately for the Expanding Universe, some redshift measurements indicate a quadratic rather than linear relationship between redshift and distance. I.E . Segal's chronometric theory of the cosmos, however, does predict a quadratic relationship. In Segal's theory redshifts are due to the gravitational slowing of light rather than any gereral expansion of the universe. Even if most astrophysicists are finally persuaded that the quadratic relationship is real, they will be loath to abandon the philosophically appealing Expanding Universe. Not only is the Expanding Universe consistent with Relativity but it states unequivocally that the earth (and man) does not occupy a preferred place in the universe. (Hanes, David A.; "Is the Universe Expanding?" Nature, 289:745, 1981.) Comment. A geocentric theory would intimate a supernatural force favoring humanity. From Science Frontiers #15, Spring 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... but careful observation show that they fight back against predators in subtle ways. Williams and Gilbert, for example, have found that a number of Passiflora species, which are heavily defoliated by the larvae of Heliconius butterflies, have developed tiny structures that closely resemble in size, shape, and color the eggs of these butterflies. Heliconius butterflies, when searching for likely plants on which to lay eggs, tend to avoid plants that already have eggs on them. The plants' fake eggs, then, help protect the plant from predation. (Williams, Kathy S., and Gilbert, Lawrence E.; "Insects as Selective Agents on Plant Vegetative Morphology....."; Science, 212:467, 1981.) Comment. We have heard over and over again about Nature's "marvelous adaptations," but it is still difficult to imagine chance-driven evolution of fake eggs of just the right size, shape, and color. How many shapes and colors were tried before the plants got it right? From Science Frontiers #16, Summer 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... 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 Iridium-rich layers and catastrophism Kyte et al have discovered a 2.3 -millionyear-old sedimentary layer under the Antarctic Ocean that contains iridium and gold concentrations comparable to those in the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. The noble metals are mostly contained in millimeter-sized grains that resemble ablation debris from a large extraterrestrial object. Unlike the Cre taceous-Tertiary episode, however, the newly found layer is not accompanied by evidence of mass biological extinctions. (Kyte, Frank T., et al; "High Noble Metal Concentrations in a Late Pliocene Sediment," Nature, 292:417, 1981.) Comment. Perhaps those paleontologists who deny the existence of sudden biological extinctions at the CretaceousTertiary boundary are correct and something else besides catastrophism impacted terrestrial life at that juncture. Reference. The implications of iridium "spikes" are found in Category ESB1 in our Catalog: Anomalies in Geology. To order, go to: here . From Science Frontiers #18, NOV-DEC 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... northern Kenya, the geologist finds exceptionally fine sequences of fossil molluscs in old lake deposits. Williamson has scrutinized the distribution of some 190 faunas with high stratigraphic resolution; that is, he believes he has been able to sketch for the first evolutionary events on a fine time scale. Williamson underlines three important observations: (1 ) Species seemed to arise suddenly, as predicted by the "punctuated evolution" model; (2 ) The formation of new species was accompanied by marked developmental instability in the transitional forms; and (3 ) All lineages were morphologically stable for long periods -- they did not change form! The biological implications of this important study are summarized in the preceding item. (Williamson, P.G .; "Palaeontological Documentation in Cenozoic Molluscs from Turkana Basin," Nature, 293:437, 1981.) Comment. Evolutionists have often bewailed the obvious lack of transitional forms (missing links) in the stratigraphic record. According to Williamson's results, transitional forms would be few in number and display considerable morphological instability. In essence, this means that missing links may not exist in a practical sense. If this is true, one wonders whether those famous evolutionary family trees in all the textbooks, such as that of the horse, are really misleading. From Science Frontiers #19, JAN-FEB 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... the day each war began. "In the Northern Hemisphere, latitudes 30-60 N., the annual rhythm in the opening dates of wars shows a peak in August and a nadir in January (a in the figure). An inverse pattern in the annual rhythm of wars with a peak in December-February and a nadir in July was found in the Southern Hemisphere latitudes 30-60 S (c in the figure)....The results in the Northern Hemisphere suggest that there is a phase-shift of about one month between the two rhythms. We found a constant rate of acts of hostility throughout the year around the line of the Equator (b in the figure)." (Schreiber, Gabriel, et al: "Rhythms of War," Nature, 352:574, 1991.) Comment. From the curves, it appears that inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere are about 20 times more bellicose than those below the Equator (a population effect?). Reference. The cyclicity of human behavior requires several categories in the catalog volume Biological Anomalies: Humans I, notably BHB8. Ordering information here . From Science Frontiers #78, NOV-DEC 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 79: Jan-Feb 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A Terrestrial Riddle The ancient Egyptians apparently built the enigmatic Sphinx by first excavating a limestone formation and then clearing away the debris to expose a huge stone block over 240 feet long and 66 feet high. From this, they carved a lion with a human head out of the soft natural rock. Once the soft limestone was exposed, the rain and atmosphere began to erode it. R.M . Schoch, a Boston University geologist, studying the weathering patterns on the Sphinx, found signs of water action up to 8 feet deep in the front and sides of the colossal statue. Other structures in the vicinity, made from the same limestone, supposedly at the same time (about 2500 BC), do not display such deep erosion. Based upon the depth of the weathering, Schoch dates the Sphinx at 5000-7000 BC -- much older than the mainstream date of 2500 BC. In fact, Schoch opines that work on the Sphinx could have begun as early as 10,000 BC. Egyptologists, of course, will have none of this. C. Redmount, a Univerisity of California archeologist specializing in Egyptian artifacts, said, "There's just no way that could be true." Some non-establishment archeologists, such as A. West, have long maintained that the Sphinx is much older than 2500 BC. Supporting the claims of much earlier dates is the massive stone wall and tower of ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 79: Jan-Feb 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Louse Line We all learned about the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer in high school, but the voyagers of old also recognized a "louse line." "They wrote about arriving at a longitudinal point in the tropics -- the so-called 'louse line' -- where fleas and lice abandoned even healthy humans. Although a specific line is a myth, cultural entomologist Charles Hogue of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles believes part of the story. 'Voyagers in the tropics often experience a rise in body temperature of as much as 4 degrees F.' That's enough, he says, to kill some species of fleas. Also, the traumatic experience of being caught in a trap causes the body temperature of animals to rise. Thus, trappers often witness fleas jumping off a trapped animal by the dozens. (Johnson, Donna; "How to Tell Time by a Cat's Eye," National wildlife , 29:12, October/November 1991.) From Science Frontiers #79, JAN-FEB 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... and gas derive from buried organic matter. Three years ago, at a depth of 6.7 kilometers, the "misguided" Swedish drillers pumped 12 tons of oily sludge from the granite rock. "Just drilling fluids and diesel-oil pumped down from the surface," laughed the experts. This autumn (1991), more oil was struck in a new hole only 2.8 kilometers deep. This time, only water was used to lubricate the drill. How are the skeptics going to explain this? Well, about 20 kilometers away, there are sedimentary rocks; perhaps the oil seeped into the granite from there. Rejecting this interpretation, the drillers are going deeper in hopes of finding primordial methane. (Aldhous, Peter; "Black Gold Causes a Stir," Nature, 353:593, 199l. Anonymous; "Black Gold," The Economist , p. 101, October 19, 1991. Cr. T. Brown) Reference. T. Gold's iconoclastic ideas are the origin of oil and methane are reviewed in ESC13 and ESC16 in our catalog: Anomalies in Geology. To order, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #79, JAN-FEB 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... changed over time. This is consistent with the behavior of a chaotic system, which by definition must be nonstationary in the mean. Seismic activity is believed to be a perturbation shifting Old Faithful into a new chaotic state with a different shape to the strange attractor. A simple non-linear dynamic model of geyser behavior is proposed that leads to chaotic behavior and is consistent with the observations of eruption interval data for Old Faithful." (Nicholl, Michael, et al; "Is Old Faithful a Strange Attractor?" Eos, 71:466, 1990.) Comment. "Strange attractor" is a specialized term employed in chaos analysis. So, Old Faithful is not really faithful; neither are the planets in their orbits (see under Astronomy). Is there nothing left in Nature that is reliable -- just about everything is non-linear and therefore a candidate for chaotic behavior. Reference. An entire setion on geyser phenomena may be found in GHG in our catalog: Earthquakes, Tides. To order, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #71, SEP-OCT 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... that are thought to have swirled around the inner solar system shortly after its formation. Computations on a supercomputer revealed to these three researchers that, if the protoplanet had hit Mercury at between 20 and 30 kilometers/second, then its dense iron core would have survived pretty much intact. A lower velocity would not have stripped off the lighter outer layers; anything higher would have blasted the whole planet into smithereens. Calculations of this type also suggest that if a protoplanet the size of Mars had hit protoearth, it likewise would have stripped off its light silicate mantle. After this material that had been torn off gravitationally sphericized itself in orbit around the earth, it became--you guessed it - our moon. (Stewart, Glen R.; "A Violent Birth for Mercury," Nature, 335:496, 1988. Also: Anonymous; "Mercury Stripped by Blow from Meteorite," New Scientist, November 5, 1988.) Comment. It seems that our early solar system was somewhat Velikovskian in character, with many celestial missiles flying about. But that was long ago - or was it? Reference. Mercury's idosyncracies are cataloged in Chapter AH in our catalog: The Moon and the Planets . For information about this book, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #61, JAN-FEB 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... the origins of life at submarine hydrothermal vent environments are focussed on the effects of temperature on synthesis and stability of organic compounds and the characteristics of the earliest organisms on earth. There is strong molecular and physiological evidence from present-day mircoorganisms that the earliest organisms on earth were capable of growing at high temperatures (about 90 C) and under conditions found in volcanic environments. These 'Archaea', the living ancestors of all life forms, display a variety of strategies for growth and survival at high temperatures, including thermostable enzymes active at temperatures about 140 C. Further molecular and biochemical characterization of the presently cultured thermophiles, as well as future work with the many species, particularly from subsurface crustal environments, not yet isolated in culture, may help resolve some of the important questions regarding the nature of the first organisms that evolved on earth." (Baross, J.A .; "Hyperthermophilic Archaea: Implications for the Origin and Early Evolution of Life at Submarine Hydrothermal Vents," Eos, 72:59, 1991.) From Science Frontiers #80, MAR-APR 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... consistent with MacNeish's discoveries at the Orogrande Cave. Hang in there archeology anomalists, the 12,000year paradigm is melting in the warm spring sun! Scene: In the Bluefish Caves in the northern Yukon. "Arctic caves in the northern Yukon have yielded apparent bone tools carved 24,000 years ago, more than 13,000 years earlier than the earliest confirmed human habitation of the Americas, a Canadian archeologist [R .E . Morian] reported yesterday." (Petit, Charles; "24,000-Year-Old Tools Found in Yukon," San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 1992. Cr. D.H . Palmer.) Comment. These bone tools "appear" to be worked by humans, but it is always possible that they were naturally frac tured; and this is what conservative archeologists routinely proclaim. From Science Frontiers #81, MAY-JUN 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 83: Sep-Oct 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects On Cuna Writing And Its Affinities A sample of Cuna "writing" When Europeans "officially" reached the New World some 500 years ago, the "official" account states that they found that only the Mayans and Aztecs possessed writing. However, all anomalists recognize that "official" stories often sweep untidy facts under what has come to be an immense rug. One seldom mentioned and rather awkward bump beneath this rug is Cuna writing. The Cuna Indians occupied Panama and some nearby Caribbean islands at the Time of Contact. That the Cuna carved symbols of sorts on wooden boards and scribbled with natural pigments on bark cloth and paper is generally admitted, but this is not considered in the same league as Mayan writing. A sample of Easter Island "writing" from a talking board Cuna writing is ideographic. Today's average Cuna Indian can usually identify each ideogram as a bird, plant, or some other object. However, to those skilled in Cuna writing, each ideogram actually represents a phrase of about 8-10 words. The symbols thus have mnemonic value. Each wooden tablet is actually read from the lower right corner to the left. The next line up reads left to right, in socalled "boustrophedon" style. The tablets are usually songs for healing, histories, etc. In these features and general appearance, Cuna writing resembles the "writing" found on the "talking boards" of Easter Island ...
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... . The experiment described below is serious and was conducted at Stanford Research Institute. Five participants were chosen in an attempt to mentally affect an electronic device. "Each participant was asked to influence one of a pair of piezoelectric transducers, operating in a differential mode, so as to produce an event above a predetermined threshold. During the formal data collection, the transducer enclosure was located in a locked laboratory adjacent to the participants' room. Under these conditions, one of the participants produced a total of 11 events above threshold, distributed in three separate effort periods. Control trials were recorded with no one present in the experimental room but with normal activity in the rest of the building. No equivalent, uncorrelated events above threshold were detected in those control periods." The author emphasizes the preliminary nature of the results, but believes they warrant further investigaion. (Hubbard, G. Scott, "Possible Remote Action Effects on a Piezoelectric Transducer," The Explorer, 4:10, October 1987.) From Science Frontiers #55, JAN-FEB 1988 . 1988-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... December 28. 1st patrol saw 2 sets of 3 red and white lights. One appeared on the port side, the other on starboard at 1000 to 2000 feet to rear and closing in. Beau peeled off and lights went out. Nothing on GCI scope at the time "Observed lights suspended in air, moving slowly in no general direction and then disappeared. Lights were orange, and appeared singly and in pairs. These lights were observed 4 or 5 times throughout the period." There is no evidence as yet that any of the World War-II combatants had anything in their arsenals that could have accounted for the foo fighters. (Greenwood, Barry; Just Cause , no. 32, p. 1, June 1992.) Comment. If the foo fighters were a natural phenomenon, one would expect at least a few modern reports from the thousands of commercial and military aircraft in the skies. From Science Frontiers #83, SEP-OCT 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... or the data reduction process. But after Guthrie and Napier corrected each redshift to account for the Earth's motion around the center of the Milky Way -- a different correction for each location in the sky -- out popped a periodicity of 37 km/sec, close to one of Tifft's values. It was so strong that the chance of it being a statistical fluke was less than 1 in 3,000." Tifft's work therefore seems to have been verified again. But Tifft is now waxing even more iconoclastic, claiming that galactic redshifts have actually changed slightly in just a few years! (Anonymous; "Quantized Redshifts: What's Going on Here?" Sky and Telescope , 84:128, 1992.) Comment. A strange geometrical concordance exists between quantized redshifts and the shells of stars surrounding some elliptical galaxies. See AWO5 in our catalog: Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos . This volume also contains much more on quantized redshifts in AWF8. Ordering information here . From Science Frontiers #84, NOV-DEC 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . The newts were first trained to orient themselves in a certain direction with respect to the geomagnetic field. "When tested under one of four artificial field alignments (magnetic north at geographic north, east, south or west), the newts kept their training directions constant relative to the magnetic rather than the geographic system of reference, but they selected different angles with respect to the magnetic field when they were illuminated by either short (about 450 nm) or long-wavelength light (about 500 nm). When tested under 475-nm light, or in the dark, they were completely disoriented." The experiments demonstrated that light was crucial to the newts' magnetic sense, and that photoreceptors had to be involved. (Wehner, Reudiger; "Hunt for the Magnetoreceptor," Nature, 359: 105, 1992.) From Science Frontiers #84, NOV-DEC 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... the November 1992 Scientific American, explores the enigma of the Cambrian explosion. Did some unknown evolutionary stimuli prevail 570 million years ago that made the Cambrian different from all periods that followed? Or, has something damped evolutionary creativity since then? Levinton holds that biological innovation has continued unabated at the species level since the Cambrian explosion, but that new body plans; that is, new phyla; have not evolved for hundreds of millions of years. Therefore, something special and very mysterious -- some highly creative "force" -- existed then but is with us no longer. (Levinton, Jeffrey S.; "The Big Bang of Animal Evolution," Scientific American, 267:84, November 1992.) Comment. If evolution is truly the result of random mutation modulated by natural selection, perhaps mutation was "different-from-random" during the Cambrian! Now that's a heretical thought. From Science Frontiers #85, JAN-FEB 1993 . 1993-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... the open waters. They cling as benign parasites to passing fish, and take a one- to three-week trip, drawing nutrients through their host's membranes and a free ride to new dwellings. They then drop to the bottom and begin their independent lives, some of which will span a half century or more. "Glochidia that do not hook up with a host fish are doomed. To cover these stakes, the pocketbook mussel and its relatives have evolved a fleshy appendage that flaps in the currents and, to a smallmouth bass, looks like a breakfast minnow. Taking the bait. the duped fish gets doused with glochidia. Another resourceful mussel sends its glochidia out in pulsating little packets resembling worms." (Stolzenburg, William; "The Mussels' Message," Nature Conservancy , p. 17, November/December 1992.) From Science Frontiers #85, JAN-FEB 1993 . 1993-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 85: Jan-Feb 1993 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects When a bird in the hand is worse than two in the bush When J. Dumbacher, an ornithologist working in Papua New Guinea, scratched his hand while freeing a hooded pitohui from a collecting net, his first instinct was to suck the wound. This was a bad move, for he immediately experienced a numbing and burning in his mouth. The reason for this, it turned out, was because the skin and feathers of pitohuis are loaded with homobatrachotoxin, a type of poison. This discovery makes the pitohuis the first known poisonous birds. Like many other poisonous animals, the pitohuis also emit a foul odor and advertise their unsavory nature with bright colors. (Dumbacher, John P., et al; "Homobatrachotoxin in the Genus Pitohui : Chemical Defense in Birds?" Science, 258:799, 1992. Also: Anonymous; "Bird with a Sting in Its Tail," New Scientist, p. 10, October 31, 1992.) Comment. As we see from the diagram, homobatrachotoxin possesses a rather complex chemical structure. One wonders how the pitohuis acquired the ability to synthesize it through random mutations. The puzzle deepens when one discovers that homobatrachotoxin is also manufactured by the New World poisondart frogs. Although far-separated taxonomically, both species traveled along the same path of random mutations to achieve this evolutionary convergence. From Science Frontiers #85, JAN-FEB 1993 . 1993-2000 William ...
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