Weird, cool SCIENCE!! stuff

[Luce NDs]

Even hard evidence has a shifty nature to it!

 

[Mendalla]

So, as you can tell from my avatar, I have a fondness for great apes. And the one of the "greatest", at least in size, was gigantopithecus blacki, which lived in Southern China until about 300,000 years ago. This ape is estimated to have been c. three meters tall with a mass of around 600 kg. For a long time now, based on the limited fossils available, scientists have suspected Gigantopithecus to have been related to orangutans. Now, using a type of genetic analysis called protein sequencing (basically, figuring out the genetic code using traces of proteins when the actual DNA is unavailable), they now have solid evidence for the relationship.

Perhaps the most important outcome, though, is that it is the first evidence that protein sequencing can work for remains this old. If we can sequence proteins from gigantopithecus, perhaps we can also do it for early humans like erectus and naledi for which we can't get DNA as we have done for Denisovans, Neanderthals, and our own ancestors.

Extinct giant ape directly linked to the living orangutan

By using ancient protein sequencing, researchers have retrieved genetic information from a 1.9 million year old extinct, giant primate that used to live in a subtropical area in southern China. The genetic information allows the researchers to uncover the evolutionary position of Gigantopithecus...

phys.org

Side note: Some, including me at times, have wondered if the Yeti and Bigfoot could be survivals of Gigantopithecus. Alas, with no fossils after that 300K years mark, it seems unlikely. If a species of the Gigantopithecus genus had lived to modern times, we should have a better fossil record for them.

 

[Luce NDs]

So, as you can tell from my avatar, I have a fondness for great apes. And the one of the "greatest", at least in size, was gigantopithecus blacki, which lived in Southern China until about 300,000 years ago. This ape is estimated to have been c. three meters tall with a mass of around 600 kg. For a long time now, based on the limited fossils available, scientists have suspected Gigantopithecus to have been related to orangutans. Now, using a type of genetic analysis called protein sequencing (basically, figuring out the genetic code using traces of proteins when the actual DNA is unavailable), they now have solid evidence for the relationship.

Extinct giant ape directly linked to the living orangutan

By using ancient protein sequencing, researchers have retrieved genetic information from a 1.9 million year old extinct, giant primate that used to live in a subtropical area in southern China. The genetic information allows the researchers to uncover the evolutionary position of Gigantopithecus...

phys.org

Side note: Some, including me at times, have wondered if the Yeti and Bigfoot could be survivals of Gigantopithecus. Alas, with no fossils after that 300K years mark, it seems unlikely. If a species of the Gigantopithecus genus had lived to modern times, we should have a better fossil record for them.

You've been Kong'd, or Gong'd ... dependant on the transliteration of "c" "g" "d" "k" "q" etc. ET is a mystery as the gods have decreed the common folk shouldn't know ... thus the answer is out there .... somewhere! Tis all hidden in the flow, weepage, and drip of the word as sigma. or integral of the supermolecule!

 

[Pontifex Geronimo 13]

Possible meteor storm tonight. Early. I think 9:30 to 10 here, so 2 hours earlier in Ontario. Going to mix up a thermos of mulled wine and drive out into the dark.

 

[Waterfall]

Possible meteor storm tonight. Early. I think 9:30 to 10 here, so 2 hours earlier in Ontario. Going to mix up a thermos of mulled wine and drive out into the dark.

I would love to check it out here too, except it's overcast and raining. Hope you get a great view!

 

[Mendalla]

Possible meteor storm tonight. Early. I think 9:30 to 10 here, so 2 hours earlier in Ontario. Going to mix up a thermos of mulled wine and drive out into the dark.

Yeah, I just found out about it earlier today but, as @Waterfall says, the only thing you'll get looking up in Ontario tonight is an eye full of water.

 

[Waterfall]

Well there have been reports of large clusters of drones flying over the US with no one claiming who's responsible. So while looking for the pics, I found this. Boy, you could even fake the second coming!
An amazing display of drones being used:

 

[Mendalla]

This is one of the best interviews I have seen about space exploration in a while. The host is YouTuber Scott Manley, who has an undergrad degree in astronomy and covers rocketry and space flight on his channel so he knows this stuff and asks some good questions. It is a bit "geeky" but offers some insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a space mission. The mission in question is Osiris-Rex, which is currently orbiting the asteroid Bennu and will attempt to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface in the Fall.

 

[Mendalla]

We have been hearing a lot about how bats act as reservoirs for various viruses. However, the characteristics that allow them to carry something like SARS or the COVID virus without getting sick themselves offer some fascinating insights into immunity and inflammation that might help us someday. SciShow has the story.

 

[Mendalla]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, unless you're a YEC, the egg did. Even limiting it to eggs with shells, reptiles have birds beat by millions of years, and fish and amphibians were laying eggs without shells long before even that. Here's the story, as currently known and understood, of eggs with shells as a means of reproduction for land animals.