Ida

An extraordinary 47-million-year-old fossil with features of both lemurs and higher primates (monkeys, apes, humans) has been unveiled. The creature, called Ida (formally Darwinius masillae), represents our ancient departure from the primate group that includes lemurs. Lots of press accompanies the announcement, including this History Channel show, The Link. Check out National Geographic's guide to human evolution. (h/t DJ)

(photographs via PLoS ONE, via nationalgeographic.com)

Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives

Eels founder Mark Oliver Everett searches for his father, physicist Hugh Everett, who proposed the controversial and fantastic many worlds interpretation in quantum physics. Here is part 1 of the NOVA series.

Zombie Fire Ants

The parasitic phorid fly attacks and lays its eggs inside the fire ant. The developing fly renders the ant zombie-like until the ant's head falls off and the new fly targets another ant. The flies are being used to counter the fire ant problem in Texas.

While impressive, the phorid fly's parasitism isn't nearly as elegant as the parasitic protozoa Toxoplasma gondii (that also infects humans) that causes mice to seek out cats, bringing the parasite back to its desired feline host.

Here is a great talk from Jim McKerrow on the bizarre world of parasites.

(image credit: Night of the Living Dead, wikipedia.org)

Universal Flu Vaccine

Andrew Pollock discusses new efforts at a universal flu vaccine including targeting of influenza's M2 protein and hemagglutinin spike base. Such vaccines are unlikely to stop flu's myriad forms but might significantly reduce the number of cases and mitigate its virulence. That would be an extraordinary victory against one of humanity's great adversaries.

No such vaccine is in the works for the pandemic of conventional wisdom. Victims include genius epidemiologist and internet magazine publisher Tina Brown who recently suggested government swine flu hysteria might be an effort to "wag the swine". Now that's Evelyn Waugh-level satire.

(image credit: Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images via nytimes.com)

A New Kind of Search Engine

Stephen Wolfram's computational knowledge engine WolframAlpha is live. Instead of listing search hits like traditional search engines, WolframAlpha computes an answer. You can type in gene sequences or gravity on Jupiter or cheeseburger or the weather on the day and place you were born. It's in its early stages, but already this is a revelation. Here is video of Wolfram discussing the project.

Mother's Day Proclamation

The poet and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe, well-known as the author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation" in 1870 in response to the death and devastation of the Civil War. It is at the origins of Mother's Day in America. Part is below (h/t CD):

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means

Whereby the great human family can live in peace,

Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,

But of God.

Happy Mother's Day

The Fight for Tesla's Tower

A battle is developing over Nikola Tesla's lab and his famous failed experiment. More on Tesla's extraordinary life here, including a clip of Orson Welles as J.P. Morgan.

(image credit: 1899 photo of Tesla seated by discharging Tesla coil, Dickenson V. Alley/Burndy Library, via nytimes.com)

The Hobbit

A new study of our miniature hominid relative Homo floresiensis offers more evidence that the Hobbit was a separate species, descended from our common ancestor Homo erectus. Unique foot anatomy suggests floresiensis was a species distinct from modern humans and not a pathological human variant. A second study of the dwarf hippo and its shrinking brain offers a model for the evolutionary pressures of islands like Flores where the Hobbit was found.

Both studies affirm the extraordinary contention that tiny human-like beings lived alongside modern humans, perhaps as recently as 10,000 years ago. See our Extinct series on the Hobbit, full Extinct series here.

(image credit: Homo floresiensis foot and tibia, Djuna Ivereigh/NOVA-WGBH, via nytimes.com)

Know CPR

If you haven't already, take a CPR class. It may have saved my nephew's life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Song of the Day - Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird at Borders - Why?

Photo: my wife and son in attendance.

The Doomsday Machine

John Oliver reports, Fox News-style, from the Large Hadron Collider.

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