A new hominid species?

It might have been unearthed in China:

Last week, an international group of researchers reported the discovery of fossils belonging to a strange population of hominids that lived in southwestern China as recently as 11,500 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. The fossils resemble modern humans in many ways but possess some unusual characteristics. The traits may be evidence that Homo sapiens were more diverse in the past—or a sign that scientists have uncovered a new species.

[… ] The most dramatic interpretation of the fossils is that they represent a newly discovered species that lived alongside modern humans in East Asia until very recently. Anthropologist Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London thinks that’s a feasible idea. In fact, the fossils could be the remains of the mysterious Denisovans, Stringer told New Scientist. Scientists discovered the Denisovans a few years ago while analyzing DNA recovered from a finger bone found in a Siberian cave that dated to 30,000 to 48,oo0 years ago. The DNA didn’t align with that of modern humans or Neanderthals, the only species known to inhabit the area at the time. Since then, scientists have been looking to match a face to the DNA. This idea will be confirmed only if the researchers manage to retrieve DNA from any of the Chinese fossils.

A less headline-worthy explanation is that these hominids were members of an early, unknown migration of H. sapiens out of Africa. (Genetic evidence indicates there were at least two migrations into Eurasia: one at 60,000 to 70,000 years ago and another at 30,000 to 40,000 years ago.) Once these people settled in East Asia, they somehow remained isolated from other human populations for thousands of years and eventually died out without leaving behind descendants. Under this scenario, the population’s unusual features suggest our species was more diverse thousands of years ago than it is today. This possibility is supported by other fossils found in Africa. Curnoe and his colleagues describe H. sapiens fossils found in East, South and North Africa, dating from 12,000 to 100,000 years ago, that possess a mix of modern and more primitive traits.

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Cameron hits rock bottom

James Cameron has once again stretched himself:

Director James Cameron has made it to Earth's deepest point.

The director of "Titanic" and other films used a specially designed submarine called "Deepsea Challenger" to dive nearly seven miles. He completed his deep dive a little before 8 a.m. Monday local time, according to Stephanie Montgomery of the National Geographic Society.

"All systems OK," were Cameron's first words, according to a statement. He arrived at a depth of 35,756 feet early Sunday evening on the U.S. East Coast.

He plans to spend about six hours exploring and filming the Mariana Trench, about 200 miles southwest of the Pacific island of Guam.

The scale of the trench is hard to grasp — it's 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon and more than a mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

The first and only time anyone dove to these depths was in 1960. Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh took nearly five hours to reach the bottom and stayed just 20 minutes. They didn't have much to report on what they saw there, however, because their submarine kicked up so much sand from the ocean floor they couldn't see much.

One of the risks of a dive so deep is extreme water pressure. At 6.8 miles below the surface, the pressure is the equivalent of three SUVs sitting on your toe.

From the AP.

The scale of things: macro to micro

Click here to experience one of the coolest and most mesmerizing websites I’ve ever seen.

A first step for Italy

From Towleroad, news that a Uruguayan man who married an Italian man in Spain, where gay marriage is legal, obtained legal residency papers in Italy:

On the basis of their union, the Uruguayan had applied for a residence permit in Italy, for which foreigners can qualify, either through marriage to an Italian, or through obtaining legal employment.

The residence permit granted to Rafael represents “the first document in Italian history which effectively recognizes the family status of homosexual couples,” said rights group Associazione Radicale Certi Diritti which supported the two men in their legal battle.

Great news in case we ever needed to go that route…

Rhinos May be Extinct in South Africa by 2015

A very sad headline from treehugger:

Now, a renowned rhino activists has issued an estimate that, at current rates, the rhinoceros will be extinct in South Africa by 2015. Karen Trendler, a veterinary nurse who has been working with rhinos for nearly 20 years, believes the sharp increase in poaching activity is unsustainable. "You hate to sound alarmist, you hate to even consider that it could happen," she explained, "but if the poaching continues at the current rate we could eventually see rhino go extinct. There are predictions that by 2015 we could have no rhino."

Trendler points to the growing market for rhino horn in Asia and dealers who have been working to stockpile reserves, hedging against extinction. In addition to this, she says, there is corruption in government and among some organizations designed to protected endangered species obstructing genuine efforts.

More here.

Jimmy Carter

Former President of the United States, in his new book:

“Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things -– he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies.”

Obama: a great President

This is a must watch video.  I sincerely hope he gets reelected, for the good of the country as well as of our family:

The Tree of Life

Terrence Malick is a very talented director whose output is extremely limited (5 movies in almost 40 years!!) and often so artistically overworked, he’s inexorably misunderstood.  Alas, I count myself in the column of those who did not “get” his latest effort.

Synopsis: The Tree of Life is woven with what I guess are multiple storylines that converge in some way into a common resolution.  At the center, we have a very ordinary family that deals with their daily ups and downs until a terrible event shakes it to the core.

While that short description wouldn’t seem too complex or out of the ordinary, The Tree of Life is constructed in such a way that the main story I mentioned above is often interspersed with some of the most magnificent and obscure images I’ve ever seen.  Malick, undisputedly, is a master at crafting the most striking images that ever graced the silver screen, but unfortunately those images in this movie have nothing to do with the advancement of the story per se.  Or rather, since many viewers must have found some meaning in those images, I didn’t find any relation whatsoever between the main story and that magnificent padding.

A movie, at its core, tells a story.  A screenplay lays it out, the actors put it in play, and a director orchestrates the whole thing.  If there’s something on the screen that seems to have no relation to the story the filmmaker is trying to tell, then they shouldn’t be there.  It’s pretty simple.  Now, again, I’m sure the people who “got” the meaning of those images would beg to disagree with me, but for me they were too esoteric and basically detracted from the final product.

The screenplay, by Malick, was another puzzle.  While long parts of the movie have no spoken words (and I don’t have a problem with that), other parts have words that are faded out and indiscernible, bringing me to wonder if Malick’s goal was to tip the balance heavily in favor of what you see versus what you hear.  Again, puzzling.

The Bottom Line: The man is undoubtedly enormously talented.  Every image on screen, whether computer generated or not, is perfectly constructed and would look amazing in an art gallery.  The conceptual story is gripping and makes for great drama.  And the actors all give excellent performances, especially Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain.  But for me, ultimately, this movie was less than the sum of its parts and felt like a drama mixed up with a documentary (or several), which brought the overall grade way lower than I wanted to assign.

Grade: 4

The evolution of the Moon

A beautiful new video from NASA on how the Moon became what we see today:

Carbs are killing you

A former chiropractor of mine linked to this picture in his latest newsletter.  Food for thought:

To see the larger image, click here.