Evolution, Morphology and Exobiology

I just thought this was cool and the ramifications are incredible. Why was this never looked at as being an important discovery? -----> http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast01sep98_1.htm

Are mosasaurs more closely related to snakes or monitor lizards? Various morphological characteristics such as features in the skull point to at least in-between, or closer to snakes. Having seen a fossil of Tylosaurus myself, while it looked indoubtedly snakelike, I also recognized that it had common featues with modern monitors. Anyone is welcome to discuss their various homologies with snakes and monitors or where they fit in that particular family tree.

I was thinking about evolution, and I was wondering what kind of effects the evolution of humans could have on what we do and like. Like how most people seem to prefer cold water over warm water, could that be becuase cold water tended to be running water, which had less harmful microorganisms than what tended to be in warm or stagnit water? What other things like that could there be like that?

Let's take a good look at how rapidly humans have progressed. Let's say, in the early 1400's. Back then, humans believed the world to be flat (....how exactly would they know when they would fall off?) and that if you journeyed too far by boat, then you would fall of the face of the Earth. Christopher Columbus, proved that wrong. Later, in about maybe 1800's, humans have colonized just about every continent (excluding antarctica) on the Earth. But, humans don't really make a huge leap until the 1950's, when humans sent up Sputnik (mind you, I'm not too familiar with dates, so don't blame me if the dates are wrong). After that, humans were on a steep hill of technolo…

I was speaking wtih a friend earlier about evolution and he was questioning it... I believe in evolution but I would just like a few things cleared. First off, I was wondering why did our appendix shrink over years of non use.... shouldn't it just stay there since it does not effect us positivly or negatively. Thx in advance

I was watching MXC on Spike TV today, just for kicks. For those that don't know, it is a show where they play video clips from zany game shows out of Japan, and then offer silly commentary in English. Great show. In any case, they showed a clip from a trivia show in which they asked contestants if it was true or false that pill bugs (or sow bugs or rolly pollys) always and consistently alternate between turning right and turning left each time they encounter a wall or obstacle. After the contestants chose their answer, a University of Tokyo professor came out and said the answer is true that they always, without fail, follow a right-left-right-left-right-left-right (…

Why did the size of humans change over time, especially with people in East Asia? I've always thought that the further you head from Africa, the shorter people you can find. I've just been curious as to why most in East Asia are just lots smaller than most everyone else. Was there something favored by people that were short in that part of the world way back then? Thanks

Or are the characteristics of a species merely a coincidence of circumstances like natural selection and environment? I'm in AP right now, and in a lot of texts I've noticed the implication that species are actively evolving towards a certain end, usually in sentences like, "Despite a harsh environment, Species B has evolved a trait that allows it to combat it quite effectively..." This implies a direct action by the species that's evolving - or, if you take a religious bent on it, a big metaphysical hand pulling the puppet strings of evolution. I like to think that species are merely the passive product of natural selection, and do not consciously evolve toward…

Is there any reason why life on land couldn't have evolved to the oceans?? I don't mean life started evolving on the land. Something like a bird that lives off fish evolving into a "fish bird" thing. Like the penguins, evolve from life in the sea, evolve on land for a while and become air breathers but since their prey is in the sea and they have to spend so much time underwater. Wouldn't evolution mutate them into water breathers again?? Or would the predators already in the oceans force them to stay on land?? Considering these facts.. I recently watched a documentary David Attenborough IIRC saying we've only explored around 5 percent of the Earths ocean…

hi, just wondering if anyone knows what the first ever established speaking language known to man is?

We had this in our test and I'm slightly confused by it. Both the long-eared bandicoot and the rabbit share many similarities, yet their evolutionary pathlines divered 120 million years ago, why? The answer is obviously convergent evolution, but I can't find any selecting factors which would be similar. Firstly, my quick net search tells me that the long-eared-bandicoot is also apparently called the bilby (a name I am more familiar with) and common features are the long ears, a slight hop, burrowing and a similar overall shape. However I would have assumed that rabbit evolved their long ears to avoid being eaten, and yet I would have assumed the bilby was rela…

Ok, I'm going to visit this family who are like deeply religious (Christian). And since it's been two years since I last visited them, they still think I'm a 'good' Christian. But I'm an atheist now, and I'm very convinced that there isn't some 'floating' grandpa protecting us and shit. Ok what I'm basically asking is some convincing arguments against Creationism, and give me some defending points on Evolution. Please

Hey its been a while since i was here. I'm working on revising my mentality to not be such a time waster. Anyhow i was wondering this just a moment ago, and a feel like asking so here i ask. How could sexes have evolved (not saying that as in that i lean to it not being true, just as in a way as we were not there so all we can really say is what COULD have happened). I may guess that someone will say something about gradual mutations that had better chance of survival, became more common, then kept evolving. But that wouldn't satisfy me. PRECISELY why did there become different sexes (maybe it started with bacteria?) when did there actually become male and female? Er,…

I tried to search for this question, but didn't have any luck. How far back in my family tree do I have to go where a change would have kept me from being born. For example, someone got killed. Bettina

Hello, From which phylum onwards do the animals really evolved the thinking capacity? Any answer? Regards, Biologisthegde

i ask for a brief answer; can you build a building without ground floor? you cannot. how can you build a theory without explaining the origin of first living organism? you cannot.

Both my Biology teacher and I agree that humans are too complex to have evolved from basic elements. Just look at how complex our eyes are. Evolution would be like throwing silicon and glass into a container, shaking it, and pulling out the world's most powerful digital camera. I can't imagine this ever happening even after shaking the container for millions of years. I'm not even talking about how complex our brains are. If you took all the basic elements that are inside a computer, they would never bond together to make a computer system without the help of something intelligent. What is your opinion about this?

Ok today me and my friends were talkings during a show he liked called "Rage against the mechians" and we started to wonder about evolution. We eventually came to this: There a only a few steps in evolution and the all have ended the same so far. First Step- Regionization: A race of creatures with intellegents realizes that their race is called "Man" or "human". Second Step-Orgionization: The race of humans begin to form tribes,clans, a government etc. Third Step-Devolopment: The groups of humans start to gain and control land and start to develop new means of gaining more land, i.e. Technology. Fourth Step-Humans of Tech.: THe humans are fully developed and have m…

Many mammals of the Pleistocene were gigantic compared with modern species - what factors existed in their environment that allowed them to attain such huge proportions that are not present today?

ok, really we know that the AAH is obviously false and impossible. and if it was true, we would be very different from what we are now. however: we theoretically evolved in africa, right? hunting migrating animals, right? many primates are also constantly migrating animals, and construct of find shelter in a new place quickly every time they move, right? (yes, those "right?"s are there because i am unsure of whether or not they are true) africa is full of rivers that all migrating animals must cross at one or more points in their migration. these rivers are filled with crocodiles waiting for the right moment to grab prey. these rivers are very violent an…

I thought of this just after Toms "sue" thread.... Elephants and Whales have huge brains don't they? what do they do with it all?

Exactly how is a subspecies defined? And how importat are they to science?How does one go about deciding if two individuals are entirely separate species or less distinct subspecies? I for one support subspecies with a whole-hearted conviction, but I am of the understanding that many do not. I mean, a Siberian/Amur/Manchurian Tiger is obviously a different kind of animal from a Sumatran Tiger. Some people dismiss subspecies as unimportant. For instance, my bio teacher thinks we should just carelessly breed more common cougars with florida panthers to replenish their numbers, beause it doesn't matter if their distinguishing traits are flushed out because they're nothin…

Recently, TIME magazine put out a very interesting article on the science of happiness, and that the various methods of portraying the feeling, as well as the level to which it is displayed, can be attributed to a chromosomal anamoly passed on in the genetic code. Now is it just me, or can anything and everything be attributed to the "genetic code"? Shouldn't our own experience of life be ultimately controlled by us alone, God notwithstanding? Any thoughts....?

This is discussed in other threads, but never as the topic. Assumming there is a planet with near-Earth properties and carbon/DNA/photo- or chemo-synthesis based happened the same way as it did here. What possible evolutionary tracts could ultimately end in intelligient life? And how might slightly increased or decreased gravity or temperture affect the possible tracts? What conditions encourage intelligence as an advantage? Does an animal need to benefit from the use of tools, so that it will evolve a brain capable of using tools? And if that is the case than does it need a previous evolutionary force to give hands capable of grasping (like the combination of sa…

just came across this link....thought it might make an interesting read... http://autofeed.msn.co.in/pandorav3/output/News/d41de39d-3a1b-47f3-ac45-deb1af6667fb.aspx