Appolinaria

Fraternal twins can have different fathers...

Jiminy mother effing cricket.

I guess you learn something new everyday.

This begs the question "Why is it illegal to have bald, i.e. smooth, car tyres? I imagine that it is because a smooth tyre will slip more easily on a moist surface although it might offer more grip on a dry surface. Perhaps most things a primitive human needed to grip was likely to be moist in some way. Some things I can think of are moist branches to be climbed and even blood on some killed or wounded animal. Before posting I've had a quick Google round and I see that chimpanzees and apes also have fingerprints which suggests they offer some evolutionary benefit.

Aiding in channeling water makes sense but concluding that fingerprints must have an evolutionary benefit because chimps and apes have them doesn't make much sense to me- are you implying they developed separately in each species?

Why must everything always be beneficial? Can't we be caught in the in-between of something vestigial from a common ancestor being weeded out? Can something be neutral and not expend much energy so it kind of lingers for a while?

AUGH Vi Hart. Get out of here! She's that classically beautiful, musically talented, highly intelligent, perfect, adorably nerdy girl from high school that I always wanted to be.

*spits on the ground*

Well, someone has issues. Hello, hi.

You can put humans on a replica of Earth, but over time, even what appear to be "trivial" changes that occur on either planets will have huge impacts on genes... they would evolve into different species in a short period of time...

How do you people not understand that humans could evolve on another planet and be exactly the same?

They wouldn't be exactly the same. Our environment shapes us in very complex ways.

Here's an easy example;

"Native Americans, due to the lack of prior contact with Europeans, had not previously been exposed to the diseases that were prevalent on the distant continent. Therefore they had not built up internal immunities to the diseases or formed any medicines to combat them. Europeans came into the New World bearing various diseases. Those infected with diseases either possessed them in a dormant state or were not quarantined in such a way that distanced them enough from Native Americans to not spread the diseases, allowing diseases to spread into epidemics."

http://en.wikipedia....e_and_epidemics

This happened on the SAME PLANET. And in a relatively short amount of time, too.

Alien - Belonging to a foreign country or nation.

 

 

Another definition for alien is an extraterrestrial that is not human.

Are you being serious?

Yes.

I blame the goats. (joking)

Just read that they could live for a year or more without food or water, so fishermen kept them on boats for fresh meat without any expense to care for them. That's disgusting.

For the longest time I didn't realize homeopathy / holistic health were separate things. I guess homeopathy is a type of holistic practice?

I think it's safe to say that ie; irritated/inflamed areas of an eye from a viral infection are more susceptible to bacteria.

Just tell your doctor the situation and get treated for all of 'em. 2 weeks seems like a long time :S

Study is not terribly convincing, given most animals never [have] come into contact with acryllic glass and the above hypothesis (which went untested... ?)

They determined whether skin behaves more as a rubber-like or hard material, in terms of friction.

Surface area is a factor in rubber-like materials if I'm not mistaken. Ridges reduce surface area and therefore friction in rubber-like materials, so I don't see how even if the glass was swapped for bark this fact wouldn't still hold true.

To the OP... I think we have fingerprints because the texture helped us grip things better, and those who could better manipulate tools and instruments tended to do better in having successful offspring than those that were less able in the digit department.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8093134.stm

Out of curiosity... Did you read what I shared before commenting?

Yes, I did surprisingly. Here you're making the incorrect assumption that "fingerprints aren't as unique as we think". When if you read about the Mayfield case it was blatantly shotty work on the FBI's part, not fingerprints of two different people being virtually indistinguishable, that caused a wrong arrest.

"F.B.I. officials said that the erroneous fingerprint evidence against the lawyer, Brandon Mayfield, 37, of Aloha, Ore., stemmed from the poor quality of a digital image of the print sent from Spain and that they were conducting a review into the use of such procedures."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/25/us/bomb-case-against-lawyer-is-rejected.html?ref=brandonmayfield

I don't see how problems with forensic science have anything to do with the actual makeup of fingerprints. Sounds off topic. Sorry.

Sorry to spoil the fun, folks... but fingerprints are not as unique as you've been taught to think.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/real-csi/forensic-tools-whats-reliable-and-whats-not-so-scientific/

 

 

 

Here's an actual report summarizing the little actual science there is underlying forensic "science."

 

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12589#description

Of course out of all the humans on the planet parts of our prints may resemble anothers and lead to problems as above but that doesn't mean each print isn't completely unique (which is what I was told).

They don't have humans in Australia

Fingerprints develop in the womb from stress on the basal layer. It appears as though it is a byproduct of normal skin development. I don't see why it needs a purpose. I could be wrong here.

Great vacation I've been on was to Vieques, Puerto Rico. Small island that is quiet, safe and romantic.

Rented a jeep and explored abandoned navy bunkers in the hillsides / went out into the bioluminescent bay / evening dinners in magical bungalow restaurants / rented wave-runners almost everyday.

I'd definitely recommend it.

P.S. as a warning.. the U.S. used to test bombs on the island and there are contaminated portions that are blocked off. Also a higher cancer rate recorded in the local population, among other things. So you might turn green and sprout an extra limb, or die a week later.

Necrophilia aint no felony.

Okay, I'll be blunt too. What are any of you talking about? The universe exploring itself through consciousness? Are you going to recommend mushrooms as well? "The universe is so majestic, conscious beings from such simplicity". Get real. It's called science. Complex things will come from less complex things. It will happen again. This isn't a goddamn Carl Sagan video. Keep the whimsical sh*t to yourself.

You and your own mind... your unconscious focus on negativity... that's the only place this sense of blasé exists, and the only place it can be laid to rest.

 

Beware of the self-fulfilling prophecy, and recognize that if you choose not to suffer from existential angst, you generally won't.

What. What is this? An excerpt from a samurai novel? A quote from the Karate Kid?

Are these smaller than they seem in the picture?

So beautiful. Also put up some of Australia when you get the time

Anolis polylepis

That guy is tiny

I just recently got back from a field trip to the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica - Corocovado National Park is nominally the most biodiverse int he world and we saw some amazing critters. Have fun exploring the jungle! - remember your bug spray! [i also have many extremely amateur wildlife photos - happy to start the amateur wildlife photo/field trip report thread if Phi would like]

Jealousss

Can you please, Arete?

You appear to take that post as seriously as you take life. Lighten up for ****'s sake. Smell the effluent. Our ancestors loved it. Sorry, appolonaria, but you are just so frigging negative I find it impossible not to reach out and give you several metaphorical slaps about the face in the hope you will snap out of it. But it seems you are a lost cause, so I shall get lost from this thread.

 

to inow - you know me so well; its' almost as if you were there. (That wasn't you, was it?)

Despite all the insulting things you've said, I think you genuinely are annoyed about my perspective on life. So I appreciate your advice.

Appolinaria, perhaps you need to get laid.

Ouch.

So, once again, get laid, get drunk and stop thinking. It clearly doesn't do anything to enhance your life.

That is terrible advice. Alcohol and sex are not substitutes for dealing with reality. That only leads to dependencies, addictions, low self esteem, shallow relationships, disrespect for others and disrespect for yourself.

I hope no one reading this takes your advice. It is incredibly dangerous advice.