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Showing posts with the label skeletons

Hibernation Genes Means Pandas are Born Premature

One evolved feature in an animal can affect another feature. Of course, the environment is the main factor in determining which feature wins out. Some animals have developed hibernation to survive harsh winters, but this can affect foetal development. Bears in particular are born very small because of a short pregnancy due to hibernation. Pandas have this trait even though they do not hibernate. They carry the genes for hibernation, though it is not expressed. Oddly, panda cubs are born weaker than other bears. Adult pandas are 900 time larger than their newborns. This ratio is higher than other bears, though polar bear have a ration of 400:1. Mammals generally have a ratio of 26:1 overall. It seems that baby pandas are born prematurely as the norm. Their bones are underdeveloped. This is making survival of the species difficult. Without help from humans the species would have become extinct. Keywords: panda, science, bears, species, birth, news, animals, pandas,

Ancient Britons Were Cannibals

Watch out Caribs: your reputation could be under threat. This group of tribal people found in the West Indies when explorers first arrived there were given the "badge" of real cannibals. It now seems cannibalism was practiced elsewhere, in Britain as a matter of fact. Yes, in jolly old blighty. Ancient Britons sat around the fire enjoying bloody drinks from skulls. They reached out to grab pieces of human flesh from the spit. Human remains from a dig at Glough's Cave show dismemberment of some bodies. There is evidence of butchering with bone marrow being removed. This is the most nutritious substance that can be obtained from a body. The edges of skulls were also made smooth to make them more comfortable to drink from. While using skulls as drinking vessels is not evidence in itself that ancient Britons drank human blood from craniums - some non-meat eating people in Asia used them - prying damage on the skeletons does clearly point to cannibalism occurring   His