Adventure Ausrama Blog

From what you read you would think that genetic science is going ahead in leaps and bounds. Really it has been stuck in the same place for a decade. Ninety percent of human genes are not studied because they are too complicated. These genes impact on people just as much as the 10 percent of "easy" ones. Most genes are inside cell nuclei so they are difficult to get to. However, dealing with the obvious is not sustainable. The 90 percent have to be studied. Hardly any funding at all is allocated to lesser known gene research. Scientific papers keep on regurgitating the familiar. PHD students have tunnel vision. Industry can provide a firm basis to examine the known. The little known has no industrial foundation. A study to apply existing learning tools to the neglected genes failed as people moved back to what is safe. Clearly, scientific principles are not being applied. Critical knowledge to identify what is true about DNA is being selectively ignored. Throwing out the ...

The sex of central bearded dragon hatchlings is determined by the prevailing temperature during incubation. Some females carry male genes and behave like males. They are more confident and active than other females. The "tomboys" also have more offspring. Australian central bearded dragon Of great interest is how genetic and climatic factors affect gender. In lab test incubation, if the temperature was over 32 degrees females with male chromosomes hatched as females. Below 32 degrees the dragon expressed its genetic disposition and hatched as males. High temperature females were larger than males which is normal for the species. It appears that male type behaviors of these females is genetically determined. Some of the females were even bolder than normal males. Male chromosomes affect the brain which is driven to express male traits. Only one other animal has the feature of environmental and genetic factors determining sex - the skink. Other animal...

An audience affects the behavior of mating male fish. If a male Atlantic Molly ( Poecilia mexicana ) is left alone he will try to mate with the healthiest looking female - the best female in his eyes. If there are other males in the vicinity he will not choose this female. It may be thought that he is giving up. This is not the case. He is thinking strategically. By choosing a less desirable female he leads other males away from the intended target best female. The male hopes to mate with this female later when the other rival males have gone. Some males are just too ordinary and have to mate with lesser females because other fitter males stop them getting close to "ideal" females. Mating with any female is better than not mating at all. This behavior could be present in humans. When a group of young men meet with a group of young females the handsomest men can be expected to pair off with the prettiest young ladies. The less attractive have to make do with second be...

Do you know if you are drinking a good wine? Well, you won't need a wine connoisseur to find out. Queensland Brain Institute is carrying out research to detect a good wine by "smell". Using bees' "noses" in fact. Bees have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. The aroma of wine is being blown over bees, and it is being noted how they react. Eventually, machines will be developed that will imitate the bees' sensitivity. The electronic noses will be used in wine production to monitor the production process to ensure a good quality wine for the market. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Biology

Men become more effeminate after marriage. When men marry, particularly when they have children, the level of testosterone in men's bodies falls. Tests on Filipino men highlighted this phenomenon. It appears that the more men care for children, adopting female behavior, the lower their testosterone. Research subjects were 21 years old on average. They were tested at the beginning and after 4 years. At the latter time 50 per cent were married. These married men had very high testosterone levels initially, which indicates that testosterone makes men more attractive as marriage partners. Very low testosterone was found in married men with a child less than one month old. Males who cared directly for a child had 80 per cent of the testosterone level of men who left childcare to mothers. Obviously behavior drives hormone level. This is a new discovery. If testosterone is affected by behavior it is possible that other hormones levels are determined by the way people act. http://...

Atheists are bad people. New findings show religious people contribute more to the community than non-believers. Apparently those who have no faith just get on with their lives caring only for themselves. But there is a saying " all of my best friends are atheists. " They could be friendly. However, they have little drive to help society in a general sense. Considering religious citizens believe in the writings of books that "command" believers to help others this finding is hardly surprising. Saying that such people are "nicer" though is too simplistic. Moreover, a fellow soldier who does not believe is just as likely to take a risk to save you in a battle as a religious person. Atheists also give less to charity. Considering most charities are religious institutions, this is to be expected as well. Is the behavior of believers really altruistic? They are trying to get into heaven after all. Belief is a fickle thing. Even atheists have faith. ...

You may not be responsible for aggressive behavior. New research shows that it could be caused by a chemical that strongly influences what you do, a chemical that you are not aware of. The Longfin squid lays its eggs each year in warm shallow water. Eggs are coated with a protein pheromone. When a male squid gets close to the eggs the chemical is absorbed and the sea creature attacks any other male squid in close proximity. It was thought that the cause of human aggression was in the brain which interacts with the body's physiological structure. This is now brought into question. Squid are complex, like humans. A similar protein pheromone is found in human seminal fluid. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com ~~~~~ Science ~~~~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

According to the NSW government, ethics is the nearest thing to religion. There is an admission here that religion somehow dictates the mode of behavior in adulthood. In centuries past this was most definitely true. You have only to read the accounts of people who were at deaths door, like being adrift at sea in a boat, to perceive that life after death was paramount in people's thinking. Not going to hell was also important. Teaching ethics as an alternative to religious education in schools seems to be a logical option. Next year the NSW government will allow parents to choose secular ethics as a subject for their children instead of religion. Some would argue that religion does not really teach people how to behave in society. It is more important than that. Believing in God is paramount, not how one behaves toward his/her fellow Man. Behavior is secondary to being submissive to God. The problem with ethics is the supposition that there is a correct way of social interaction. St...