Adventure Ausrama Blog

SAnthropology: we have evolved to be on guard on the first night when sleeping in a new place. Man is still a hunter. We may live in cities and believe we are advanced but our genes have evolved to survive in the wild outdoors beneath the starlit night sky. If we move into a new environment getting a good night's sleep on the first night is a problem. Our brain is "on-guard" against unknown dangers. This phenomenon is in all animals. One hemisphere of the brain will sleep while the other remains on sentry duty. This "first-night-effect" is permanent. There is no cure because it isn't an illness. After the first night the brain adapts, records the new environment and deems it to be safe. Tests show that the left hemisphere sleeps lighter in a new situation. Slow-wave activity is weaker than the right hemisphere. Furthermore, the default-mode network which involves mind wandering is more active. This indicates that the brain is checking th

Genetics: Australian Aboriginal stone tools use was made within the Aboriginal gene pool. Australian Aborigines have been isolated on this vast continent for 50,000 until Europeans came and messed everything up. DNA sequencing shows Aboriginals were pure for this whole period. Contrary to the view held by many scientists for centuries, people did not arrive from India 4,000 years ago. Seafarers from India and Southeast Asia did stop here to get fresh water and herbs to treat constipation. Yes, this is true. Data tracing the Y chromosome from father to son shows no Asian genes in their profile. Aboriginals were the first people out of Africa. Once they reached Australia no more came from Asia. The out of Africa theory has now been pushed back 200,000 years. There is no real evidence of where these people went as far back as that. Tasmanian Aboriginals are a mystery. All have now died out so we will never know if they came here before mainland Aboriginals. Their DNA cou

Biology: Atlantic Molly fish of Mexico survive high hydrogen sulfide acid. There is hope for the future of fish as the world is polluted more every day. Some fish can live in extreme toxic, acidic environments. For example, the Atlantic Molly fish of Mexico can survive high levels of hydrogen sulfide acid. They are the only fish in volcanic freshwater springs. Mollies do not filter out the toxin. They turn on certain genes that do the filtering job for them. Of the fish's 35,000 genes 170 are enhanced in the process: these linked genes are all involved in removing hydrogen sulfide. If things get serious and species of fish begin to die out, this group of genes could be "spliced" into the gene structure of endangered fish. They would not be the same fish, but at least some vestige of the evolutionary sequence of dying fish would live on. ◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ●

In the study of humans migration, genomics and genetics really mean the same thing. Genetics is applied by genomics which analyses the structure of genomes. As well as migration much light has been shed on the origin of certain diseases. Alcoholism has evolved in man because it was useful as a curative agent. It first occurred naturally from stored grain. Beer jugs were found with Stone Age people. Because it came from collected grains, alcohol and bread probably came into human culture at the same time, Alcoholism is a side effect of evolution. Benefits for Man outweighed this issue and anyway it could have started commerce via trade in beverages. Having a particular gene predisposes groups of humans to sickle cell disease. It was said to be a disease of black gene pools. However, white people can develop the condition if they have the gene.  There is a predisposition gene for type 2 diabetes, though this malady can be caused by diet and taking medications over a Long period

Do you want to see natural selection at work? Oddly it isn't really natural. Humans have been selecting for the most suitable domesticated animals for thousands of years. Farm animals today are much different from the wild type we first caught. While chickens are tagged for their fearfulness, they are not scared of people at all. Sure they get out of your way, but that is about it. Six gene variants are functioning in domestic chickens. These do not operate in their wild relative the red junglefowl. Consequently, the fowl is jumpy and flighty when put in farm conditions. Cows in the slaughter yard know what is going to happen. Nonetheless, they do not scramble to get out. However, horses do not fit this pattern. They can be taken from the wild, broken in, then spend the rest of lives with people. Something done by God perhaps? I don't think so. ◆ Genetics by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Revie

It is commonly believed that DNA does its job and is just "there", non-functioning. However, new research shows DNA to be pro-active. It reads our senses and reacts accordingly. DNA detects the seasons and changes ones' body chemistry accordingly. As many as a fifth of all blood cells genes change with the season. Gene switches are turned on or off to achieve this. In winter immune responders are at a high level. The blood gets thinner in summer knowing that you will be more active. Body-building, fat-burning and water retention is the objective in hotter months. It is possible that living in air conditioned buildings could leave you body at risk of disease because the preparatory changes are not complete. Even the length of day is now distorted by artificial light.  While having ant-inflammatory chemicals ready and operational in winter is rationally useful, inflammation in itself damages the body, particularly when there is no attack on the body. It

The day of Frankenstein has arrived. New human beings have been born. The path of human evolution has been changed, and should I say damaged, forever. Even though a person can have three parents it should never have been done. Heaven knows what the long term consequences for the human species will be. Man could die out because natural selection has been bypassed for the first time in human evolution. Now that Britain has passed legislation to allow such births, do-gooders in other countries are calling for its adoption too. Do they have the right to play God? They certainly do not! This affects every person living now and in the future. Consider the legal problems ahead for inheritance. Offspring will ultimately try to claim the wealth of a "host" egg provider when she dies. Your ancestors will be impossible to trace because some members of the population have three or more generations of three parents. The problem with politicians is - They take knee jerk

There is a problem in Australia in regard to claims that one is an Aboriginal. In the past, part Aboriginals have identified themselves as native Australians, so they are entitled to welfare benefits that white Australians cannot access. The Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie has ignited the debate by claiming she is Aboriginal. This is questioned by other Aboriginals. Sure she does look a little bit different than "pure" white Europeans, but the difference is minuscule. She actually claims that she is a descendant of Mannalargenna, a famous Tasmanian Aboriginal leader. Her offer of a DNA test to substantiate her claim is not of much use. Aboriginals originally came from Africa, as we all did. No genes have been identified as being unique to Australian Aboriginals. DNA testing was suggested in 2002 at the Tasmanian ATSIC elections. The issue is that Tasmanian Aboriginals were a different "race" than mainlanders. They were all killed b

Acclaim is given to two Australian scientists, Walter and Eliza Hall, who have changed ideas about the memory of the immune system. B cells make antibodies to fight infection. These cells do not die after doing their job and this is not the normal run of things. A pro-survival proteins is responsible for the cells' continuing existence. It has been proven that the Mcl-1 protein does this, not the Bcl-xL protein as was accepted in the past. Tests blocked the activity of Bcl-xL which showed that Mcl-1 stopped apoptosis - death. Cancer cells survive due to Mcl-1, so there are new possibilities for cancer research. It could also have repercussion for future treatment of the resistance response in organ transplant patients. Health by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contrary to popular belief crocodiles don't have scales on their heads. They are just cracks in the thick skin on their skulls. The rest of the body does have scales. How the animal develops biologically is interesting. Each scale forms from a discrete scale primordium. For example, scales at similar points each side of the body are identical. The deep lines on the head are unique to each crocodile, like a fingerprint. Indeed, the lines are not symmetrical. Now it is possible to identify young crocodiles without tagging, to follow their growth. Having no primordia on a crocodile's head is functional. Mounds of skin build up and form an active memrocobrane. Receptors detect fine vibrations in water. This helps in hunting. It has been hypothesised that fingerprints form in the same way as the "cracks" on the heads of crocodiles. This unregulated gene formation building on earlier skin development is probably the reason why identical twins have different fin

Mothers keep the DNA of their children in their system for a lifetime, particularly the genes of male offspring.  The DNA resides in the mother's brain.  It is not know what the overall effect is on a woman.  It was found, however, that presence of male DNA reduced the incidence of Alzheimer's. All mammals exchange DNA in this way.  It is called fetal microchimerism and has bad effects as well as good.  While improving disease resistance it can lower autoimmune reactions. Until recently humans were not known to have microchimerism, though other animals such as rats did.  Autopsies on middle aged deceased woman found male DNA spread throughout the brain.  A 101 year old lady had DNA present even at her advanced age. 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .