Adventure Ausrama Blog

Until recently the earliest language pathway was believed to have originated 5 million years ago. However, it seems that the auditory system was evolving toward language in nonhuman primates 25 million years ago. This conclusion was reached after brain scans of humans, apes and monkeys. The auditory system found in other primates is an evolutionary forerunner of the human language pathway. Therefore, there is a clear evolutionary path toward auditory cognition and vocal communication. Language capability is nascent in nonhuman primates. Proof of early language development was there all the time but was never understood before. Analysis of the human brain shows a strong structure on the left side of the language pathway. The right side has changed from what it was in other primates: it has diverged into non-auditory parts of the brain. It is now believed that the path to language capability began more than 25 million years, probably in preprimate animals. Brain scans of n...

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...