Science News Digest 24th May 2010
In the science news this week, we take a look at The mass extinction of fish that paved the way for human evolution, the secrets of a long marriage, human creation of artificial life and finally…why letter writing is in terminal decline.
A fishy tale.
Researchers from the University of Chicago in the USA have revealed that a mass extinction of fish 360 million years ago during the Devonian period allowed the human race to evolve.
Apparently this event ‘reset the evolutionary starting point’ for all vertebrates living today, and with out it, humans could have evolved very differently, if at all according to the Daily Mail.
'Everything was hit, the extinction was global,' said researcher Lauren Sallan from the University of Chicago. 'It reset vertebrate diversity in every single environment, both freshwater and marine, and created a completely different world.'
Key features shared by all modern mammals, birds and reptiles - such as five-digit
limbs - originated when life re-emerged after the mass extinction, the experts believe.
A broad array of species filled the oceans, rivers and lakes, but most were unlike any alive today.
From armoured placoderms, like the gigantic 30-foot carnivore Dunkeosteus, to lobe-finned fishes similar to modern lungfish a range of species, most unlike those alive today, ruled the waters.
The cause of the mass extinction remains a mystery, although some scientists have found evidence of glacial formations that would have dramatically affected sea levels.
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Global storming.
A global ethics storm is raging this week thanks to researchers from the US announcing that they have successfully created the world’s first synthetic organisms.
20 scientists have been working on this project for the last decade at a cost of $40m.
Led by biology’s ‘bad boy’ according to the Metro, Craig Venter the geneticist behind the experiment, thinks we are now in a position to create new life that will benefit humanity. Yet, the publication of this research has received widespread condemnation from religious groups, accusing Venter of playing God.
Dr Venter said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria that churn out biofuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines.
The new organism based on an existing bacterium, has an entirely synthetic genome constructed from chemicals in the laboratory. Within the DNA of the organism, Venter and his team have created ‘watermarks’ including people’s names and an email address to help trace the organisms back to their creator.
"We were ecstatic when the cells booted up with all the watermarks in place," Dr Venter told the Guardian. "It's a living species now, part of our planet's inventory of life."
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Bride and doom?
For men, the key to a successful marriage is…..always be more miserable than your wife?
According to new research from Deakin University in Australia, researchers have found that couples who are in a similar state of happiness are likely to stay together the longest, but if the husband is happier than the wife, his partner is much more likely to leave him.
Comparing data from tens of thousands of relationships in three different countries, the most successful marriages were those with the smallest differences in happiness, most similar social backgrounds, shared roles around the house and something significant in common, such as a religion.
Dr Cahit Guven, an expert in wellbeing and economics from Deakin University said, "Previous studies have shown that couples who marry with similar levels of schooling, age, country of origin, ethnicity, religion and social background have longer marriages,"
Read the full story in the Telegraph
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And finally....
Dead letter day.
Father Christmas had better get email savvy or he won’t be getting many requests from children after a survey found that letter writing is becoming a dying art among 7-14 year olds.
The poll conducted by World Vision found that 10% of this age group had never written a letter before, while half of them had written an email or a message on a social networking site in the last week alone.
Child education expert Sue Palmer said: "If children do not write or receive letters they miss out on key developmental benefits.
"Handwritten letters are much more personal than electronic communication.
"By going to the trouble of physically committing words to paper, the writer shows their investment of time and effort in a relationship.
"That's why we tend to hang on to personal letters as keepsakes."
However, if Father Christmas does get the message in the first place, ironically he is much more likely to receive a letter in the end, as 70% of the children thought it was necessary to write a thank you letter if they receive a present.
Read more in Sky News.
A fishy tale.
Researchers from the University of Chicago in the USA have revealed that a mass extinction of fish 360 million years ago during the Devonian period allowed the human race to evolve.
Apparently this event ‘reset the evolutionary starting point’ for all vertebrates living today, and with out it, humans could have evolved very differently, if at all according to the Daily Mail.
'Everything was hit, the extinction was global,' said researcher Lauren Sallan from the University of Chicago. 'It reset vertebrate diversity in every single environment, both freshwater and marine, and created a completely different world.'
Key features shared by all modern mammals, birds and reptiles - such as five-digit
limbs - originated when life re-emerged after the mass extinction, the experts believe.
A broad array of species filled the oceans, rivers and lakes, but most were unlike any alive today.
From armoured placoderms, like the gigantic 30-foot carnivore Dunkeosteus, to lobe-finned fishes similar to modern lungfish a range of species, most unlike those alive today, ruled the waters.
The cause of the mass extinction remains a mystery, although some scientists have found evidence of glacial formations that would have dramatically affected sea levels.
----------------------------------
Global storming.
A global ethics storm is raging this week thanks to researchers from the US announcing that they have successfully created the world’s first synthetic organisms.
20 scientists have been working on this project for the last decade at a cost of $40m.
Led by biology’s ‘bad boy’ according to the Metro, Craig Venter the geneticist behind the experiment, thinks we are now in a position to create new life that will benefit humanity. Yet, the publication of this research has received widespread condemnation from religious groups, accusing Venter of playing God.
Dr Venter said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria that churn out biofuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines.
The new organism based on an existing bacterium, has an entirely synthetic genome constructed from chemicals in the laboratory. Within the DNA of the organism, Venter and his team have created ‘watermarks’ including people’s names and an email address to help trace the organisms back to their creator.
"We were ecstatic when the cells booted up with all the watermarks in place," Dr Venter told the Guardian. "It's a living species now, part of our planet's inventory of life."
---------------------------------------
Bride and doom?
For men, the key to a successful marriage is…..always be more miserable than your wife?
According to new research from Deakin University in Australia, researchers have found that couples who are in a similar state of happiness are likely to stay together the longest, but if the husband is happier than the wife, his partner is much more likely to leave him.
Comparing data from tens of thousands of relationships in three different countries, the most successful marriages were those with the smallest differences in happiness, most similar social backgrounds, shared roles around the house and something significant in common, such as a religion.
Dr Cahit Guven, an expert in wellbeing and economics from Deakin University said, "Previous studies have shown that couples who marry with similar levels of schooling, age, country of origin, ethnicity, religion and social background have longer marriages,"
Read the full story in the Telegraph
-------------------------------------
And finally....
Dead letter day.
Father Christmas had better get email savvy or he won’t be getting many requests from children after a survey found that letter writing is becoming a dying art among 7-14 year olds.
The poll conducted by World Vision found that 10% of this age group had never written a letter before, while half of them had written an email or a message on a social networking site in the last week alone.
Child education expert Sue Palmer said: "If children do not write or receive letters they miss out on key developmental benefits.
"Handwritten letters are much more personal than electronic communication.
"By going to the trouble of physically committing words to paper, the writer shows their investment of time and effort in a relationship.
"That's why we tend to hang on to personal letters as keepsakes."
However, if Father Christmas does get the message in the first place, ironically he is much more likely to receive a letter in the end, as 70% of the children thought it was necessary to write a thank you letter if they receive a present.
Read more in Sky News.
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