M.J. Rose

Meditate for a while on this real-time map of births and deaths and you will get an enlightening sense of how our human life cycle is expressed in time over the globe…

(You may also be surprised at how small this map will make you feel.)

A Real-Time Map of Births and Deaths

This simulation gives an eerily omniscient vantage on the world as it fills.

by James Hamblin

“In 1950, there were 2.5 billion humans. Today there are just over 7 billion. In another 30 years, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections, there will be more than 9 billion.

Brad Lyon has a doctoral degree in mathematics and does software development. He wanted to make those numbers visual. Last year he and designer Bill Snebold made a hugely popular interactive simulation map of births and deaths in the U.S. alone—the population of which is on pace to increase 44 percent by 2050. Now, Lyon takes on the world…”

To view the map, click here.

Issues of royal paternity. It was once the stuff of beheadings and intrigue. Now it lives in the realm of DNA testing in a lab…

Richard III DNA shows British Royal family may not have royal bloodline

The University of Leicester has studied the DNA of Richard III and found that there could be a break in the royal bloodline

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor The Telegraph UK

“When the body of Richard III was discovered in a car park in Leicester in 2012 archaeologists knew it was a momentous find.

But little did they realise that it might expose the skeletons in the cupboard of the British aristocracy, and even call into question the bloodline of the Royal family.

In order to prove that the skeleton really was Richard III, scientists needed to take a DNA sample and match it to his descendants.

Genetic testing through his maternal DNA proved conclusively that the body was the King. However, when they checked the male line they discovered something odd. The DNA did not match showing that at some point in history an adulterous affair had broken the paternal chain.

Although it is impossible to say when the affair happened, if it occurred around the time of Edward III (1312- 1377) it could call into question whether kings like Henry VI, Henry VII and Henry VIII had royal blood, and therefore the right to rule…”

For the rest, and a very interesting video segment, click here.

It’s so fascinating to imagine the lost world of our ancestors. A world where human beings were not the only intelligent hominid species roaming the earth. A world where we had contemporaries such as the Neanderthals…

These days, it’s a little lonely to be us. Perhaps that’s why we’ve conjured up so many myths of other “people” to share our world — fairies, elves, Bigfoot…the list goes on. We have even spent billions of science dollars seeking life on other planets to keep us company.

So, it’s no surprise that the mystery of what became of our most recent lost contemporary, the Neanderthal, continues to burn. Did we cause our own vast loneliness by driving our brothers into extinction? Did we breed them out? In the meantime, new science has concluded that the neanderthals were a distinct species and not simply a subspecies of modern humans. No doubt, there is much much more to learn about our old departed friends…

Were Neanderthals a sub-species of modern humans? New research says no

(Science Daily)

“Researchers have identified new evidence supporting the growing belief that Neanderthals were a distinct species separate from modern humans (Homo sapiens), and not a subspecies of modern humans.

In an extensive, multi-institution study led by SUNY Downstate Medical Center, researchers have identified new evidence supporting the growing belief that Neanderthals were a distinct species separate from modern humans (Homo sapiens), and not a subspecies of modern humans…”

For the rest, click here.

In other news, the science world is actually wondering, should we clone a Neanderthal? Here.