• Science

    Duck-Billed Platypus Genes Analyzed

    By Posted on 5.7.2008 12 Comments

    An international team of scientists today published the first analysis of the genome sequence of Glennie, a female duck-billed platypus from Australia. Because the platypus occupies a unique branch on the tree of life, Glennie's genome could provide important clues about how humans and other mammalian species evolved. Like all mammals, the platypus nourishes its young with milk. But platypus babies hatch from eggs, a characteristic usually associated with birds and reptiles. By comparing the platypus genome with the genomes of other animals—including the human, mouse, dog, chicken and green anole lizard—the scientists hope to pinpoint which genes are common to all mammals, and when various traits have appeared or disappeared in the mammalian lineage.

    5.9.2008 at 12:09pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    Ok whew, I thought we were being taken over by evangelists. But ok well if I was in debate class as "for intelligent design" as it relates to the platyupus (now there's a topic) I would go for the idea that the combined traits of the playtpus (2 traits each of birds, and mammals) do not fit with the linear development implied by evolution as "one trait at a time" and I would suggest that evolution might have created a bird with hair, or a mammal that lays eggs, but having two traits each from two completely different animal kingdoms seems highly implausible without some type of god with a very well developed sense of humor. So there could be an arguement there, but it's one I'm not going to make. I think the platypus is a mammal that has adapted by calling upon recessive traits such as laying eggs, and the beak. Mammalian traits definitely evolved after bird and reptile traits and there are documented cases of recessive genes producing body parts in other animals, such as birds that develop teeth. The genes for teeth are still inherited by birds from their reptilian ancestors and they can still manifest themselves in some cases. But then there are also a few instances in which the same trait evolves completely independantly in different animals. Insects have have something very similar to mammal "hair", flight evolved independantly in birds, insects, and mammals, so it would stand to reason that maybe it's a combination of a recessive trait from reptiles to lay eggs, and a unique "mammalian beak" (webbed feet are another thing that's evolved independently in birds and mammals) Evolution is certainly a strange thing. The poisonous spurs on the male platypus are completely unique. All other venomous mammals and reptiles deliver poison through a bite. Fish have poisonous barbs but they are different from the platypus in that the venom is contained within the spines instead of a seperate gland.

  • Science

    Duck-Billed Platypus Genes Analyzed

    By Posted on 5.7.2008 12 Comments

    An international team of scientists today published the first analysis of the genome sequence of Glennie, a female duck-billed platypus from Australia. Because the platypus occupies a unique branch on the tree of life, Glennie's genome could provide important clues about how humans and other mammalian species evolved. Like all mammals, the platypus nourishes its young with milk. But platypus babies hatch from eggs, a characteristic usually associated with birds and reptiles. By comparing the platypus genome with the genomes of other animals—including the human, mouse, dog, chicken and green anole lizard—the scientists hope to pinpoint which genes are common to all mammals, and when various traits have appeared or disappeared in the mammalian lineage.

    5.8.2008 at 04:14pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    Intelligent design??? So I'm god "Hmmm yeah I think today I'll make a bird with fur and boobs, or a rat with a beak that lays eggs." Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense... It's obviously some freakish missing link that is way more evidence of evolution than it is of god but if that's what you want to think then it must be a miracle... Oh and try not to get stung while you're kissing it's feet, it's deadly poisonous... thanks again jesus!

  • Cars

    Engineering a Debunking

    By Posted on 5.5.2008 4 Comments

    The Internet loves a scoop, and car lovers love to speculate on new models. That's the perfect environment in which to incubate Photoshop renderings of sports cars hinted at, but unconfirmed. The latest engagement of wishful thinking hit the Internet this past weekend. It's a take on a car BMW officials have yet to announce but which the German media has been predicting for several years: the return of the BMW M1, a two-seat sports car the Munich-based company built in the mid-1970s.

    5.6.2008 at 12:44pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    Actually BMW did just show an M1 concept that looks nothing like this at all. I don't like that one either. It sort of looks like a Dodge Challenger knocked up an 8 Series coupe They should NOT have done it in the same orange that Dodge did with the Challenger Concept especially with the cowled headlights. Also there's a big BIG gap between the hatch and the rear deck which looks like someone tried to stuff too many groceries back there. I almost expect to see a bungee cord holding it down in the back. BMWs are getting way fug, like the X6, GROSS! It reminds me of the man-bear-pig from southpark. If you really want to see where Bimmer design is going look at the CS concept. It's pretty but it's still a rip off and this time it looks like a Charger raped an Aston Martin after an Amy Winehouse concert. I'm talking about the exaggerated rear fender crease which while tough looking is not a BMW hallmark, and the front looks like a Maserati on vicodin. Rape babies are always going to be depressed, and should be aborted...

  • Science

    Researchers Create Self-Repairing Rubber

    By Posted on 2.22.2008 3 Comments

    Scientists at the Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles in Sheboygan, Wisconsin—wait, I mean Paris, France—have created a new kind of rubber that can bind back together after being broken in two.

    2.22.2008 at 01:51pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    I'm just going to say it. Condoms condoms condoms!

  • Gadgets

    Wave Runner

    By Posted on 2.22.2008 20 Comments

    This month, 69-year-old Japanese sailor Ken-ichi Horie will attempt to captain the worlds most advanced wave-powered boat 4,350 miles from Hawaii to Japan. If all goes as planned, hell set the first Guinness world record for the longest distance traveled by a wave-powered boat and, along the way, show off the greenest nautical propulsion system since the sail.

    2.22.2008 at 01:40pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    Wow. Ok so I get how this works but it still seems super pointless if you can go way faster than that with sails. Is it really going to scale up to commercial size any better than sails have? In fact it's the scale of the thing itself that's the biggest problem. Sure 5 foot waves will work for a cute little thing like that, but if you plan to put it on a gigantic ship you're going to need gigantic waves all the time to get the same thrust/weight ratio. It seems like there are much more compelling concepts for "Kite" powered commercial freighters. Sorry but I actually work in international sourcing and even if the cost went way way down, It's just not practical at all to triple shipping timeframes. Oh and why does it need a mast and rigging like that? I'll be he puts up sails when no one is looking...

  • The Environment

    Climate Change—Don’t Blame It on the Sun

    By Posted on 2.16.2008 21 Comments

    AAAS 2008, Boston, MA Sallie Baliunas, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is pointing to a slide called Interdecadal Magnetic Variability Berillium 10. Its supposed to communicate something about the relationship between the suns intensity and climate change. All I see is a collection of squiggly lines. It could be an EKG or a seismograph test. The man sitting next to me appears to be equally lost. Hes snoring. The woman next to him is staring at her shoelaces.

    2.20.2008 at 07:33pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    A relationship has been made between climate change and solar radiation which was observed during the "little Ice Age" in the form of lower levels of sunspots. More sunspots = more radiation. I'm of the firm belief that current climate change is brought on by manmade factors but I also think that it has more to do with the interruption or destruction of Co2 absorbing processes than it does with actual increased Co2 emissions. If you look at the numbers, human Co2 emissions seem like a drop in the bucket (@ 27billion tonnes) when compared with the whole of the carbon cycle (about 800 billion tonnes including all plant and animal respiration) but then human destruction of the rainforest (which absorbs most of the Co2 out of the atmosphere) is utterly prolific at more than 50% in the last 100 years....

  • Cars

    GM Vice Chairman Calls Global Warming A "Total Crock of S**t"

    By Posted on 2.13.2008 46 Comments

    Heres an odd PR move making the blog rounds today: Bob Lutz, the General Motors Vice Chairman whos driving the charge to build the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, was recently quoted in D Magazine calling global warming a crock of s**t.

    2.20.2008 at 12:58pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    To comment on the effect of Volcanoes on Global Warming, Commanders you are right that the most prevalent effect of voncanic activity comes from Sulfur which actually works to cool off the planet. Volcanoes do also release C02 but it's not on any scale that has an impact on global warming. Volcanoes contribute on average about 300 million metric tonnes of C02 to the carbon cycle each year while Humans contribute about 27 BILLION metric tonnes of C02 per year. But both of those numbers actually pale in comparison to the carbon cycle as a whole which includes the respiration of all plants and animals and comprises about 800 BILLION metric tonnes. Taking this into account it stands to reason that the manmade factors of deforestation and algea blooms caused by polution (when algea blooms it actually kills everything as the dead algea decays and depletes oxygen levels) have a much greater impact than our mere 27 Billion metric tonnes worth of C02 emissions. We're reducing the environment's ability to re-absorb carbon and that's our biggest problem. Mr. Lutz, you are wrong, global warming is real and caused by humans but you're not a hipocrite since the Volt wouldn't do anything about that unless it can grow trees somewhere in it's diminutive frame... The motivations behind the Volt are obviously "Economical" and not "Ecological".

  • Cars

    A Full-Service Fillup, Via Robot

    By Posted on 2.6.2008 6 Comments

    It will cost more than your car, but the convenience! Pull up to a pump, and the Dutch robot fueling system from Intion Development does the rest. A robotic arm pops open the access door with one manipulator, unscrews the fuel cap with another, and then handles the fuel nozzle with a gripper-like device and fills up your car.

    2.15.2008 at 06:43pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    Although I do have to say, I live in Utah and I often dread getting out in the bitter ass cold to fill up. A robot would be nice but on the other hand if it adds even a cent more to fill up just forget it. I'll syphen the shit by mouth if its cheaper...

  • Cars

    A Full-Service Fillup, Via Robot

    By Posted on 2.6.2008 6 Comments

    It will cost more than your car, but the convenience! Pull up to a pump, and the Dutch robot fueling system from Intion Development does the rest. A robotic arm pops open the access door with one manipulator, unscrews the fuel cap with another, and then handles the fuel nozzle with a gripper-like device and fills up your car.

    2.15.2008 at 06:38pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    I'm sure there is all sorts of door, cap and hole recognition gizmos, don't really see how they'll overcome the key thing though. Also there are many different ways of removing gas caps. Some you have to push and turn, some require a turn until click to close? What? Does the thing recognize your body style and figure it out that way?

  • Cars

    Robot Chauffeur

    By Posted on 1.22.2008 6 Comments

    Too busy to drive? Let the car take the wheel. PopSci recently went for a ride in the Chevy Boss, winner of the 2007 Darpa Urban Challenge. With tricked-out GPS, sonar, laser guidance and a stack of computers, this 2007 Chevy Tahoe SUV can navigate an urban setting, weave around obstacles, and even negotiate intersections with other cars. GM expects the technology to be affordable, and less obtrusive, in about a decade.

    2.15.2008 at 06:35pm - Comment by gayasstechie

    Does anyone else see a massive threat to the massive car insurance industry with this? Imagine if there were no more accidents. What on earth would we do with ourselves?

Page 1 of 2 12next ›last »



Download Our iPhone App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed



Become a Fan On Facebook

Share links with friends, comment on stories and more


December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

Check out the best of what's new here.

Popular Science Photo Pool


Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
tags_sprite.png
POP_embeddedForm_cover_May09.jpg