Fascinating.

Sharks Have Genes for Fingers and Toes

Researchers identified genetic activity in spotted catsharks embryos that signal the creation of digits. The discovery pushes back the date of the evolutionary “fin to limb” advance by some 135 million years. When a gene—essentially a set of instructions—is translated into a trait, such as red hair or an arm, it is said to be expressed. Scientists have long believed that the gene for digit development was first expressed some 365 million years ago in the earliest tetrapodsthe first vertebrates to walk on land. (Related: “Ancient Fish Fossil May Rewrite Story of Animal Evolution” [October 18, 2006].) But the new study suggests the finger-and-toe gene was first expressed much earlier, in fish—though not to such an extent that it yielded actual digits. “We’ve uncovered a surprising degree of genetic complexity in place at an early point in the evolution of appendages,” study leader Martin Cohn of the University of Florida said in a statement. The findings appear this week in the journal PLos ONE.

An interesting piece from the National Geographic News. Bold is my emphasis.

Sprawling Angkor Brought Down By Overpopulation, Study Suggests

Ever since the late 16th century, when Portuguese traders spied the towers of the monument poking through a dense canopy of trees, people have puzzled over the demise of the Angkor civilization. Now a new archaeological map created using jungle-penetrating radar has revealed traces of vast suburban sprawl surrounding the many temples and the walled central city of Angkor Thom. Extensive waterworks threaded through the low-density development, channeling the flow of three rivers through agricultural fields, homes, and local temples. In the end, residents of greater Angkor likely struggled with the ecological consequences of transforming the landscape.

It probably won’t be the last time this happens in this world if things continue as they do now.

Male circumcision reduces the risk that men will contract HIV through intercourse with infected women by about 70 percent, according to a study reported in The Wall Street Journal.

After discovering the dramatic results, French and South African researchers halted the study about nine months in order to offer the uncircumcised men the opportunity to undergo the procedure, the newspaper reported.

Report: Male circumcision cuts AIDS risk – AIDS – MSNBC.com

For the males reading this, if you’re not already enjoying the benefits, it’s never too late ;-)

So what’s more expensive than oil? Well, lots apparently, and at the top of this list is.. HP printer ink.

- via Gizmodo.

Incoming search terms for the article:

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Citizens of York are being asked to sign a treaty promising never to shoot Scots with a bow and arrow. Under an ancient by-law, which has never been repealed, York people can “legally” shoot Scotsmen with a bow and arrow within the city walls.

York’s peace offer to Scots

When you bump into your neighbor on your way out and say, “How are ya?”
you’re engaging in phatic communion. The idea is not to inquire your
neighbor’s state of affairs but simply to create a feeling of shared
goodwill.  Later, at work, when you discuss weather with someone at
the water cooler, it’s the same idea.

Learned something new from A Word A Day..

phatic (FAT-ik) adjective

  Relating to a communication meant to generate an atmosphere of
  social relationship rather than to convey some information.

I find this really interesting.

Scientists have new evidence that humpback whales don’t just sing–they sing grammatically, combining sounds into phrases, and phrases into songs, according to complex rules called a “hierarchical syntax.” It’s similar to our ability to combine words into clauses and clauses into sentences.

The study, which squares with research dating back to 1971, says this is the first time non-human animals have been proven to possess such syntactic skill. Still, the researchers are quick to point out that whale songs aren’t really comparable to reading the newspaper. “Humpback songs are not like human language,” says project leader Ryuji Suzuki, “but elements of language are seen in their songs.”

Of course, humpback whales might point out that reading the newspaper isn’t half as cool as all the stuff they can do.

At 45 feet (14 meters) and 80,000 pounds (36 metric tons), humpbacks aren’t nearly as big as cousin Blue. But they can sing and dance. Humpbacks are the most vocal of all whales, and among the most acrobatic.

Sometimes they leap entirely out of the ocean. It’s common among males during mating season, when humpbacks migrate from polar feeding grounds to tropical breeding grounds. It’s also during mating season that humpback males sing their syntactically sophisticated songs, presumably in pursuit of humpback gals.

From KnowledgeNews newsletter.

I wonder what they “saying” to each other :)