27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Norman Borlaug, Giga-Lifesaver
In the 1950s and ’60s, another giga-lifesaver, Norman Borlaug, outsmarted evolution to foment the Green Revolution in the developing world.21 Plants in nature invest a lot of energy and nutrients in woody stalks that raise their leaves and blossoms above the shade of neighboring weeds and of each other. Like fans at a rock concert, everyone stands up, but no one gets a better view. That’s the way evolution works: it myopically selects for individual advantage, not the greater good of the ... 1 
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notes20 MAR 2018 by ideonexus
Human Pregnancy is Adversarial Between Mother and Fetus
Inside the uterus we have a thick layer of endometrial tissue, which contains only tiny blood vessels. The endometrium seals off our main blood supply from the newly implanted embryo. The growing placenta literally burrows through this layer, rips into arterial walls and re-wires them to channel blood straight to the hungry embryo. It delves deep into the surrounding tissues, razes them and pumps the arteries full of hormones so they expand into the space created. It paralyzes these arteries ...Folksonomies: human evolution pregnancy
Folksonomies: human evolution pregnancy
1 31 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
An Aquarium Teaches Kids About Domestic Life
And what, I ask you, are we to think of the viviparous fish, those that actually pair off in no uncertain manner and a little later bring forth living young! (You catch the drift?) What of the Guppyi, the Helleri, the Tetras and Danios and other tropicals with which our apartments are full to overflowing? Well, at least they keep our own offspring off the streets; you can hardly pry them away from the tank. They might miss something. I always say a small aquarium containing several of these d... 1 notes
notes09 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Demographic-economic paradox
The demographic-economic paradox is the inverse correlation found between wealth and fertility within and between nations. The higher the degree of education and GDP per capita of a human population, subpopulation or social stratum, the fewer children are born in any industrialized country. In a 1974 UN population conference in Bucharest, Karan Singh, a former minister of population in India, illustrated this trend by stating "Development is the best contraceptive."[1]
The term "paradox" com... 1 notes
notesAs societies grow more developed, birthrates decrease, despite the increased resources.
30 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Why Marriage is Not Like Prostitution
What's more, most males could not possibly afford to buy a
woman's reproductive potential if courtship were a simple economic exchange. What would be an appropriate market price for a nine-month pregnancy, the pain of childbirth, the exhaustion of breast-feeding, and twenty years of maternal care? At least half a million dollars at a basic salary of $25,000, one would think. How much do men spend on courtship in the first few months? Perhaps a tenth of 1 percent of the proper market price. Th... 1 notes
notesNo amount of gifts and showy displays can pay for the investment a female would have to make in offspring.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
The Biological Species Concept (BSC)
And when we think of why we feel that brown-eyed and blue-eyed
humans, or Inuit and !Kung, are members of the same species, we realize
that it’s because they can mate with each other and produce offspring
that contain combinations of their genes. In other words, they belong
to the same gene pool. When you ponder cryptic species, and variation
within humans, you arrive at the notion that species are distinct
not merely because they look different, but because there are barriers
between them ... 1 notes
notesA species is defined by the fact that its members can breed with one another.
08 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Phytochemical Exposure Prevents Cancer in Mice
Williams’s experiments have shown that the offspring of mice who ingest a phytochemical derived from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts during pregnancy were much less likely to get cancer, even when exposed to a known carcinogen. The same is true of the offspring of mice who were given green tea during pregnancy. After they were weaned, the offspring in William’s experiments never encountered these protective chemicals again, yet their exposure during pre... 1 notes
notesEven when exposed to known carcinogens.
30 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Definition of Encyclopedia V2
Encyclopedia. This word signifies chain of knowledge ; it is composed of the Greek preposition ἐν , in , and the nouns κύκλος , circle , and παιδεία , knowledge .
Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and ...
1 Another translation of the introduction to the article on Encyclopedie.
04 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Humans are a Self-Domesticated Animal
Mankind is a self-domesticated animal; a mammal; an ape; a social ape; an ape in which the male takes the initiative in courtship and females usually leave the society of their birth; an ape in which men are predators, women herbivorous foragers; an ape in which males are relatively hierarchical, females relatively egalitarian; an ape in which males contribute unusually large amounts of investment in the upbringing of their offspring by provisioning their mates and their children with food, p...A list of the behaviors in human beings.
03 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Give and Take of Gender on Evolution
Trivers and Willard realized that the same general principle of sex allocation, which determines the gender of nematodes and fish, applies even to those creatures that cannot change sex but that take care of their young. They predicted that animals would be found to have some systematic control over the sex ratio of their own young. Think of it as a competition to have the most grandchildren. If males are polygamous, a successful son can give you far more grandchildren than a successful daugh... 1 notes
notesMales can produce more offspring, but if there are too many males, then their chances are reduced and it is preferable to have a girl.
