Is that guy with the glasses a relative of hers????
Posted on 05/13/2009 2:29:18 PM PDT by mnehring
Famous broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, is all set to present a documentary claiming to have discovered a missing link in human evolution - a monkey-like creature called an adapid.
According to a report in the Telegraph, the programme, which would be aired on the BBC later this month, could help to resolve the debate about which kind of primates humans are descended from.
Sir David will reveal the well-preserved frame of the small monkey-like creature on the programme.
The fossilised animal, thought to be at least 37 million years old, is a member of the extinct adapid family, and was discovered in a disused quarry in Germany.
Similar in appearance to modern lemurs, the young female has certain key differences which convinced researchers they have found the link to modern apes.
Unlike lemurs, it has no "toothcomb" teeth for grooming or "toilet claws" for scratching, two omissions which make it more likely to be ancestral to monkeys, higher apes and ultimately humans.
The fossil is reportedly so well preserved that some of its soft tissues such as skin and even its stomach contents can be examined.
"I examined this skeleton. It is exceptionally complete and it is well-dated," said Professor Philip Gingerich, co-author of the report and president of the US Paleontological Society.
"We have kept it under wraps because you can't blither about something until you understand it. We now understand it. It is going to advance our knowledge of evolution," he added.
The fossil of the creature, named Darwinus masillae, was discovered in two parts at different times.
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Thanks Fractal Trader. The missing link in evolution is the "k". |
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The Helen jokes just write themselves don’t they?
The Helen jokes just write themselves don’t they?
Stupid, dude. We’ve all seen it a million times.
Is that guy with the glasses a relative of hers????
Why a wet nose could ruin research
While all the experts agree that the Messel fossil is an exciting discovery, some doubt that it will settle the debate about mankind’s ancestors.
Professor Matt Cartmill of Boston University, a leading authority on primates, said: ‘What remains to be shown is that this animal had features which link it decisively to higher primates.
If it turns out that it had a dry nose, like monkeys and people, rather than a wet nose like dog or a lemur, that could have a big impact on ideas about the origins of monkeys, apes and humans.’
Roger Thomas, secretary of the US Paleontological Society, said: ‘According to one group of thought, we are descended from the same primates as lemurs. Another argument is that hominids evolved from another small primate, the tarsiidae.’
Prof Cartmill added: ‘This specimen could settle that debate but, if I had to put my money on it, my expectation would be that they will not be able to tell one way or another.’
(Checked your nose lately?)
This might be a good show.
The other end of the spectrum. Somebody has to try some counter measures.
Happy kind and loving older people tend to have this reflected in their faces. They may have been unattractive but with age your personality is carved into your face and their pleasant expression becomes what you see.
A sour bitter angry older person will tend to have a unpleasant face no matter how symmetrical their features.
It scared the living shat out of me as I scrolled down the thread.
You mean bastard you.
The huge pic followed by that little Sorry is just funny. :)
After 37,000,000+ years huh...and they think we're a little touched in the head...
From what I have read, Piltdown man was a planned hoax, not a misunderstanding.
INTREP
A little higher than I expected in the list, but as soon as I saw the title I wondered where the Helen Thomas pic would fall.
If it was not a hoax it would have been rather difficult to explain in the context of human evolution and all the other points of data we have.
Yet Creationists are of the mindset that because someone once counterfeited American currency, we should all throw out all our green backs.
Scientists discovering a hoax, a hoax that unlike real data did not fit with all the other data; just shows the strength and utility of the scientific method.
If it where about money, I bet they could make a mint if they suddenly denounced evolution and became a televangelist and write a tell-all book about all the conspiracies people claim are in the scientific community regarding evolution.
No the money is NOT in the begging passing the plate 'guilt' business but in government attachment without ever having to utter a word. The 'system' think has become part of government to help those supposed least fit for survival... First in line are the evolutionist as it is their model that government TAKES first for their system think.
See that first commandment has been perverted from NOT having any 'gods' before the Heavenly Father to not allowing the Heavenly Father to even be represented in their houses of worship called the state of public education. There is NO plate passed it is by law required payment.
The real big money from government grants is going into environmental sciences, military, or NASA, and with the exception of the former, it doesn’t end up in usable funds that, say, a scientist can by a mansion with, grant money goes to research. In the biological sciences, the biggest money is going into genome studies because of drug studies, something you can’t just ‘make something up’ and expect valid results. You don’t get rich by studying fossils or ‘evolution’. If money was the motivating desire, there are a lot of related fields they could easily go into.
At that, interesting note, the one scientist who really has hit it big in the biological science arena is Francis Collins, the head of the human genome project, who, shock, is a Christian. He happens to believe in Theistic Evolution (a more scientific version of ID). He wrote a book, The Language of God, you should check it out.
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