by Richard William Nelson | Mar 20, 2014
Over the past two decades, a treasure trove of fossils has been unearthed in China. Some of the world’s most exquisitely preserved feathered dinosaurs, birds, reptiles, and mammals have been recovered near the quiet northeastern China village of Daohugou.
Chinese farmers first discovered the trove near this Inner Mongolian village in 1998. The following summer, two distinct salamander species were recovered. Since then, the now-infamous fossil site has been named the Daohugou Biota and has yielded more than 30 different vertebrate taxa (groups). The treasure trove of scientific evidence, however, further upends Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution “by means of natural selection.”
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by Richard William Nelson | Mar 6, 2014
A new study challenges the time-honored validity of microbial resistance as an example of biological evolution.
Christina Warinner of Harvard University led an international research team that investigated ancient microbes extracted from fossilized human teeth. The team included thirty-two investigators from twelve institutions in seven countries.
By comparing the microbes on fossilized human teeth, the research team found ancient microbial resistance using the exact molecular mechanisms of microbial resistance, as seen in today’s microbes.
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by Richard William Nelson | Dec 30, 2013
The genomic revolution is an increasingly challenging, long-standing orthodoxy in human evolution. An international team of geneticists headed by Matthias Meyer (pictured right below) of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany reported in the journal Nature earlier this month.
The team studied the mtDNA of 28 fossilized hominins estimated to be 400,000 years old from the Sima de Los Huesos cave in northern Spain‘s Sierra de Atapuerca Mountain range (pictured left).
Meyer’s team, which included legendary Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo, analyzed the genetics of these fossils collected during the 1970s. The study report, entitled “A mitochondrial genome sequence of a hominin from Sima de Los Huesos,” unexpectedly concluded that the fossils were genetically similar to the Denisovans, even though they morphologically resembled Neanderthals. Sima de los Huesos means “Pit of the Bones.”
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by Richard William Nelson | Dec 14, 2013
Origin of Life scientists will assemble next month in Galveston, Texas, for the “Understanding the Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth and the Galaxy” conference hosted by Gordon Research Conferences (GRC), a non-profit organization started in 1931.
GRC gives scientists a forum to discuss “frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies.” Access to the conference, however, is restricted. Only those who have been sent an invitation can register − not even the press. The conference attendees must agree not to quote anyone. GRC is concealing the origin of life research. Australian news reporter, Suzan Mazur, concerned about the lack of transparency, published an interview with the conference organizer, Steve Benner, posted on the Huffington Post, noting:
“So I decided to have a chat with Steve Benner about the upcoming Texas Origins meeting.”
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by Richard William Nelson | Oct 24, 2013
For more than two decades, international teams of paleoanthropologists have been discovering human-like fossils from a medieval archaeological site in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia known as Dmanisi.
A new human Georgian skull further fuels the dilemma. In 1991, David Lordkipanidze of the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi discovered the first four human-like fossils.
Increased archaeological interest in this Georgian site began in 1936 following the discovery of ancient and medieval artifacts.
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