Daily science stuff

[Elessar]

Mysterious 'Dark Flow' May Be Tug of Other Universe http://news.discovery.com/space/dark-flow-universe.html

That's pretty cool I was just reading that the other day. I read THIS link a few days ago but I think they sorta misquoted it because its' not really "other universes" it'd just be different parts of ours, different parts that are spatially separated or even, almost, completely cutoff by early inflation.

I remember reading about inflation several years ago when the Russian physicist Andrew Linde was proposing it and it was still very new but it was one of those deals where it intrigued me and sounded very plausible (though I was probably about 13 so it's not like I could get a handle on the math at the time) so it's neat today to see it coming to the forefront as one of the most significant early universal evolution theories to augment BBT to explain the COBE and some other things.

Inflationary theory is also a little bit like relativity in my mind in that it's such an exotic concept to take in that it has a lot of far-reaching consequences that continue to still be investigated and, occasionally, detected. I mean the idea of the Universe expanding in faster-than-light fits in the early microseconds of the universe, doubling in size billions of times to become almost the size it is today after like a year? That's pretty cool... What's also really messed up is the entire idea of the passage of time in the early universe, because spacetime ITSELF was expanding so it's a little weird to talk about time.

[justTripn]

Mysterious 'Dark Flow' May Be Tug of Other Universe http://news.discovery.com/space/dark-flow-universe.html

That's pretty cool I was just reading that the other day. I read THIS link a few days ago but I think they sorta misquoted it because its' not really "other universes" it'd just be different parts of ours, different parts that are spatially separated or even, almost, completely cutoff by early inflation.

I remember reading about inflation several years ago when the Russian physicist Andrew Linde was proposing it and it was still very new but it was one of those deals where it intrigued me and sounded very plausible (though I was probably about 13 so it's not like I could get a handle on the math at the time) so it's neat today to see it coming to the forefront as one of the most significant early universal evolution theories to augment BBT to explain the COBE and some other things.

Inflationary theory is also a little bit like relativity in my mind in that it's such an exotic concept to take in that it has a lot of far-reaching consequences that continue to still be investigated and, occasionally, detected. I mean the idea of the Universe expanding in faster-than-light fits in the early microseconds of the universe, doubling in size billions of times to become almost the size it is today after like a year? That's pretty cool... What's also really messed up is the entire idea of the passage of time in the early universe, because spacetime ITSELF was expanding so it's a little weird to talk about time.

I don't get it, which, as is generally true in physics and astronomy, is actually a good thing! It means there is another puzzle to try to figure out.

[Entilzha]

Our universe at home within a larger universe? So suggests wormhole research http://www.physorg.com/news189792839.html. I'm a believer in the multiverse theory but this is a very interesting angle.

[honeybee]

This could easily be posted in one of the "Could T'Pol get preggers naturally" threads -

Neanderthal genes survive in modern humans

As a group of homo sapiens left Africa, eventually settling in Europe and Asia, it seems they met and mated with Neanderthals. Some scientists have discounted this as possible, but this new look at the genome says otherwise.

So, some of us, especially if you are of European or Asian descent, probably have a Neanderthal ancestor or two.

[Distracted]

This could easily be posted in one of the "Could T'Pol get preggers naturally" threads -

Neanderthal genes survive in modern humans

As a group of homo sapiens left Africa, eventually settling in Europe and Asia, it seems they met and mated with Neanderthals. Some scientists have discounted this a possible, but this new look at the genome says otherwise.

So, some of us, especially if you are of European or Asian descent, probably have a Neanderthal ancestor or two.

Which would mean that modern man and Neanderthal were not in fact distinct species, but simply subspecies of Homo sapiens, capable of interbreeding and even more closely related than horses and donkeys. Fascinating.

[honeybee]

And that story made me think of this super, super creepy story:


Six Animal Hybrids

Ligers are very weird - nobody breeds them on purpose anymore, but they do happen by accident from time to time.

[Distracted]

Wow. Cool. The liger almost looks prehistoric. You know... bigger, stronger, more primeval. And I love the savanna cat's ears.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Interesting that horses and zebras can produce offspring even though they have different number of chromosomes.

[Alelou]

Can we assume all these hybrids are sterile?

It's interesting that they can occur naturally. "Nature will find a way" reminds me of Jurassic Park...

[crystalswolf]

Can we assume all these hybrids are sterile?

They mentioned a lijagulep which is a cross between a lion and a hybrid (jaguar & leopard). And specifically noted that beefalo are fertile. So it seems some aren't.

[Alelou]

I missed that about the beefalo. I wasn't clear how many of these occur naturally, and how many are created with human involvement.

It does seem to suggest, if it were not for the copper-based blood, that Trip and T'Pol would have a good shot at natural parenthood.

[honeybee]

And, it is simply fun to write and say the word beefalo.

[trek_shipper]

And, it is simply fun to write and say the word beefalo.

Ok, I was wondering if anyone other than me was amused by that. Glad to know I'm not alone.

Also, those Savannah Cats are kind of cool looking!

[Reanok]

Interesting article I've seen a Liger they're huge it's amazing how much bigger than a ragular Lion or Tiger they are. The largest Liger on record is Hercules I've seen pictures of him online recently.

[honeybee]

Here's an article from Slate.com on the Pizzley Bear:

Apparently, they are not sterile and a second generation Pizzley has been found.