From the category archives:

Biology

Red Hot Chili Peppers

by pribut on August 10, 2010

Red hot chili peppers just might be good for you. An article in the current issue of “Science Signaling” (Aug 10, 2010. Vol 3, Issue 134, p ec241) summarizes two articles and gives the details.
Capsaicin, in chili peppers, is what makes them taste hot. For several years it has been used in topical creams that [...]

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Walk Don’t Run: Ambling Along With 4.5 Million Year Old Flat Feet

by pribut on October 1, 2009

Ambling Along With 4.5 Million Year Old Flat Feet
A hominid species predating Lucy, (Australopithecus africanus) has been more fully described. Journalists have had first crack at the issue of Science in which the updated description of the species,  Ardipithecus ramidus (from 4.5 million years ago), appears. The rest of us could only see this issue [...]

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Evolution and Exercise: What Made The Brain Get Bigger

by pribut on August 3, 2009

Stimulating Brain Development: Evolution Of The Brain Spurred By Movement (a speculative hypothesis)

We previously mentioned the early hominid development of upright, obligatory, habitual bipedal posture mentioning the richer protein and calorie dense food which may have enabled better brain development. We’ll expand on that a bit with a “big think” and take it down a [...]

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What’s My Age Again: The Telomere Tick Tock

by pribut on July 25, 2009

Many people have played the facebook game “What’s Your Real Age”. My guess that those who played it wanted to feel they were younger than their biological age. Telomere length seems to be the real way to determine actual “biological age”. These are the real “biological clocks”. Telomeres are repetitive sequences at the ends of [...]

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In The Beginning: We Were Made To Stand Upright

by pribut on July 18, 2009

The Bare Outline of Bipedal Beginnings

Humans are the only primate habitual, obligate, bipedal on the planet. And not only can we walk, but we can launch ourselves completely off the ground and run. It is important to note that running is a one legged exercise. Only one limb is in contact with the ground at [...]

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Walk This Way

by pribut on March 3, 2009

Science magazine has just published an article on the oldest footprints found which correspond to modern day human biomechanical function. These footprints are about 1.5 Million years old and appear to belong to homo erectus, a species which predated homo sapiens.
The great toe was in similar alignment to modern day humans. An arch was present. [...]

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