Still More Neandertal Stuff

Just a quick post here on another news item which addresses the likelihood of mating between Neandertals and early modern humans. According to research co-authored by Neandertal expert Erik Trinkaus, remains discovered in South China indicate the spread of modern humans across Eurasia as early as 100,000 years ago — much earlier than previously thought.  These remains [...]

More Recent Research on Neandertals

We have previously posted here and here on Homo neanderthalensis, with of course the really big news this year being the Max Planck Institute’s discovery that Neandertals likely interbred with early Homo sapiens, and that present-day non-Africans have inherited a genetic contribution from Neandertal forebears of anywhere from 1 to 4%. João Zilhão’s team working in Southeastern Spain also recently reports [...]

L.A. Judge to Decide Dispute Over Giant Bahia Emerald

As we recently posted on a valuable emerald found at the little hamlet of Hiddenite right here in North Carolina, I thought this story about an ownership controversy over a huge Brazilian emerald was apropos.  Known as the Bahia Emerald, after the Brazilian state where it was found, the specimen weighs in at an extraordinary 840 pounds.  It’s really [...]

Large Emerald Found at Hiddenite Cut into Beautiful 65 Carat Gem

Here’s a neat story about the recent discovery of a very valuable emerald right here in North Carolina. Named the “Carolina Emperor,” the stone has been cut into a 65 carat jewel and may be worth $1 million dollars or more. The find was made last year on a farm near the small town of Hiddenite, [...]

Keeping an Eye on Earl

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center and elsewhere in the U.S. are closely monitoring Hurricane Earl, which today was upgraded to a Category 3 storm with winds of  111 mph or more. The predicted track at this point suggests the storm will likely remain offshore as it skirts up the east coast, probably approaching the Carolinas by Friday.  But there’s [...]

Successful Telescope Viewing at Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch!

This is just a brief follow-up to our post on the meteorology/ astronomy program Monday evening at Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch, with special reference to the telescope viewing.  Three telescopes were set up, two of which belonged to Greensboro Astronomy Club President Stan Rosenberg, who also did an excellent presentation during the meteorology segment of the [...]

New Human Species Discovered in Siberia: X-Woman

In a followup to an earlier post, researchers with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have made more than one extraordinary discovery this year. Just before their recent triumph in sequencing a good bit of the Neandertal genome and producing the startling result that non-Africans have a little Neandertal DNA in them, word came that a Siberian hominid [...]

“Stormy Night,” an Evening of Meteorology at Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch

Please note that we’ll be having a meteorology program at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch on Monday night, June 21st, at 7:30 PM.  Sounds like they’ll be doing lots of fun and educational weather-related stuff which the whole family can enjoy. Also, if weather permits we’ll be pulling out Kathleen Clay’s big reflecting telescope.  I tested [...]

2010, a Good Year for Neandertals

A few posts back, we wrote on the publication in Science of DNA evidence that Neandertals (or Neanderthals) interbred with modern humans and that non-Africans have a bit of Neandertal DNA in them. This raised my curiosity about our cave-dwelling ancestors and led me to read a very interesting survey of the history of paleoanthropology (i.e., the study of ancient humans) called The [...]

Famous Astronomer Nicholas Copernicus Reburied After Scientists Use DNA to ID Remains

In yet another neat DNA story, scientists have recently used the building blocks of life to help identify the remains of the famous Renaissance Polish mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), who, with his theory of the heliocentric or sun-centered universe, is often credited with starting the scientific revolution. Alas, poor Copernicus died shortly after De [...]