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San Francisco, 10:09 PM
Sun Nov 8
12 posts in the last 24 hours

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    "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects

    12 Million Year Old Hominid With Human Features Discovered In Spain

    47 Million Year Old Skeleton Reveals the Missing Link Between Lemurs and Humans

    Princeton Scientists Discover Proteins that Control Evolution

    Female-Dominated Societies Are Violent, Say Anthropologists
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of unapologetic unapologetic
    09/15/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    I'm a tad confused and plenty curious, so here's a question or two for the Evolutionary Biologists out there - first, it seems odd that an animal would evolve a trait that didn't directly benefit the individual animal itself, but only others of it's species... are there other examples of this? and second, how is it that a trait like this (cells secreting fatty acids after death) could be the subject of natural selection when that process only succeeds by allowing those with the trait to live to reproduce? Wouldn't the animals without the trait have also lived to reproduce? Would the important trait passed on here, then, be the ability to 'smell' or 'sense' the fatty acids, and not the secretion thereof?

    hmmm...??
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven promoted this comment unapologetic was starred unapologetic was unstarred
    Image of The Curse of Millhaven The Curse of Millhaven
    09/17/09

    @unapologetic: Well, maybe the smell is just what happens when they get killed or injured, and the evolutionary part is that they learned to avoid the smell.
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven was starred The Curse of Millhaven was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    I read about this somewhere else, and there's hope that the death stench of the insects can be synthesized. Apparently humans can't smell cockroach death or ant death, so it would make an effective non-stinky non-toxic bug repellent.

    It wouldn't kill the critters, but it would keep them out of your kitchen.

    "Science. It works, bitches."
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Rocketknight Rocketknight
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    New housekeeping advice: keep a dead body in your house at all times! You'll never have termites or ants again!
     Reply
    Rocketknight was starred Rocketknight was unstarred
    Image of Trystero Trystero
    09/14/09


    @Rocketknight: DEATH STENCH DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!
     Reply
    Trystero promoted this comment Trystero was starred Trystero was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    09/14/09

    @Rocketknight: Something about this article has been bugging me (no pun intended, probably) and your comment made me remember what it was.

    When an ant dies it releases a scent that signals other workers to carry the body away from the colony to remove the threat of infection. [www.ucop.edu] So the assertion that all critters instinctually avoid their own dead because of this fatty acid stench is a bit off. I wonder if ants are alone in this behavior, I'm guessing not.
     Reply
    Edited by Grey_Area at 09/14/09 3:10 PM Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Rocketknight Rocketknight
    09/14/09

    @Grey_Area: Yeah, I know what you mean. It also makes no sense when you think of humans in some cultures as there have been many times where even though there was the time and manpower to dispose of bodies, people would let them rot in streets and such.
     Reply
    Rocketknight was starred Rocketknight was unstarred
    Image of stereobot stereobot
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    When my dog was put to sleep at home, I brought my cat over to see him, just to see what it would do. The cat wanted nothing to do with the dog, it just wanted to get the hell away. I didn't know if it thought maybe we would put her to sleep too or if she just "knew" the dog was dead. Apparently it was the later.
     Reply
    stereobot was starred stereobot was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/14/09

    @stereobot: Maybe they had a very complex relationship when the dog was alive.
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    09/14/09

    @stereobot: That happened with my friend's cat. At first she looked at the late kitteh from afar, no problem, and then got closer and was all "DUDE! That is NOT Fluffykins any more! I'm outta here."
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    So dead animals smell. Phew...for a minute there I thought my (dead for 5 days) neighbour had covered himself in a bottle of o'natural Rotten!!
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of TemporalSword TemporalSword
    09/14/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): And how do you know he's been dead for exactly five days, hmmm?
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) promoted this comment TemporalSword was starred TemporalSword was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/14/09

    @TemporalSword: I er....asked the policeman. YOU GOT NOTHING ON ME...YOU HEAR..NOTHING. YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH...etc etc....
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of goldfarb goldfarb
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    I wonder if this stuff can be found in 'flop-sweat'...
     Reply
    goldfarb was starred goldfarb was unstarred
    Image of Hamslicer Hamslicer
    09/14/09

    @goldfarb: HA!
     Reply
    Hamslicer was starred Hamslicer was unstarred
    Image of Zombie Ms. Skittles Zombie Ms. Skittles
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    Sharks do this too.

    I know, because the shark repellent episode of Dirty Jobs was on last night.
     Reply
    Zombie Ms. Skittles was starred Zombie Ms. Skittles was unstarred
    Image of Charax Charax
    09/14/09

    @Zombie Ms. Skittles:
    "Stench of Death Bat-Spray" is also way cooler than "Shark Repellent bat-spray"
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz promoted this comment Charax was starred Charax was unstarred
    Image of Hamslicer Hamslicer
    09/14/09

    @Charax: C'mon, you're pulling my leg!
     Reply
    Hamslicer was starred Hamslicer was unstarred
    Image of ceilingFANBOY ceilingFANBOY
    09/15/09

    @Charax:
     Reply
    ceilingFANBOY was starred ceilingFANBOY was unstarred
    Image of hamshank hamshank
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    I believe that chemical was present in the cologne I wore through my teenaged years. And clearly lingers, still ...
     Reply
    OW-Holmes--Upset with Polling promoted this comment hamshank was starred hamshank was unstarred
    Image of Zombie Ms. Skittles Zombie Ms. Skittles
    09/14/09

    @hamshank: So you wore Axe as a teen?
     Reply
    Zombie Ms. Skittles was starred Zombie Ms. Skittles was unstarred
    Image of OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    This explains so much about zombies.
     Reply
    OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear was starred OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear was unstarred
    Image of TemporalSword TemporalSword
    09/14/09

    In reply to "Death Stench" Is Universal Among Animals And Insects
    Yes, but what of the fabled "Twilight stench"? Sounds very similar.

    (Sorry for yet another Twilight barb, couldn't help myself)
     Reply
    TemporalSword was starred TemporalSword was unstarred
    Image of ManchuCandidate ManchuCandidate
    09/14/09

    @TemporalSword:
    It's the combination of the death stench and "Ka-ching" aka money.
     Reply
    ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred
    Image of Hammer_of_Justice Hammer_of_Justice
    09/14/09

    @TemporalSword: Is that anything like the "Ronald D Moore I Destroyed the Best Show on Television" stench?
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz promoted this comment Hammer_of_Justice was starred Hammer_of_Justice was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    09/14/09

    @Hammer_of_Justice: I'm pretty sure the death stench of TV shows isn't fatty acids . . . maybe some other kind of acid.
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Rocketknight Rocketknight
    09/14/09

    @Hammer_of_Justice: Is that a jab at the new BSG or the later seasons?
     Reply
    Rocketknight was starred Rocketknight was unstarred
    Image of Hammer_of_Justice Hammer_of_Justice
    09/14/09

    @Rocketknight: It's a jab at the last few seasons of BSG.
     Reply
    Hammer_of_Justice was starred Hammer_of_Justice was unstarred
    Image of TemporalSword TemporalSword
    09/14/09

    @Rocketknight: I would guess mostly the final episode.
     Reply
    TemporalSword was starred TemporalSword was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    06/03/09

    In reply to 12 Million Year Old Hominid With Human Features Discovered In Spain
    Still looks pretty snouty to me -- even more so than chimps.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    06/03/09

    In reply to 12 Million Year Old Hominid With Human Features Discovered In Spain
    researchers speculate this may be an example of evolutionary convergence, where similar environmental conditions produce similar adaptations.


    Researchers also discovered the simian dressed in the world's oldest shiny shirt, with preserved remains of the world's oldest ponytail.


    Aaaaah. Spain....

     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of 92BuickLeSabre 92BuickLeSabre
    06/03/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: It also wouldn't stop trying to hook up with my girlfriend the entire time we were in Barcelona.
     Reply
    92BuickLeSabre was starred 92BuickLeSabre was unstarred
    Image of marko_ramius marko_ramius
    05/19/09

    In reply to 47 Million Year Old Skeleton Reveals the Missing Link Between Lemurs and Humans
    Umm, how exactly does this qualify as 'the missing link'? I see a long tail, five digits on the hands and feet -- nothing that differs greatly from the modern-day lemur. This only possibly proves that lemurs were able to get their asses fossilized just like everything else back then.


    Sometimes, it seems like scientists are grasping at straws in their race to publicize that they have all of the answers. We ALL know that more research is required before heavy claims like these can be made. Remember what they said about brontosauruses and the planet Pluto?

     Reply
    marko_ramius was starred marko_ramius was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    05/19/09

    @marko_ramius: The link sends you directly to an academic paper on this exact subject, so if you want to know why it's important, just read it.


    But I don't think anyone save an actual paleontologist is going to know what is important and not important.


    Unless you happen to know what a "toilet claw" is, or the "haplorhine diversification". Which you don't.

     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    05/19/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: that paper is brow-beatingly weird though. It's a language I really don't understand.
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Connor Henzel Connor Henzel
    05/19/09

    @marko_ramius: There is no one "missing link" that solves everything, human evolution didn't happen over night.
     Reply
    Connor Henzel was starred Connor Henzel was unstarred
    Image of twophrasebark twophrasebark
    05/19/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: "The link sends you directly to an academic paper on this exact subject, so if you want to know why it's important, just read it."


    Why would he do that????????

     Reply
    twophrasebark was starred twophrasebark was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    05/19/09

    In reply to 47 Million Year Old Skeleton Reveals the Missing Link Between Lemurs and Humans
    along with the digestive tract that allowed researchers to discover the last meal that it ingested - fruits and leaves.


    If it's MY ancestor, that sentence would read: "Bacon".

     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of AldoraGreel AldoraGreel
    05/19/09

    In reply to 47 Million Year Old Skeleton Reveals the Missing Link Between Lemurs and Humans
    Or, God buried her there to test us. And you failed. Shameful.


    I shall go back to sticking my thumbs in my ears now. My thumbs, of course, which did NOT evolve from a creature very similar to if not directly from this here "specimen" (read: devil test).

     Reply
    AldoraGreel was starred AldoraGreel was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    05/19/09

    @AldoraGreel: Christ all fucking mighty. Is it possible to have a discussion about evolution which does not mention creationism at all.


    Seriously, at this fucking point people like you actually bring up creationism MORE than ACTUAL CREATIONISTS.

     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
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