Ancient skeletal remains shed new light on evolution

[3mnkids]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/science/04/08/hominid.discovery.skeleton/index.html?hpt=C2

CNN) -- Scientists may have discovered a new branch on your family tree.

A team of researchers working in South Africa has unearthed what they believe are the remains of a previously unknown species predating modern humans. They recently discovered a couple of partial skeletons -- an adult female and a juvenile male -- that are nearly 2 million years old.

The two are believed to have been significantly taller and potentially stronger than "Lucy," the roughly 3 million year old skeleton discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.

Known as "Australopithecus sediba," the pair may provide a window into a previously little-defined period in human evolution.

"Australopithecus" means "southern ape," the researchers noted. "Sediba" refers to a "natural spring" or "fountain" in Sotho, a local language in South Africa.

The discovery of the remains was akin to stepping into a time machine, said Dr. Lee Berger from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. It's providing a "really a special look into hominid evolution at that time," he told  reporters.

cool   

[Psycho Circus]

Oh, I was reading about this the other day. It was extremely interesting and just goes to show that there's still a lot out there to uncover and learn about. A shame every damn news channel ignored the story and it was relegated to small paragraphs in the newspapers....If it wasn't for all this, nobody would be around writing about it in the 21st century...

[Rev. Powell]

What that story doesn't mention is the petrified underpants they found on the skeleton.  Initially thought to be evidence that underpants devleoped thouands of years before anthropologists suspected, carbon dating revealed the underpants were only two years old. 

The initials "TM" were found written on the inside of the petrified elastic band.  Authorities are puzzled by the mystery.

[Trevor]

What that story doesn't mention is the petrified underpants they found on the skeleton.  Initially thought to be evidence that underpants devleoped thouands of years before anthropologists suspected, carbon dating revealed the underpants were only two years old. 

The initials "TM" were found written on the inside of the petrified elastic band.  Authorities are puzzled by the mystery.

I was feeling very sick this morning but after reading that, the sun has all of a sudden come out. 

[Jordan]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nice one Rev.! 

[Trevor]

Where are my undies? 

[Newt]

Where are my undies?  

...I think in another thread somebody was making wristwatches out of them...
http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,129202.0.html

[InformationGeek]

You know, I hear this story or some version of it every single year almost.  "We found the missing link!"  "We had a new lead on evolution!"  "We have discovered something ground breaking about human origins!"  Please!  I get tired of hearing this over and over again.  Bug me when you actually figure something out completely.

[Psycho Circus]

You know, I hear this story or some version of it every single year almost.  "We found the missing link!"  "We had a new lead on evolution!"  "We have discovered something ground breaking about human origins!"  Please!  I get tired of hearing this over and over again.  Bug me when you actually figure something out completely.

No one is bugging you. Don't read it if you're not interested. When something is discovered, it usually tends to be "investigated" or "testing" will be carried out. Like I said before, this was completely ignored in the UK press, probably to not to offend religious groups, but I personally am interested in this story. If more information is uncovered, great. If not, so what?

[Jim H]

You know, I hear this story or some version of it every single year almost.  "We found the missing link!"  "We had a new lead on evolution!"  "We have discovered something ground breaking about human origins!"  Please!  I get tired of hearing this over and over again.  Bug me when you actually figure something out completely.

For what it's worth, there is no missing link.  There's actually a rather remarkably complete line of fossils from early primates to modern man, considering how poor of a location the evolution sites are for fossilization. 

[Allhallowsday]

You know, I hear this story or some version of it every single year almost.  "We found the missing link!"  "We had a new lead on evolution!"  "We have discovered something ground breaking about human origins!"  Please!  I get tired of hearing this over and over again.  Bug me when you actually figure something out completely.

No one is bugging you. Don't read it if you're not interested. When something is discovered, it usually tends to be "investigated" or "testing" will be carried out. Like I said before, this was completely ignored in the UK press, probably to not to offend religious groups, but I personally am interested in this story. If more information is uncovered, great. If not, so what?

Well, you're bugging me!!!          
All kidding aside, I grasp your sensitivity regarding the BS quotient when religious topics are discussed in the media (particularly in Britain) but I'd guess that the media demographics suggest a lack of interest in the topic by UK consumers.  Same might be said of USA.     I agree with you, I'm interested, but this web forum is the only place I've come across this story. 

[Mofo Rising]

You know, I hear this story or some version of it every single year almost.  "We found the missing link!"  "We had a new lead on evolution!"  "We have discovered something ground breaking about human origins!"  Please!  I get tired of hearing this over and over again.  Bug me when you actually figure something out completely.

Well, I think you're annoyance could be ameliorated by not paying attention to mainstream press coverage of these discoveries. Non-science writers always want to talk about the "missing link," as if there is one skeleton we can find out there to prove everything. It doesn't work that way.

This particular discovery is interesting because it helps fill in a gap in the fossil record that is fairly unknown. It's actually fairly exciting, especially since it is two skeletons found at the same time. That is very, very rare.

Now, I'm not attacking you here, since you are clearly a person of intelligence who loves bad movies, but the statement "Bug me when you actually figure something out completely" is a bit troubling. If you ever see a scientist telling you they have figured something out completely, well, they are not a scientist. There will NEVER be a piece of evidence that will prove one thing over the other. And I do mean NEVER.

What this is here is a little bit more data. It's pretty damn good data. How we decipher it will take years and years. Kudos to this team for finding it.

[Doggett]

You know, I hear this story or some version of it every single year almost.  "We found the missing link!"  "We had a new lead on evolution!"  "We have discovered something ground breaking about human origins!"  Please!  I get tired of hearing this over and over again.  Bug me when you actually figure something out completely.

No one is bugging you. Don't read it if you're not interested. When something is discovered, it usually tends to be "investigated" or "testing" will be carried out. Like I said before, this was completely ignored in the UK press, probably to not to offend religious groups, but I personally am interested in this story. If more information is uncovered, great. If not, so what?

Well, you're bugging me!!!          
All kidding aside, I grasp your sensitivity regarding the BS quotient when religious topics are discussed in the media (particularly in Britain) but I'd guess that the media demographics suggest a lack of interest in the topic by UK consumers.  Same might be said of USA.     I agree with you, I'm interested, but this web forum is the only place I've come across this story. 

I saw this story on BBC news when it came on.

Mofo and Jim are right, there's no 'missing link', it's a lazy media term. You'll never find a skeleton with an instruction booket explaining the definitive steps. You'll just find new pieces to add to evolutionary process.

Evolution is a fact.
It's been done done with enzymes. There's other stuff I want to say buit it's kinda complictaed and I can't quite put it in words. I found this but, yet again, it's kinda complicated. Okay, it's really complicated.

http://www.che.caltech.edu/groups/fha/index.html?http://www.che.caltech.edu/groups/fha/directed_evolution.html