Category Archives: Evolution

New research suggests that searches for extraterrestrial intelligent civilizations not only reveals the existence of how life forms, but also gives us clues for how long our own civilization will last, according to astrophysicist Christopher Conselice, based on the hypothesis that it takes 5 billion years for intelligent life to form on exoplanets, as it did on Earth.

If we find that intelligent life is common, Conselice says, looking at evolution a cosmic scale called the Astrobiological Copernican Limit, then this would reveal that our civilization could exist for much longer than a few hundred years, alternatively if we find that there are no active civilizations in our Galaxy it is a bad sign for our own long-term existence. By searching for extraterrestrial intelligent lifeeven if we find nothingwe are discovering our own future and fate.

Astrobiological Copernican Limits

Reinforcing the Fermi Paradox, the average distance to these civilizations would be 17,000 light-years away, making detection and communication very difficult with our present technology. It is also possible that we are the only civilization within our Galaxy unless the survival times of civilizations are long and that they survive there own Anthropocene Epochs.

The two Astrobiological Copernican limits are that intelligent life forms in less than 5 billion years, or after about 5 billion yearssimilar to on Earth where a communicating civilization formed after 4.5 billion years. In the strong criteria, whereby a metal content equal to that of the Sun is needed (the Sun is relatively speaking quite metal rich), the new research calculates that there should be around 36 active civilizations in our Galaxy.

The Exoplanet Revolution May Reveal Artifacts of Extinct Civilizations

The new study led by the University of Nottingham and published today in The Astrophysical Journal has taken this new approach to this problem. There should be at least a few dozen active civilizations in our Galaxy, says Google Scholar, Conselice.

The classic method for estimating the number of intelligent civilizations relies on making guesses of values relating to life, whereby opinions about such matters vary quite substantially, says first author Tom Westby. Our new study simplifies these assumptions using new data, giving us a solid estimate of the number of civilizations in our Galaxy.

Milky Ways Higher Probability to Harbor Advanced Technological Civilizations

The research shows that the number of civilizations depends strongly on how long they are actively sending out signals of their existence into space, such as radio transmissions from satellites, television. If other technological civilizations last as long as ours which is currently 100 years old, then there will be about 36 ongoing intelligent technical civilizations throughout our Galaxy.

The Daily Galaxy, Sam Cabot via University of Nottingham

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Cosmic Evolution There Could Be More Than 30 Intelligent Civilizations in the Milky Way - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel

"Coalitions do not work, are not satisfactory and have a kind of political paralysis."

These were the words of the then taoiseach, CharlesHaughey, when he spoke to RT on the second day of the count following the general election of 1989.

Just three weeks later, havinglooked intothe abyss of another election campaign and, presumably, not liking what he saw, he signed up to acoalitiondeal with the Progressive Democrats led by Des O'Malley.

It was a watershed moment, marking the end of Fianna Fil's long-standing aversion tocoalitions.

Before then, dating to the five party plus government of 1948, coalitions had been a case of Fianna Fil versus the rest.

While itsdominance continued long afterwards, 1989 was a marker that Fianna Fil too would have to go fishing for partners like everybody else.

Coalitions of Chaos

The reputation that coalitions had for instability lasted well before and after those comments byHaughey.

Butin more recent history, coalitions shook off theirassociation withparalysis and chaos, and became more of a political fact of life.

TwoFianna Fil-PD coalitions ran for full terms between1997 to 2007,led by Bertie Ahern.

While these coalitions spanned the era of tribunals examining corruption,theyalso oversaw a period of unprecedented economic growth, the NorthernPeace Process and Ireland'sPresidency of theEuropeanCouncil.

When the public financesdisimproved, so too did their reputation for stability. The Green Party-Fianna Filcoalition formed in 2007,which had lasted four years, ended intears after the arrival of the bailout Troika.

TheLabourand Fine Gael governmentlasted from the post-crash years of 2011 to 2016. It was a term during which Ireland exited the bailout and the public finances were restored. It also oversaw the successful marriage equality referendum, which was a big policy objective of Labour.

But ultimately, the smaller party got savaged by the electorate, who blamedLabourfor its role in the implementation ofausterity measures thatwere completely at odds with their pre-election, pre-coalition promises.

The price of power

Labour, like the Green Party before it, learned the hard way that power comes with a price. In the last ten years, both went from their best ever to worst ever electoral performances after serving as a junior partner.

It seems to be the political law of gravity that the smaller party gets punished (although this has not always been the case, the PDs doubled theirseats in 2002 after serving in coalition).

The backdrop to the coalition currently being proposed means the stakes are even higher. There is a far greater number of parties and groupings, a far more fragmented Dil and therefore a more competitive playing field.

There is also the factor that the coalition proposed this time is far wider and mixed,meaning that the smaller party may not necessarily play the role of mudguard. Fianna Fil and Fine Gael could well end up doing that for each other.

While it is usually the role of the smaller party to try to preserve their "brand identity" while in coalition,by ensuring their policies are implemented,this time all three parties will be striving for status.

Put together, this means political competition both external and internal will be intense.

The new normal

While coalitions of the past have managed to reshape and remould politics, none has ever had the potential to recast politics so dramatically as the one that is currently on the cards.

It would mark not just the end of the historic Fianna Fil - Fine Gael dichotomy that has been a defining feature of our politicalhistory.

It would also mark the start of a multi/party government system that is likely to be here to stay. The coalition that will now be voted on by party members might be hard to get our heads around.

But a multi-party government isthe more organic outcome of the proportionate representation voting system which in other countries where it is practised has long since resulted in a wider number of smaller parties and multi-party governments, where policies are formed by cross-party alliances and consensus.

This trend was commented on by Michel Martin at the launch of 'How Ireland Voted'in December 2016.

At a speech to a gathering in Trinity College, he described how Irish politics is in transition, "moving away from the Westminster model of parliament" to becoming "solidly European in terms of numbers of parties and complexity of government".

If, as now seems likely, he becomes Taoiseach in the coming days it will be as a result of the process that he foresaw in the early days of the confidence and supply deal.

It will be another watershed moment in the evolution of Irish politics.

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'A watershed moment in the evolution of Irish politics' - RTE.ie

Harry Styles is one of the most popular recording artists in the world. After leaving One Direction in 2016, hes found a successful solo career and has become one of the music industrys biggest fashion icons. From his early boy band days to his androgynous Met Gala appearances, heres are 10 of Styles best looks over the years.

Styles burst on to the music scene in 2010 when he auditioned for Britains version of The X Factor. He was initially eliminated and then brought back to form a band with other contestants, including Zayn Malik and Liam Payne. Styles suggested the bands name, One Direction, and although they didnt win the season, they went on to become a chart-topping musical sensation.

He was only 16-years-old and had come to London for the first time from his small hometown Redditch, England. With his cool scarf and flowing hair, Styles looked ready for stardom from the get-go.

RELATED: Rumor Has It Adele and Harry Styles Are About to Drop a Song Together and Fans Are Freaking out Again

As a member of One Direction, Styles often coordinated with the rest of the band. But his personal look was always just a little more polished than the others. In many appearances with the band, Styles would don a blazer when the rest were in jackets or sweaters.

In 2012, Styles was spotted attending fashion shows in and around London. And his fashion choices started becoming a little more sophisticated. In this look from the 2012 Brit Awards, the popstar is weathering a grey three-piece suit, with a statement black bowtie.

During his very first X Factor audition, Styles wore a skinny scarf and pulled it off effortlessly. In 2013, when attending the Brit Fashion Awards, the singer revisited the style. He wore a black blazer, black pants, and shirt, with a skinny black and white polka-dot scarf looped around his neck.

By 2014, Styles was attending fashion shows regularly, and his own style choices began getting bolder. At the 2014 Brit Fashion Awards, he wore a black and red pin-striped double-breasted suit. It was a fierce fashion choice, and he carried it off perfectly.

At the 2015 American Music Awards, Styles wore a white and grey floral printed bell-bottom suit. With his long hair and tie-front velvet shirt, this look was more androgynous than his previous red carpet looks. And it was when he seemed to really be breaking from the bands uniform style choices.

By 2017, Styles was comfortable experimenting with color and prints. While in New York City for the Today show, the singer wore a bright pink double-breasted suit with a black shirt, and wowed the crowd with his performance of Carolina.

In 2019, Styles attended the Met Gala with one of his most amazing looks yet. The theme for the night was Camp: Notes Fashion, and the singer wore a sheer, peasant sleeve, ruffle neck black Gucci blouse with a dangling pearl earring. He also wore rainbow-colored nail polish, which he still does from time to time.

Styles appeared on Saturday Night Live as a host and musical guest in November 2019. In his monologue and his performances, the pop star wore bright and bold colored suits. He also wore numerous rings and displayed his brightly colored nails throughout the night.

In 2020, the singer was seen at multiple events wearing a string of pearls. At the Brit Awards in February, he wore his pearls with a maroon double-breasted suit, a lavender sweater with a scalloped peter pan collar, and Mary Jane flats.

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Harry Styles' Fashion Evolution: His 10 Best Looks Over the Years - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

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Marijuana Market Evolution of Key Players That Will Change Industry: Cara Therapeutics, Cannabis Sativa, CannaGrow Holdings - Owned

As Huawei pushes forward with its mobile plans sans access to Google applications and the Play Store, the Huawei AppGallery will become increasingly important. Not only as a platform to download new mobile applications, but also a tool for developers wanting to gain access to a new audience.

While the AppGallery has existed on older Huawei phones that ran Google Mobile Services, if were completely honest about our experiences, it was often pushed to side in favour of the Play Store. As such, like many of the duplicated apps that could not be deleted at the time, the AppGallery felt a bit like bloatware.

Thats changed today though, with Huawei Mobile Services now core to the mobile experience on new devices launched this year, such as the P40 series, and the AppGallery playing the crucial complementary role to this.

To gain a better understanding of how the app marketplace has evolved to its current state, as well as how Huawei goes about selecting or porting apps to the store, along with what developers stand to gain from joining it, we spoke with Huawei Mobile South Africa CTO, Akhram Mohamed.

Heres what he had to say about the AppGallery, and why it forms part of a larger ecosystem that Huawei is quickly aiming to bring to fruition.

As mentioned earlier, the AppGallery has been around for a few years now, but is now front and centre to the Huawei mobile experience. As such, for many users the functionality available will be foreign, but as Mohamed explains, it has been there for some time.

I think historically, because we were running the core services on GMS, it (AppGallery) was an app repository, just like any other. It didnt drive our agenda as we did not have a specific need to create tools for the entire ecosystem, says Mohamed.

Now that we have shifted to HMS it means that we will be owning the entire ecosystem. It therefore becomes crucial that we dont just simply have a place where apps are downloaded, and now were focusing on how to improve the entire experience, he notes.

The CTO adds that the companys hand being forced as far as developing its own mobile ecosystem goes, has also proved beneficial for the AppGallery, particularly when it comes to porting apps over to the new store.

This, as the previous scenario saw the AppGallery being ignored for the most part, with the Play Store being favoured most of time.

The current landscape then, has seen Huawei engage more intimately with developers.

By going the HMS route, we have a vast number of new users across the globe and in South Africa too. This creates a great case for developers to say that I can now monetise this and reach these consumers, according to Mohamed.

Sticking with the idea of porting apps and growing the AppGallery library, the CTO tells us that Huaweis plan as far as getting the most popular global and local apps in its store has been a success to date.

He estimates that the list, which Huawei created for the apps it deemed crucial to having in its store, is currently sitting at around 95 percent completion. He also notes that this list is in a constant state of evolution, as Huawei continues to learn what its users are wanting in terms of app availability.

We had to go an do extensive research. That was through third-party paid research, to find out what are the most popular apps and what do South African consumers want. At the same time we looked at global trends and data, Mohamed explains.

He points out that usability played a bit part in selecting the priority apps for the AppGallery, as the number of downloads only paint part of the picture.

Looking at some of the strides that Huawei has been making of late, the CTO highlights partnerships and collaboration a key focus moving forward, with the companys recent work alongside Capitec serving as an example.

That said he does stress that Huawei is taking a different approach to partnerships than what you may typically think they would involve.

Its important for me to clarify what partnership means. Partnerships are not just marketing. For us, partnerships is about looking at value and how we can be different, he says.

Having a number of different banking applications to match that of another app store is not what were after, as it does not make us better. What were looking for is how to make the partnership and porting of the application part of the native Huawei experience. In our partnerships we are looking for deep integration, he continues.

Shifting to the consumer and developer response around HMS and the AppGallery, Mohamed is truly pleased with the numbers he has seen to date, which he says is all the more impressive given the short period of time that HMS-powered Huawei phones have been on the market.

While the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown posed significant challenges for Huawei, as it did most of the consumer technology industry, the CTO notes that Huawei has been able to garner substantial customer satisfaction and sales despite several hurdles.

To that end he notes that customer satisfaction since HMS devices launched in the country is sitting at 97 percent, with much of this down to the fact that Huawei had its digital channels in place before lockdown began, along with a 24/7 customer care platform for local users being up and running.

Added to this is a rather bold prediction too.

In terms of volumes, our total sales percentage of HMS devices in South Africa within the next two months will exceed the total sales of GMS in the same period compared to last year, the CTO says.

When we asked for more insight into the prediction, he explained that this year-on-year projection, which started with a slight slump in March due to the lockdown, but recovered steadily since then.

We need to see the likes of GfK and other market analysts confirming the sales figures, but if it the projection does hold true, it seems like the Huawei brand is far stronger than we originally estimated, and the lack of Google on devices is not as big a purchasing decision as we thought it would be.

It would also go a long way to affirming that Huawei Mobile Services and the AppGallery has a burgeoning user and developer community, with the latter being an area that Mohamed says the company is still determined to nurture despite not being able to host in-person dev days, as its done previously.

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The latest evolution of the Huawei AppGallery is ecosystem-focused - htxt.africa

Orthopedic Splints and Casts Market Overview

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Orthopedic Splints and Casts Market Evolution By Recent Trends, Regional Growth, Revenue and Opportunities Till 2026 - Cole of Duty

Something curious happened in human population history over the last 1 million years. First, our numbers fell to as low as 18,500, and our ancestors were more endangered than chimpanzees and gorillas. Then we bounced back to extraordinary levels, far surpassing the other great apes.

Today the total population of gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans is estimated to be only around 500,000, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Many species are critically endangered. Meanwhile, the human population has surged to 7.7 billion. And the irony is: Our astonishing ability to multiply now threatens the long-term sustainability of many species, including ours.

What happened? Why do we live in the Anthropocene and not a world resembling Planet of the Apes? We share around 99 percent of our DNA with our great ape cousins, chimpanzees and bonobos. So, what makes us different from our closest relatives that gives us our staggering capacity for reproducing and surviving?

As an evolutionary anthropologist, these questions have led me to live and study among the Yucatec Maya of Mexico, the Pum hunter-gatherers of Venezuela, and the Tanala agriculturalists of Madagascar. My research,* combined with genetic data and other studies, offers clues to what developed in the deep past that has made humans so successfulfor better or for worse.

In the 1970s, the isolated village of Xculoc, in Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula, was home to about 300 Maya people. The maize-farming residents had no electricity or running water. Women hauled water from a 50-meter-deep well using ropes and buckets. They ground maizethe mainstay of their dietin hand-cranked grinders.

Then two technologies were introduced that changed these Mayas lives and, ultimately, their population: a gas-powered water pump and two gas-powered maize grinders.

Using these devices, young women saved about two and a half hours of labor and 325 calories a day. In addition, younger siblings could more easily fetch water and crush maize, freeing up their older sisters time and literally decreasing their daily grind. Thats important because studies have found that heavy subsistence work suppresses ovarian function, whereas reducing labor and raising womens energy balance is associated with a bump in fertility.

In this 1993 photo, a Maya woman draws water from a centralized spigot that is fed by a gas-powered pump, which saves about 400 calories per day compared with hauling water from wells. Such changes relax energy demands on women and have led Maya women to bear more children. Karen Kramer

Subsequently, the age at which women in Xculoc first gave birth dropped by two years. And according to my long-term research, women who started childbearing after these machines arrived produced significantly larger families than prior generations. By 2003, women who started reproducing in the 1970s had eight to 12 children.

Saving women time and energy is central to increasing the population. And humans have developed numerous technological and social ways of accomplishing this that differ from our great ape relatives.

Its important to note that scientists must be cautious about drawing direct analogies between contemporary people or apes and our ancient ancestors. But modern humans and primates are our best tools for inferring how the underpinnings of our numerical success may have evolved.

Somewhere along the evolutionary road, humans started to favor new ways of having and raising their young. Mothers began weaning their infants earlier. In modern societies where infants rely on their mothers milk and not bottle feeding, babies nurse for two to three years. By contrast, great ape mothers nurse their young for four to six years.

Breastfeeding is calorically expensive. It takes a mother about 600 extra calories a day to produce milk. So, the sooner she stops nursing, the sooner she can biologically support another pregnancy. In modern societies without contraception, mothers give birth on average every three years. Other great apes may wait as many as six to eight years between births.

Our ancient ancestors also fed, sheltered, and cared for youngsters who were weaned but still growing. This gave them a better chance at surviving than nonhuman great ape young, which fend for themselves after theyre weaned. Today a child living in a hunter-gatherer society is twice as likely as a wild chimpanzee to survive to age 15.

Novel ways of parenting, compared to earlier hominins, meant human mothers were in the unique situation of having multiple dependents of different ages to care for at the same time. I cannot underscore enough how much this sets human mothers and children apart from the other great apes.

Having lots of kids is great for the success of the species. But theres a hitch. Mothers dont have enough hours in the day to care for their babies full time while providing for their older offspring. Thats especially true because the unique aspects of the human diet give mothers a lot of tasks to juggle

When these ancient life history traits were evolving, our ancestors made their living as hunter-gatherers, who typically eat diverse fare, including fruits, nuts, tubers, roots, large and small game, birds, reptiles, eggs,Having lots of kids is great for the success of the human species. But theres a hitch. insects, fish, and shellfish. Cobbling together such a menu requires modern hunter-gatherers to travel, on average, 13 kilometers per day. By contrast, chimpanzees and gorillas roam, on average, 2 kilometers per day.

Whats more, hunter-gatherers process most of their food to make it more digestible or to boost the bioavailability of nutrients. And as everyone who prepares food knows, that takes a significant amount of time.

Among the Pum hunter-gatherers from the savannas of Venezuela, women spend about three hours a day cracking, mashing, grinding, pounding, sifting, winnowing, butchering, and cooking food. The same is true of Efe womenhunter-gatherers living in the Ituri forest of Central Africa.

That prep time is in addition to the hours the Pum and Efe spend foraging and then carrying ingredients back to camp. Furthermore, each processing task requires a specialized technology, which means someone has to collect raw materials and make tools. !Kung women and men in the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa spend about an hour each day making and repairing tools. Savanna Pum women devote nearly two hours to toolmakingtwice as much as the men.

On foraging days, Savanna Pum boys carry home enough fish to feed themselves and some members of their family. Russell D. Greaves

Hunter-gatherers also build shelters and hearths to provide a safe place to process ingredients, to store food and tools, and to leave children who may be too young to accompany others on long foraging trips. Plus, they must haul water, chop firewood, fashion clothing, and maintain the social and information networks needed to access geographically dispersed resources.

There are simply not enough hours in the day for any one person to accomplish all this. So, our ancestors came up with a solution.

That solution was cooperationbut not the kind of task-sharing many species engage in. Hunter-gatherers developed a distinct feature called intergenerational cooperation: Parents help kids, and children help parents.

This is not a trait we share with the other great apes, who arent particularly good at sharing food, helping mothers or offspring who arent their own, or even supporting their own children after they reach a certain age. Nonhuman great ape mothers rarely share meals with their juvenile offspring once theyre weaned, and juvenile apes dont offer food to their moms.

But among humans, intergenerational cooperation means it really does take a village to raise a child. Across cultures, mothers in hunter-gatherer and agricultural societies offer only about half of the direct care an infant receives. Savanna Pum infants, for example, have an average of nine caretakers besides their mother. Efe infants have an average of 11.

Fathers and grandparents certainly play important roles in supporting their families. But its not enough. An average Maya mother is 60 by the time her last child leaves home, so she has very few years after that to be a babysitting or food-collecting grandmother.

My research suggests a much more obvious source of help has been overlooked: kids. Other than mothers, children provide most of the child care in many cultures. And 7- to 10-year-olds do the bulk of the babysitting.

Children are also responsible for processing much of the food and running the household. A Pum boy carries home an average of 4.5 kilograms of wild fruit on days he forages. Thats the equivalent of 3,200 caloriesenough to feed himself and at least some of his family. (And thats in addition to any snacking he does in the field.) His sister can bring home more than a kilogram of roots (worth about 4,000 calories)some of which she will eat, but most of which she shares. Among the Hadza hunter-gatherers of East Africa, children forage for five to six hours a day. By age 5, they can supply about 50 percent of their own calories during some seasons.

Yucatec Maya girls, shown here washing clothes, spend several hours a day doing domestic chores and field work. Sam S. Urlacher

Children in agricultural communities are also hard workers. Yucatec Maya between the ages of 7 and 14 devote two to five hours a day to domestic and field work. Teens between the ages of 15 and 18 labor about 6.5 hours a dayas much as their parents.

By the time a Maya mother is 40, she has an average of seven children at home. These children contribute a combined 20 hours of work a day and supply 60 percent of what the family consumes.

Thanks to this multigenerational help, a woman can spend time doing what only she can do: have more children. So, children increase the population, but their labor is also a built-in engine to fuel their communitys fertility and speed up reproduction.

With intergenerational cooperation and a diversity of dietary strategies, our ancestors multiplied and weathered population bottlenecks. Just after 1800, the human population hit 1 billion.

The global population then expanded exponentially, largely due to the enhanced survival of both infants and older people. It reached 2 billion in 1927, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987, 6 billion in 1999, 7 billion in 2011, and today is at over 7.7 billion.These figures intrigue me as an evolutionary enigma and deeply concern me as a contemporary issue. There is no question, though, that humans have been incredibly successful. The question is: How long can we maintain that success and still be sustainable? The answer, like our secret to growth in the past, stands on the shoulders of cooperation.

* Editors note: The author derived much of this essay from her 47th JAR Distinguished Lecture, How There Got to Be So Many of Us, which was published in the Winter 2019 issue of the Journal of Anthropological Research.

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Human Population Evolution - Why Are There So Many Humans? - SAPIENS

The Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum in London, UK. (Image by Waid1995 from Pixabay)

The real story of how evolution is taught in U.S. public schools is not to be found in courtrooms but in classrooms.

The teaching of evolution in U.S. public schools is sporadically in the headlines, owing to legal cases like the Scopes trial ninety-five years ago, and the Kitzmiller trial fifteen years ago. But it would be a mistake to take such episodes as representative.

After all, few teachers were ever prosecuted for violating bans on the teaching of evolution in the 1920s, and few teachers were ever directed to teach intelligent design creationism in the 2000s. The real story of how evolution is taught in U.S. public schools is not to be found in courtrooms but in classrooms.

John T. Scopes (1900-1970), the teacher convicted for violating a Tennessee state law banning the teaching of evolution in 1925. (Source: Wikipedia, photo credit Watson Davis).

In 2007, prompted by the Kitzmiller trial conducted in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Eric Plutzer, a political scientist and polling expert at Penn State University, and his colleagues conducted the first rigorous national survey of U.S. public high school biology teachers aimed at investigating their teaching practices involving evolution.

Observing that the results showed ample room for improvement, they concluded, victory in the courts is not enough for the scientific community to ensure that evolution is included in high school science courses.

Now, thanks to a 2019 survey commissioned by the National Center for Science Education, conducted by Penn State under Plutzers direction, and designed in part to replicate the 2007 survey, its possible to investigate to what extent the teaching of evolution changed in the U.S. public high school biology classroom over a dozen years. Teaching evolution in U.S. public schools: a continuing challenge, by Plutzer, my colleague Ann Reid and I, published in Evolution: Education and Outreach, begins to explore the resultsand theres good news to report.

Evolution is receiving a greater amount of classroom attention. The average number of hours teaching evolution was 9.8 hours in 2007; it was 12.4 hours in 2019a gain of over 25 percent. Moreover, evolution is increasingly recognized as a central theme in the classroom. In 2007, a bare majority, 51 percent, of high school biology teachers emphasized the scientific consensus on evolution while giving no credence to creationism; in 2019, these teachers were in a commanding majority, at 67 percent.

Unfortunately, there are still teachers who give credence to creationism in their classrooms.

Unfortunately, there are still teachers who give credence to creationism in their classrooms. But their numbers are dwindling, from almost a third in 2007 to less than one in five in 2019. The majority of these teachers23 percent of all teachers in 2007; 12 percent in 2019are sending mixed messages: endorsing creationism as a valid scientific alternative to evolution while also endorsing evolution. A few8.6 percent of all teachers in 2007; 5.6 percent in 2019endorse creationism while not endorsing, perhaps even disputing, evolution.

Part of what motivates the teachers who give credence to creationism is, unsurprisingly, their own personal religious beliefs. The 2019 survey assessed such beliefs by presenting the teachers with the standard options used by Gallup in its polling on evolution and creationism. It turns out that 60 percent of the teachers who reported exclusively endorsing creationism in their classroom preferred the creationist option, God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.

Creationists are decreasingly represented among U.S. public high school biology teachers.

Even here there is encouraging news. In 2007, 16 percent of all the teachers surveyed agreed with the creationist option, while in 2019, only 10.5 percent of the teachers surveyedand only 7 percent of those who began teaching after 2007did so, suggesting that creationists are decreasingly represented among U.S. public high school biology teachers. The decrease significantly outpaces the decrease in creationism among the general U.S. population from 46 percent in 2007 to 40 percent in 2019, according to Gallup.

Thats not all the news from the survey, to be sure. The report assesses a few possible explanations for the improvement, concluding that the widespread adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, in which evolution is included as a disciplinary core idea of the life sciences, played a substantial role. Further reports based on the survey, discussing evolution education at the middle school level and comparing pedagogical strategies used in teaching evolution and climate change, are under way.

Blake Touchet, a high school biology teacher in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. (Photo credit: National Center for Science Education).

But it is already clear, as our report concludes, that scientific and educational institutions should continue their efforts to add scientific rigor to standards, seek out and promote textbooks and other resources that cover evolution thoroughly, support professional development opportunities for teachers, and support teachers who come under pressure from parental or community members who resist evolution instruction or advocate for the inclusion of creationism.

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Teaching Evolution in US public schools: striking improvements in the last dozen years - On Society - BMC Blogs Network

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June 12, 2020 // Franchising.com // Louisville, Colo. - Office Evolution, the largest and fastest-growing coworking franchisor in the U.S., is further expanding its Colorado footprint by opening its 15th Colorado location, in Northglenn. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the brands strong model, suburban network and ability to accommodate shifting work habits, is fueling Office Evolutions growth in 2020.

The newest flexible workspace is located one block east of I-25 at 120th street in Northglenn at 11990 Grant Street, Suite 550 and is owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo Dennis and Diane Mapes. The Mapes new location is in the Metro North building and serves small to medium-sized businesses and independent contractors throughout Westminster, Northglenn, Thornton, and Erie.

After researching the benefits coworking offers to business of all types, we decided this would be a great opportunity to grow our own business while supporting our diverse local business community, said Diane. Between Office Evolutions supportive culture and member-oriented business model, we are confident our space will help local entrepreneurs thrive, and are excited to become part of the Office Evolution ohana (Hawaiian for family) with our location.

No stranger to franchising, Diane owned her own preschool fitness franchise for over 10 years. During that time, she increased program participation within her system to over 36 daycares in her territory. In addition to her business ownership experience, she also has a strong background in sales and marketing, which she plans to utilize to help businesses throughout the metro north and Front Range communities. Dennis spent over 18 years in the legal administration and human resources field, where he served in a variety of roles, including director of operations and human resources manager, a title he now holds at a local trial law firm. The couple believes that the combination of their professional strengths makes for an effective management team.

The Mapes location offers solutions for entrepreneurs and small businesses by providing them with access to 11,300 square feet of dedicated, shared and virtual workspaces. This includes 45 private offices, two conference rooms, drop-in options, phone-answering, address and mail services, and other professional amenities to help each business member succeed.

Office Evolutions suburban network of business centers allows employees to work closer to home, a benefit that many workers will be seeking after working remotely for the past several months due to Covid-19. Additionally, many businesses are looking to the suburbs for affordable workspace as they search for ways to get out of expensive real estate deals. As demand grows for safe and professional suburban workspace, Office Evolution is perfectly positioned for growth.

We are very proud of the work our team has put into the growth of Office Evolution across Colorado, said Office Evolution COO and Global Workspace Association Board Member William Edmundson. Our rapidly expanding network of flexible workspaces is home for business owners living in the suburbs who need a place to realize dreams. Solopreneurs and small business owners are searching for places that they can continue to get work done, and Office Evolution offers the perfect environment for dreamers, risk-takers and doers who are searching for business continuity during these unprecedented times.

Founded in 2003 and franchising since 2012, the Colorado-based company is the largest and fastest growing coworking franchisor in the United States. With 70 locations open and 80 projected open before year end, Office Evolution is poised for growth as the demand for suburban workspace increases. The brands model fills a niche for suburban-based workers looking for a professional environment to get their work done. Office Evolution is helping thousands of business owners be dreamers, risk-takers, and doers by providing them with access to professional services that will help them drive their business forward. Office Evolution continues to lead the workplace transformation that is projected to see nearly 30 percent of all office space become shared office space by 2030, according to a JLL report. Office Evolution is currently operating in more than 24 states across the nation.

SOURCE Office Evolution

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Trail Blazers All-Star Damian LIllard has said many times that he wants to become not only the greatest Trail Blazers of all-time, but also the longest tenured player.

Of course, Trail Blazers fans have supported Lillards quest to become the best player in franchise history.

Thats something all of Rip City has gotten behind.

[Listen to the latest Talkin' Blazers Podcast with hosts NBA Champion Channing Frye and Emmy Award winner Dan Sheldon.]

In a recent Vanity Fair interview, Lillard was asked numerous questions with topics ranging from attending Black Lives Matter protests to how competitive he is as a person to his music career and who has influenced him in the music industry.

But, there was one question that stood out for any Trail Blazers fan reading the Vanity Fair questions from contributing editor Lisa Robinson, who was also a longtime music columnist for the New York Post prior to joining Vanity Fair.

Robinson said: As a Knicks fan, I wish you would come here. Madison Square Garden is so great.

Now lets stop right there.

Rip City Faithful has witnessed and heard on many occasions Lillards commitment and desire to be a Portland Trail Blazer for the rest of his career.

But, what about the Blazers commitment to Lillard? Was that ever in question?

Heres Lillards answer to the question above:

I thought I was headed there a few years ago; I was hearing trade rumors. The Garden is my favorite place to play. -- Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard in a recent Vanity Fair interview

So why were those rumors never really reported?

Or were they?

Thinking back a couple of years ago, there were two reports that come to mind.

Jan. 22, 2018, Yahoo Sports NBA Insider, Chris Haynes, who at the time was with ESPN, wrote a piece about Lillard meeting with Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen.

Haynes wrote:

The two met discreetly for approximately one hour in Allen's office at Moda Center before hosting the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, sources said. It was the first home game Allen attended in 2018.

Lillard, who will turn 28 on July 15, requested the meeting in part to reaffirm his commitment to the only professional franchise he has suited up for, but also to gain assurances that the organization was just as devoted to expeditiously crafting a title-contending team, sources said.

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Allen acknowledged the roster imbalance but questioned why the team had suffered through an inconsistent first half. Lillard issued a heartfelt vote of confidence for head coach Terry Stotts, sources said.

They also discussed players to target. The New York Times' Marc Stein recently reported that the Trail Blazers are one of the teams trying to engage in trade talks with the LA Clippers for big man DeAndre Jordan, but the Clippers haven't had any serious offers.

In addition, Lillard sought an explanation from Allen as to why Will Barton was traded to Denver in February 2015, sources said. Lillard made it known he didn't agree with the move. Barton is a penetrating, spot-up shooter -- the type of player Portland could use on the wing.

According to Haynes, Paul Allen was worried that Lillard would be the one to request a trade, but a trade request was not made.

So is it possible that the Blazers were trying to get out ahead of what they thought Lillard was going to propose?

Its possible.

What does everyone always say, again?

Oh yeah Its a business.

And in this case, it was a time to play chess, not checkers.

And then there was ESPNs Stephen A. Smith rambling on about potential trade partners with the Knicks and the Lakers or what Smith believed were Lillards options after he mentioned Lillards camp was open to a trade in early July 2018.

Even as the number three team they are clearly not an elite team thats going to make any noise in the postseason. Portland recognizes this, and as a result, you have people in Damian Lillards camp and on his side looking for him to leave. And he is open to leaving, even though he loves being in Portland. -- Stephen A. Smith

Smith continued, discussing where he believed Lillard wanted to end up. One of which was New York.

If Damian Lillard is going to leave the comfortable and financially beneficial confines of Portland, its only for two places from what Im being told. Hes only interested in New York or LA. One of the two. New York or LA, and by LA, I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers. Thats what Damian Lillard wants."

"His preference would be for the Portland Trail Blazers to find somebody, somebody big time to join him and CJ McCollum in Portland. Thats Damian Lillards preference. But if they cant improve the team and if they cant find anybody, then hes interested in going one of two places Its the Lakers or the Knicks.

There was no trade. Instead, Lillard signed a supermax contract extension with the Blazers this past summer and has continued to state numerous times that he wants to play his entire career in Rip City.

Madison Square Garden may be his favorite place to place, but rest assured, when he plays there it will be in a Trail Blazers jersey.

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Damian Lillard and the evolution of Dame D.O.L.L.A. - NBCSports.com