Category Archives: Evolution

Combining vegetation distribution models and sediment transport models offers a better understanding of how dryland environments change in response to different factors.

Drylands compose more than 40% of Earths surface. Although they are found on every continent and are tremendously diverse, a common feature of drylands is sparse vegetation and expanses of bare ground such as soil or sand. In such a context, the wind plays a significant role in moving loose sediments and shaping the landscape.

Understanding the processes of landscape evolution is important for the management of arid and semiarid areas upon which people depend for their livelihoods. But a long-standing problem in drylands research has been quantifying the transport of sediment by wind in the presence of vegetation and how this influences landscape evolution. For example, wind blowing toward a single tree, a cluster of low shrubs, or an expanse of patchy grass will have different effects in terms of the location and severity of erosion and the location and shape of sediment deposition.

However, predicting exactly what will happen is complex because of the range of factors at play. There are natural variables such as the distribution, type, and size of vegetation; the direction, speed, and consistency of wind; and the frequency, duration, and intensity of rainfall. Human influences are also at play, including growing crops on the land, grazing animals, and setting fire to vegetation, all of which change the availability of sediment and the behavior of wind as it passes over the landscape.

Researchers use awide range of models to simulate what would happen in different conditions, but these models have limitations when scientists try to understandlocalized variations. Mayaud et al. propose a new approach combining two types of models: those that handle vegetation distribution and those that handle sediment transport. The authors describe the technical aspects of their new Vegetation and Sediment Transport model (ViSTA) and the verification tests carried out. These showed that the model could accurately replicate different physical characteristics of dryland environments at various scales and in response to environmental changes such as fire and grazing.

The next step was to carry out an experiment to test the model. For this the authors chose a particular type of dryland environment, a nebkha dune field. Using empirical field data on rainfall and wind, they compared the landscape evolution generated by the model with measurements at a field site on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. The size and spacing of landforms produced by the model were found to accurately reflect real features, thus suggesting the promising potential of this model.

Drylands are home to more than 2 billion people worldwide who depend on the environment for their food and livelihoods. However, many dryland environments are suffering from degradation and desertification in the face of multiple pressures, including population increase and pressure on water resources, overfarming and soil depletion, and changing precipitation patterns due to climate change.

As we move toward the end of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification (20102020), this research contributes to a better understanding of dryland landscape processes. The new model is a versatile tool that can be used to simulate a variety of dryland environments and understand the spatial effects of different environmental stresses, whether natural or anthropogenic. (Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JF004096, 2017)

Jenny Lunn, Contributing Writer

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New Tool for Understanding Landscape Evolution in Drylands - Eos

Science Daily

The evolution of dog breeds now mapped Science Daily However, in a new report, researchers have used gene sequences from 161 modern breeds to assemble an evolutionary tree of dogs. The map of dog breeds, which is the largest to date, unearths new evidence that dogs traveled with humans across the ... Genetic map of dogs' evolution could shed new light on causes of cancer and diabetesThe Independent Old Dog, New Dog: Genetic Map Tracks The Evolution Of Man's Best FriendForbes This Genetic Map Shows the Evolution of Dog BreedsI4U News Inverse -The Guardian -Science Magazine all 28 news articles »

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The evolution of dog breeds now mapped - Science Daily

The website compiles information from more than 3,000 studies into a public database.

by Moriah Thoman 25 April 2017

Blair Hedges and Sudhir Kumar, both biology professors, work at the Center for Biodiversity and developed a map to visualize Earths history. GENEVA HEFFERNAN | ASST. PHOTO EDITOR

Blair Hedges can name species that lived more than 50 million years ago by clicking on a website he helped create.

Biology professors Sudhir Kumar and Hedges co-direct TimeTree, an interactive website that allows users to discover species divergence, or when a species splits into two. The pair are both Laura H. Carnell professors, which recognizes stand-out educators and researchers, in the College of Science and Technology.

This project is part of the Center for Biodiversity, which focuses on evolution under Hedges direction.

The website also allows users to build a time tree, which is an evolutionary tree of life chart that also looks at the evolutionary history of a species, family or class. TimeTree takes data from more than 3,000 academic articles and compiles them into a public knowledge database on the tree of life, a research tool used to understand the evolution of life and describe the relationships between organisms. The website also shows the evolutionary timescale for more than 97,000 species.

[TimeTree] not only tells you about the evolutionary history of the relationship of species, but also when they came about, Kumar said. That is exactly what TimeTree is about and we can add bells and whistles and new tools to it, but ultimately the basic concept of that particular resource is TimeTree.

TimeTree came to fruition in the late 1990s, when Hedges and Kumar were Ph.D. students at Pennsylvania State University and Hedges earned a grant from NASA.

It was the beginning of the astrobiology institute that NASA has, and we proposed this database and they liked the idea and funded it, Hedges said.

Kumar said when the first version of the TimeTree website was released in 2006, there were only a few thousand species and a few hundred studies contained.

TimeTrees [purpose] is to give people information on the timescale of the evolution of life, Hedges said. Family trees, like the family trees for people or species, are really how things are related, but its not necessarily a time scale. It uses relationships we have, and then it adds the other dimension of time.

Kumar said the most interesting aspect of TimeTree is the challenge of how to accurately represent knowledge from a large number of studies in a single picture.

Hedges works on the design of the database and checks the quality of the data.

Sarah Hanson, a full-time research assistant in Center for Biodiversity, has worked on TimeTree since 2012 and is a data curator for the website. She also earned her masters in globalization and development communication in 2016.

Its my job to identify studies that are useful for TimeTree, Hanson said. Its also my job to contact the authors to ask for their data files and organize and prepare the data to be entered into the database.

In the future, Hedges hopes the website will continue to expand and develop new tools, like adding more abiological features and making navigation on the site easier.

Most importantly, we want to keep up with the progress of science, Hedges said. It takes a lot of work to do that, and at the moment, Sarah has 1,000 new studies to add to the database.

Moriah Thoman can be reached atmoriah.thoman@temple.edu.

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Professors create website for history of Earth, evolution - Temple News

We started out as single-celled organisms floating around in primordial soup. That was trippy enough, but things got even weirder when we realize we could talk to each other through the HTC Vive's microphones. Thanks to some audio processing, our voices ended up sounding high-pitched like characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was a bit annoying at first, but it helped to make us feel like we were actually tiny organisms.

As soon as we got our bearings in the microscopic world, we were transformed into prehistoric fish. Right after that, we turned into small dinosaurs (my guess is that we were a pair of Dilophosaurus, due to the neck frill) running away from a T-Rex. At that point, the experience built up momentum and we just kept moving. We jumped off of a cliff and became fire-breathing pterodactyls (they didn't do that, we know), and we were both surprised to find we could flap our wings in virtual reality.

There's probably some sort of philosophical commentary about the need to keep racing as we evolved, but mostly it just made for a frenetic and immersive experience. Our playthrough was also projected onto a large screen at the Tribeca VR arcade, which also gave us a sizable audience for our evolutionary adventure. The sense of shared discovery throughout Life of Us was fascinating -- like when we both realized we could breathe fire -- but it was even more fulfilling when I realized I we were effectively putting on a show for the crowd.

Eventually, we turned into apes running through a forest, flinging tiny monkeys that climbed onto us. And we got to relive our actual urban lives as virtual humans running through a city, with briefcases overflowing with seemingly infinite sheets of paper. (Just like actual New York City!) The experience culminated in a robot dance party -- which, personally, feels like a pretty optimistic view of our potential future.

Life of Us isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it's a solid experience that shows off how VR lets you easily step into new roles. And while it would be interesting enough on its own, it's even better as a shared experience. It feels like the difference between seeing a movie on your own, and seeing it right next to a friend. There's room for connection, even when you're wearing headsets and blind to the world.

Follow along with all of our Tribeca 2017 coverage here.

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We lived through the history of evolution in VR with 'Life of Us' - Engadget

In BriefThe history of life in the universe sparks back to those briefflashed of brilliance that formed the first RNA. Just as RNA andDNA worked and evolved to eventually bring the human brain into theworld, so too will artificial intelligence work and evolve toelevate humanity to entirely new heights. Flash of Brilliance

Intelligence is the passenger, Biology is the driver. Karl Schroeder

Remarkably soonafter the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, life emerged. Though the details are fuzzy, it seems as though a burst of energy struck a pond of primordial chemical soup which energized molecules that clumped together to form RNA.

Soon afterward, RNA created a more stable version of itself that could more accurately pass information from one generation to the next, this was DNA. However, because of this advantage, DNA would supplant RNA as the driving force of life and RNA was forced to cede control to it.But RNA was better at quickly passing messages around so it stuck around by beinguseful to DNA.

DNAs genius, and the reason why it has persisted to this day, is in its ability to replicate and pass information on from one generation to the next. All life on Earth can trace its origins to this flash of brilliance.

With the help of a new friend called ribosomes, DNA usedproteins as tools that enabled it to extend its reach and branch out into the world. Withan array of various proteins it constructed cell bodies that acted as both houses and transport vehicles for itself. These cells offered better protection and more mobility which ultimately enabled DNA to create on a larger scale.

Encased in these cells, DNA explored even further and encountered organelles, other living things that each had their own unique skills,like mitochondria for example which were very good at making energy. Theyabsorbedthose useful organelles into itscell body and with a bunch of different organelles now living with them, DNA had a huge advantage over everything else that was around, allowing it to spread wider and faster than anything else on Earth.

(The DNA is wound up in the nucleus and constantly directs RNA to create and distribute proteins to the various parts of its cell body that need them)

It would build ever more elaborate structures to house itself in and experimented with a number of different kinds of cell bodies, each with different arrangements and quantities of parts. Eventually, it had the pieces needed for the next big leap when it figured out how to join more than one cell together, creating multi-cellular life.

In their fancy new multi-cellular bodies, DNA continued to tinker. For billions of years, it experimented with different parts to put into these creatures, like veins and bones and eyes and lungs and limbs, new tools that could give it more information about the world and further improve its mobility. The by-product of all this, coupled with the properties of evolution by natural selection, was the creation of all of the plants and trees and animals that inhabit the earth.

But this was a slow, tedious process and countless mistakes were made along the way that produced stress and suffering for the billions of hosts that had to be sacrificed in the name of progress. It would all be worth it when, figuratively, one day they would come up with their crowning achievement, the human brain.

Prior to,information was still being passed slowly down the line from one generation to another making any kind of change very time-consuming. After billions of years of trying to come up with better ways of doing this, they came up with the human brain, a tool that would allow the host to build up and pass on information to other hosts during its lifetime.

With that came the arrival of a new species, Homo Sapiens, endowed with a novel form of intelligence that could pass intricate messages to each other and build its own array of tools.Today these apes are on the verge of creating a tool that might be able to create even better tools than they ever could, Artificial Intelligence. And muchlike how RNA created DNA and DNA created the human brain allowing each to reach new places and make new discoveries that they could not achieve on their own, so too will AI allow human beings toreach even loftier heights.

Artificial Intelligence isjust the next step in what life does. Hopefully, just asRNA survived by being useful toDNA, we can figure out a way to be useful to AI.

Note: Most of this is an over-simplification of the incredible complexity of biology and a lot of important steps are skipped, for moreread this piece from BBC andwatch this four part series from SciShow on the history of life on earth.

For a different take and a quicker version of the story watch this from Crash Course.

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The Next Step in Human Evolution Won't Be Confined to Our Bodies - Futurism

Humanity is lost at sea in a world of unprecedented change.

Where humanity is going, there are no roadmaps. The terrain is unlike anything weve seen before. The changes sweeping the Earth right now are literally planetary in scale and so filled with complexity that few among us even have a semblance of knowing what is actually going on. This makes it very difficult to navigate the troubled waters of the 21st Century.

Here are a few examples of things our species has not known in the three million years weve existed as tool using hominids:

The list could go on from here. My point in creating it is to show that we cannot simply apply the tools and models of past eras to the present situation. Nor can we employ them to forecast our possible futures. Instead we must bring to bear the vast collective knowledge gained across the universities and research centers of the world to build newer, more complex models that make sense of our present and emerging realities. This is what Ive called the predicament of knowledge as a key challenge for culture design in other writings.

I am going to make a bold claim nowthat cultural evolution is THE MOST IMPORTANT body of science for dealing with the global crises arising from this unprecedented time in human history. The study of social behavior, emergent complexity in human systems, how political and economic systems change, the roles of language and technology for shaping human experience, what makes us uniquely human, how landscapes and ecosystems co-evolve across various spans of space and time, and so forth. These are the topics that matter most in the midst of an unprecedented planetary crisis unlike anything our species has seen before.

And yet, almost no one has even heard of cultural evolutionary studies! Even more problematic, many who have heard of it tend to think in out-dated theories from decades (or centuries) ago. They dont know about the incredible advances that have been made in the last forty years.

My colleagues and I have been carefully going through a birthing process to create the Cultural Evolution Society in the last 18 months. We have already gathered together more than 1800 researchers and cultural change practitioners from around the world. Our first gathering is planned for September of this year at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany. Seeds have been planted for mobilizing and synthesizing knowledge about cultural change and human systems unlike anything attempted before.

We are rising to the grand challenges of cultural evolution just as our field is needed most. This includes a process to clarify the language used by researchers in dozens of different fields; crafting research agendas around the study of technology evolution, spread of ideas and institutional practices, and social learning in general; merging the study of human and non-human social behavior to deeply understand how we relate to the rest of the natural world; and much more.

My hope is that our efforts will not be too little, too late as a convergence of crises bring our increasingly fragile global system closer to collapse. The levels of inequality have corroded trust in social institutions and brought gridlock to political systems around the world. An ominous threat of war now bubbles up from many places as authoritarian militants take the helm of many nations. A mass extinction event caused by human activities continues to unravel the biosphere of the Earth. And the inability to discern truth from fiction in our decentralized social media environments only increases the social fragmentation that accentuates these undesirable trends.

Humanity needs culture design. We must deeply learn about how cultures evolve and employ this knowledge in holistic, integrative design frameworks for the practical solutions that remain to be envisioned or are in current need of expanded deployment. We must also evolve and change the very structures and social norms of our dominant institutionsfor it is the thinking of old that created our problems and that same thinking will not be able to solve them.

How will you be part of the evolution for humans and the Earth? What role or roles will you play in the great transitions now upon us individually and collectively in the 21st Century? Where will you stake your claims in the emergent future that promises to be very different from familiar pasts?

Now is the time to awaken and engage.

Onward, fellow humans!

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Cultural Evolution in the Anthropocene - NewCo Shift

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Evolution Technology Resources Inc. (ETKR) a firm with its office in Toronto, Canada, received acquisition financing from investment firm Eliseo Partners to acquire an operational, licensed and revenue producing online casino as a foundation to build a portfolio of brands in the growing online gambling and social gaming market.

The global online gambling market is currently worth around $37 billion a year, as about 85 nations across the world have chosen to legalize Internet gambling, according to the American Gaming Association. The United States only has a few jurisdictions which legalized and regulate online casino gambling so far, namely Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.

The Companys growth strategy is to acquire online casinos and cloud based gambling businesses with operational revenue and track records in order to leverage the success of the underlying business to reinvest into social gaming and other rapidly forming trends as they arise.

About Evolution Technologies Resources, Inc.

Evolution Technology Resources is a business development company that is focused on acquiring intellectual property and assets for cloud computing, high tech and online gaming industries. Evolution Technology Resources is a business development company focused on acquiring intellectual property and assets of the Cloud Computing, Media & Technology, Online Casinos and Social Gaming Sectors.

ETKRsgrowth strategy consists of makingacquisitions and innovations within theonline gambling, social gaming and mobile appsto diversify our portfolio of brands to provide users access to great content. We have offices in Canada and South East Asia and manage a global network of contractors and affiliates providing us deep insight into high impact trends in our industry.Our online gambling platformis a key driver towards revenue growth. We feelstrongly about Asian sports betting as an additional growth factor.

For more information visit: http://www.evotechonline.com

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Evolution Technology Resources, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "optimizing," "potential," "goal," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, its business or management, identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may, and probably will, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those risks discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the OTC Markets.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170424006294/en/

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Evolution Technology Resources, Inc. Obtains Financing and Acquires Online Casino - Yahoo Finance

Let me say I am a fence sitter. I have trouble with religious blind faith, especially when there is scientific fact everywhere I turn. I understand for a lot of people, Christianity is a way of life that carries them through from day to day and helps them through lifes obstacles, and thats wonderful.

However, I guess I am a fence sitter with evolution as well. Yes, we have actual real tried and true dinosaur bones, and as T. Allen wrote about, Cro-Magnon mans bones look a lot like present day humans with a few differences.

Evolution teaches us that we have all evolved from one tiny, tiny amoeba or something close to that, and that over the years we have continued to change or evolve. Im sorry, but no one is going to ever convince me that the butterfly, the Brahma bull and I are all related. Nope, not a chance. (Hmmm, my husband says I am bullheaded sometimes.)

I choose to believe that we came from somewhere else, that this is a planet of different species from different worlds. Maybe worlds that were ending or dying, different species brought and left here to survive and create new life by someone or something much more advanced than we are.

OMG! I bet a bunch of you are rolling on the floor laughing and saying how ridiculous it sounds, and that two nuts like T. Allen and I should someday get together and share insane stories.

But, before you hang up, leave the room, or burn the paper, just think about it.

We know there are aliens (and I dont mean from other countries) that have visited earth, we have proof of that. There are also cave drawings from thousands of years ago that show a space man type drawing.

Wait a minute! What did Ezekiel see? Whatever it was, it came down from the sky and had shiny metal and wheels. (I looked it up in the Bible yes, I own one and I also read it in T. Allens book which by the way was very funny!)

So, if you look at the millions of different species here on this earth, so many of which dont resemble each other at all, my theory makes the most sense to me.

When I look at all the different religions (there were three that R. Hill mentioned in his article printed April 21, Only atheists are going to be shocked at the end), I really get confused. And they each have their own set of rules, Bibles, beliefs, the way they pray, to whom they pray, etc.

Which one do you pick? My stepmom was a devout Catholic, my dad was an atheist, my good friends are Seventh Day Adventists, I was thrown out of a Mormon church, and my son spent two years in a religious cult (talk about a nightmare).

Which one is real? There are too many. Yes, man wrote the Bible, and yes, man makes mistakes (and occasionally women), but I do agree with T. Allen on everyone interpreting different readings in so many different ways. The earth is flat, the earth is not flat even through the Bible tells me it is, but thats not what they meant on and on and on. Whew, Im exhausted. Trying to figure out what to believe in is hard.

So, for me, its easier to make sense of my alien theory. No one can prove or disprove it, just like God or no God.

People say God talks to them, but how do I know that is not my sub-conscious talking? Some people who hear voices in their heads get locked up. My husband picks up a radio station at 3 a.m. through his fillings in his teeth, which wakes him up. What?

Everyone has their own belief, and I truly respect each and every one of you for your belief. We have a right to choose, in this God Bless, America, USA, red, white and blue, moms apple pie country, what we want to believe in.

As I stated before, whatever your belief is that gets you through the day and gives you hope for a wonderful life, then so be it. Its one of the many things that makes our country so great were all allowed to be different.

If you cant find a bit of humor in your day, then go back to bed.

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Letter: Science vs. Evolution: A third view | Kingman Daily Miner ... - Kdminer

By Gazette staff

Apr 24, 2017 at 8:00 am

The workplace culture conference Workplace (R)evolution will join The Gazettes Iowa Ideas Conference 2017.

Culture has been the focal point of Workplace (R)evolution since it was created in 2014. Hundreds have gathered to hear about the best and most challenging culture-based companies while learning to build an inclusive, productive environment at their own companies.

Organizers saw a significant alignment between the (R)evolution atmosphere, designed to encourage innovative ideas, absorb new information and apply new knowledge back at the office, and discussions held during Iowa Ideas workforce symposium sessions to date.

Workplace (R)evolution will be featured as one of eight tracks offered at the Iowa Ideas September conference, September 20-22, with the theme Building the Business Case for Purpose. The schedule will offer panel perspectives alongside high-impact speakers, including featured keynote and author Dr. Bob Wright of The Wright Foundation. Dr. Bob Wright is a highly successful entrepreneur, university co-founder and professor, world-class executive coach, and dynamic corporate consultant.

The competition to retain exceptional employees is fierce. No longer just about the paycheck, individuals have the freedom to choose where and for how long they will apply their strengths and skills.

These workers have options and they want answers:

Will this company make me comfortable and confident?

Can I grow in this environment?

Will I be challenged without running the risk of being overwhelmed?

At the local level, Iowas Creative Corridor has a limited amount of qualified talent to meet employer demands. Workplace culture has been identified as a key piece of long-term retention success.

Meanwhile, as opportunities for young professionals are advancing at a rapid rate, the majority of respondents do not have a formal succession plan for their emerging leaders. The 2017 Workplace (R)evolution Steering Committee is committed to connect employers with resources that will advance the build of ideal workplace cultures-from recruitment to retirement.

Attend Workplace (R)evolution and be ready to discuss:

The relevancy of having professional purpose.

The realities of our changing demographics. Who is currently in the workplace, who will be joining us and what value do they place on purpose?

How can a company prioritize purpose in their strategic plan?

Best practices of companies that lead with culture and purpose. What theyve learned and how to eliminate filling seats with the good enough.

Tickets for Iowa Ideas 2017 are now on sale. Select 1-day Thursday for Workplace (R)evolution 2017 or both days to experience the full Iowa Ideas conference >

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Workplace (R)evolution is now part of Iowa Ideas - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines

The State Board of Education voted Friday morning tomakes changes to how evolution will be presented in high school biology classes. But if you blink, you may miss them.

The new curriculum, first discussed in February, moves away from language that openly questions the theory of evolution while still leaving plenty of room for interpretation.

The previous standard written in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for science implied that experts were uncertain about the theory of evolution. It asked students to "evaluate" scientific explanations for cell complexity. Many educators advocated for this change because science on evolution is clear, and creationism, a religious theory that explains how life came to exist, is not.In an earlier vote on the topic, one UT Biology professor said, "Our education goals should not be based on opinion polls, but on the expertise of our teachers and experts."

With Friday's subtle change, students will now need to, instead, "compare and contrast" scientific explanation for cellular complexity. Oddly enough the word atthe center of discussion "evolution" was not mentioned once in Friday's discussion. Instead of questioning evolution, doubt was cast on whether amendments were "teachable" and whether or not "compare and contrast" should come before "explanations for cellular complexity."

Reflecting on the Texas Board of Education's ban of the controversial and straight up racist textbook Mexican American Heritage, the changes made today are another win against non-factual textbook standards.

This decision might cause ripples on a national scale as publishers usually cater to Texas School Board, one of the most influential in the country. California aside, Texas buys the most textbook of any state about 48 million textbooks every year.

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Texas School Board Approves New "Evolution" Language - San Antonio Current