Search Results for: Neanderthal

More Sophisticated Theology: a religious scholar ponders whether Neanderthals had immortal souls

Lest you think that Sophisticated Theology™ has fallen on hard times, here we have an article pondering at great and tedious length the immensely important question, “Did Christ die for Neanderthals?” That can be rephrased, according to author Simon Francis Gaine, as “Did the Neanderthals have immortal souls?” (The “OP” after his name stands for … Continue reading More Sophisticated Theology: a religious scholar ponders whether Neanderthals had immortal souls

Svante Pääbo nabs Medicine and Physiology Nobel

I had totally forgotten that it’s Nobel Prize season, and the first one, the Medicine or Physiology Prize, was awarded today—to the human evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo, a Swede. The reader who sent me the news had these immediate reactions: Highly unusual that there is a single winner nowadays How often has the prize gone … Continue reading Svante Pääbo nabs Medicine and Physiology Nobel

Either I have no DNA or I’m an aberrant hominin

Several months ago, 23andMe was running a sale on DNA analysis for only $99, which gave you not only a good guess at your ancestry, but also a readout of a large number of nucleotides in your genome—and perhaps the chance to find lost relatives. I got my kit, spit in the tube, followed all … Continue reading Either I have no DNA or I’m an aberrant hominin

Sunday: Hili dialogue

Welcome to Sunday, September 17, 2023, and National Apple Dumpling Day. All things told, I’d rather have my dumplings with chicken. It’s also Constitution Day (the U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787), National Women’s Friendship Day, National Monte Cristo Day (it’s a sandwich), National Wife Appreciation Day, and Operation Market Garden Anniversary, “still … Continue reading Sunday: Hili dialogue

Here’s my DNA results: Surprise—I’m descended from Ashkenazi Jews!

I forgot to mention that my 23andMe DNA results arrived just before I left for Antarctica.  Today I’ll just give the general overview of where my genes come from. There will be more later on the physical traits predicted from the DNA, but I deliberately didn’t ask for health information, as I don’t want to … Continue reading Here’s my DNA results: Surprise—I’m descended from Ashkenazi Jews!

The New Yorker writes about the hoatzin, implies that Darwin’s idea of evolutionary trees may be a phantom

I have one hour to analyze in detail a new article about a bird. Can I do it? The answer, yes I did! When the New Yorker publishes a piece about pure science, as it does in this article about a South American bird, I always suspect there’s a hidden agenda. That’s because the magazine … Continue reading The New Yorker writes about the hoatzin, implies that Darwin’s idea of evolutionary trees may be a phantom

In which I start to ascertain my genetic ancestry

Thanks to a friend who told me that the 23andMe company is running a big sale on DNA kits that give you not only a readout of the presumed ancestral composition of your genome, but the much of the sequence itself, and, if you wish, what diseases you’re prone to get.  I have sprung $79 … Continue reading In which I start to ascertain my genetic ancestry