Removed this from purgatory. Stickied for ongoing visibility - use this for the latest in science updates.
It turns out that cats were 'tamed' twice... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40306897 The domestic cat is descended from wild cats that were tamed twice - in the Near East and then Egypt, according to the largest study of its kind. Farmers in the Near East were probably the first people to successfully tame wild cats about 9,000 years ago. Then, a few thousand years later, cats spread out of ancient Egypt along maritime trade routes. Today, cats live on all continents except Antarctica. Scientists think wildcats began hanging around farms to prey on mice attracted to grain stores, starting the long relationship between humans and felines. "There were two taming events - one in the Near East at the beginning and one in Egypt much later," said lead researcher Eva-Maria Geigl. "And then the cat spread very efficiently all over the ancient world as a ship's cat. Both lineages are now present in modern cats." Clearly, the people behind work this had never met our cat.
Muaha....I showed your post to Wifey and we both had a good laugh. We always had 3 or 4 in the house and a few more in the barn. They trained us well!
Saw that article and thought of you. Seriously, I just couldn't figure out the right thread to put it in.
Actually, I'm more a dog person myself. It's TLW that's the cat lover. Having said that I think even SHE began to question the decision with this one. But let's look on the bright side. We've had her for 19 years so far, (the cat... not the wife), so either she'll die soon or we will. Something to look forward to.
I'm in a bit of a quandary here. Can I post this in the Science Thread if we don't have any scientists? EPA completes purge of scientists from its scientific advisory board Jun 21, 2017 11:39am PDT by Mark Sumner Scott Pruitt had already moved to replace much of the scientific review boards at the EPA with industry lobbyists. The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research.
The rock that records how we all got here Rock of ages. The new exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. Said to be 2 Billion years old. Is part of the start up of life. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40459602
Horrorscopes is scientific...right? Mine for today.... Libra | Sept. 23 to Oct. 22 You’re going to need a lot of epsom salts and lip balm this week. No, honestly, you can trust us. This isn’t like the time with the horse laxatives.
Hmm... a 'spacedraft'... sorta... https://www.theguardian.com/science...uccessfully-launch-worlds-smallest-spacecraft The smallest spacecraft ever launched are successfully travelling in low Earth orbit and communicating with systems on Earth, scientists have announced. Known as “Sprites”, the miniature satellites are just 3.5cm x 3.5cm and carry radios, sensors and computers, with each device powered by sunlight and weighing just four grams. While nanosatellites known as CubeSats have previously been sent into space, such systems have a mass thousands of times that of the Sprites, weighing more than 1kg. Scientists say the latest development is an important a precursor to an ambitious attempt to send space probes to planets beyond our solar system, dubbed Breakthrough Starshot.
This could be groundbreaking After 35 days, obese mice treated with the bioengineered GDF15 proteins lost roughly 20% of their body weight, while mice getting a placebo gained about 6% over their starting weight, according to the study. When mice were offered the rich condensed milk, triglyceride levels remained at baseline or rose by about 20% in those who got the engineered proteins, while levels more than doubled in the untreated mice. Insulin levels and total cholesterol readings were also significantly better in treated animals than in their untreated counterparts.