ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 614

Catastrophic Earthquake Drove Fish Evolution In Just 50 Years

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

A marine Alaskan threespine stickleback fish. The bone is stained with alizarin red and imaged using a fluorescent microscope. Mark Currey/University of Oregon, Eugene

Evolution doesn’t have to take thousands of years. We know that from artificial selection and observations with human-altered landscapes. But how rapidly can it happen in the wild? Researchers studying little fish called threespine sticklebacks in Alaska after a catastrophic earthquake have discovered evidence for evolution within the span of just 50 years. The findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.

How Big Can A Black Hole Get?

Space





Photo credit:

Artist's impression of a growing supermassive black hole. NASA/CXC/M. Weiss

Size does matter, and even black holes cannot grow indefinitely. According to a new piece of research, black holes at the center of galaxies can only reach a mass of about 50 billion times that of the Sun before they disrupt their feeding cycle and stop gaining weight.

Algal Toxin Disrupts Sea Lions’ Spatial Memory

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

Domoic acid has been found to cause lesions to the right dorsal hippocampus in sea lions. Orbitgal via Wikimedia Commons

A naturally-occurring algal toxin called domoic acid (DA) causes brain lesions in sea lions that can lead to a range of acute symptoms including disorientation and seizures. While this much was known, scientists in California have now identified the areas of the brain that are affected by DA, revealing how persistent exposure to the substance can lead to permanent neurological damage.

Why Some Giant Planets Don’t Appear To Have Water

Space





Photo credit:

Artist's impression of the ten gas giants whose atmospheres were investigated. Clockwise from top left: WASP-12b, WASP-6b, WASP-31b, WASP-39b, HD 189733b, HAT-P-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, HAT-P-1b and HD 209458b. ESA/Hubble/NASA

The largest study ever conducted of the atmospheres of planets circling other stars has revealed how different they can be and explained why some appear to contain so little water – and it seems to be that clouds are to blame, or a lack thereof.

The findings help us understand the circumstances that influence giant planets' evolution, and confirm our suspicion that water is common even on planets so hot it can only exist as a gas.

Why Dogs Are Such Messy Drinkers

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

Dogs have to lap up water because they don't have cheeks like us. Tracey Helmboldt/Shutterstock

There are scientific reasons why dogs make a mess when they drink. As animals adapted to biting they lack full cheeks, which is important as it stops them from creating suction like we do, meaning they have to lap up water. Also, dogs are useless with straws.

The process has been observed in slow motion before, but a team from Virginia Tech was able for the first time to produce a physical model showing exactly how dogs drink. By quickly hitting the water with their tongue and then retracing it, they generate a column of water that they can easily close their mouth around.  

Saudi Arabia: First Women Councillors Elected

Women have been elected to municipal councils in Saudi Arabia for the first time after a ban on women taking part in elections was lifted.

At least four women were elected, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Other news agencies put the number between nine and 17.

Women were elected in Mecca, Jawf and Tabuk, SPA said.

The vote is being seen as a landmark in the conservative kingdom. However, the councils have limited powers.

Women also won in several other regions in the country, including Jeddah and Qatif, other reports suggested.

Saudi women still face many curbs in public life, including driving. A total of 978 women registered as candidates, alongside 5,938 men.

Officials said about 130,000 women had registered to vote in Saturday’s poll, compared with 1.35 million men.

The disparity was attributed by female voters to bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of transport, the AFP news agency says.

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This Week in Science (Dec. 6 – 13)

This is a collection of the 10 best and most popular stories from science and technology over the past 7 days. Click the individual images below to read the stories and follow the This Week in Science on wakelet (here) to get these weekly updates straight to your inbox every Sunday.

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After Truth

In this issue of IAI News we look back over the biggest ideas of 2015. Under fire this year has been the very possibility of objective truth.
In July we introduced a brand-new format: the Head to Head. Philosopher and director of the IAI, Hilary Lawson, took on John Searle, one of the world’s most influential analytic philosophers. At stake: the very possibility of objectivity and truth.
If, as Lawson argues, independent reality is a fantasy, then how can we understand and effect changes in the world? In September, mathematician-turned-philosopher Nancy Cartwright, tackled this question head-on. The idea of universal laws is false, she argues; truth is far more diverse and contingent. Likewise, in November, consultant psychiatrist Mark Salter asked: can we hope to diagnose illness accurately or is all knowledge fantasy? Here he outlines his new theory of psychiatry after postmodernism.
October’s Head to Head also questioned the relationship between science and truth. Do scientists have...

COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris

A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C has been agreed at the climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of negotiations.

The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions.

The agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary.

Earlier, key blocs, including the G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as China and India said they supported the proposals.

President of the UN climate conference of parties (COP) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: “I now invite the COP to adopt the decision entitled Paris Agreement outlined in the document.

“Looking out to the room I see that the reaction is positive, I see no objections. The Paris agreement is adopted.”

COP21: In summary

As he struck the gavel to signal the adoption of the deal, delegates rose to their feet cheering and applauding.

Nearly 200 countries have been attempting to strike the first climate deal to commit all countries to cut emissions, which would come into being in 2020.

The chairman of the group representing some of the world’s poorest countries called the deal historic, adding: “We are living in unprecedented times, which call for unprecedented measures.

“It is the best outcome we could have hoped for, not just for the Least Developed Countries, but for all citizens of the world.”

Key points

The measures in the agreement included:

• To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century

• To keep global temperature increase “well below” 2C (3.6F) and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C

• To review progress every five years

• $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future.

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