Monthly Archives: March 2017

Dampened immunity during pregnancy promotes evolution of more virulent flu Science Daily To determine if pregnant women experience a similar evolution of influenza infection, Gabriel and Arck are planning to look for similar mutations in samples from pregnant women who suffered from influenza. Similar mutations have been seen in other ... and more »

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Dampened immunity during pregnancy promotes evolution of more virulent flu - Science Daily

According to some scientists, it was vision, rather than mobility, that let fish evolve to land-dwelling creatures. A team of researchers examined old fossil data and are arguing that vision was the primary reason that fish made the jump to land hundreds of millions of years ago.

Researchers Malcolm A. MacIver of Northwestern University and Lars Schmitz of Claremont McKenna, Scripps, and Pitzer colleges analyzed fossilized fish before and after they made the transition to land. They found that the size of eyes nearly tripled prior to moving onto land, suggesting that eyesight played a strong role in this stage of evolution.

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Their reasoning is that light can travel much further on land than in the water. Larger eyes would have been almost useless underwater, but the large increase in eye size suggests a significant evolutionary drive. MacIver and Schmitz account for this by suggesting that pre-terrestrial fish used their eyes to spot food on the shore.

Insects and other invertebrates made the jump to land around 50 million years before fish did, so for a prehistoric fish, the shores would have been teeming with food just out of reach. Over millions of years, many fish species evolved better eyes as well as limbs to reach more of it.

This increased vision may have also led to increased brain size. In the water, where vision is minimal, the majority of brainpower is devoted to quick reflexes. But on land, being able to see further lends itself well to planning and strategy, and could have fostered what is known as prospective cognition, the ability to consider multiple outcomes and plan for the future.

Source: Northwestern University

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Vision Might Have Kickstarted Evolution on Land - Popular Mechanics

Marcus Bontempelli, Chad Wingard and Isaac Heeney appear on the game cover

THE FANS have spoken and Western Bulldogs premiership prodigy Marcus Bontempelli will appear on the cover of the yet-to-be-released AFL Evolution video game.

Following a fan poll on AFL.com.au late last year, Dogs club champion Bontempelli received 23 per cent of the 128,000 votes cast by fans.

'The Bont' will be joined on the cover of AFL Evolution by Port Adelaide star Chad Wingard and Sydney youngster Isaac Heeney.

The front cover design was revealed on Thursday today by AFL licensee Tru Blu Entertainment, which is working on the production in conjunction with Wicked Witch Software.

AFL Evolution, which is scheduled to be released in the first half of the 2017 season, will be available on next-generation consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC Steam.

In December, the AFL's then commercial operations manager Darren Birch said: "AFL Evolution will deliver a unique experience for footy fans, taking them to the heart of the action in a virtual footy world."

As part of the formulation of AFL Evolution, players at all 18 clubs participated in photo shoots in which 24 cameras simultaneously photographed them to create highly detailed likenesses.

AFL Players' Association communications manager Rebecca Chitty said the players were thrilled to be involved in the project.

"This generation of AFL footballers grew up playing video games and this is an opportunity to feature in one thats sure to have footy fans highly engaged," Chitty said.

"Digital is an ever-evolving space and the players see this as just another way to grow the game by reaching out to new audiences and showcasing it on different platforms."

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Bont covers himself in glory in AFL Evolution game - AFL.com.au

During spring training this year, I noticed a different approach Cron was using when he walks up to the plate. At least I think its different since its hard to find much video of him from before a pitch is delivered. When Cron steps up to the plate, his legs are wide and he crouches down like hes doing a sideways deep knee bend before he comes back up to his ready stance. This got me thinking - what did Cron look like last year? How about in college? Or as a prospect? Enjoy this video journey into the evolution of C.J. Cron - the hitter.

Cron had a more narrow stance in the early days and seemed a little bit more rigid. He still had a pretty sweet swing and a lot of pop. There is a reason he was a #1 draft pick. He went to Orem in 2011 and slashed .308/.371/.629 with 13 home runs in just 34 games.

In 2012, Cron was leaning down a bit more but his stance didnt change all that much. He skipped over A ball and went right to A+ where he knocked out 27 home runs in 129 games. Rookie ball to A+ is a good jump and he seemed to handle it well.

By the time he reached AA ball and some more talented pitching, Cron looked more relaxed at the plate and opened up his stance a bit. His changes in approach at the plate from college to AA ball are pretty noticeable.

Cron had reasons to smile in his big league debut as he knocked in 3 hits and 2 RBIs during his May debut. Cron was pretty much here to stay at that point with just a few more short stints in Salt Lake. He was relaxed at the plate but still had a bit of over-eagerness.

Take a look at Crons body language here. He has a adjusted his approach at the plate at bit more and we probably wont see a lot more changes other than minor ones at this point. He looks really, really comfortable up there. Cron has 20-25 HR potential, though we havent seen it yet. Mostly because hes never had more than 116 games in one season. Crons AVG, OBP, and walks to K ratio have all improved over his 3 years in the majors. I guess the biggest question we will probably see answered this year is - has his evolution comes to its near peak - or will we see more out of him as a hitter in his age 27 season?

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The evolution of CJ Cron - the hitter - Halo's Heaven

Discovery Institute

Vertebrates to Land Is an Evolutionary Transition Dripping with Teleology Discovery Institute Cornelius Hunter, among other observers, has pointed out the recurring need on the part of evolutionary thinking to resort to the language of teleology. Darwinian evolution is supposed to have done away with the need for purpose or will in driving the ... and more »

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Vertebrates to Land Is an Evolutionary Transition Dripping with Teleology - Discovery Institute

Louisianas top school board is poised to rewrite the states two-decades-old science standards for public schools, after a debate that veered into disagreements over evolution.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, known as BESE, gave preliminary support Tuesday to the standards, which were drawn up by a review committee packed largely with local educators.

With a 9-0 vote, a panel of nearly all BESE members agreed to the standards revisions. But support came only after language was added to remind educators about a Louisiana law that allows public school science teachers to use supplemental materials in their classrooms.

Supporters of the addition wanted the language included as a way to encourage teachers to challenge evolution in their science classrooms.

If you really believe we should teach the controversy, why is that not included in the standards? asked Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray.

Amedee was among several speakers who wanted the standards tweaked to raise questions about evolution. Gene Mills, president of the conservative Louisiana Family Forum, said evolution is referenced 25 times in the standards, but with no mention of opposing theories.

Teachers, like the test, will follow the standards, Mills said.

Science teachers urged the education board to adopt the rewritten benchmarks without language challenging evolution.

These standards are not based on biased opinions, but are supported by years and years of scientific research, said Kyle Duhon, a science teacher at Jennings High School who helped work on the standards revamp.

In response to concerns about evolutionary teaching, BESE members added a provision in the standards referencing a 2008 state law called the Louisiana Science Education Act.

The law allows public school teachers to use supplemental materials to promote critical thinking skills in areas like evolution and global warming. Critics call the law a backdoor way to introduce creationism into science classes, which supporters of the law deny.

BESE members voted 7-2 to include information from the state law in the standards, before the committee then approved the full package without dissent. The board is expected to give final passage to the standards Wednesday.

But the transition to the new teaching benchmarks wont be immediate.

The upcoming 2017-18 year will include teacher training and field testing, according to the education department, with the standards fully phased in by the 2018-19 school year.

The classroom standards set guideposts for what students from kindergarten through 12th grade should know in basic science, physical science, physics, biology, chemistry, earth science and other scientific fields by the end of each grade.

The current standards were written in 1997. The education department says only two states, New Mexico and Wisconsin, use older science standards. The rewrite was aimed at better preparing students for jobs in STEM fields science, technology, engineering and math.

Louisiana ranks poorly in national comparisons of science testing results.

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Science standards rewrite wins support, with evolution tweak - New Orleans CityBusiness (blog)