Micronesian Islands Colonized By Small-bodied Humans:
Since the reporting of the so-called "hobbit" fossil from the island of Flores in Indonesia, debate has raged as to whether these remains are of modern humans (Homo sapiens), reduced, for some reason, in stature, or whether they represent a new species, Homo floresiensis. Lee Berger and colleagues from the University of the Witwatersrand, Rutgers University and Duke University, describe the fossils of small-bodied humans from the Micronesian island of Palau. These people inhabited the island between 1400 and 3000 years ago and share some -- although not all -- features with the H. floresiensis specimens.
See more here, here, here and here.
Fossilized Giant Rhino Bone Questions Isolation Of Anatolia, 25 Million Years Ago:
Contrary to generally accepted belief, Anatolia1 was not geographically isolated 25 million years ago (during the Oligocene epoch): this has just been demonstrated by researchers from the Laboratoire des Mécanismes et Transferts en Géologie (LMTG) (CNRS/ University of Toulouse 3/IRD) and the Paléobiodiversité et paléoenvironnements laboratory (CNRS/Muséum national d'histoire naturelle/University of Paris 6).
How Frequency Of Meals May Affect Health:
The health consequences of eating one large meal a day compared with eating three meals a day has not been established. Now two recently published journal articles are among the first to report the effects of meal skipping on key health outcomes, based on a study involving a group of normal-weight, middle-aged adults.
Invasive Species Can Produce 'Hotspots Of Evolutionary Novelty,' Study Shows:
When exotic species invade new territory, they often present a major threat to the other plants and animals living there--that much is clear. But researchers writing in the March 11th issue of Current Biology now show that, in addition to their destructive tendencies, invasive species can also have a surprisingly "creative" side.
Non-human Primates Convey Meaning Through Call Combinations:
Researchers have made what they say is the first experimental demonstration that a primate other than humans conveys meaning by combining distinct alarm calls in particular ways.
Mystery Behind The Strongest Creature In The World:
The strongest creature in the world, the Hercules Beetle, has a colour-changing trick that scientists have long sought to understand. New research details an investigation into the structure of the specie's peculiar protective shell which could aid design of 'intelligent materials'.
Wandering Albatrosses Follow Their Nose:
The first study of how individual wandering albatrosses find food shows that the birds rely heavily on their sense of smell. The birds can pick up a scent from several miles away, U.S. and French researchers have found.
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Thanks for linking up my post on the Palaun finds. Care to share how PLoS feels about National Geographic Society breaking the embargo and releasing the documentary prior to the publication being released?
Kambiz
Hi Coturnix,
I haven' heard yet much criticism of the Berger et al. paper, so I guess I'll be one of the first.
I consider that Berger hasn't really established that these tiny Palauans are H. sapiens. This could be a species close to H. sapiens (perhaps the closest known so far and thus "sister" species) that has retained some plesiomorphic traits yet shares several apomorphies with H. sapiens (until now thought to be "autapomorphies", exclusively of sapiens)
To discard this possibility and prove that tiny Palauans are H. sapiens, Berger et al. would have to show that their tiny Palauans are phylogenetically nested within H. sapiens (and not "right outside"). However they did not make a phylogenetic analysis (despite disposing of several specimens and good morphological data)
Without that, they are simply preferring hypotheses of convergence or reversal rather than homology for the primitive traits, which is contra-parsimony unless further evidence is provided; and for that, they would need phylogenetic analysis.
A little PAUP on the morphological traits, that's all I'm asking for. This is standard procedure in systematics and paleontology when describing a new fossil of evolutionary relevance. Statements such as "We feel that the most parsimonious, and most reasonable, interpretation of the human fossil assemblage from Palau is that they derive from a small-bodied population of H. sapiens" do not substitute for actual phylogenetic analysis using parsimony.
If Berger et al did that analysis, they would KNOW, rather than FEEL, whether "tiny palauans are H. sapiens" is REALLY the most parsimonious hypothesis or not.
I think I agree with this take instead.
Never expect to be taken seriosuly on a blog.
I don't find its funny, Coturnix (not even on a purely comedic, basis, for sure) Inferences about human evolution should not be made as if we lived in the precladistic 70's. Discussions of whether these are humans or not are not constitutively unsolvable, laughable and thus comparable to looking for ewoks and hobbits.
As a Yale postdoc at the department of ecology and evolution I am not a "big name" but I want to leave for the record that sosome of us evolutionary scientists are sorely missing that phylogenetic analysis.
Your serious comment is taken seriously. My link should be taken with a sense of humor. Both can co-exist. No need to be far too serious and not even allow humor on a blog, is there?
Ewok. Got it. Very funny. Hahaha (as I tickle my own armpits)
Any response on the scientific front, then?
Please tell me the rebuttal is soon going to be published.
I have no idea. I'll leave that to the experts in the field.
"I'll leave that to the experts in the field"
Yes. Hopefully, there will be some who actually know their phylogenetic systematics, and will apply it. Then we'll see if Berger's hypothesis is indeed the most parsimonious or not.