this is the link to the story below... there are some awesome photos of butterfly's.
Butterfly unlocks evolution secret
By Julianna Kettlewell
BBC News science reporter
The butterflies' wings offer clues to speciation
Why one species branches into two is a question that has haunted evolutionary biologists since Darwin.
Given our planet's rich biodiversity, "speciation" clearly happens regularly, but scientists cannot quite pinpoint the driving forces behind it.
Now, researchers studying a family of butterflies think they have witnessed a subtle process, which could be forcing a wedge between newly formed species.
The team, from Harvard University, US, discovered that closely related species living in the same geographical space displayed unusually distinct wing markings.
These wing colours apparently evolved as a sort of "team strip", allowing butterflies to easily identify the species of a potential mate.
For me, this is a big discovery just because the system is very beautiful
Dr Nikolai Kandul, Harvard University
This process, called "reinforcement", prevents closely related species from interbreeding thus driving them further apart genetically and promoting speciation.
Although scientists have speculated about this mechanism for years, it has rarely been witnessed in nature.
"The phenomenon of reinforcement is one of the very few mechanisms that has natural selection playing a role in speciation," said Harvard co-author Nikolai Kandul. "It might be very widespread but it is hard to find good evidence of it."
Geographical isolation
For speciation to occur, two branches of the same species must stop breeding with one another for long enough to grow apart genetically.
The most obvious way this can happen is through geographical isolation.
The butterflies choose mates with similar markings
If a mountain range or river divides a population of animals for hundreds of generations, they might find that if they meet again they are no longer able to breed.
But geographical isolation is not enough to explain all speciation. Clearly, organisms do sometimes speciate even if there is no clear river or mountain separating them.
The other mechanism that can theoretically divide a species is "reproductive isolation". This occurs when organisms are not separated physically, but "choose" not to breed with each other thereby causing genetic isolation, which amounts to the same thing.
Reproductive isolation is much hazier and more difficult to pin down than geographic isolation, which is why biologists are so excited about this family of butterflies.
Butterfly clue
The Harvard team made the discovery while studying the butterfly genus Agrodiaetus, which has a wide ranging habitat in Asia.
The females are brown while the males exhibit a variety of wing colours ranging from silver and blue to brown.
Dr Kandul and his colleagues found that if closely related species of Agrodiaetus are geographically separate, they tend to look quite similar. That is to say, they do not display a distinctive "team strip".
Scientists are excited about this new research
But if similarly closely related species are living side-by-side, the researchers noticed, they frequently look strikingly different - their "teams" are clearly advertised.
This has the effect of discouraging inter-species mating, thus encouraging genetic isolation and species divergence.
"This butterfly study presents evidence that the differences in the male's wing colouration is stronger [when the species share a habitat] than [when they do not]," said the speciation expert Axel Meyer, from Konstanz University in Germany.
"This pattern would therefore support the interpretation that it was brought about by reinforcement, hence natural selection."
The reason evolution favours the emergence of a "team strip" in related species, or sub species, living side-by-side is that hybridisation is not usually a desirable thing.
Although many of the Agrodiaetus species are close enough genetically to breed, their hybrid offspring tend to be rather weedy and less likely to thrive.
Therefore natural selection will favour ways of distinguishing the species, which is why the clear markings exist.
"For me, this is a big discovery just because the system is very beautiful," said Dr Kandul. "As much as we can we are showing that [reinforcement] is the most likely mechanism."
This research was published in the latest edition of Nature magazine.
Monday, August 01, 2005
You have to see to believe.. haha...
From Melanie comes this short video clip.... titled "Passport"! download it to your desktop... save it, and watch... it is funny...haha...
2005, July 24th - Andrew and Madison
Yelp... Ms. Madison Ann is growing like a weed now... here is a link to some photos I took of her and Andrew , more photos coming..
Melanie sends along this note... the choices we make!
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing,he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood."
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
He continued, "..the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine.But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well,there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
You have two choices now:
01. Delete this.
02. Forward it to the people you care about.
You know the choice I made.
God Bless, and smile,it could be contagious.
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood."
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
He continued, "..the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine.But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well,there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
You have two choices now:
01. Delete this.
02. Forward it to the people you care about.
You know the choice I made.
God Bless, and smile,it could be contagious.
From Uncle Ivan....
This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood,Texas.
The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad.
Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.
To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.....
Great evening at the Blankinship's last night.....
Well, we had a great get together for Andrew and Paul's Birthday's on the evening of Jon and Randi's Wedding Anniversary... Even though they could not make it, we thought of them and talked of and "about" them too... haha...
Happy Anniversary to them and Happy B'day to the boys...
It was a home fun of laughter, fellowship, fun, visiting, and catching up. The Blankinships and Ameys brought homemade ice cream, and Heather and Mom fixed a freezer of homemade super V ice cream... It was all so very good... Birthday cake, cookies, and special deserts, and lots of presents.. and the kiddos played and got along great!
Roy and Neal are in the hay fields... Roy reports anywhere from 3/4 to 1/3 of the hay is being produced due to the drought we are in... here it's about 1/3 to 1/2 the hay that is usually put up.
Looks like an end of an era is coming here at our ole homestead, too. I think we will sell out of the cattle business at a Special Sale at Sale Barn on Sept. 9th. I truly don't want to, but....
Well, all I know for now. It is REALLY dry ... no rain in months and months.. actually since winter.... everything is suffering ... animals, grass, trees, bushes... shrubs... wow... and NO wind either.
I took lots of photos last night.. will post them but it might be tomorrow before I get them up.
Have a great day....... and enjoy!
Happy Anniversary to them and Happy B'day to the boys...
It was a home fun of laughter, fellowship, fun, visiting, and catching up. The Blankinships and Ameys brought homemade ice cream, and Heather and Mom fixed a freezer of homemade super V ice cream... It was all so very good... Birthday cake, cookies, and special deserts, and lots of presents.. and the kiddos played and got along great!
Roy and Neal are in the hay fields... Roy reports anywhere from 3/4 to 1/3 of the hay is being produced due to the drought we are in... here it's about 1/3 to 1/2 the hay that is usually put up.
Looks like an end of an era is coming here at our ole homestead, too. I think we will sell out of the cattle business at a Special Sale at Sale Barn on Sept. 9th. I truly don't want to, but....
Well, all I know for now. It is REALLY dry ... no rain in months and months.. actually since winter.... everything is suffering ... animals, grass, trees, bushes... shrubs... wow... and NO wind either.
I took lots of photos last night.. will post them but it might be tomorrow before I get them up.
Have a great day....... and enjoy!
like being there... haha... yeah right...!! but photos are cool...
Ole Dave drove to New York for a conference over the weekend... here are his pics.. ....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)