Category: Evolution
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Computers listening to humans. Humans becoming like computers…
Speech recognition software isn't perfect, but it is a little closer to human this week, as a Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research team reached a major milestone in speech-to-text development: The system reached a historically low word error rate of 5.9 percent, equal to the accuracy of a professional (human) transcriptionist. The system can discern…
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“How” evolution works: Axioms and arrogance in today’s science… [OR: Why we need a philosophical tsunami to break the tea cup]
Research led by the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the University of Washington has shown that the biological diversity needed for evolution can be generated by changes in protein modifications. The findings, published in Science, provide valuable insights into how different species adapt to different environments and could shed light on how pathogens evolve and…
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Evolution. Possibilities. Capabilities. Reality.
Fish that have an affinity for land are rather common - 130 fish species are at least in part amphibious. Most of them stay out of water for a matter of seconds or minutes (scooting between ponds or hopping between tidal pools), but a few can live out of water for hours and days. The…
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Double genes. Redundant genes. Everything. Nothing.
The evolution of major novel traits - characteristics such as wings, flowers, horns or limbs - has long been known to play a key role in allowing organisms to exploit new opportunities in their surroundings. What's still up for debate, though, is how these important augmentations come about from a genetic point of view. New research…
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Suicide. Ants. Humans.
Could human suicide have evolutionary roots in self-sacrificial behaviors like those seen in species such as honeybees and ants? A Florida State University researcher who is one of the nation's foremost experts in suicide is trying to find out. "Humans are a species that is eusocial, and that's an important starting point", the researcher said.…
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