Friday, September 20, 2019
What's unusual?
Via Eurekalert, an analysis of the Denisovan branch of early humans.
Three interesting things:
1. The composite picture of the suspect is GREAT ART. It could be a 1600's oil painting. I wouldn't be surprised to see this picture in a museum. The article credits Maayan Harel for "beautiful illustrations", which is an understatement!
2. The analysis was done at the epigenetic level, not the 'hard genes', thus acknowledging that 'hard genes' are losing their importance as the main driver of variation.
3. The suspect doesn't look strange at all. I see people with identical characteristics every day. Pretty much the norm** around here. If this skull and face seem unfamiliar to the researchers, maybe the researchers are the strange ones. Modern tenure-track researchers are uniformly LONG AND TALL. They are selected for maximum stamina and competitive dominance. A group picture of science grad students looks just like a group picture of varsity basketball players, except that the science students are taller.
** I think this type is mainly the original tribes around here, not the Euros. I notice them because they're outstanding examples of a strong culture where everyone has a firm place. When I see a CALM mother with a CALM baby, they're usually original. The Denisovan branch was first found in Siberia, so there could be a line of descent.
Labels: Grand Blueprint
¶ 12:12 AM
