Survivalists in Florida

Here Come The Homonids

I had previously anticipated (in mid-2010) that more human ancestors and cousins would turn up:
Based on recent discoveries, I wouldn’t be surprised if 6-10 human species are determined to have lived in the last 50,000 years – and I reckon an additional species for the last 10,000 years is quite likely.
http://survive2012.com/news/2010/07/siberia-hominin-530.html
Finding human fossils is a difficult task, and many species (if not widespread and long-lasting) would probably avoid being fossilized. So for every discovered species, there’s going to many more of which there is no record.
Newly discovered:
The fossilized remains of a partial foot has led scientists to speculate that there were several species of pre-humans living in Africa at the same time.
A team from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History discovered the eight bones from an unknown species of hominid in the central Afar region of Ethiopia.
…”On the one hand the foot has a …

Epigenetics Update / Supervolcano Alert

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence (more at Wikipedia).
There is a lot of evidence that epigenetic modifications can last two generations. For example, if your mother was a Holocaust survivor, you could be more prone to post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as your children. Researchers have been trying to discover if such changes can last longer, and become a permanent genetic fixture. Evolution in other words.
This is of great interest to catastrophists – it could mean that global cataclysms were a major ingredient in human evolution. And could again…
DNA extracted from the bones of an extinct bison shows that the environment influenced the way the animal’s genes worked without altering the genetic code. It is the best evidence yet that such epigenetic changes can be fossilized.
…most of the methylations they found were …

2012: Year of the Dragon

In the Chinese calendar, 2012 is the year of the dragon. It is the only of their 12 years that is named after a fictional animal. So are dragons really fictional?
I have investigated the possibility that dragons lived in historical times, primarily because a good book on the topic didn’t exist – see my 6 pages about Did Dragons Exist? I found that dragon myths can be found worldwide, and aside from the very obvious Komodo Dragon, there is another candidate that could explain dragons:

Megalania prisca, as we have learned from fossil evidence, lived in Australia, grew to be a staggering seven metres in length and weighed 600 kgs!
Finally someone has written a proper book on the topic, and I’m pleased to see that the author, trained zoologist Richard Freeman, agrees with me:
“I am absolutely certain, having reviewed many ancient reports of dragon activity, that many sightings – perhaps two …

Elaine Morgan on Aquatic Apes

Ever wondered why we are hairless compared to other apes? Or why our tears are salty? Or even why we have breasts?
Elaine Morgan has devoted decades to the topic of Aquatic Apes, and I’ve been keenly following her work – here’s a 2009 talk she gave at TED:

What does this have to do with 2012? Well, it dovetails nicely with punctuated equilibrium, global cataclysms and evolution via habitats being flooded. A similar cataclysm in 2012 could lead to further human evolution. Do you want to evolve (with no guarantees it will be for the better) or hide??

Morphic Resonance and Evolution

I have a lot of respect for Rupert Sheldrake, and his work is scientifically valid, yet it is mostly mentioned in the realms of New Age. This is a shame because I feel he could hold the key to evolution without realizing the extra factor involved.

Morphic resonance
Essential to Sheldrake’s model is the hypothesis of morphic resonance. This is a feedback mechanism between the field and the corresponding forms of morphic units. The greater the degree of similarity, the greater the resonance, leading to habituation or persistence of particular forms. So, the existence of a morphic field makes the existence of a new similar form easier.
Sheldrake proposes that the process of morphic resonance leads to stable morphic fields, which are significantly easier to tune into. He suggests that this is the means by which simpler organic forms synergetically self-organize into more complex ones, and that this model allows a different explanation for the process of evolution …

Alien-Human Hybrids Possible?

I’ve read a lot of books about the Nephilim, ancient astronauts, and the possibility of aliens mating with humans, as described by the Bible. I’ve rejected the alien aspect, because I think the same logic could be used if we had another human species in the mix – the Mysterious Elders perhaps. Either way, if the other species is too far removed from humans, it is understood that the resultant hybrid children would be sterile, like mules. Well, some mule mares have had foals – but generally hybrids are not expected to fare well evolution-wise.
Now for the weird news, via New Scientist:
Metamorphosis, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, is more commonplace than generally known. For example it can be found in 15 different phyla of marine animals. Some scientists now believe that metamorphosis may have been the driving force behind the Cambrian explosion,  when most phyla suddenly appeared in the …

Another Alien Skull?

Probably a child with a deformity, potentially an alien and possibly an example of a different human species…

More pics at guanabee.com
At RPP (in Spanish) experts are claiming that it is an alien:
Riquelme Davila explained that the body is 50 centimeters tall, triangular head, eye cavity too large, open fontanelle, which is only characteristic of children up to 1 year and has molars, which show that there is a tremendous gap that is not common in humans.
“It looks not human because the head is triangular and tremendous, indeed, the head is about the size of body and thought I was a kid but Spanish and Russian doctors have come and we have confirmed that this is indeed an extraterrestrial” , said through RPP Noticias.
The discoverer is based in Cusco, but the news items don’t say where the body was found…

DNA Comes From Outer Space

I’m a fan of panspermia, particularly the idea the mushroom spores traveled to Earth and gave humans a little extra something. The concept was given a real boost this week with news that components of DNA, nucleobases, have been found in meteorites:
In laboratory experiments, Callahan and colleagues showed how the nucleobases could have formed inside meteorites. Simple chemical reactions involving ammonia, water and hydrogen cyanide — all ingredients found in meteorites — produced the wide range of nucleobases the scientists found in the space rocks.
…Scientists have also found other building blocks of life — most notably amino acids, the links that form proteins — inside meteorites.
While Bernstein said that it’s impossible to discern whether the first life on Earth was built on chemicals that fell from the sky, that possibility is now stronger. “These molecules are at the core of [life’s] blueprints,” Bernstein said of the nucleobases. “It’s possible that …

A little poison helps, a lot harms – “hormesis”

You may have come across hormesis previously:

charcoal water is often used when people have overdosed on their medications, but too many charred steaks increases your cancer risk
many ancient sites (i.e. stone circles) have people who believe that they have curative properties, yet they have heightened naturally occurring levels of radiation
cancer can be cured by radiation therapies
small amounts of DNA damage can lead to evolution, large amounts can kill

The last on the list is of particular interest to me. I think that evolution is partially driven by increases in cosmic radiation, that evolution and global cataclysms quite likely go hand-in-hand, and therefore the cataclysms include a component of cosmic radiation (suggesting a cause from beyond Earth). While a major increase in cosmic radiation could decimate life on our planet, a lesser increase could cause a beneficial, evolutionary rise in mutations.
Research in hormesis is growing rapidly in recent years, according to Science …

Nat Geo: Were Humans Domesticated?

While it certainly wasn’t the focus or intention of the article, this is how part of it reads:
If Andersson’s theory is correct, it may turn out to have intriguing implications for our own species. Harvard biologist Richard Wrangham has theorized that we, too, went through a domestication process that altered our biology. “The question of what is the difference between the domestic pig and a wild boar, or the distinction between a broiler chicken and a wild jungle fowl,” Andersson told me, “is very similar to the question of what is the difference between a human and a chimpanzee.”
That is some suggestion. Obviously it is coming from the direction of “did we somehow evolve via processes of domestication”, yet anyone who has read Sitchin would read it as “aliens have messed with us”.
I don’t quite know what to make of this next part, but it is very interesting, and it brought up …

Nanodiamonds / Neanderthals / Seas Still Rising

Nanodiamonds Discovered in Greenland Ice Sheet – adding weight to the theory of a cometary or asteroid impact event roughly 13,000 years ago.
Did volcanoes wipe out the Neanderthals? If so it would be a neat solution, but not one that explains how our forefathers survived (given that we were not as robust nor smart…)

Not well known is that our seas have been rising ever since the end of the last Ice Age. All the time we are hearing that “global warming” is causing the seas to rise, but few ask whether the rise would be happening regardless of human activity… Fortunately someone has looked into the numbers and discovered some disinformation:
By looking closely at the records, it turns out that the much advertised rising sea levels in the South Pacific depend on anomalous depressions of the ocean during 1997 and 1998 thanks to an El Nino and two tropical cyclones.
The …

Science Updates

Large Hadron Collider: Scientists at the world’s biggest atom smasher have recreated Big Bang conditions by switching the particles they use for collisions from protons to much heavier lead ions – leading to what one scientist called a “a very, very, very small bang”, and obviously we are still here.
Beginning of the end? Scientists have begun genetically modifying insects! The cause is worthy (ridding the world of dengue fever), but mosquitoes are evil enough without having a Frankenstein variety on the loose…
Modern humans and Neanderthals interbred, and remained distinctly different, for a very long time, in both Asia and Europe. And, “It argues for very little adaptive advantage on the part of these modern humans.” This is getting so confusing that a total rethink may be required. Perhaps the interbreeding and separation was by design, not by nature? (I’m thinking some kind of Planet of the Apes scenario…)  Perhaps the …

The Immortal Jellyfish

Suddenly the years lived by those people before The Flood (according to the Bible) don’t seem so impossible!
The species turritopsis nutricula is able to transform itself from its mature state back into a polyp (immature jellyfish) and then back again – picture a gelatinous ‘Benjamin Button’ on repeat.
…Turritopsis nutricula isn’t the only species to use the technique; salamanders use the process to regrow limbs, while chickens utilize it to repair damaged eyes. Turritopsis nutricula, however, is the only species able to regenerate its entire body.
The entire transformation from adult to polyp takes place very rapidly, helping to explain why it has never been observed in the wild. The process, however, has been observed in the lab, and so far 100 per cent of specimens have been capable of the transformation.
…While the jellyfish can potentially live forever, it’s unlikely that one ever will. That’s because like other jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula is often …

Siberia: A New, Recent Hominin Added to the Mix

For a very long time, homo sapiens were the only human species that were thought to have existed in the last tens of thousands of years. Recently we have witnessed the addition of two species, the Neandertals (latest research says that everyone apart from Africans have some Neandertal DNA), and the Hobbits (who we do not appear to have interbred with).
All of a sudden, we are presented with the possibility of many hominins existing at the same time. If we have determined three (the 3rd is below), how many more are there that we are yet to discover? Due to my belief that one form of evolution involves mutations via cosmic rays during global cataclysms, I expect that immediately after such a cataclysm there are many new species, and with time most die out. Given the rarity of fossils, most new species will never be discovered, but those that lingered …

Don’t Forget the Komodo Dragon = Dragon

With its sharp talons, flickering tongue, and immense muscular presence, the Komodo dragon fits the ancient descriptions of dragons worldwide. Sure, it can’t fly, but half of the ancient dragons were also unable to fly. In the UK they were often called “wurms”… And of course you imagined that a dragon was longer than ten feet – well the Komodo dragon had an extinct cousin in Australia that was 21 feet long and weighed 600kg:

Pliny the Elder said, 2000 years ago:
Elephants breed in that part of Affricke which lyeth beyond the deserts….India bringeth fouth the biggest: as also the dragons that are continually at variance with them, and evermore fighting, and those of such greatnesse, that they can easily claspe and wind round about the Elephants, and withall tye them fast with a knot. In this conflict they die, both the one and the other:”
“the Elephant hee falls downe dead as …