Chimps have experimented with sex more than humans

IT IS a question not just of prurient but also evolutionary interest: what was the mating behaviour of our extinct relatives?

With living apes so variable in their sexual preferences, it's tough to work out the sex habits of the ancestor common to humans and chimps. Gorilla groups contain just one sexually active male and several females, for example, while among chimps, several sexually active males breed with the group's active females ? and vice versa. Humans, meanwhile, show a variety of mating behaviours but often form monogamous couples.

Michael Jensen-Seaman and Scott Hergenrother at Duquesne University in Pennsylvania think that it is the chimps ? not humans ? that have experimented with new sexual behaviours since our lineages diverged. Uniquely among apes, male chimps produce thick semen that coagulates into a plug in the female's genital tract. In a society where females mate freely with several males the strategy increases the chances that a male will fertilise the female's eggs. But did male chimps inherit their mating plugs from the last common ancestor they shared with us or did they evolve it later?

To try and resolve the question, Jensen-Seaman's team looked at ACPP, an enzyme in semen that prevents it coagulating into a plug. They found that the enzyme is four times as abundant in human semen as it is in chimp semen. The change is related to the way the ACPP gene is turned on and off.

For clues about whether the human-chimp ancestor had similar levels of the enzyme to humans or chimps, the team turned to gorillas. The gorilla lineage separated from the human-chimp ancestor a few million years earlier, so offers a perspective on mating habits in the human-chimp ancestor. The analysis showed gorillas regulate ACPP in the same way as humans, suggesting that the human-chimp ancestor did as well.

"The chimp mating behaviour does appear to be the derived state," says Jensen-Seaman. Hergenrother presented the work at last week's meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution in Chicago.

However, we can't be sure that chimps made the change after the split from humans. It is possible that the human-chimp ancestor had chimp-like behaviour and that our lineage has since reverted to a gorilla-like condition. Only when similar patterns are seen for more genes can we be sure when the changes occurred.

Michael Plavcan at the University of Arkansas agrees that the study is consistent with the idea that chimps evolved a unique mating system since their lineage split from ours. "People often forget that chimps, like humans, have evolved from a common ancestor and are not some relict species frozen in time," he says.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Chimps have more experimental sex"

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/2eda47e0/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg219292650B10A0A0Echimps0Ehave0Eexperimented0Ewith0Esex0Emore0Ethan0Ehumans0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

Redbull Stratos steve mcnair vice presidential debate Martha Raddatz Chris Lighty JJ Watt jerry sandusky

These Parody Logos of Famous Brands Are More Honest Than the Real Logos

Most company logos usually play it pretty safe: stale stencils or vanilla graphics mixed with a bunch of nothingness to keep uniqueness to a minimum. That's never fun. But if you get too adventurous, the Internet skewers you. That's why we're left with logos and brands that pretty much are all different degrees of the same.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4KQOPyDyVWo/these-parody-logos-of-famous-brands-are-more-honest-tha-809453428

pnc Pain and Gain Eddie Lacy Justin Pugh dallas cowboys Jarvis Jones minnesota vikings

'Google Earth on every financial transaction'

(CNSNEWS) ? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is looking to create a ?Google Earth? of every financial transaction of every American, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) warned today in a Senate speech opposing confirmation of Richard Cordray as CFPB director.

?This bill (creating the CFPB) was supposed to be about regulating Wall Street. Instead, it?s creating a Google Earth on every financial transaction. That?s right: the government will be able to see every detail of your finances. Your permission ? not needed,? Sen. Enzi said.

?They can look right down to the tiny details of the time and place where you pulled cash out of an ATM,? Enzi warned.

And, there?s nothing you can do about, since Americans don?t have the ability to ?opt out? or prohibit the government from collecting their personal financial data, Enzi said:

?You can?t tell ?em to stay out of your records. It?s not possible. If your data is being collected, you do not have the option to opt out. Nor, does the CFPD need any kind of permission from you to gather your personal information.?

Source: http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/google-earth-on-every-financial-transaction/

danny o brien alicia silverstone park slope food coop anchorman sequel safety not guaranteed lifehouse al gore

Sybrina Fulton's Miami Gardens church prays for healing following Zimmerman verdict

Posted By: Michele Wright / CBS 12 News
Story by Tania Francois / CBS 12 News

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - In Miami at the church of Trayvon Martin and Sybrina Fulton parishioners who had been supporting Fulton gathered to get guidance on how to continue with what they thought was a disappointing verdict.

Pastor Arthur Jackson III at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens where Martin?s funeral was held says ?Our church our community is extremely disappointed. We're heartbroken over the verdict, of course we respect it but we don't understand it.?

CBS 12 was the only local news crew at the church Sunday morning.

While Fulton was a no show she did send a message through her pastor saying she will rely on God for strength and continue to pray to get through the devastating verdict. "She wanted me to let the church and all the media outlets know that she's still trusting in God. Even though she couldn't trust in the legal system she's trusting in the Lord not being able to trust the courts she's trusting Christ."

He went on to quote her favorite scripture. Her favorite scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6 which speaks of trusting the Lord and she wanted the community and the church to know that?s what she was absolutely doing.
Moving forward he says they are going to take their disappointment and turn it into mobilization to try and get the stand your ground law turned overturned.

As for turning to violence from the verdict, the pastor says he?s encouraging his parishioner to arm themselves but with a different type of weapon. ?We are arming ourselves but our weapons are not carnal. We are arming ourselves with prayer. We are putting on the whole armor of God. We are putting on the helmet of Salvation, we are making sure that we are turning it over to God.?Sybrina Fulton's Miami Gardens church prays for healing following Zimmerman verdict

Source: http://cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/sybrina-fultons-miami-gardens-church-prays-healing-following-zimmerman-verdict-8802.shtml?wap=0

jay z Oscar Pistorius Carnival Triumph charles barkley valentines valentines day George Ferris

New NYC poll shows Weiner, Spitzer with leads

Driven from office by separate scandals, Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer might get a second chance from New York City voters this fall, a new poll suggests.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday found that Weiner, a former congressman now running to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg, narrowly leads his closest rival, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, 25 percent to 22 percent in a crowded Democratic primary.

Meanwhile, Spitzer, the former governor who launched a surprise, last-minute bid for city comptroller last week, leads his rival, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, 48 percent to 33 percent.

The poll comes roughly two months before the city's Sept. 10 Democratic primary, in which both men are trying to live down scandals that forced them out of office.

Spitzer was forced out of the governor?s office in 2008 when he was caught cheating on his wife with prostitutes. As attorney general, Spitzer had cracked down on the kind of prostitution rings he later was found to be patronizing.

Weiner, meanwhile, resigned his congressional seat in 2011 after he was caught sexting with women who were not his wife.

The new survey suggests the controversies aren?t hurting the former lawmakers? comeback bids. A majority of Democrats say they believe both men should be running the offices they are seeking ? though their support is stronger among men than women.

Sixty-four percent of men say Spitzer should be running, compared with 53 percent of women. On the same question, 59 percent of men say Weiner should be running, compared with 49 percent of women.

In the mayor?s race Quinn leads Weiner by just 2 points among women ? well within the poll?s margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Asked about their opinion of Weiner, female voters polled were split: 37 percent said they have a ?favorable? view, while 40 percent hold an ?unfavorable? view.

In the comptroller?s race, 44 percent of women support Spitzer, compared with 32 percent for Stringer. Fifty percent of women polled said they had a ?favorable? view of Spitzer, compared with 33 percent who said the opposite. By comparison, 28 percent of women held a favorable view of Stringer, while 63 percent said they didn?t know enough about him to say.

Spitzer and Weiner may be benefiting from an electorate that is more forgiving than most. Asked which is worse, financial impropriety or sexual misconduct, 69 percent picked the financial scandal compared with 22 percent who picked the sexual transgression.

The mayor?s race appears to be coming down to a draw between Weiner and Quinn ? both of whom are vying to reach 40 percent support in the primary in order to avoid a runoff.

The other contenders trail Weiner and Quinn by double digits. They include former Comptroller Bill Thompson, who registered at just 11 percent support in the poll; Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (10 percent), current Comptroller John Liu (7 percent) and former City Councilman Sal Albanese (1 percent). Twenty-one percent remain undecided.

According to Quinnipiac, both Weiner and Spitzer are being boosted by strong support from the black community.

Spitzer leads Stringer 61 percent to 26 percent among black voters. In the mayoral primary battle, Weiner has the backing of 31 percent of black voters, far ahead of Quinn at 16 percent and Thompson, the only major black candidate in the mayoral field, at 14 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weiner--spitzer-lead-in-nyc-polls-210238450.html

alex rodriguez Netflix down paul george Warm Bodies Mexico vs Jamaica Jiah Khan Teen Wolf

North Dakota University System Doesn?t Seem Intent On Healing

?There?s a lot of healing that has to occur, and it has to occur now,? interim Chancellor (and Bismarck State College President) Larry Skogen said after replacing former Chancellor Hamid Shirvani. The newest member of the State Board of Higher Education, student representative Devin Hoffarth, echoed that sentiment saying the board needs to ?make peace.?

But peace doesn?t seem to be in the offing. Since Shirvani left there?s been a concerted effort to clean out many of his hires (ironically something Shirvani was accused of during his tenure), including those who alerted to the legislature to NDSU possibly avoiding an open records request by deleting tens of thousands of emails from President Dean Bresciani?s inbox.

Governor Jack Dalrymple put a halt to those shenanigans, something his office won?t explicitly confirm but which other sources in the capitol say is true, but now the university system is thumbing their noses at the legislature again.

Former University of North Dakota Chief Information Officer Josh Riedy stood accused of working to undermine Chancellor Shirvani during his time as chancellor. A legislative committee, chaired by Rep. Bob Skarphol, presented no small amount of compelling evidence for Riedy?s involvement, and shortly after that evidence was presented in a hearing (audio here) Riedy resigned and announced he?d taken a job out of state.

But now Riedy is back, and not only back, but occupying what seems to be a brand new position created just for him at UND called ?chief strategic officer.?

The title is fitting, given Riedy?s foray into political gamesmanship previously:

Josh Riedy will return to the university in a new role, UND said Friday. His new title will be vice provost and chief strategy officer.

His appointment comes after an April announcement that he would be leaving his post as associate chief information officer for the North Dakota University System to become vice chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was scheduled to start that job Aug. 1, until the new UND position came up.

?It?s a great opportunity with new leadership,? Riedy said of his new position at UND. ?(Provost Thomas DiLorenzo) has an infectious personality, and he is very data-oriented. I?m very excited as being able to come in to the provost?s office and help him there, along with other administrative areas.?

Unless you?re a newspaper editor, or a university system employee, trust in North Dakota?s University System is quickly approaching zero. Given the open records/meeting fiascoes of the last several months the ?system? (or loose confederation of academic city-states, which is how the universities seem to see themselves) hasn?t earned an ounce of trust from taxpayers, students or elected leaders.

Bringing back someone like Riedy shows they care very little about gaining that trust.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SayAnything/~3/w-oneVcuXZo/

windows 8 preview leap year moratorium dwts season 14 cast leap day michigan primary results olympia snowe

Why buy gold and silver as investment? - Coin Community Forum

Author	?Topic?	?
greenprint Valued Member United States 152 Posts	So I don't really get it. If you have some extra money then you should invest it instead of just letting it sit around and do nothing because money inflates. If you buy something and over time the money you spent to buy that something inflates, then the value of that thing also inflates. So why gold and silver when you can buy anything? You can store your wealth in anything? There are so many other things you can buy then bullion that you can actually use and make your life easier. If I had an extra $200, why should I buy some PM when I could like buy a textbook, an extra computer monitor, etc.?
Pillar Of The Community Australia 6788 Posts	Anyone who invests takes risks. Doesn't matter if it is your own business, education, shocks and scares, interest bearing deposits, bonds, pork belly futures, or whatever. The motivation is to make a profit, eventually. Same with PM's. Invest in a market that you like, and have greatest knowledge in, and what you think will benefit you the most. If you don't really know, and still wish to invest, diversify. I have had advice from a professional advisor, that it would not hurt in most cases, to put some, but no more than 5%, into PM's. Sounds rational to me! My 5% is not into PM's, but into numismatic items. One problem for me. It has to be a lifetime investment. That's OK; I have had a lifetime interest in numismatics.
Moderator United States 4097 Posts	Quote: greenprint If I had an extra $200, why should I buy some PM when I could like buy a textbook, an extra computer monitor, etc.? textbooks go out of date and technology advancements make computer monitors become obsolete quickly. PM's may increase or decrease in value, but they don't go out of date or become obsolete.
Pillar Of The Community United States 655 Posts	The concept I think you're hinting at is opportunity cost. Both durable and consumable goods are used up over time. A textbook is information and information is notorious for growing stale very quickly. However, you said, "You can store your wealth in anything?" That's not quite true. The goods that you and I buy everyday, the goods that make our lives more comfortable, have value but that value has a finite time frame. There's no way to "store value" in a pizza, or a month's worth of A/C in the middle of summer. Sure we benefit, but once consumed, these goods are gone and must be replaced. There is no "store of value" in these expenditures. So what about gold and silver? Well, for centuries precious metals have been the go to store of wealth in times of trouble and uncertainty. Additionally, for much of human history, gold and silver has, quite literally, been "money" or the base of exchange for all transactions throughout much of the world. The reason for this is pretty simple: gold and silver (unless damaged or otherwise lost) doesn't physically degrade. They are durable and thus a store of wealth. So, what to do with that $200.00? Well, if you need to eat? I'd buy food. If you need to pay rent to keep a roof over your head? I'd pay rent. If all of your basic needs are met, I'd put that money toward a retirement plan in stocks or another age appropriate investment vehicle of your choice. Once all of that is covered? I'd consider buying gold and silver... or Beanie Babies...or Magic the Gathering cards...or whatever sounds right for you. In other words, put it toward something you understand, and more importantly, something you enjoy. Edited by coinwatch Yesterday 03:24 am
Pillar Of The Community United States 6821 Posts	Sel gave some really good adivce. Just to add on a bit I would suggest diversifying even if you are sure of what youre doing. Some stocks, some in the bank, more than one stock ect. No one hits on every investment they make, but diversifying gives you protection when you do miss. A lot of what you hear on about investing in PMs is from people trying to sell you them or people with a financial interest in them doing well. There is value to having a small percentage like sel mentioned just in case, but they arent the get rich quick scheme theyre made out to be. If you look at prices for the last 100 years there have been a couple periods of price run ups when things arent going good. The problem is those runs up are decades apart. If you buy heavy during a run up and hang on to it youre underwater in the investment for a long period of time. Even when the price returns to where you bought youd be out a lot of years of interest payments or dividends from stocks ect. The time to buy for someone wanting to do that is during a booming economy when the prices are at rock bottom. Even then it will like be several years or longer before it pays off. Even if you just look at the last 2 years theyve been losing value overall for a while after the big price spike.
Pillar Of The Community United States 1248 Posts	BB's thoughts pretty much echo my own, which generally tends to be the case. It's not a popular stance to take on a PM forum but I believe buying PMs as an investment vehicle is a losing proposition unless one is fortunate enough to buy when silver- for instance- flatlines below $10, its traditional stabilization point. Even if one times things perfectly, its a potentially decades-long waiting game before metals once again explode into prominence and the opportunity arises to make a substantial profit commensurate with one's initial grubstake (that's an odd word, isn't it?). My personal interests lies in buying limited release numismatics below market price and (hopefully) watching these coins increase in value over time. If they don't, and here's the key, I only buy coins I personally like. I view them more along the lines of family heirlooms than true investments. In the last year, I've had the opportunity to sell a coin for $2000 that I paid $75 for and never once seriously considered pulling the trigger. That test case leads me to believe that most of the coins I own will likely remain in my possession for generations to come, barring some future unforeseen tragedy that forces my hand. If you haven't noticed by now, I don't proofread veery well and I apollogize profusely. (;>D
Valued Member Japan 448 Posts	Gold and silver are not an investment vehicles! they are for savers ... period to save of at lest 5 years ... the more the better. The thing is with the metals - they never, I repeat, THEY NEVER GO TO ZERO. Your bank may go bankrupt, stocks may disappear, dollar might be extinct with the inflation, but metals will be there for you. I have very small core of physical gold and silver ... on average every month I'm adding about 20 oz of silver: somenumiz, some semi-numiz, some junk silver coins ... trying to trade them for better ones all the time
New Member Romania 14 Posts	The idea is to split risks and not keep all your wealth in paper money/bank accounts, because they are extremely risky. Gold and silver are known to hold value better, but as you see, their prices kind-of crashed recently... so many who bought gold and silver lost part of their investments. I think it's great to buy real estate, because prices now are very low - compared to earlier years. So go for land, homes and also buy some gold. No, I wouldn't buy another computer, if I were you... it eventually gets old, obsolete and might not even work after a while. Static hard values are best buying: gold, silver, land, homes... etc. Or, invest in a business that produces profit for you. The idea is to buy some of this and some of that... I don't believe 100 % in anything.
Valued Member 156 Posts	I see what you're saying greenprint. And personally they aren't for me because I have no real interest in bars or bullion 'coins'. They aren't what I consider to be part of numismatics, because to me what you collect needs to have been produced to circulate as a coin, to be spent or saved. That's what makes coins interesting to me, their use in society, how they passed from person to person, what they could buy and what they say about the world in which they were made. But mankind had admired precious metals for millennia and if people want to collect the stuff I guess I get that. And Eagles, Pandas and Britannias are certainly more fun (in my eyes) than a certificate saying you've paid for 10kg of silver stored in a vault and that you'll never see! As a relative noob here I find there are those on the forum interested in PMs and NCLT commemoratives etc and those interested in good old-fashioned circulating coins. Sometimes there's an overlap, a lot of the time, it seems not. But that's fine. As coinwatch says, once your essential needs are met, well people are free to spend their money as they wish. And I can certainly see the appeal of precious metals lasting longer than say, Beanie Babies!
Pillar Of The Community United States 655 Posts	I'd add a couple of thoughts to bekiz and VintageRacer's comments. First, unlike real estate, small amounts of gold and silver don't have a carrying cost (annual taxes, maintenance) while still having durability and appreciation potential. Second, outside of buying a wedding band or two, and maybe a few pieces of nice jewelry for the wife over the years, buying gold and silver isn't for everyone. Especially for non-numismatic gold and silver, buying ETF's often makes more sense than buying physical. Be honest with yourself. If gold and silver isn't for you, that's completely okay.
Pillar Of The Community United States 6821 Posts	Quote: not keep all your wealth in paper money/bank accounts, because they are extremely risky. That depends on the country you live in. In the US theres really not any risk same with Canada ect. There are several countries where I wouldnt put a single cent in the bank and would turn all of my money into gold and silver. This is one of those things where you cant really give blanket advice for and it all depends on the country the person lives in.
Valued Member United States 152 Posts	Well why not just wait to invest money until you have enough money to buy one ounce of silver with the interest you earn each month from putting your money in a bank account?
Pillar Of The Community United States 655 Posts	While it may change at some point, banks currently offer abysmally low rates on savings and money market accounts. Right now Bankrate.com says the national average rate for money market accounts is 0.11% APR. This means that for every $100 you have working for you in a MMA, you're earning .11 cents per year. So, yeah, if you've got $20,000.00 or more in a money market account, you'll be able to buy one (1) troy ounce of silver EACH YEAR with the interest earned. I wouldn't recommend this plan to my worst enemy.
?	?Topic?	?

Source: http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=153753

Lauren Perdue tagged Heptathlon London 2012 shot put London 2012 Track And Field Jordyn Wieber michael phelps