Piltdown Hoax

The Piltdown Hoax was a forged discovery of bone fragments that were claimed to be ancient human by Charles Dawson in 1912. He "discovered" these fragments in Piltdown, England and brought in scientists to determine whether or not it was a valid find. The discovery of these fragments had a large impact on the scientific community because of its significance. This was believed to be the remains of an unknown human species that has yet to be discovered. The finding was deemed a hoax in 1953 when scientists and the ever growing technology at the time revealed that the fossil was in fact the fossil of an orangutan. Scientists reacted with astonishment and disappointment as findings by scientists that were deemed invalid were rare at the time.

One of the largest faults that humans contain is the need to feel superior and feel on a level of prestige and importance. The hoax proves to show that humans, while trying to do the best for science, integrate emotion and self indulgence when finding an important artifact. When Dawson knew he was onto something big, he had though of himself as an important figure in the scientific community. Perhaps the hoax was created as a joke, or merely a sleek observation on the actual "work" that scientists do everyday, discovering new things.

Some positive aspects of the Piltdown hoax may include the fact that the scientists who discovered the hoax did a very good job in researching and analyzing the fossil. Another is the advancement of scientific technology that enabled them to do so. They were able to prove that the fossil was in fact that of an orangutan through extensive research. Through microscopic examination, scientists were able to conclude that the teeth had been filed down and certain solutions were used to create the imitation of an early human skull.

I do not believe that it is possible to remove the "human" factor from science because at the end of each day that is exactly what we are. There are situations where emotion come into play and can affect our work. While the reason science exists is because we are trying to find definition in the term, "life" there is a part of us that must ask, "Should I?" Errors like this occur because we are human. There are times when I would want to remove the term "human" from science because science is merely observation and determination to prove facts. When the word, "human" is thrown into the mix, there are good chances that aspects of science may alter or be at risk because of our deep emotional states.

A good life lesson would be to do your homework. When you are presented with something found or obtained, it would be a good idea to know exactly where it came from, who gave it to you, and if it is real. That is the only true way to verify an item's importance and value.

Comparative Primate Blog Post

Comparative Primate Blog Post

The locomotor pattern of lemurs, spider monkeys, baboons, gibbons, and chimpanzees.

The Lemur- A. The Lemur inhabits the island of Madagascar in environments that can be described as overgrown forests. They reside in these areas because during the rainy season, there tends to be more food. Many lemurs live in the rainforest while some live in desert areas.

                       B.  The locomotor patterns for the lemur are distinct in the use of all four of their legs and also only two at times.  

                C.  Their long hind legs and long arms allow them to leap to great heights, this allows easy access to trees and large branches in which they reside.

The Baboon

A- The Baboon lives in Africa and Arabia. They inhabit savannas and occasionally can be seen in tropical forests although this is rare. 

B- Like the Lemur, they are quadrupeds and move on all fours. The Baboon is known to be very athletic and quick. They are fast runners and very agile.

C - The Baboon has adapted to its environment in that it can withstand hot temperatures and the hot savannas. 

The Spider Monkey

A- The Spider monkey lives in large tropical rain forests so they have much home range. They seek places that offer canopies for shade and some protection. 

B - They swing using long arms, legs, and tails. Their long arms and legs allow them to easily travel from tree to tree and branch to branch. Their fingers are also long and elongated to provide more accuracy when reaching great heights

C - They use their tails to hold themselves on branches for the use of hands and arms to gather food. Their fingers help them swiftly move through the branches while in danger.

The Gibbon

A- They habitat tropical and subtropical rain forests and spend most of their lives in trees because they have a great skill of navigating through long trees to escape predators. 

B-  They travel tree to tree by swinging underneath branches with the hand over hand motion. They often walk upright on two feet on tree branches. They stretch arms for proper balance.

C- Their long arms, strong arms, and weight easily allows them to travel through trees and find all food supply upon high tree tops. 

The Chimpanzee

A - The chimp resides in Africa in rainforests, grasslands, and woodlands. They prefer green lands and tropical environments.

B- Most times, they walk on all fours as the other. However, there are occasions where they walk as a bipedal. They also have the ability to swing from tree to tree.

C- They also sleep and eat in trees. Their long arms also help them to adapt to the tree environments. However, in recent studies, they are more able to adapt to different environments just we do. 

Analogy/Homology Post

Big Cats

1. A.) The Lion and Tiger both come from the Felidae family and are the largest of this species in the world. Both "big cats" possess a much, much larger size than any other species within the same family. This size is outstanding compared to other members of the same family, such as, the Lynx or domestic house cat.

    B.) The homologus trait of these two species would be their massive size and weight with both weighing, on average, between 400-500 lbs. The Lion and Tiger do share differences in structures because the largest tiger, the Siberian tiger, may sometimes outweigh the lion. Their structure while both very similar also differentiate at the same time because of their bone structure. These species exhibit differences because while the tiger does hunt, the lion's size has adapted to fierce and rapid hunting in the deserts of South Africa. A smaller size accounts for faster and more efficient movement. 

    C.) Generally, the ancestor of these two species comes from a common Panthera ancestor which was believed to be the largest of the Felidae family almost 30 million years ago. 

Little Cats

2. A.) The domesticated cat and the Bobcat are also a part of the Felidae family but are very much smaller in size. The cat and Bobcat both share many similarities and differences.

    B.) The analogous trait of each species would be the tail because while they both possess a tail, the tail of the Bobcat is much shorter. The similarities in structure are that they are both tails, however, for the domesticated cat, the long tail helps with balance and precision. The tail of the Bobcat is almost non-existent and has been shortened over thousands of years of habitat adaptation and stress through environment. 

    C. ) The common ancestor of these two species, the Eurasian Lynx and others, did possess a tail. Species as far back as the Sabre Tooth Tiger, possessed a tail, while not very large but still existent. From the beginning, the ancestor of the Felidae family must have possessed a tail in order for them to existent on all species and subspecies today. 

Protein Synthesis

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