HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu (Michael Levin)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: any work been done on volvox? origins of multicellularity?
Date: 24 Dec 92 22:13:01 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Harvard University Science Center


   It occurred to me that something like volvox - a primitive
multi-cellular system, should be a good thing to look at for studying
the development of multi-cellular organisms. Has it been looked at? Or
has this been studied in other models? Please reply (hopefully with
references) to mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu.

Mike Levin
From: ljones@utkvx3.utk.edu (Leslie Lamont Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: why (evolutionarily) are zebras striped?
Date: 2 Jan 93 00:28:00 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Tennessee Computing Center
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <crystal.725914988@glia>, crystal@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Crystal) writes...
>In <1992Dec31.204015.18922@husc3.harvard.edu> mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu (Michael Levin) writes:
> 
> 
>>    Does anyone have any ideas why zebras are striped? Surely in the
>>sense of camouflage, those yellowish african plains call for a
>>monotone antelope-like color. Why are they striped? Please reply to
>>mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu. 
> 
>>Mike Levin
> 
>Tall grasses have light and dark shadows.  Try to find a zebra in the tall
>grasses of some of those plains. :>
>                                            as 
>Crystal
>  ;>
> 

Good question! This is an intriguing topic. I have read one opinion
that zebra's stripes help to camouflage an individual
within a herd. That is, when a herd of of zebras stand together,
it is difficult to tell where one stops and another begins.
     the trait could continue via selfish herd principles.
one 

This hypothesis may be right or wrong, but it leads to the question
of how the predator's vision works, which leads to the question of what
the zebra's main predators are.

I would imagine someone has proposed stripes as a form of sexual
selection, though the lack of sexual dimorphism would seem to
cast doubt on that hypothesis. Anyone?

Then again, the stripes could be camouflage, as Crystal suggested.
Any other theories, biologists?
************************************************************************
*Leslie Lamont Jones          Bitnet and Internet:ljones@utkvx.utk.edu *
*Oh, my beloved ice cream bar! How I love to lick your creamy center!  *
*And your oh so nutty chocalate covering!                              *
*                                   -Ren and Stimpy.  Space Madness    *
************************************************************************
Xref: sparky sci.bio:4658 sci.med:22986
From: davison@menudo.uh.edu (Dan Davison)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.med
Subject: New Journal: Computational Biology
Date: 22 Dec 1992 22:34:06 GMT
Organization: University of Houston
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: menudo.uh.edu

Feel free to contact me or D. Kingsbury about this announcement.

dan davison
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcing an important new quarterly peer-review journal.

March 1993

COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY

The Journal of Computational Molecular Cell Biology

Editors

Daniel B. Davison, Ph.D.   David T. Kingsbury, Ph.D. Thomas Marr, Ph.D.
University of Houston	   Johns Hopkins University  Cold Springs Harbor Labs
                           School of Medicine

Goals: First, to provide a forum for communication of scientific and 
technical issues  associated with the analysis, management, and 
visualization of cellular information at the molecular level.  
COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY will accept papers on: algorithms, 
genomics; mathematical modeling and simulation of biological 
processes; new methods for sequence analysis, including, for example, 
parallel methods; design and implementation of biological databases; 
biological expert system design and use; reasoning by analogy; 
hypothesis formation and testing by machine; and, information 
theory.

Second, is the communication of significant biological problems 
to investigators traditionally outside of biology, but otherwise 
in appropriate areas of science and technology.  This will be accomplished 
by soliciting mini-reviews in diverse areas, and by providing a forum 
for the informal exchange of theories and experimental approaches.

The growth of molecular cell biology has created large amounts of 
complex data, and challenges to data handling, data analysis, and 
interpretation.  The mounting volume and richness of data require 
quantitative and multidisciplinary approaches for analysis and 
interpretation.

For submission of manuscripts send three copies to: David T. Kingsbury, 
The Welch Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University School of 
Medicine, 1830 East Monument, 3rd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21205-2100.  
Phone: (410) 995-9705. E-mail: dkingsbu@library.welch.jhu.edu.

Publisher: Mary Ann Leibert, Inc.

--
dr. dan davison/dept. of biochemical and biophysical sciences/univ. of
Houston/4800 Calhoun/Houston,TX 77204-5934/davison@uh.edu/DAVISON@UHOU

-----RIP Isaac Asimov 1920-1992     I'll miss him --------------------

Disclaimer: As always, I speak only for myself, and, usually, only to
myself.

Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: onar@hsr.no (Onar Aam)
Subject: Re: norway starts hunting min
Organization: Rogaland University Centre
Distribution: sci
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 08:42:07 GMT


>ST>  Do anyone seriously hold the view that "Omaha" seems
>ST>  to advocate: Animals are as important as humans
>ST>  (implying it is an equal crime to kill an animal as
>ST>   to kill a human being)?
>
>yes, sort of... If it is with out a doubt necessary to human survival as
>a species that we kill them, then it IS ok to kill animals including
>whales for survival purposes only... But we Don't NEED to KILL
>CETACEANS!! Everything that comes from them except the meat can be
>produced synthetically now!! So IT IS A CRIME TO KILL ANIMALS PERIOD IF
>THERE IS NO SUBSTATIAL REASON FOR DOING IT!!!

Hey, people are irrational beings! We do alot of things that aren't necessary.
What do we have traditions for? Religions? Norms? People smoke, they drink (I
neither smoke nor drink), drink Coca Cola, believe in astrology, kill whales etc. 
Therefore the argument of being unnecessary does not hold. I am sure that if 
alcohol were to arrive in America today, it would have been damned. But it is 
accepted because of tradition, many use it etc.. And what about abortion? How 
should we evaluate human embryos versus whales?   
    




Onar.
From: connolly@rabbit.cs.umass.edu (Christopher Ian Connolly)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: MRNA
Date: 28 Dec 92 23:08:00 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst

In article <Bzy7Fz.M38@iat.holonet.net> ken@iat.holonet.net (Ken Easlon) writes:
>Question, does anyone have any thoughts/references about the idea of
>viewing the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell as sort of a computer CPU, with
>DNA playing the part of read only memory?

I forget the specific reference, and I only looked at the abstract
(didn't try to read the paper) but there was at least one article in
the Journal of Theoretical Biology in the past year or two which
attempted to describe ribosomal action in terms of a deterministic
pushdown automaton.

-- 
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Christopher Ian Connolly			connolly@cs.umass.edu
Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics		wa2ifi
University of Massachusetts at Amherst		Amherst, MA 01003
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Sunday, 27 Dec 1992 08:41:29 CST
From: <U29242@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: primer walking

I recently read a brief intro on a new technique called primer walking.  It's f
rom a group at Brookhaven and it is supposed to be much faster at reading seque
nces (in the genome) and cheaper to use.  What I would like to know, if anyone
can help me, is this:  How is this exactl accomplished?  As I am not a genetici
st, a less technical explanation would be greatly appreciated.  I also would li
ke to know if anyone has information on Behavorial genetics.  Opinions etc... w
ould be greatly appreciated as I am new to this topic.
                                                      Thanks in Advance,
                                                      Ray
From: jdale@cats.ucsc.edu (Jonathan Dale)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: norway starts hunting min
Date: 24 Dec 1992 06:39:37 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
Distribution: sci
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu


In article <1992Dec24.050801.12346@news.media.mit.edu> minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky) writes:
>In article <92Dec23.174104.27846@acs.ucalgary.ca> edstrom@hsc.ucalgary.ca (John Edstrom) writes:
>>In article <1992Dec16.4259.6389@dosgate> "andrew comello" <andrew.comello@canrem.com> writes:
>>>Newsgroup: sci.bio
>>>Subject: Norway starts hunting minke whales

>>>In my own opinion, I feel that if you placed all of the animals and
>>>organisms of the earth on an IQ scale, the cetaceans would run a close
>>>second to man... Since they have the greatest IQ besides man, It would
>>>be MORALLY unjust to kill them....
...
>>Really?  This sounds contentious.  I would have nominated the
>>chimpanzee as the runner up.  I'm not an expert but my impression is
>>that the chimp's intelligence has been underestimated and research
>>keeps revealing unsuspected abilities and complexities.

A couple people have already questioned "IQ" as a reasonable measure of 
anything, and I'd have to agree with them.  I think we need to define
intelligence before we figure out a way to test it.

>I have the impression that elephants are very smart -- never mind
>"IQ".  Does anyone know how they compare to whales and chimps?

Well, one indicator of something special going on in human, chimp, and
dolphin brains is self-awareness.  They tested this one by putting mirrors in
front of the animals in question, and seeing if they responded as if to 
another member of their species, or as if to an image of themself.  Humans,
chimps, and dolphins can tell it's not someone else, but as far as I know,
nothing else can.  However, there are obvious logistic problems with this
test for some species (it would take a pretty big mirror for a blue whale,
say), and no one may have gotten around to asking elephants.  My gut
feeling, for what it's worth, is that they don't have a self-awareness, but
try it yourself.  I imagine some untested animals can do it; orcas for
example.  I'm not so sure about other whales, though.

--Jonathan Dale
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: ken@iat.holonet.net (Ken Easlon)
Subject: Re: MRNA
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access BBS: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 02:40:45 GMT


In article <BzsBw2.HF7@iat.holonet.net>, I wrote:

>I'm interested in calculating the communication bandwidth of mRNA in a 
>typical cell.  Does anyone have any information/references regarding the 
>rate of production of mRNA (per cell) or rate of protein synthesis. 

Let me back up a notch.

First, insert protocol statements, please, thank you, eternally grateful,
etc.

Question, does anyone have any thoughts/references about the idea of
viewing the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell as sort of a computer CPU, with
DNA playing the part of read only memory?

In the chain of thought I'm working on, it would be useful to know the rate
at which mRNA transfers information from the nucleus to the ribosomes.

Anyone?


--
Ken Easlon                | "...somebody spoke and I went into a dream..."
ken@holonet.net           |    -Paul McCartney
Pleasantly Unaffiliated   |


Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Subject: Re: Evolution of the human brain's cognitive capacity
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 16:42:12 GMT

In article <Bzrn4H.GMq@newcastle.ac.uk> w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
 ...
>     So bearing in mind my non-expertise here is the explanation for
>the main force which is the best I think I have heard:-
>
>   Several million years ago continental drift moved the continents
>   into positions where their climate became ultra sensitive to any 
>   changes in the Earth's rotation (Milankovich cycles).  These changes
>   resulted in a regular cycle of Ice Epochs which themselves were 
>   divided into a series of ice age followed by warmer interglacial.
>   The current Ice Epoch has lasted since (I forget, maybe 1 or 2 million
>   years ago),  and it has consisted of ice ages of about 100,000 
>   years followed by interglacials of up to 10 to 12 thousand years.
...
>       It has been argued that during the long 100,000 periods humans
>   branched into different subspecies or races and some were more 
>   successful than others at specialising.  Once the climate changed 
>    again many/most of the specialist were at a disadvantage to the 
>   less specialist races and were more likely to die out.  
>        A premium was put on adaptability and it was modern humans
>    with their mental, not physical, specialisation which "won".
>    Note though that without the repeated climate changes one of the
>    less intelligent competitors would have driven them to extinction.
>> Fred Rice
>> darice@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au   

I think this theory (nicely explained here) is mainly due to William
Calvin <wcalvin@milton.u.washington.edu>, an occasional contributor
here.  See his book, The Cerebral Symphony.

..
From: crystal@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Crystal)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Attempt to sink a Norwegian whale boat
Date: 31 Dec 92 22:15:02 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: glia.biostr.washington.edu

In <1992Dec31.132451.25563@csx.cciw.ca> hcp@csx.cciw.ca (H.C. Pulley) writes:

>In article <1992Dec31.092242.27862@alf.uib.no> sigurd@kildin.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Sigurd Tjelmeland) writes:
>>Recently there was an attempt to sink the Norwegian
>>whale boat "Nybrenna" at quay. The organization
>>"Sea Shepherd" (Paul Watson) claimed responsibility.
>>
>>What is the subscribers opinion of such actions?

>I think that this is going too far.

>I was a member of GreenPeace a few years ago.  I was not a member who went out
>and physically intervened myself, I was only a support canvasser.

>I believe that intervention as a method of stopping whaling is OK, but an 
>attempt to destroy property or harm/kill people is going much too far.

>Environmental terrorism is not the answer.

>Harry
>-- 
>         hcp@csx.cciw.ca          |This message released|It takes all kinds,
>   hcpiv@grumpy.cis.uoguelph.ca   |to the PUBLIC DOMAIN.|and to each his own.
>----------------------------------+---------------------|This thought in mind,
>Stay away from the DOS side, Luke!|Un*x don't play that.|I walk alone.


I vote "no" to vandalism of any sort, no matter what the cause is for.

Education is key.  
Compassion would be nice...but where money is involved, it seems like it
goes out the window...:<

Maybe ads showing that "macho whalers" are really low-life brainless scum would
help?  (of course, that sort of ad didn't seem to deter smoking...*sigh*)
 

 Ah, well...just randomw thoughts here...

Crystal
  ;>

Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: why (evolutionarily) are zebras striped?
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1993 16:03:53 GMT
Distribution: usa
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1993Jan3.062417.27240@smds.com> rh@ishmael.UUCP (Richard Harter) writes:
>Actually they are effective as camouflage, even to your eye -- you just
>haven't tested the matter.

But I have.  I found Zebras much easier to detect than monotone antelopes even,
I think, at large distances.  However I'm not a Zebra predator.

Andrew Taylor
From: rh@smds.com (Richard Harter)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: why (evolutionarily) are zebras striped?
Date: 3 Jan 93 06:24:17 GMT
Reply-To: rh@ishmael.UUCP (Richard Harter)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Software Maintenance & Development Systems, Inc.

In article <1993Jan02.022917.16636@watson.ibm.com> andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor) writes:
>In article <1JAN199320283193@utkvx3.utk.edu> ljones@utkvx3.utk.edu (Leslie Lamont Jones) writes:

>Lion and African Hunting Dog take Zebras regularly, Hyenas and Leopards do
>so at least occasionally.

>>Then again, the stripes could be camouflage, as Crystal suggested.

>Not to my eye.

Actually they are effective as camouflage, even to your eye -- you just
haven't tested the matter.  The basis of the effect is the breaking up
of the outline into irregular patterns.  Gould goes into the whole question
in one of his essays.
-- 
Richard Harter: SMDS Inc.  Net address: rh@smds.com Phone: 508-369-7398 
US Mail: SMDS Inc., PO Box 555, Concord MA 01742.    Fax: 508-369-8272
In the fields of Hell where the grass grows high
Are the graves of dreams allowed to die.
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: m23364@mwunix (James Meritt)
Subject: Re: Evolution of the human brain's cognitive capacity
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean VA
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 14:36:25 GMT

In article <Bzrn4H.GMq@newcastle.ac.uk> w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
}darice@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au (Fred Rice) writes:
}
}>I was wondering, is there an evolutionary explanation for the great
}>capacities humans have to think?  I'm thinking about things like our
}>ability to do advanced mathematics, for instance.  There is no
}>evolutionary survival advantage in being able to solve differential
}>equations, for instance.  If this is the case, then *why*, in
}>evolutionary terms, can we do such things?
}
}Maybe you should rephrase the question "What are the forces which have
}pushed/pulled human intelligence up to the level where it has given
}humans the ability to do such abstract things as differential 
}equations?"

Bad example.  Catching a branch after a free-fall requires the
"unconscious" solution of a DE.  Catching a ball is a complicated
set of equations.  Now, being able to express it AS equations is recent,
but the ability to solve them isn't....
From: jdnicoll@prism.ccs.uwo.ca (James Davis Nicoll)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Evolution of the human brain's cognitive capacity
Date: 24 Dec 92 16:28:27 GMT
Organization: University of Western Ontario, London

In article <Bzrn4H.GMq@newcastle.ac.uk> w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:

	Material relating to  climate  and its impact on human evolution
deleted

>       It has been argued that during the long 100,000 periods humans
>   branched into different subspecies or races and some were more 
>   successful than others at specialising.  Once the climate changed 
>    again many/most of the specialist were at a disadvantage to the 
>   less specialist races and were more likely to die out.  
>      
>        A premium was put on adaptability and it was modern humans
>    with their mental, not physical, specialisation which "won".
>    Note though that without the repeated climate changes one of the
>    less intelligent competitors would have driven them to extinction.
>

	If memory serves, the second most numerous  primate is the
baboon,  who are also  pretty bright  and much  less dependent on
a  specific environment than apes like  chimpanzees  or many
monkey species.

							James Nicoll
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: why (evolutionarily) are zebras striped?
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1993 04:26:48 GMT
Distribution: usa
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1i5gf2INN7ea@shelley.u.washington.edu> jespah@carson.u.washington.edu (Kathleen Hunt) writes:
[ a wonderful summary of theories why zebras are striped ]
>3. Camouflage -- insects don't recognize a striped animal as an animal
>Biting insects use a variety of cues to find prey animals, including heat,
>but at least some insects rely to some extent on vision, and selectively
>land on large, solid-colored objects.

Once you have been bitten by a Tsetse fly, you appreciate the value of
an adaption that deters them - that's just the pain, there is also the risk
of disease.  What's needed is for someone to paint out the stripes on some
zebras and see if they get more insect bites.

Andrew Taylor
From: ldsoderb@susssys1.reading.ac.uk (David S. Oderberg)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: artificial breeding
Summary: question
Keywords: artificial, natural, breeding, selection
Date: 22 Dec 92 10:47:34 GMT
Organization: University of Reading

Can someone please recommend a recent review article which discusses the
following question: Has artificial breeding/selection, including recent
efforts in biotech., produced any new species?

D. Oderberg
From: fritzs@microsoft.com
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Prostate Position
Date: 18 Dec 92 20:53:04 GMT
To: netnews

As many men have noticed, the prostate gland in humans is well-positioned
for getting stimulous from anal penetration, and prostate stimulation
is pleasurable.

Now, I was wondering... is this random, or was this selected for?

Male-male penetration is a social behavior in many species.  I was wondering
if anyone had done research in prostate placement in various species, and
if there is a correlation between prostate placement and amount of
social hierarchy (especially amoung males) in the species.


   Fritz

Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: joet@dcatlas.dot.gov (Joe Trott)
Subject: Re: Attempt to sink a Norwegian whale boat
Organization: U.S Dept. of Transportation
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 17:14:00 GMT

sigurd@kildin.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Sigurd Tjelmeland) writes:

>Recently there was an attempt to sink the Norwegian
>whale boat "Nybrenna" at quay. The organization
>"Sea Shepherd" (Paul Watson) claimed responsibility.

>What is the subscribers opinion of such actions?

They are wrong, pure and simple, because they represent the initiatory use of
force.  I'm not saying that slaughtering whales is a necessarily desirable
thing; perhaps I have as much right to the whales as does the slaughterer
(but this is meaningless) and would rather they be kept alive, but I do *not*
have the right to initiate the use of force against someone for disagreeing
with me.
Individuals performing such actions are terrorists, who, upon conviction,
should be shot (afterall, do you want *your* money used to support them in
jail?).

-JTT
Newsgroups: sci.bio