Mankind Has Stopped Evolving

Today, Dr. Kaku addresses a question posed by Kiran Uttarkar: Have human beings stopped evolving? Will humans look any different in the future?

The World's Most Typical Human

The King's Real Speech

This is the actual speech that made Colin Firth cry as he watched the king struggle not to stutter, struggle to maintain his composure. I  was impressed with the king's innate dignity.

Ingredients for Life in a Meteorite

A meteorite found in Antarctica could lend weight to the argument that life on Earth might have been kick-started from space, scientists are claiming. Chemical analysis of the meteorite shows it to be rich in the gas ammonia. It contains the element nitrogen, found in the proteins and DNA that form the basis of life as we know it.

 The researchers say meteorites like this could have showered the early Earth, providing the missing ingredients for life. Details of the study by researchers at Arizona State University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The new study is based on analysis of just under 4g of powder extracted from a meteorite called Grave Nunataks 95229 (named after its place of discovery in Antarctica), discovered in 1995.

On treatment, the powder sample was shown to contain abundant amounts of ammonia as well as hydrocarbons. Professor Sandra Pizzarello, who led the research, says the study "shows that there are asteroids out there that when fragmented and become meteorites, could have showered the Earth with an attractive mix of components, including a large amount of ammonia". Meteorites like this could have supplied the early Earth with enough nitrogen in the right form for primitive life forms to emerge, she says.

The theory that our planet may have been seeded by a comet or asteroid arises partly from the belief the formative Earth might not have been able to provide the full inventory of simple molecules needed for the processes which led to primitive life. The suggestions is that the Asteroid Belt, between Mars and Jupiter, away from the heat and pressure of the forming planets, could have been a better place for such processes.

Collisions between asteroids within the belt produce meteorites which shoot off around the Solar System and which can carry materials to the Earth. Dr Caroline Smith, a meteorite expert at London's Natural History Museum agrees the important element in the new study is the nitrogen, even though she would like to see similar results repeated in other meteorites.
"One of the problems with early biology on the early Earth is you need abundant nitrogen for all these prebiological processes to happen - and of course nitrogen is in ammonia. "A lot of the evidence shows that ammonia was not present in much abundance in the early Earth, so where did it come from?"

What specifically caused life to begin on Earth remains a mystery. Professor Pizzarello hypothesises material from a meteorite may have interacted with environments on Earth such as volcanoes or tidal pools, but says all remains a matter of guess work.
"You find these extraterrestrial materials (in meteorites) which have what you need," she says, "but as for the how and when, in which environments and by what means - really, we don't know."

Somehow all the right ingredients came together in a warm, moist environment which incubated and nourished them and so here we are. Scientists will not be satisfied until they have solved every minute aspect of the creation of life. I'm not 100% sure if that is such a good thing but I do know it will seriously impact a lot of belief systems.

Iran --- The Next Arab Nation to Fall --- Domino Effect

Mousavi and  Karroubi

Iranian police have fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters mounting protests in the capital Tehran.
A BBC correspondent in Tehran said large numbers of riot police and militia on motorcycles in the city centre broke up any crowds that formed.  The unrest comes a day after websites close to opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi said they had been jailed. The government has denied this, saying the two men were at home.

The correspondant in Tehran said by early evening the security forces appeared to have full control of the streets. The Basiji militia were chanting victory slogans, he said. Earlier, despite the presence of security forces in Tehran's main streets and squares, sporadic gatherings were held close to the main Azadi square.
Demonstrators chanting "Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein" were immediately attacked by the police. After night fell, demonstrators made random protests, using the cover of darkness to confuse the security forces. Police blocked the focal point of the demonstrations, Eskandari street, at both ends, sending bikers to disperse the protesters.

Both Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi have called for demonstrations in Iran in the light of the recent uprisings in Tunisia and in Egypt.  Earlier this month the two men, along with their wives, were detained in their respective homes in Tehran as protests were staged. Thousands of their supporters took to the streets of Tehran on  February  14th, amid clashes with security forces which left two dead.

On Monday one of Mr Karroubi's sons told the BBC Persian service he had been told his father had been "taken by security forces to an unspecified location". The semi-official news agency Isna quoted state prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei on Monday as saying that Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi were not detained.
The two men ran as opposition candidates in the disputed June 2009 presidential election. Mr Mousavi said he was the actual winner and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was only re-elected through a rigged vote.
Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters then took part in marches that were violently broken up by the security forces, including the Basij militia on motorcycles.

 Apparently that spirit of rebellion is still alive in Iran and with the examples of eight other Arab nations before them, who have protested against their governments and in some cases overthrown them, Iran may fall in a domino effect.
Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and now possibly Iran. It sounds to me  like the average citizens of these Arab nations just want a little freedom from tyranny; some peace and prosperity, just like us. 
That`s how terrorism will be defeated.

Hollywood Star and Sex Symbol Jane Russell dies at 89

 Jane Russell's sultry debut performance in 1944's The Outlaw shocked the censors who banned it for two years.The brunette was discovered by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, who cast her in his 1943 Western The Outlaw. Some of her most memorable parts include the The Paleface (1948) with Bob Hope, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) with Marilyn Monroe.

She died on Monday at her home in California of a respiratory-related illness, her daughter-in-law confirmed.
She said the most common question asked of her was who was the best kisser in Hollywood - her response? 'Bob Hope - those blubbery lips - oh my God!'”

Russell was a pin-up girl in the 1940s and 1950s, but her film career had faded by the 1960s.  "Why did I quit movies? Because I was getting too old! You couldn't go on acting in those years if you were an actress over 30," she said in an interview in 1999. In 1971, she featured in the Broadway Musical Company.
Later, she appeared in TV commercials promoting brassieres, including the 18-hour bra for Playtex.

Russell married three times and adopted three children. After experiencing problems during the adoption process, she founded the World Adoption International Agency, which has helped organize the adoptions in the USA of tens of thousands of children from overseas.

"She always said I'm going to die in the saddle, I'm not going to sit at home and become an old woman. And that's exactly what she did, she died in the saddle," Etta Waterfield said, recounting that Russell had remained active in her local community until illness intervened in recent weeks.

US brands Muammar Gaddafi 'Delusional' After Interview

 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is "delusional" and "unfit to lead", the US ambassador to the UN has said.
Susan Rice was speaking after the embattled Colonel Gaddafi was interviewed by international journalists.
Ms Rice said the fact he was laughing at questions while "slaughtering his own people" showed that he was disconnected from reality.  In the interview, Col Gaddafi said he was loved by all his people and denied there had been any protests in Tripoli.

He was answering questions in the capital Tripoli from BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, US TV network ABC, and the UK's Sunday Times newspaper.
He accused Western countries of abandoning Libya and said that they had no morals and wanted to colonise the country. When asked whether he would resign, he said he could not step down as he did not have an official position - and insisted that the power in the country was with the people. Col Gaddafi challenged those, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who have accused him of having money abroad, to produce evidence. He said he would "put two fingers in their eye".

Col Gaddafi said true Libyans had not demonstrated but those who had come on to the streets were under the influence of drugs supplied by Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. He said those people had seized weapons and that his supporters were under orders not to shoot back. World foreign ministers earlier condemned attacks on Libyan civilians and the European Union imposed sanctions including an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban on Col Gaddafi and his close entourage.

Foreign ministers at a UN human rights conference in Geneva have called for Col Gaddafi to go. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Col Gaddafi and his followers of using "mercenaries and thugs" to attack unarmed civilians, and of executing soldiers who refused to turn their guns on fellow citizens.
"It is time for Gaddafi to go, now, without further violence or delay," she said. Mrs Clinton also said that although US naval vessels were being repositioned near Libya there was no military action pending.
When asked whether the US would back Col Gaddafi going into exile, Mrs Clinton said: "If violence could be ended by his leaving... it might be a good step but we believe accountability must be obtained for what he has done." The US Treasury said it had blocked $30bn  in Libyan assets - the largest sum it has ever frozen.

 President Obama met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the White House on Monday and both expressed concern at the rising violence and called for a legitimately elected president. Mr Ban said of Col Gaddafi: "He lost legitimacy when he declared war on his people." Although protesters have secured towns in the east, Col Gaddafi shows no signs of giving up in and around Tripoli.
In Tajoura, a suburb of the capital, about 400 people protested against him on Monday, chanting: "The blood of martyrs won't go to waste." Gaddafi supporters reportedly tried to break up the protest by firing into the air. Reporters say there have been long queues at banks in the capital as people tried to collect the 500 dinars ($410) promised to all families by the government in an attempt to quell the unrest.

There has been fighting in the coastal town of Misrata, 200km (125 miles) east of Tripoli, with Col Gaddafi's opponents repelling a government counter-attack. Anti-government forces still control Zawiya, 50km west of Tripoli. Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said the authorities would attempt to talk to protesters in the east, but added: "If all attempts and efforts for dialogue... are exhausted, a very well guided force will be used in accordance with international rules."

When people in Benghazi hear Colonel Gaddafi accuse them of being on drugs or supporting al-Qaeda, they just laugh. Col Gaddafi himself has violently put down uprisings here in past years and also deliberately weakened his own army because he suspected its loyalty. The Libyan leader does not seem to have too much faith in his own people. The mood in Benghazi is getting more nervous as Col Gaddafi continues to maintain and possibly to expand areas under his control in the south and west of Libya.
There is no co-ordinated military move to send opposition troops on Tripoli, though some smaller groups of volunteers are heading west. With reports of an air raid, and reports that more foreign mercenaries are being flown in by Col Gaddafi, most people here would welcome the imposition of a no-fly zone, though they're divided on whether they want more active foreign military intervention.