Bacteria growth in petri dish (30x through a stereoscope)
Muscoid fly (house fly) (6.25x)
I'll throw in one point about evolution -- look how cool and different the house fly's eyes are from ours.
via Boing Boing.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Nikon's Small World Contest
This isn't directly related to Judaism or atheism, but it is really cool science. The Nikon Small World contest has 30 winning photographs through a microscope. The Universe is just as cool on the small scale as it is on a big one.
Bacteria growth in petri dish (30x through a stereoscope)
Muscoid fly (house fly) (6.25x)
I'll throw in one point about evolution -- look how cool and different the house fly's eyes are from ours.
via Boing Boing.
Bacteria growth in petri dish (30x through a stereoscope)
Muscoid fly (house fly) (6.25x)
I'll throw in one point about evolution -- look how cool and different the house fly's eyes are from ours.
via Boing Boing.
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6 comments:
That bacteria one is pretty.
Clearly this stuff just evolved on it's own...even the symetry of the whole thing
How did cats know to develop whiskers?
asher:
Again, cats did not know to develop whiskers. Evolution is NOT pre-planned, it's a free-form let's have a bunch of mutations over millions of years and whatever survives and reproduces the best moves on. Come to think of it, it would make a great reality t.v. show if we were patient enough to wait a million years between episodes. ;)
Whiskers are just a specialized kind of hair. Perhaps some cat-ancestors had slightly longer hair around the mouth or slightly more sensitive hair follicles than the others. Here's a partial explanation I found online:
It is felt that hair was first evolved in early mammals to help regulate temperatures. The earliest mammals grew these sensory cones between the scales of the evolving reptiles, which, when brushed on objects, gave a stimulus to the brain. Certain remnant scales still exist on rats' tails, armadillo shells and the backs of pangolins. Animal whiskers are still sensory receptacles.
As for symmetry, it's evolved many times. Look at all the different kinds there are: starfish, worms, people, apples -- it's all symmetry. You'll find that all animals that have bilateral symmetry, like flies, dogs, and people, have a head on one end and a butt on the other. They also have an up and a down. Bilateral symmetry is the natural result of such an orientation. (People have evolved to walk upright, actually, but our ancestors walked on all fours.) Starfish, on the other hand have their stuff in the middle, so they have what's known as radial symmetry. Smaller organisms like ameobas have no symmetry since they don't have any specialised mouth.
If you're really interested, I'd suggest you pick up Dawkin's The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design. It's written for people with exactly your kinds of questions/misunderstandings about the theory of evolution. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393315703/103-2758030-9074238?v=glance
The bacteria is beautiful (but then again, I feel the same way about math and most people think I am crazy for it). :)
JA said: If you're really interested, I'd suggest you pick up Dawkin's The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design.
That's my bedtime reading ATM - It is kinda preaching to the already converted... but its a good read. Dawkins REALLY knows his stuff and explains things very well indeed.
"The bacteria is beautiful (but then again, I feel the same way about math and most people think I am crazy for it). :)"
Oh gosh, I wish I sat next to you when I was failing Algebra in highschool--math has always been a struggle.
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