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Feb192020 by adminNo Comments

An adaptive gut microbiome might have shaped human evolution

Science

Feb. 19 (UPI) -- How did human beings end up as one of the most successful species on Earth? New research suggests the unique nature of the human microbiome may have shaped human evolution and the dispersal of humans across the globe. For the study, published Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, an interdisciplinary team of scientists compiled a range of previously published research in order to compare the microbiota among humans, apes and other non-human primates. Their findings showed the microbes found on and inside humans are especially unique. "Humans have strange skin microbes, strange stomachs (with consequences for gut microbes), unusual vaginal microbiomes and more," lead study author Rob Dunn, ecologist at North Carolina State University, told UPI in a...

Tiffany Francis-Baker: How forests shaped our literary heritage and inspired a nation

Science

Tiffany Francis-Baker sits on a mossy tree trunk in the soft golden light of a woodland glade, discussing the role of forests in the British psyche."The woods are a scary place often in old fairytale literature," says the writer-in-residence at the Forestry Commission. "You didn't want to be caught by a wolf or something."She mentions the phrase, "out of the woods", which harks back to our primeval fear of becoming lost in the forest. The expression was first recorded centuries ago and is one of many wood-related sayings that pepper the English language. "Knocking on wood" or "touching wood", for instance, derive from the pagan belief that vengeful spirits inhabited wood and by touching it, you could appease them.Forests have pla...

The photograph that shaped a career

Entertainment

Derek Ridgers has been photographing the biggest names in showbiz for more than three decades - but it all began by chance, one night in Finsbury Park, north London.It was 13 January 1973, when Ridgers walked in to the Rainbow Theatre with a Miranda SLR slung over his shoulder. At that time, he was working for an advertising agency that wanted him to learn how to use the camera - so, he had been taking it home to practise. It was the night that changed his life, as on stage walked Eric Clapton along with Steve Winwood, Ron Wood and Pete Townshend, in what became known as the Rainbow Concert. Ridgers was with his girlfriend, s...