Month: September 2011
Kitsu’s Afternoon “News”: Men wired to nurture
Originally reported by Discovery News in their Blog on 13 September 2011.
The “male” hormone testosterone, known for fueling violence and aggression, has been shown by studies to drop around 30% following the birth of their children. This was shown with a sample group of 600 people who were tracked for almost 5 years. In cases in which men entered stable relationships and then produced offsprings with a steady partner are the ones in which the drop occurred.
Fascinatingly, the most significant drops occurred in men with the highest initial testosterone levels, and these high testosterone men were the most likely to produce offspring. This shows that the pair bond between males and females of our species (backed by a drop that happens following the creation of a partnership) suggests that we evolved in a way to support the pair bond.
No more does the excuse that “i’m a man, and men aren’t supposed to do that” stand. Men are just as wired as women for childcare and childrearing.
Kitsu’s Afternoon “News”: Peta endorses freedom for killer croc
Originally reported by Discovery News in their blog on 14 September 2011.
Lolong, a 21 foot long saltwater crocodile, was captured in the philippines after he was deemed responsible for the consumption of a local man and implicated in the decapitation of a small girl. The world record length crocodile is slated to become the star attraction of a tourist destination due to his record breaking length. This eco-tourism park would be located in Agusan, Mindanao.
Peta, however, is not pleased with this news and wants the animal freed. I, however, don’t understand what they’re whining about. The animal would have been killed by many a villager in many a place. Peta should be thankful that they’re not only planning to turn him into tourist dollars, but they’re planning to do it while keeping him alive. Instead of a death sentence, the people have settled on life in prison. Be happy, Peta, that people aren’t just killing the creature for being a crocodile and are instead planning to celebrate him as a crocodile.
Kitsu’s Afternoon “News”: Quake Kills Belizean Barrier Reef
Originally reported by Discovery News in their blog on 12 September 2011.
The Belizean Barrier Reef has been suffering for decades. El Nino caused massive die outs of the primary two coral species, then in 2009 a magnitude 7.3 quake rattled the Caribbean and scent a large section into deeper waters. Now, about half of the reefs are gone, reduced to sediment and coral skeletons.
This die off has led to consideration of how natural disasters should be addressed in conservation strategies by a team from the Florida Institute of Technology led by Richard Aronson. He urges survival planning for conservation to be not just span 3 generations (200-ish years), but to think instead on a millennial scale.
