MEN HAVEN'T CHANGED IN 270,000 YEARS

NEW HAVEN, CT- A survey of genetic information contained in the Y chromosomes of modern day men suggests that Homo sapiens descended from a single group of male ancestors, and that this occurred more recently than previously believed.

Researchers at Yale University evaluated samples of DNA from 38 men from all over the world. Surprisingly. no sequence variations were found in a 729-base pair intron near a gene thought to be involved in sperm or testes development. In contrast, the corresponding sequence in gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans did show significant polymorphisms.

Based on the assumption that this lack of sequence variation is attributable to ancestry and not other causes, the researchers estimate the divergence occurred about 270,000 years ago. Previous estimates have put mankind's origins much further back in time.

This discovery adds to growing evidence that modern humans share the same basic genetic makeup, and that population differences represent relatively minor variations in the overall spectrum of human diversity, said Robert L. Dorit, an assistant professor of biology at Yale University. Dr. Dorit collaborated with researchers from the University of Chicago and Harvard University on the project.

Bob H

Contrary to the common notion that paying taxes can be a painful experience, researchers at the University of Oregon say the practice actually may trigger feelings of satisfaction and happiness.
'… even mandatory taxation can produce satisfaction for taxpayers.'— University of Oregon study finding.

"Paying taxes can make citizens happy," Ulrich Mayr, a professor of psychology, said in a release accompanying the study in the Friday issue of Science.

"People are, to varying degrees, pure altruists. On top of that, they like that warm glow they get from charitable giving. Until now, we couldn't trace that in the brain."

The study by Mayr and his colleagues is titled Neural Responses to Taxation and Voluntary Giving Reveal Motives for Charitable Donations.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, the researchers observed the brain activity of 19 women who were given a balance of $100 each. The researchers created the effect of taxation by making mandatory withdrawals from their account. The withdrawn money was actually sent to a food bank's account.

Participants also made additional choices about whether to give away more money or keep it for themselves.

The study found that two reward-related areas of the brain — the caudate nucleus and the nucleus accumbens — lit up during the taxation test. These areas are typically activated when a person experiences feelings of satisfaction, as they do after having eaten a meal.

"The fact that mandatory transfers to a charity elicit activity in reward-related areas suggests that even mandatory taxation can produce satisfaction for taxpayers," the study said.

When the participants voluntarily gave the charity more money, the activation area was larger — a finding that, according to the researchers, sheds light on why people make donations.

"These transfers are associated with neural activation similar to that which comes from receiving money for oneself," the study said.

Mayr said the findings show people are willing to pay their taxes as long as they support good causes. The authors noted, however, that the results may have differed if people had been presented with a tax that seemed less fair or benevolent.

Good causes? Government?

Bob H

This just in: Our favorite Kuiper Belt Object, the thing formerly known as The Planet Pluto -- having already endured the ignominy of being demoted to the status of "dwarf planet" (and heckled on the street by cruel and unfeeling gas giants!!) -- has been revealed to be something even cruddier and more pathetic than anyone had imagined. It is not, apparently, the biggest of the dwarf planets. That lofty status now goes to the dwarf planet Eris, which is way out past Pluto. Here's the news, via Caltech:

'PASADENA, Calif.--Die-hard Pluto fans still seeking redemption for their demoted planet have cause for despair this week. New data shows that the dwarf planet Eris is 27 percent more massive than Pluto, thereby strengthening the decree last year that there are eight planets in the solar system and a growing list of dwarf planets.

According to Mike Brown, the discoverer of Eris, and his graduate student Emily Schaller, the data confirms that Eris weighs 16.6 billion trillion kilograms. They know this because of the time it takes Eris's moon, Dysnomia, to complete an orbit.

"This was Pluto's last chance to be the biggest thing found so far in the Kuiper belt," says Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. "There was a possibility that Pluto and Eris were roughly the same size, but these new results show that it's second place at best for Pluto."

This, unfortunately, has been your Pluto update.

Bob H

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine recently called himself “blessed” while he was continuing to recover from his automobile accident injuries.

And most likely that is truly the case. We always tend to reassess our lives if we happen to have lived through such a near-death situation.

But I have found other aspects of Governor Corzine’s life more interesting. It has been reported that the Governor earned $6.1 million during 2006, which was nearly $50 million less than he made in 2005.

Of course, it’s this kind of financial planning that makes him a natural to be the person who straightens out New Jersey’s budget issues.

Not that my own secrets to monetary success have turned out any better. My version of a financial windfall in recent years would be winning $3 in the state’s Pick-6 Lottery.

But my lottery retirement plan to the Cayman Islands hasn’t worked out as well as I had hoped. Instead, I recently traveled to Ocean City with a friend and her son to look at vacation beachfront condominiums.

As summertime approaches, the shore life in New Jersey is always an enjoyable time. You can experience sun, fun, and meet a lot of new friends from all over. And that’s just while you’re stuck in traffic on the way down.

Thankfully the Atlantic City Expressway tolls are regulated by the automobile and not by the amount of passengers, so the three of us combined pay $5 for the round trip. As opposed to the approximately $450 we would pay if we were trying to attend a Phillies game.

And that doesn’t include parking charges.

Anyway, in order to get the best possible condominium rates in Ocean City, it’s always best to plan that sun and fun vacation around a holiday. Like Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving. Granted, you may need to baste in a tanning bed with the turkey to tan, but you won’t need to put up $1400 to book a week after June 22.

After carefully considering options like trashing their office, we got the best condo rate possible and then headed for a walk on the boardwalk. Again this year this is not just a walk in the park.

Admittedly we learned early in life that the best things in life are free. But it’s easier to stop and smell the roses in New Jersey on nights when your local oxygen bar isn’t instituting a cover charge.

Somewhere along the line this little boardwalk morphed into the Trump Tower. Five slices of pizza and three soft drinks brought us a bill of just under $30.

Later two cups of coffee, which everyone knows is one of life’s greatest nutrients and were relatively small for that matter, came to $2 apiece. And Memorial Day hadn’t even arrived at this point.

To date my financial earnings plan rides along the same line as the governor’s. My employer has been offering a three percent cost of living raise in recent years. Meanwhile the cost of living goes up by about seven percent a year or so.

Considering this on the boardwalk, I realized that either my math was off or the seagulls were circling overhead.

Meanwhile, occasionally the lottery drawing prize rises above $100 million on a good night. And someone who always forgets that I am their new best friend always wins it. On that same drawing I match a Powerball number and win a whopping $2.

My friends and I feel that we have simple needs. We need rides and a day of enjoyment for a 14-year old. Then we want wine and a respectable entrée for Mom and me. Not necessarily at the same time.

We believe that we are thoroughly responsible people, and would always set the best possible example for the boy, except when he’s not around. If we had that well-deserved financial windfall, the boy would be running the rides at Six Flags Amusement Park, and would only admit customers at his own discretion.

But I would have to draw the line at admitting that creepy dancing Six Flags guy.

It turned out that I was also blessed on this afternoon. The amusement rides were not opened yet since winter in New Jersey just concluded on April 20. So the elder figure of this threesome did not receive the opportunity to endure the sheer joy of projectile vomiting on any rides.

Governor Corzine is indeed blessed. He’ll never have to worry about that drop in income, and he survived his accident and is still breathing.

Although if he chooses to do so at a New Jersey beach, he’ll have to pay for the beach tag.

I also have been incredibly blessed. I am healthy, and I have good friends with which I can spend vacation time.

So in regards to a conclusion, we have realized that it takes fiscal responsibility to achieve the comfort level you desire in life. You can’t count on any hopeless longshot like a lottery plan to fulfill your wildest dreams.

My friends and I have figured out a solid financial plan, which will enable us to satisfy our basic needs in life.

We need to work for the state.

Nah, I think winning the lottery has better odds.

Bob H