Morphological evolution

Among rodents, the lineage from Progonomys hispanicus to Stephanomys documents a case of increasing size and dental specialization during an approximately 9 Myr time-interval. On the contrary, some contemporaneous generalist lineages like Apodemus show a limited morphological evolution. Dental shape can be related to diet and can be used to assess the ecological changes along the lineages. Consequently, size and shape of the first upper molar were measured in order to quantify the patterns of morphological evolution along both lineages and compare them to environmental trends. Climatic changes do not have a direct influence on evolution, but they open new ecological opportunities by changing vegetation and allow the evolution of a specialist like Stephanomys. On the other hand, environmental changes are not dramatic enough to destroy the habitat of a long-term generalist like Apodemus. Hence, our results exemplify a case of an influence of climate on the evolution of specialist species, although a generalist species may persist without change.

Short term selection for recombination among mutually antagonistic species, Nature 328, 66-68 32 Müller, H.J. (1964) The relation of recombination to mutational advance, Mutat. Res. 1, 2-9 33 Howard, R.S. and Lively, C.M. (1994) Parasitism, mutation accumulation and the maintenance of sex, Nature 367, 554-557 Experimental evidence for the adaptive value of sexual reproduction, Genetica 72, 151-159 45 Kondrashov, A.S. and Yampolsky, L.Y. (1996) High genetic variability under the balance between symmetric mutation and fluctuating stabilizing selection, Genet. A molecular-clock date for the origin of the animal phyla, Lethaia 15, 199-205 10 Janke, A. et al. (1994) The marsupial mitochondrial genome and the evolution of placental mammals, Genetics 137, 243-256 11 Doolittle, R.F. et al. (1996) Determining divergence times of the major kingdoms of living organisms with a protein clock, Science 271, 470-477 REVIEWS 155

Abstract Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial
herbivores and pushed at the limits of vertebrate biomechanics
and physiology. Sauropods exhibit high craniodental
diversity in ecosystems where numerous species coexisted,
leading to the hypothesis that this biodiversity is
linked to niche subdivision driven by ecological specialisation.
Here, we quantitatively investigate feeding behaviour
hypotheses for the iconic sauropod Diplodocus. Biomechanical
modelling, using finite element analysis, was used to
examine the performance of the Diplodocus skull. Three
feeding behaviours were modelled: muscle-driven static biting,
branch stripping and bark stripping. The skull was found to be
‘over engineered’ for static biting, overall experiencing low
stress with only the dentition enduring high stress. When
branch stripping, the skull, similarly, is under low stress, with
little appreciable difference between those models. When simulated for bark stripping, the skull experiences far greater
stresses, especially in the teeth and at the jaw joint. Therefore,
we refute the bark-stripping hypothesis, while the hypotheses
of branch stripping and/or precision biting are both
consistent with our findings, showing that branch stripping
is a biomechanically plausible feeding behaviour
for diplodocids. Interestingly, in all simulations, peak
stress is observed in the premaxillary–maxillary ‘lateral
plates’, supporting the hypothesis that these structures
evolved to dissipate stress induced while feeding. These
results lead us to conclude that the aberrant craniodental
form of Diplodocus was adapted for food procurement
rather than resisting high bite forces.

Xiphosurids are an archaic group of aquatic chelicerate arthropods, generally known by the colloquial misnomer of ‘horseshoe crabs’. Known from marine envi- ronments as far back as the early Ordovician, horseshoe crabs are generally considered ‘living fossils’ – descendants of a bradytelic lineage exhibiting little morphological or ecological variation throughout geological time. However, xiphosurids are known from freshwater sediments in the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic; furthermore, the contention that xiphosurids show little morphological variation has never been tested empirically. Attempts to test this are hampered by the lack of a modern phylogenetic framework with which to explore different evolutionary scenarios. Here, I present a phylogenetic analysis of Xiphosurida and explore patterns of morphospace and environmental occupation of the group throughout the Phanerozoic. Xiphosurids are shown to have invaded non-marine environments indepen- dently at least five times throughout their evolutionary history, twice resulting in the radiation of major clades – bellinurines and austrolimulids – that occupied novel regions of morphospace. These clades show a convergent ecological pattern of differentiation, speciation and subse- quent extinction. Horseshoe crabs are shown to have a more dynamic and complex evolutionary history than previ- ously supposed, with the extant species representing only a fraction of the group’s past ecological and morphological diversity.

"The principal conch parameters—whorl expansion rate, whorl overlap rate, umbilical
width, and whorl thickness—of Early and Middle Devonian ammonoids have been extensively investigated.
Stratophenetic analyses show long-term trends in the transformations of these characters
over long periods of time, but sudden and rapid reversals can also be observed. On the basis
of these four quantifiable conch parameters and supplementary qualitative characters, ten ammonoid
morphs were distinguished. Reconstruction of the evolutionary history of these morphs
reflects the existence of two major phylogenetic lineages, both already visible in Early Devonian
faunas. The agoniatitid lineage is characterized by slow character development and leads to the
Frasnian gephuroceratids; the anarcestid lineage displays rapidmorphological evolution that leads
to the late Givetian pharciceratids as well as the Middle and Late Devonian tornoceratids. Morphological
evolution is interpreted as partly limited by geometrical and physical constraints."

371 Introduction 372 Morphological and molecular data 373 Methods 375 Separate analyses 375 Combined parsimony analyses 375 Combined Bayesian analyses 375 Combined likelihood analyses 376 Results 378 Separate analyses 378 Combined analyses 380 Discussion 383 Weighting morphology and molecules in parsimony and likelihood 383 Snake phylogeny and taxonomy 387

A computer simulation of the kinetics of precipitation of an ordered intermetallic phase from a disordered solid solution in a model binary two-dimensional alloy is considered. All diffusion processes, the concentrationffl delamination (clustering), ordering, antiphase domain boundary movement and coarsening, are described by the microscopic kinetic equations. The ordering transition of the first and second kinds are considered. It is shown that the conventional precipitation mechanism through nucleation and growth of an equilibrium ordered phase occurs only in a very narrow "strip" of the two-phase field in the phase diagram. In the remaining part, the decomposition always starts from a congruent ordering, which produces a transient nonstoichiometric ordered single-phase state with the same composition as the parent disordered phase and the same symmetry as the product intermetallic phase. Decomposition of the transient ordered phase occurs predominantly at the antiphase domain boundaries (APBs), which results in a two-phase morphology with layers of disordered films separating antiphase domains of the ordered phase. This decomposition is a result of a concentration instability on APBs, which is more substantial than the conventional homogeneous spinodal instability. Further morphological evolution after decomposition is controlled by coarsening, which reduces the order/disorder interfacial area. The predicted precipitation mechanism through a formation of a single-phase transient ordered state is general. It is expected in the most part of a two-phase field of a phase diagram of any alloy systems with intermetallic precipitates related to the parent one by ordering.

the shell wall and on the apertural side of the septum of various fossil and Recent
ectocochleate cephalopods. In addition to the scars of the cephalic retractors, steinkerns
of the body chambers of bactritoids and some ammonoids from the Moroccan and the
German Emsian (Early Devonian) display various kinds of striations; some of these
striations are restricted to the mural part of the septum, some start at the suture and
terminate at the anterior limit of the annular elevation. Several of these features were also
discovered in specimens of Mesozoic and Recent nautilids. These structures are here
interpreted as imprints of muscle fibre bundles of the posterior and especially the septal
mantle, blood vessels as well as the septal furrow. Most of these structures were not
found in ammonoids younger than Middle Devonian. We suggest that newly formed,
not yet mineralized (or only slightly), septa were more tightly stayed between the more
numerous lobes and saddles in more strongly folded septa of more derived ammonoids
and that the higher tension in these septa did not permit soft-parts to leave imprints
on the organic preseptum. It is conceivable that this permitted more derived ammonoids
to replace the chamber liquid faster by gas and consequently, new chambers could be
used earlier than in other ectocochleate cephalopods, perhaps this process began even
prior to mineralization. This would have allowed faster growth rates in derived
ammonoids.

The more than 4,000 living species of mammal have infiltrated almost every habitat in the world. From alpine mountaintops to plains grasslands, from aerial heights to the depths of the ocean, from slender forest branches to narrow subterranean burrows, mammals occupy an extraordinary variety of substrates. Some are capable of running, swimming, or swinging at great speeds, while others creep slowly along limbs or push laboriously through the soil. The limbs of mammals reflect the diversity of their habitats (fig. 15.1). The long, slender legs and two-toed feet of the antelope allow it to survey the plains for predators and bound off at their approach. The short, muscled arms and broad, thick-clawed hands of the mole scrape through soil as the animal searches for worms and grubs. Spidery, elongated hands and fingers with webs of skin between them propel bats on their erratic chases after night-flying insects. Dense, paddlelike fins steer whales through the watery course on which they are propelled by their massive tail flukes. Limbs are crucial for mammalian locomotion, social behavior, and feeding.
The functional diversity of mammal limbs is facilitated by sometimes subtle structural differences. A small discrepancy in the proportion of one limb segment and its distal neighbor can translate into significant disparity in running speed. The position of a muscle insertion along a long bone shaft can make the difference between a mammal that can tear its way through thick turf and one that cannot. The fusion of two bones in the forearm or wrist may mean that one animal cannot turn its palm to grasp a limb as it tries to climb, while another species can easily wrap its forelimbs around a tree trunk and scamper to safety. A large part of a mammal's lifestyle can, therefore, be read in the structure of its limbs.
This chapter first reviews the anatomical structure of the mammalian limb. Some brief mention of comparative differences is made in relation to structure, but those are reserved for the most striking ones in which the number of elements differs or the structure of homologous elements is particularly diverse. Special emphasis is given to the structures that are most obviously related to function. The chapter then reviews the functional diversity of the mammalian limb from the perspective of gross ecomorphological categories, groups that are primarily locomotory in nature. The chapter then reviews aspects of variation, genetics, and development of the mammalian limb. Finally, the early evolution of the mammalian limb is reviewed.

Giraffes have long fascinated and intrigued us. For centuries, kings and emperors gave them as gifts, and their extraordinary height and long necks have inspired countless myths and legends. Some 150 years ago, Darwin suggested that these lofty creatures evolved to take advantage of the leaves at the tops of trees – a suggestion that has become the
accepted explanation for the animal’s remarkable morphology. A chance encounter with male giraffes doing battle, however, set biologist Rob Simmons thinking about alternative theories for how and why the world’s tallest animal came to be.

Isabgol (Plantago ovata) belonging to Plantaginaceae family is a medicinal plant useful as a laxative, and blood cholesterol, fat and sugar reducer. Lots of these plants grow wildly in some parts of Golestan province.  An appropriate method for specifying the plant’s selection criteria is gathering its indigenous species and evaluating the morphological characteristics that determine its yield. The present study was conducted to investigate the morphological and phytochemical characteristics of different Isabgol plants under Azadshahr weather conditions. To this end, plant seeds from four different habitats (Incheboron, Duzavlom, Gharamakher and Aramgah) were gathered and cultivated in the form of completely randomized blocks with 4 replications during March, 2011. The traits under evaluation were spike number and length, grain number per spike, plant height, grain weight, mucilage rate and percentage, inflation factor and inflation rate per gram of mucilage. The obtained data were analyzed applying SPSS software. Analysis of variance indicated no significant differences among the investigated plants in terms of plant height, spike number per plant and inflation factor. However, spike length, grain numbers per spike and 1000 seeds weight were significantly different among the plants at.05 level of significance. Moreover, plant seeds were significantly different in terms of mucilage rate, mucilage percentage, and inflation rate per gram of mucilage at.01 level of significance. The minimum means of spike lengths (9.16 mm) in Incheboron mass and the other three Plantago species were not significantly different. Comparison of the average grain numbers per spike also showed the highest grain numbers in Gharamakher (19.25 number) and the lowest spike numbers in Incheboron (15.61 number) and Duzavlom (15.95 number) plants. Besides, the highest and the lowest mucilage rates were related to Gharamakher (0.259 gr) and Incheboron (0.168 gr) species.

Morphological integration refers to coordinated variation among traits that are closely related in development and/or function. Patterns of integration can offer important insight into the structural relationship between phenotypic units, providing a framework to address questions about phenotypic evolvability and constraints. Integrative features of the primate cranium have recently become a popular subject of study. However, an important question that still remains under-investigated is: what is the pattern of cranial shape integration among closely related hominoids? To address this question, we conducted a Procrustes-based geometric morphometrics study to quantify and analyze shape covariation patterns between different cranial regions in Homo, Pan, Gorilla and Pongo. A total of fifty-six 3D landmarks were collected on 407 adult individuals. We then sub-divided the landmarks corresponding to cranial units as outlined in the 'functional matrix hypothesis.' Sub-dividing the cranium in this manner allowed us to explore patterns of covariation between the face, basicranium and cranial vault, using the two-block partial least squares approach. Our results suggest that integrated shape changes in the hominoid cranium are complex, but that the overall pattern of integration is similar among human and non-human apes. Thus, despite having very distinct morphologies the way in which the face, basicranium and cranial vault covary is shared among these taxa. These results imply that the pattern of cranial integration among hominoids is conserved.

The discussion of Ascension symptoms arising as a result of accretion and absorption of the high frequency plasma light that we have been receiving is continued with particular attention on sleeplessness and tiredness. It is elucidated that the function of our mitochondria DNA being responsible for processing light has been intensified due to the accelerated bombardment of the high frequency plasmic light energies upon us, practically putting our bodies on a state of overdrive causing exhaustion. And, what is more, that this operation does not seize during the nights and while we are sleep. Actually, the majority of the process of accretion and absorption of the high frequency plasma light occurs at night and while we are supposed to be sleep, relaxed, with our conscious mind being turned off. So, instead of acquiring rest, our bodies are actually in the state of overdrive trying to accrete and absorb these lights received, leading to the activation of our dormant and atrophic Lightbody layers whose purpose is to upshift our overall natural frequency of vibration-light quotient, restructuring, re-encrypting, and recalibrating our DNA-RNA system, restoring us to the status of full Diamond Sun Oraphim Angelic Genetics, which entails having a 12D DNA Strand Crystalline Silicate-Based morphogenetics. And, all this requires efforts by our body that also represents an incompatibility between the natural frequency of consciousness vibration of our core manifestation body template and the frequencies of the incoming lights incident upon us. As a result, the body expresses its discomforts having been literally knocked our of its ‘comfort zone’ through the advent of these Ascension symptoms, ultimately to trigger our transmigrating and Ascending to the higher realms of consciousness. The outpour of high frequency plasma lights are changing the structure of matter-antimatter leading to its loss of constitution or compaction-density, at the same time introducing new elements in the periodic table. And, although a change of carbon-based to silicate-based DNA structure epitomizes de-densification, our bodies erroneously perceive this as ‘energy loss’ and densification or compaction, leading to always feeling tired, stiff, and being afflicted by a variety of pains. At the same time, the very action of accreting and absorbing higher frequencies leading to periodic upshifts in our natural frequency of vibration puts us in a state of much more alertness and awareness than usual, leading to our sleeplessness that adds to the complicated nature of the whole process. Thus, as a result, we actually feel like sleeping more during the days than nights that has its roots in the Earth’s rotational spinning and its magnetic field changing, with some areas on Earth practically ‘flipping’ their positions with respect to the Sun, leading to a sensation of confusion in our internal Cosmic Clock or circadian rhythm, practically perceiving what is night as day, and vice versa.

A significant problem in current coastal research is the understanding of linkages between morphological phenomena occurring on different temporal and spatial scales. Morphodynamic processes in the nearshore typically exhibit nonlinear behaviour and consequently, phenomena which occur on short temporal (event) scales as, e.g. observed during field experiments have generally been difficult to upscale to provide an understanding of the long-term behaviour of the coast on the time scale of seasons or decades. This paper documents a persistent onshore migration of nearshore bar features over a period of 3 decades using a set of cross-shore profile surveys from a barrier on the Danish North Sea coast. The observed behaviour is consistent with experimental data obtained during weeklong field campaigns when sediment transport and bar migration were found to be landward directed during high-energy dissipative conditions. Hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes leading to onshore bar migration and eventually welding of the bars are documented to provide an explanation for the observed long-term evolutionary trends. In addition, bar welding and the resulting intertidal bar formation represent an onshore sediment storage which is subsequently available for aeolian transport. Observations on aeolian sediment transport indicate that transport rates and sediment supply to the foredunes critically depend on the presence of dry sand sources as represented by well-drained intertidal bars. Measurements of long-term accretion rates in foredunes indicate that volumes deposited on the crest and lee slope of the dunes are in reasonable correspondence with volumes supplied to the subaerial beach through the process of bar welding. Hence, the data suggest that a persistent onshore-directed sediment supply occurs from the shoreface, across the surf and intertidal zones and into the dunes of the investigated barrier. D

This book aims to address the deficiencies of contemporary evolution studies by evaluating Multi-Torus or Morphogenetic Torus Theory using the fossil record. The book begins with description of and discussion of one of most recently recognized members of the Ediacaran biota, a fossil that looks astonishingly like a fossilized morphogenetic torus. This is followed by evaluation a newly discovered giant trilobite with characteristics that appear to support toroidal morphogenesis theory. The book then looks at an application of the model to scleritome theory (i.e., the theory of shell evolution) and to the Cambrian origin of mollusks and brachiopods, and as a result will develop a new and powerful dual application of torus scleritome theory. Next follows focus on the early development of cephalopods and a new variant of the torus called hypertorus. Finally, the book considers a counterexample to toroidal morphogenesis in the growth of marine microbes known as foraminifera. Using a newly discovered foraminiferal microbiota (that turns out to be exactly contemporary with the new giant trilobite), the book explores the metacellular/chambering style of morphogenesis that stands in direct contrast to toroidal morphogenesis as a parallel morphogenetic system.

A general overview of the common Ascension Symptoms have been presented. It is elucidated that none of these Ascension Symptoms, that nevertheless constitute complications which may include feelings of pains and discomforts, are entropic that would otherwise constitute loss of energies arising as the result of pathological factors such as infections, diseases, etc. In fact, it is stressed that these symptoms are the end results or the associated side effects with regard to our bodies acclimating itself with the high frequential plasma light energies we are currently receiving whose purpose of accretion and absorption is to reactivate the dormant and atrophic layers of our lightbody leading to building our 'Crystal Light Palace,' also referred to as the 'RA center,' in our alias solar plexus area situated slightly above our naval. Yet, as our bodies are neither used to such highly potent incident frequential light energies, nor they were designed to withstand such energies (that are actually occurring as a result of acceleration of time-light deemed essential to see us finally attain Ascension after millennia of deprivation of our inherent right of consciousness expansibility as negated by the negative aliens), our bodies show their discomforts as such Ascension Allergies or Ascension Symptoms. And, this will, ultimately, culminate in crystallization of our DNA-RNA system via re-encryption and recalibration of our dark matter core manifestation body template and morphogenetics. This, in turn, will lead to the activation of our Oraphim Angelic Crystalline Silicate-based 12D Strand DNA and 6 Strand RNA system, also referred to as our Diamond Sun Body, thus restoring our full status of Christos-Sophia crystalline consciousness. In this respect, although a general overview of these persistent Ascension symptoms has been elucidated, focused attention has been paid to the case of socalled Flu-Like or Allergy-Like Ascension symptoms, leaving further details on other such persistent Ascension symptoms to be presented elsewhere, as well as comprehensive discussions on the nature of our accretion and absorption of these incoming high frequency plasma light energies giving rise to the activation of our Diamond Sun Body morphogenetics and consciousness.

"Più di duecento anni fa, Goethe presentò le sue ricerche sulla forma delle piante e degli animali, che volle ricondurre sotto il titolo di morfologia: un metodo e un modo particolari di guardare ai fenomeni della natura che il poeta sentiva intimamente connessi al fare dell’arte e della letteratura. Questa antologia offre un’esauriente mappatura degli sviluppi di tale tradizione. Nella prima parte presenta gli autori ormai classici della morfologia novecentesca (J. von Uexküll, V. von Weizsäcker, F.J.J. Buytendijk, E. Straus, A. Portmann), che hanno posto le basi per una biologia teoretica aperta alla riflessione filosofica e alle intersezioni con l’estetica. Nella seconda parte il volume indaga la nostra contemporaneità (con nomi quali S.A. Newman, G.B. Müller, M. Mandrioli e M. Portera, A.C. Love, D. Rasskin-Gutman), per mostrare come gli orizzonti di ricerca intorno al plesso forma/formazione inaugurati dall’approccio morfologico costituiscano a tutt’oggi, per il dibattito evoluzionistico, un momento di confronto inevitabile e altamente produttivo. La riflessione sulle qualità irriducibili alla misurazione quantitativa, l’affascinante questione della genesi delle forme e dei loro vincoli, l’azione reciproca di organismo e ambiente sono solo alcuni dei temi qui trattati, che costituiscono un terreno condiviso tanto dall’indagine estetica quanto dagli studi biologici, al di là di ogni contrapposizione fra scienze umane e scienze naturali.

Gli autori

Andrea Pinotti insegna Estetica all’Università degli Studi di Milano. Le sue ricerche riguardano la tradizione morfologica e i rapporti fra estetica, teoria delle arti e cultura visuale. Per le nostre edizioni ha curato Immagini della mente (con G. Lucignani, 2007) e Teorie dell’immagine (con A. Somaini, 2009).

Salvatore Tedesco insegna Estetica all’Università degli Studi di Palermo. Si è occupato di storia dell’estetica moderna, con particolare riferimento ai modelli metodologici della riflessione estetica; le sue ricerche più recenti riguardano l’antropologia filosofica e le relazioni fra morfologia ed evoluzionismo.

Contributi di Frederik Jacobus Johannes Buytendijk, Alan C. Love, Mauro Mandrioli e Maria Grazia Portera, Gerd B. Müller, Stuart A. Newman, Adolf Portmann, Diego Rasskin-Gutman, Erwin Straus, Jacob von Uexküll, Victor von Weizsäcker

- See more at: http://www.raffaellocortina.it/estetica-e-scienze-della-vita#sthash.MfMeYfaO.dpuf"

Patterns of segmentation and tagmosis are reviewed for Chelicerata. Depending on the outgroup, che-licerate origins are either among taxa with an anterior tagma of six somites, or taxa in which the appendages of somite I became increasingly raptorial. All Chelicerata have appendage I as a chelate or clasp-knife chelicera. The basic trend has obviously been to consolidate food-gathering and walking limbs as a prosoma and respiratory appendages on the opisthosoma. However, the boundary of the prosoma is debatable in that some taxa have functionally incorporated somite VII and/or its appendages into the prosoma. Euchelicerata can be defined on having plate-like opisthosomal appendages, further modified within Arachnida. Total somite counts for Chelicerata range from a maximum of nineteen in groups like Scorpiones and the extinct Eurypterida down to seven in modern Pycnogonida. Mites may also show reduced somite counts, but reconstructing segmentation in these animals remains challenging. Several innovations relating to tagmosis or the appendages borne on particular somites are summarised here as putative apomorphies of individual higher taxa. We also present our observations within the concept of pseudotagma, whereby the true tagmata e the prosoma and opisthosoma e can be defined on a fundamental change in the limb series while pseudotagmata, such as the cephalosoma/ proterosoma, are expressed as divisions in sclerites covering the body without an accompanying change in the appendages.

Previously, in Internet of Life, Chp 1 [137], it was shown that if the interaction protocol between parental genome networks is random then there is a loss of bilateral symmetry. Thus, a nonrandom meta-network, interaction protocol evolved as a precondition for the evolution of the first bilaterally symmetric organisms in the Precambrian more than 570 million years ago. In this chapter we investigate some of the consequence of nonran-dom interaction protocols for development and evolution. Computer simulations show that any nonrandom interaction protocol dynamically partitions the organism into two types of nonintersecting sections, one type controlled by the maternal and the other by the paternal haploid genome network. Thus, at any given time, all cells in a given section are exclusively controlled by only one of the two parental haploid genome networks. The partition is dynamic with sections changing identity, splitting or merging as the organism develops. The developmental effects of later partition states are superposed on earlier developmental states leading to complex mixtures of ancestrally inherited phenotypes. Each protocol has an identifying meta-network signature. Different protocol signatures partition the developing organism differently leading to different morphologies and capacities both mental and physical. As protocols and developmental networks diverge new species and phyla can emerge. Protocols are the bedrock of social and sexual intercourse between male and female genomes. For any diploid species their haploid protocols must cooperate to generate a coherent, complete and consistent embryo. If the two haploid protocols of potential sex partners diverge too much, network disfunction causes developmental pathologies, miscarriage or unviability. Evidence for this new theory of development and evolution comes from computational multicellular experiments, human and animal development , malformations, teratology, hybrids and gynandromorphs. Developmental networks and their meta-network protocols provide a fundamentally new explanatory framework for embryonic and post-embryonic development, developmental pathologies, animal and plant hybrids, heterosis, and evolutionary dynamics.

An overview of the existence of humans as a form of Divine consciousness embodiment within the physical Universe of Nebadon has been presented. It is elucidated that human beings by pedigree and Divine design carry the most unique and special form of Divine embodiment as potential Oraphim Angelics whose consciousness quanta of energy emanate directly from the God-SOURCE, the Prime Creator. In this respect, the author has also referred to human beings as the ‘Crown Jewel of Consciousness Embodiment’ in the Nebadon Universe. And, to more specially elaborate on this, human beings are endowed with the special gift of consciousness multidimensionality as well as consciousness expansibility, making them privy not only to be able to live multiple lives simultaneously, but upon attaining their Avatar status, can remain permanently in contact with the God-SOURCE through the Zero-Point Field that describes the Unified Consciousness Field or the Divine Mind of the Prime Creator. In this respect, as human beings, we are able to anchor our consciousness to what the author refers to as the ‘Neural Network of God’ which epitomizes a domain or contour of energy that form the space-time dimensions of the Cosmos. And, the author through many publications in the past, has illustrated that these contours of energetic space-time dimensions may be modelled as a system of 356 ‘Nested Spheres’ comprised of DISCRETE and increasing radii as one moves away from the center of Cosmos. This is analogous to saying that these spheres are comprised of progressively diminishing curvatures that may be regarded as to have two surfaces, one convex and the other concave from the standpoint of viewing them from the center of the Cosmos and the incipient position of the God-SOURCE who epitomizes the heart-brain and the control center of Cosmos. In this respect, the Cosmos is what describes the body of the Prime Creator within which all solar organic sentient beings thrive and all other things exist. Furthermore, each nested sphere may be referred to as having two features: ‘time’ that characterizes its radius of curvature whose differential rate gives rise to curvature that, in fact, defines the ‘frequency’ or the velocity of spin of the fundamental quanta of energy anchored to what is referred to as the ‘fabric of space,’ that is, in essence, epitomizes congealed time. And, the author has referred to the concave (outer) and convex (inner) curvatures of the contour of space-time dimensions as a set of ‘conjugate space-times’ within which time progresses in opposite directions, describing an essential characteristic of the ‘Dualism Principle of Creation’ that stipulates that everything must be created simultaneously and symbiotically as conjugate pairs, with one epitomizing the mirrored version of the other with respect to the bidirectional nature of time and its progression as to create balance and ORDER within the Cosmos.  It is further stipulated that our Oraphim consciousness embodiment was particularly designed to function within the Nebadon Universe with a Diamond Sun DNA structure composed of 12 crystalline silicate-based DNA strand morphogenetics with soul fragments that can function within 4 distinct Harmonic Universes (HU). Accordingly, as it stands now, our seed of consciousness is divided into 144 fragments referred to as ‘Soul Aspects’ thriving within different local parallel and antiparallel dimensions, respectively, which describe the Omni Worlds of Matter and Antimatter of HU1. Accordingly, subject to lack of interference by the reptilian negative aliens intruders, these Soul Aspects can communicate multidimensionally while embodying and experiencing different sojourns of lives within these domains.  And, as they attain spiritual enlightenment via experimenting with the different sojourns of lives within these distinct dimensions, they are privy to accrete, absorb, and integrate  enough higher dimensional frequencies of consciousness, undergoing consciousness expansion, ascending them to the next Harmonic Universes (H2-H4). Accordingly, the initial 2-3 DNA strand amorphous structure give way to Crystalline Type I silicate- based DNA structure effectuated through the activation of additional DNA strands, with 12 such Soul Aspects synchronizing and refining their consciousness vibration as to function as single ‘Soul Expressions’ in HU2. Similarly, with 12 such Soul Expressions thriving in HU2, they are able to accrete, absorb, and integrate enough higher frequency of consciousness to propel them to HU3 as a conjugate set of Twin ‘Oversouls’ (also referred to as ‘Monads’), while attaining the state of Crystalline II silicate-based DNA structure, eventually culminating in the full 9 DNA strands activating as to enable them to Ascend to HU4, functioning as an ‘Avatar Self.’ Here, one becomes androgynous and a being of Light without coarse physical body structure, thriving as a silhouette or orb of Light. Finally, as our Avatar Self expands its consciousness further to a stage III crystalline DNA structure as to reach the status of a 12D Oraphim Diamond Sun Light morphogenetics, we can attain the status of the Ascended Master and Cosmic Citizenship transcending the Nebadon Time Matrix structure. Thus, as a result of these unique traits of consciousness expansibility and multidimensionality, we are able to always remain closely connected to the God-SOURCE, thus serving as a ‘failsafe mechanism’ in case the Nebadon Universe becomes a closed energetic circuit (such as the Bi-Wave system Nebadon that has been experienced over course of millions of years), with the ability to connect the universe back to the open loop of free energetic of the God-SOURCE.  Indeed, this is why we were ever created, to heal the rip that the negative aliens generated in our Nebadon System as a result of the destruction of the Stargates 10-12 in Lyra by the invading negative aliens with the intent of forever separating the Nebadon Universal System from the rest of the Multiuniverses or the Cosmos, and claim it as ‘their’ territory or ‘real estate’ possession. Another special characteristic of the Angelic human beings is that they serve as a genetic library for all the species within the Nebadon Universe in which human genetics can be consulted to contain the genetic details of the species in case they were to be re-seeded in this or other universes. Finally, an count of the special capability of the human beings have been explicated pertaining to the fact that the human being’s thoughts are what are responsible to directly interface and change the magnetic field of a planetary sphere to which they have anchored their consciousness. Of course, this special trait of human beings has been taken advantage of by the negative aliens who have been able to nefariously reverse our consciousness, at the same time, siphoning the magnetic energies of Earth, depriving Earth and humanity of its Divine feminine magnetic energies via the Metatronic Reversal Technology that employs the Fibonacci Mathematical Sequence, also condemning Earth into a bi-wave energetic system, instead of the usual Trinity open loop energetic structure exchanging energies with the God-SOURCE. Accordingly, this has led to Earth spinning about an axis that is 23.5 degrees offset to its natural organic staff configuration.

Although nobody doubts today that a Ural-Altaic protolanguage is an obsolete idea there still exists some peculiar conformity between Uralic and Altaic that cannot easily be explained by simple borrowings. In this article some similarities between Turkic and Uralic pronouns are to the fore.

The term biology is of Greek origin meaning the study of life. On the other hand, chemistry is the science of matter, which deals with matter and its properties, structure, composition, behavior, reactions, interactions and the changes it undergoes. The theory of abiogenesis maintains that chemistry made a transition to biology in a primordial soup. To keep the naturalistic ‘inanimate molecules to human life’ evolution ideology intact, scientists must assemble billions of links to bridge the gap between the inanimate chemicals that existed in the primordial soup and anatomically modern humans. Even though the proponents of a natural origin of life expressed much optimism for providing their theories, presently there is a detailed compilation of information seriously questioning this doctrine. This reductionistic ideology has always failed to answer two simple questions: (1) What is the minimum number of parts that are essential for a living organism to survive? (2) By what mechanism do these parts get assembled together? Evolutionists say a series of prebiotic processes and developments guide networks of dynamically linked small molecules and amphiphiles to form biological macromolecules, membraneous compartments, and finally primitive cells. However, none of these proposed pathways to life appears to be credible. The continuous advancement in various fields of science are not only providing major challenges to reductionistic ideology but are supplying increasing evidence for a systemic concept of life as an organic whole. Several leading researchers in the field of ‘origin of life’ are continually concluding that there are major scientific problems attached with all existing naturalistic ‘origin of life’ hypothesis. Only by taking into account all biological activities collectively as a system can a satisfactory elucidation of the living state be realized. In this present paper an attempt has been made to present a few significant challenges to the theory of abiogenesis based on the peer reviewed scientific literature. Subsequently, a non-reductionistic concept of life as a system is proposed as an alternative for resolving some of the problems inherent in origin of life research.

An overview of the myriad forms of Ascension maladies or symptoms affecting the awakened and enlightened souls within the 3 rd dimensional Earth plane awaiting to ascend to the higher dimensions of consciousness has been explicated. It is clarified that due to the outpour of the colossal quanta of light energies bombarding Earth nowadays together with their acceleration, certain maladies are being developed and felt by sentient human beings that are mainly associated with the resulting clearing and cleansing of the soul from the stored genetic karma, as well as the consequent evolutional changes that are being experienced within the genetics-physiology of human beings. Indeed, this paper concentrates on this broad category of Ascension maladies with other symptoms being discussed in two other companion papers. It is explicated herein that, broadly speaking, such maladies may be classified as extreme random deep aches and pains that appear and then disappear within diverse parts of the body that can culminate in overstress, anxiety, restlessness and fear, as well as extreme tiredness and fatigue, lethargy, craving for more sleep, drastic changes in night time dreaming, diarrhea or stomach problems, sensation of heart problems, outbreak of rashes and hives, etc.

Morphological and morphometric bone variation between archaeological wolves and the oldest domestic dogs commonly are used to define species differences. However, reference data often have been based on small numbers, without robust statistical support. We consulted the literature on these matters in all possible languages and tested many of the proposed species differences by examining wolf and dog skeletons from several collections, accompanied by an extensive synthesis of existing literature. We thus created large reference groups, assessing data distributions and variability. We examined mandible height, width, length, and convexity; contact points of the skull on a horizontal plane; caudal shifting of the border of the hard palate; skull size; carnassials tooth size reduction; micro-anatomical differences in teeth, snout, and skull height; and snout length and width. Our results show that skull length and related size; skull height; snout width; orbital angle; P4 and M1 mesio-distal diameter can help (albeit to a limited extent) to distinguish the oldest archaeological dogs from wolves. Based on our observations, we re-evaluated recent large Pleistocene canids reported as Paleolithic dogs and concluded instead that they fit well within the morphomentric distributions seen with Pleistocene wolves. The research presented here reflects the recent trend to critically re-evaluate axiomatic assumptions about wolf-dog differences, and to rephrase the morphological and morphometric definition of an early archaeological dog in a more suitable manner. These results are important to the international archaeological community because they place historical reports in a newer context, and create a robust (although narrow) framework for further evaluation of archaeological dogs and wolves.

It is emphasized, herein, that this era of pre-Ascension has involved bombardment of potent light energies of consciousness upon the potentially Ascending population of Earth that has created a demanding impetus upon Earth humanity, one that will eventually lead to mankind’s overall genetic evolution. And, due to the apparent lack of capability to accommodate such drastic energetics and their requisite changes in human physiognomy, mankind is practically faced with challenging situations that have led to the inception or augmentation of experience of further anxiety, stress, and pain. It is, therefore, incumbent on mankind to make an effort to better understand the nature of its energetics, physiognomy, and genetics, and seek avenues by which such discomforts may be alleviated, thus aiding the process of Ascension, and at the same time, making the challenges of day-to-day physical existence more bearable. It has been explicated, herein, that it is the heart that is the gateway to the higher dimensional consciousness and ethereal existence. As such, the heart, as an extremely sophisticated neurophysiological organ, serves as the emotional center and the focused location for intuitive intelligence, connecting us to our HIGHERSELF, and in turn, to the Unified Field and the Divine Mind of our Prime Creator. Furthermore, the heart is not just a pump supplying the body with blood via a cardiovascular-respiratory-circulatory system by which simply oxygen and nutrients are carried out throughout the body. Indeed, the heart epitomizes the main central neuro-cardiological center that counsels the brain through the afferent parasympathetic vagus nerve that sends ascending neurological signals to the subcortical portion of the brain by which the hypothalamus plays its dominant role in the decision-making process of the brain. Thus, in order to achieve a highly coherent coordination between our heart, brain and the autonomic nervous system, we are wise to embark on a form of emotional self-regulation that would eventually lead to efficient functioning of our neuro-cardiological system. It is explained, herein, that such coherence leading to proper functioning of our entire body is achieved through proper beating of the heart. In particular, this may be epitomized by efficient heart rate variability that ultimately culminates in vitality and our overall well-being. Ultimately, emotional self-regulation gives rise to coherence and better health, alleviating stress, anxiety, pain, leading to better cognition, with such improved physiological indicators as the heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate variability, better endocrine secretion, etc. In particular, positive thinking should be exercised as to set a new precedence or template for memory system against which the hypothalamus would weigh new challenging situations, leading to perseverance, resulting in comfort, prosperity, and general well-being.  And, when one encounters potentially highly challenging situations, direct and prompt intervention through effective breathing by a way of 6 breathing cycles per minutes is shown to result in optimal heart rate variability that is equivalent to a frequency of 0.1 Hz.

Cet ouvrage propose une description comparative et diachronique de cinq langues mayas parlées au Mexique et au Guatemala : le cholti’, le ch’orti’, le chontal d’Acalán, le chontal moderne et le chol. Ces langues, en partie disparues (cholti’ et le chontal d’Acalán) ou classées selon l’UNESCO comme langues sérieusement en danger (chontal moderne) voire en situation critique (ch’orti’), font partie d’un même groupe de langues, celui des langues cholanes. Ce travail, principalement fondé sur des données de première main, a le double but d’offrir une meilleure description de chacune de ces langues grâce à une approche comparative, mais aussi de reconstruire en partie leur protolangue. Cet accès au passé est d’autant plus important que ce groupe linguistique comprend une autre langue particulièrement importante au sein de la famille maya, celle de l’écriture glyphique précolombienne. L’introduction de cette thèse sera notamment l’occasion d’une synthèse de nos connaissances sur l’histoire des populations cholanes au sein de l’aire maya depuis le début de notre ère. Nous nous focaliserons ici principalement sur la phonologie, la morphophonologie et la morphosyntaxe, étude qui nous permettra d’analyser plus de 200 morphèmes grammaticaux différents de ces langues agglutinantes.

A central problem in paleoanthropology is the identity of the last
common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans ([N-MH]
LCA). Recently developed analytical techniques now allow this
problem to be addressed using a probabilistic morphological framework.
This study provides a quantitative reconstruction of the
expected dental morphology of the [N-MH]LCA and an assessment
of whether known fossil species are compatible with this ancestral
position. We show that no known fossil species is a suitable candidate
for being the [N-MH]LCA and that all late Early and Middle
Pleistocene taxa from Europe have Neanderthal dental affinities,
pointing to the existence of a European clade originated around
1 Ma. These results are incongruent with younger molecular divergence
estimates and suggest at least one of the following must be
true: (i) European fossils and the [N-MH]LCA selectively retained
primitive dental traits; (ii) molecular estimates of the divergence
between Neanderthals and modern humans are underestimated;
or (iii) phenotypic divergence and speciation between both species
were decoupled such that phenotypic differentiation, at least in
dental morphology, predated speciation.

Ongoing discoveries of new rangeomorph fossils from the Ediacaran of Avalonia allow us to put forward a unified and approachable scheme for the description and phylogenetic analysis of frondose genera and their species. This scheme focuses upon the branching morphology of rangeomorph units. Our system has the advantage of being applicable at all visible scales of subdivision and is suitable for the study of isolated fragmentary specimens. The system is also free from hypothesis about biological affinity and avoids tectonically influenced features such as shape metrics. Using a set of twelve character states within this unified scheme, we here present emended diagnoses for Beothukis, Avalofractus, Bradgatia, Hapsidophyllas, Fractofusus, Trepassia and Charnia, together with a more extensive taxonomic treatment of the latter genus. For those forms that fall within the morphological spectrum between Trepassia and Beothukis, we introduce Vinlandia gen. nov. It is hoped that this scheme will provide a robust framework for future studies of rangeomorph ontogeny and evolution.

An overview of conscious vibration is presented. Via modelling a sentient being as a harmonic resonator comprised of two fundamental elements of ‘constitution’ (matter-antimatter) and ‘consciousness expansibility,’ it is envisioned that a sentient being is harmonically oscillating towards and away from the central SOURCE located at the center of the Cosmos, which in essence, constitutes the body of the Prime Creator. In this respect, the SOURCE acts as a source of support for all sentient beings, providing ALL with an infinite and inexhaustible open loop of consciousness energy. It is proposed that a sentient being is endowed with a sense of ‘consciousness expansibility’ that compels the sentient being to deflect away from the SOURCE in a quest for self-discovery, experimenting with the sojourns of life, seeking spiritual education in order to expand its ‘local’ state of consciousness by having anchored its consciousness to a Zero-Point Field that epitomizes a point on the Neural Network of God. However, such wandering away from the SOURCE must be disciplined as to not culminate in excessive deflection away from the SOURCE, a phenomenon referred to as ‘negative karma,’ and must be counteracted with contraction towards the SOURCE, a concept that is referred to as ‘positive karma,’ in order to ensure connectivity to the SOURCE as to remain within an open energetic loop, being recipient of the Free Energies provided by the SOURCE. Accordingly, a sentient being undergoes sentient vibration in the innerspace in which the extent of positive and negative karma are not necessarily equal. Thus, deflecting away from the SOURCE is safeguarded by the consciousness expansibility of the sentient being, a trait which leads to the storage of the karmic energies within the structure of the soul, to be cleaned and cleansed at a later time during the course of the sentient being’s multiple lives in the future.  Consciousness expansibility, in another words, describes a measure of the characteristic trait of the soul that may be increased via positive karma leading to an upshift of its natural frequency of vibration, giving the soul the propensity for further life experimentation, or alternatively, diminished via negative karma, culminating in a reduction of the natural frequency. In fact, negative karma incites entropy or disorder, while positive karma inspires syntropy and results in Cosmic ORDER. It is also explicated that via increasing one’s consciousness expansibility leading to an upshift of frequency, a sentient being is privy to vibrate within higher dimensions of consciousness with a state of awareness of its life sojourns that is referred to as ‘conscious multidimensionality.’ Thus, one’s extent of multidimensionality increases with consciousness expansibility, and consequently, the natural frequency of vibration. It is also explicated that higher consciousness expansibility accentuates the notion of interconnectedness to all beings, diminishing low-chakra traits as ‘judge-mentality,’ leading to developing a sense of value and worthiness for ALL THINGS, a direct consequence of non-linear thinking.  Finally, a brief discussion of the relation of consciousness expansibility to mind and non-linear thinking and utilization of inherent intuitive intelligence, being effectively attuned or connected to the Divine Mind of our Prime Creator, is given. It is elucidated that our mind is but a small part of the matrix of consciousness of the WHOLE, what is referred to as the ‘Unified Field,’ whose usage is temporarily bestowed upon us. It is, thus, prudent that one engages in positive thinking and constructive and creational endeavors via benevolence and exercising compassion, unconditional love, firmly believing in the doctrine of SERVICE TO OTHERS (as opposed to oneself only), what was referred to as ‘positive karma,’ in order to ensure the longevity and eternal usage of the mind.

The paper reviews the data concerning the nominal inflectional morphology in the chain of languages comprising Uralic, Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, Koreanic and Japonic, collectively termed "Ural-Altaic". Although nominal morphology has traditionally been quoted in support of the hypothesis concerning the genetic relationship of these languages, a more detailed survey of the data shows that the extant parallels are in various ways secondary and/or accidental. This suggests that Ural-Altaic is an areal and typological complex of languages, but not a genetic entity. On the other hand, it is also evident that much of the synchronically observed nominal morphology in the languages of this complex is relatively recent. The only examples of potentially relevant inter-family morphological parallels can be found between Mongolic and Tungusic.