Pros, Eus, Viruses

I really enjoyed reading the "if you were bacteria" in class and again on the website. It was a funny way to learn about bacteria. I did not study the site as well as i would have needed to in order to do really well on the quiz, but I did ok. I got a few of the answers correct!

are humans just hairless chimps?

I have always been fascinated with our closest relative, and it always seemed uncanny how much their faces look like ours. Even their mannerisms, the grooming of one another, the mutual affection, seem so similar to ours. So it was no surprise to find out that we share 99.4% the same DNA coding as them. Chimpanzees are further separated into two types: Pan troglodytes, the common chimp, and Pan paniscus, the bonobo. Bonobos are so similar to us that it would be a ridiculous assertion to suggest that we did not directly descend from them. They are the only non-human animal to have been observed engaging in "human" sexual activities, such as oral sex, tongue kissing and even homosexual activity. These activities differentiate them from other primates, who only have sex for the purpose of procreation. The chimps do not form permanent relationships with single partners but are rather non-monogamous as a species. the bonobos are also observed to exist as a matriarchal society, with strong female bonding allowing them to rule their communities. Sounds like us!

ok so i finally read the articles from week one and now with the ones from last week i can write something. i was seriously disturbed and perturbed by the articles that discussed the imminent simulation of a human brain. Honestly I can not fathom the idea that one could clone a human brain, first because i do not believe it to be possible, and second because i feel that what makes us human is an energy that i do not believe can be translated from human to computer. We are natural, made of earthly materials that have been traveling about the universe for millenia. And here we are, we all-mighty humans, thinking we are so wonderful that we should be able to mess with everything! Ahh!

ok well, on another note, maybe it would help with researching the complex inner-workings of the mind. i dont know.