A British scientist said he was anxiously awaiting the results of DNA tests on hair claimed to be from a yeti after initial examinations showed it had human and ape-like characteristics.
Ian Redmond, a biologist and expert in ape conservation, said the hairs found in the Indian jungle resembled samples collected by the conqueror of Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, in the 1950s.
“Under the microscope, they look slightly human, slightly like an orangutan and slightly like the hairs brought back by Edmund Hillary,” Redmond told AFP.
PHOTO: EPA
“These hairs remain an enigma. They could be a new species, but the DNA tests will hopefully tell us more.”
The hairs were brought back from India this year by a BBC journalist, Alastair Lawson, who contacted Redmond and was put in touch with a team at Oxford Brookes University in south central England.
Lawson was given the hairs by yeti believer Dipu Marak, who retrieved them in dense jungle in the Meghalaya state of India after a forester allegedly spotted the creature on three consecutive days in 2003.
Marak believes the hairs come from an ape-like Indian version of the fabled yeti, or abominable snowman, which he believes stands about 3m tall.
Redmond and scientists from Oxford Brookes examined the hairs under powerful microscopes, comparing them with samples taken from an Asiatic black bear, yaks, orangutans and gorillas, and even a hair from Redmond’s beard.
While the microscope tests were inconclusive, the hairs are now undergoing DNA tests.
Redmond admitted his excitement was tinged with fear.
“My concern is that if we do find something unusual, it will be from a very small population of animals and I would want to talk to the state government and Indian government so they are not inundated with people trying to catch one for a museum.”
(AFP)
一位英國科學家表示,一撮據稱來自「喜馬拉雅山雪人」的毛髮經初步檢驗後顯示,具有類人類猿的特質,而他正焦急地等待DNA鑑定結果出爐。
生物學家兼猿類保育專家伊安.雷德蒙說,這撮在印度叢林中發現的毛髮,和一九五0年代登上聖母峰的愛德蒙.希拉瑞爵士所採集回來的樣本十分相似。
雷德蒙向法新社表示:「從顯微鏡下觀察,這撮毛髮看起來有點像人類、有點像紅毛猩猩,也有點像愛德蒙.希拉瑞帶回來的毛髮。」
「這撮毛髮至今仍是個謎,有可能屬於某新物種,但我們希望DNA鑑定結果能提供更多線索。」
英國廣播公司記者亞列斯德爾.勞森今年從印度帶回這撮毛髮,他和雷德蒙聯繫後,被轉介給牛津布魯克大學(位在英格蘭中南部)的一個研究團隊。
二OO三年,一位林務員指稱連續三天在印度梅加拉亞邦一處茂密的森林內目擊雪人後,篤信雪人存在的狄普.瑪拉喀便前往搜尋並發現這撮毛髮,之後他將毛髮轉交給勞森。
瑪拉喀相信,這撮毛髮是來自印度傳說中半人半猿的喜馬拉雅山雪人,他認為他們的身高大約有三公尺。
雷德蒙和牛津布魯克大學的科學家利用高倍顯微鏡來檢驗這撮毛髮,並拿它和亞洲黑熊、犛牛、紅毛猩猩和黑猩猩,甚至是雷德蒙的鬍子做比對。
然而顯微鏡檢測並不能得到切確的結果,這撮毛髮目前正在進行DNA檢驗。
雷德蒙坦承他的心情既興奮又擔心。
「我擔心的是如果我們真的有什麼特殊發現,那肯定是種非常稀有的動物。我會想和梅加拉亞邦政府及印度政府溝通,以免該地湧入大批想獵製標本的民眾。」
(法新社�翻譯:袁星塵)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of