Do all languages in the world originate from a single “mother tongue“?

By studying phonemes – the consonants, vowels and tonal elements of languages, biologist Quentin D. Atkinson has claimed to discover that human languages originated in Africa:

Dr. Atkinson, an expert at applying mathematical methods to linguistics, has found a simple but striking pattern in some 500 languages spoken throughout the world: A language area uses fewer phonemes the farther that early humans had to travel from Africa to reach it.

Some of the click-using languages of Africa have more than 100 phonemes, whereas Hawaiian, toward the far end of the human migration route out of Africa, has only 13. English has about 45 phonemes.

This pattern of decreasing diversity with distance, similar to the well-established decrease in genetic diversity with distance from Africa, implies that the origin of modern human language is in the region of southwestern Africa, Dr. Atkinson says in an article published on Thursday in the journal Science.

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The Mother of All Languages

We’ve seen all manner of medical robots ’round these parts, from bloodbots to surgical cyborgs. And now Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling from McGill University Health Centre (who also helped develop the McSleepy anesthetic android) has created the world’s first intubation robot. Called the Kepler Intubation System (KIS), it’s a robotic arm with a video laryngoscope that’s controlled via joystick — allowing MDs to get their Dr. Mario on while sliding an endotracheal tube into any passed-out meatbag with minimal fuss and maximum safety. The first procedure using the device on a real, live human was a success, and clinical testing continues. We’re not big on bots shoving anything anywhere (even if it does help us breathe while under the knife), but that’s better than android appendages lobbing grenades our way.

Intubation bot lets doctors safely shove tubes down unconscious human throats originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen all manner of medical robots ’round these parts, from bloodbots to surgical cyborgs. And now Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling from McGill University Health Centre (who also helped develop the McSleepy anesthetic android) has created the world’s first intubation robot. Called the Kepler Intubation System (KIS), it’s a robotic arm with a video laryngoscope that’s controlled via joystick — allowing MDs to get their Dr. Mario on while sliding an endotracheal tube into any passed-out meatbag with minimal fuss and maximum safety. The first procedure using the device on a real, live human was a success, and clinical testing continues. We’re not big on bots shoving anything anywhere (even if it does help us breathe while under the knife), but that’s better than android appendages lobbing grenades our way.

Intubation bot lets doctors safely shove tubes down unconscious human throats originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Need to know which superhumans excel in shapeshifting? What superpower does Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man possess? Pop Chart Lab’s Illustrated Omnibus of Superpowers answers all your superpower queries rather concisely, and they’re selling copies you can mount on your wall. More

A new study demonstrates how high hydrocarbons could be formed from methane deep within the Earth, aside from the compression and heating of ancient animal remains over the eons. More

(YouTube link)

Last week we met Cady Coleman, who is both a musician and an astronaut. Here she is performing the first ever space-earth musical duet with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Coleman is aboard the International Space Station, while Anderson is somewhere on earth. -Thanks, özi!

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Earth and Space Flute Duet

Researchers in Japan and Australia have managed to get teleportation right. We’re now that much closer to a future where quantum computers will be on your desktop, which is to say not very close at all but still. More

Researchers in Japan and Australia have managed to get teleportation right. We’re now that much closer to a future where quantum computers will be on your desktop, which is to say not very close at all but still. More

This gem comes courtesy of redditor ultimobranchialbody. Adherence is mandatory.

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Salt Power Salt & Pepper Battery Shakers – $11.95

Does your kitchen table need more energy? You should get the Salt Power Salt & Pepper Battery Shakers from the NeatoShop!