The Dinosaur Feather Mystery Pt.4

[TRYCLOPS1]

I love science!!!!! xD

[TRYCLOPS1]

Biological life has no evolutionary final goal or end. Its most important goal is to procreate and adapt to the environment; so that it survives. Luck has something to do with it as well as the environment, other life around it, everything pretty much. But something that really shaped feathers was picky females. They selected the traits carefully. Not knowing what those traits could become but maybe a slow step by step thing. Females are the selectors in birds mating. (Or most birds I guess idk

[TRYCLOPS1]

Evolution seems to be more a consequence than an objective. Random mutations that species use for their advantage that are selected and then re-shaped or refined by more mutations that are selected and refined as well. Mutations that are not useful sometimes are then re-designed by more mutations and selective breeding. And by these forces they become positive traits. And then it seems as if it was an intended goal to us.

[TRYCLOPS1]

Then... The feathers were so big that when displaying the mating rituals they will move their legs-wings up and down and jump and the higher jumpers would be the most attractive. Then they kept breeding with a likeness for more and more complex structure feathers until those feathers were in the right number, size and shape for flight. It happened as consequence of selective breeding and not as an objective. Females kind of controlled this, as many things in evolution too lol.

[TRYCLOPS1]

I think feathers were probably a random genetic mutation of those skin spiky thingys and for some reason became attractive and useful for heat, then the ones with bigger hairy feathers became the most attractive then another mutation of hairs coming out of the feathers came and the ones with bigger feathers were more attractive and they found them useful for scaring off bigger predators and for mating.

[zhrmod]

Beside the reasons stated in the vid to explain why small non-flying dinos (smaller theropods) developed feathers (body warmth, exibitionism and warming the eggs), I strongly believe they forgot an important function of feathers: The illusion (and thereof intimidation) of bigger size. Knowing that those small theropods co-existed with the bigger theropods like the large Tyrannosaurus Rex and other yet larger dinos definitely assures me that this might be the case.

[jajacob410]

Sonic Hedgehog gene? Dear God...

[pinball281]

if life is random then does that mean we can do whatever the fuck we like? i mean how can they discuss the smallest thing such as political correctness?

damn if we here as the result of an accident why cant we all juts walk around naked?

[goshawker07]

So much naivety. If you ever study the complexity of the flight feather, and the anatomical precision of what enables a bird to fly, your minds would be overwhelmed... Study up people. 

[M0b1u5]

I'm so disappointed to see such aerodynamic bullshit being asserted her. There is nothing to prevent a dinobird with symmetrical flight feathers from actually flying.

It is a very common misconception that it is the shape of the wing of an aeroplane that keeps it aloft - it is simply not true. What keeps a plane aloft is a motor, with wings at an angle of attack which directs a mass of air greater than the mass of the aeroplane DOWNWARDS.

[M0b1u5]

All a bird needs to be able to do to take off is direct enough air downwards, that it's body is lifted. Hell, even you could do that in a wing-suit in a howling gale.

So strong muscles are not even needed - nor a keel - in order for protobirds to fly. They may well have been gliders to begin with, or they may have flapped to climb trees, it doesn't matter; they can definitely glide and fly as soon as they have a large enough wing area and tail area.

[goshawker07]

Yes and its called cyclic variation or adaptation...worlds apart from Darwinian evolutionary process, that is to say macro evolution.

[goshawker07]

I've been a evolutionary bio-geneticist for almost 20 years. Unfortunately Evo-devo is only going to fuel the evidence for creation. We are going in the wrong direction. We have yet to find compelling evidence for an un-guided natural explanation for the complexity of life. Then we show how its done under extremely sophisticated molecular manipulating lab conditions. I hope all the funding doesn't go to this or we will loose all the ground we have fought so hard to gain.

[pienipaha]

It's called natural selection. It explains it all quite neatly.

[eiizumi]

@pienipaha Somehow something inside all of us enables us to feel, be it even be the smallest cell. To able to feel the environment pushes the direction. Obviously, there is a level of trial of error somewhere, or else we would be eating food through our anus and shit through our mouth =O

[lucius1976]

Creation? You can´t be serious. Everyone who believes that is a fool. Convincing fools of the truth is not worth the effort.

[eurythorpe]

Oh really? a fraud bio-geneticist...

[hornetobiker]

@goshawker07 Fuck off you nutter.

[gamesbok]

@goshawker07 ‘Evolution of Biological Information’, Thomas Schneider, Journal of Nuclaic Acid Research, Oxford University, July 2000.

It isn't unguided. The environment has a lot to say.

[falcoperegrinus82]

@goshawker07 You are crazy if you think any one of us believes you are what you say you are. Evolutionary bio-geneticist? Does that title even exist? LOL. Give me a break! Fuck off, creatard.

[M0b1u5]

@goshawker07 Seems you may have wasted 20 years. The cognitive dissonance doesn't kill you?

[Spieldamelenium]

@goshawker07 Jut because we can make something doesn't mean it was made.

[dingodavid]

@goshawker07 - "I hope all the funding doesn't go to this or we will loose all the ground we have fought so hard to gain."

Sorry Goshawker, but I have grave doubts whether you are a professional biologist of any kind. First and foremost, I would expect any experienced biologist to be able to spell the word 'lose' correctly.

[takineko]

lulz, some scientist named it SonicHedgehog

[bach421]

"Sonic-hedgehog Gene???" There needs to be a board that can take away that dude's scientist licence for that.

[DNAunion]

Yes, the gene was actually named after the video game character.

There were already several other genes with the word hedgehog in their name: they were named after actual, living animals. A new gene in the family was discovered. Since all of the real animal's names had already been used, they had to go outside of real animals, so a ficticious hedgehog's name was used.

[drummerjc1995]

tubeuler feathers? In other words FUR! lol

[pienipaha]

Yeah protofeathers were similar to fur.

Dave, the fuzzy raptor, is just so damn cute!

[elgostine]

@pienipaha yeaaah, id pet him if i didnt think hed bite my hand off

[falcoperegrinus82]

@drummerjc1995 Not really, feathers are much different structurally from hair and develop in different ways.

[NomadSoul76]

Didn't contain what I was hoping to see. I was hoping to see the details on how feathers can be turned into scales in a bird with a small genetic change.

And a google search for that info brings up almost as much creationist propaganda as anything else.

I watched the rest of the show, though. I appreciated the commentary on alternative uses for wings, and how a ground dweller could gain advantage from "half a wing".

[pienipaha]

Scales didn't turn into feathers so of course there was nothing about it.

There is a sort of "sequel! to this that concentrates solely on genetics and how scientists are trying to meddle with bird genes to "remake" dinosaurs. (A funny way to put it since birds are dinosaurs.)

I have the film but haven't uploaded because it has all ready been put on youtube some time ago (though with a different name). I think it was "dinosaur to bird" by djarm67. If I remember correctly.

[DNAunion]

----------------------------

A dominant negative type I BMP receptor (dnBMPR-IB) was used here to block BMP signaling. Expression of dnBMPR in chicken embryonic hind limbs greatly reduced interdigital apoptosis and resulted in webbed feet. In addition, scales were transformed into feathers.

(Requirement for BMP Signaling in Interdigital Apoptosis and Scale Formation, Hongyan Zou & Lee Niswander, Science 3 May 1996: Vol. 272. no. 5262, pp. 738 - 741)

----------------------

[mak1759]

How do the likes of Cameron, VFX, and "MR" Hovind see this and not come away say "Wow ! you don't think we could have been....."

How do they walk away with fingers in their ears, yelling "CROCODUCK, CROCODUCK,CROCODUCK!!!!" and still have a clear conscious?

FEAR THE BUNNY ! 8)

[pienipaha]

Mysterious are the ways of the ignorants in denial.

[OldBobMcCoy]

Original genomes! DO NOT STEAL!

[Shalek]

chocobo!

[cerebulon]

sonic the hedgehog? C'mon people!

[pienipaha]

I think naming genes with such names proves that scientists too have a of humor :D

Also, it's easier to remember than a name consisting of numbers and letters solely.

(I want to name a gene too!)

[Crit0]

I haven't had a facepalm moment like this since I found out that the the tenth planet was originally named "Xena."

[thegodlessatheist]

well it's blue and spikey, just like sonic's hair

[DNAunion]

There were already genes named for various real hedgehogs, and when this new hedgehog gene was discovered there were no more real hedgehogs to name it after, and they had to come up with some name ... so, sonic hedgehog (shh).

[Athrond]

amazing video :)

[Vercingetorix422]

hope to see part 5 soon!

[AronRa]

What's up with the 5th and final video?

[pienipaha]

Sorry 'bout that...there's been some confusion in the making but I'll do everything I can to finish today. I had to compromise a little, as you've propably noticed.