Cloning Neanertals?

All:

Thanks to the John Hawks Weblog I cam across a post on one of the Discover Magazine blogs, that argues yes, we should clone Neandertals

Now I'm not going to argue with this person's reasoning, but I remain queasy about this idea, nevertheless. For one thing, I'm not sure that there is any body that is qualified to do ethical oversight on such a project. And while I share the blogger's enthusiasm for such a project, in that I would like to see how a real Neandertal might behave in the "modern" world. OTOH, this selfsame blogger seems to assume that Neandertals were vastly different from ourselves(not), would be easily recognized(maybe or maybe not), and being vastly different in some fundamental manner, basically inferior(not). The problem is, that there really isn't much evidence for such differences, beyond the "anatomical'. Would we really recognize a Neandertal "on sight"? Again, maybe, maybe not.

There is also the little question of the cloned Neadertal's human status? Would they be accorded "human" status? Judging by the latest discoveries, both prehistoric-archaelogical and various genetic and paleoanthropological studies, they shuuld be., But would they be? This is where some sort of ethical oversight would have to come in. Furthermore, since we primates are social animals, it would be imperative to clone a number of them, so that they wouldn't be alone in the world.

I think that sooner or later, somebody, somewhere, is gong to try to clone a Neandertal in the not too distant future. If that is the case, whether I, personally, am emotionally queasy about this or not, we should start the process of forming this ethical oversight panel. Now.
Anne G

Oops, again

Oops, I forgot again. It seems that the Lorsch Abbey, near Worms, is of an earlier date than the Anglo-Saxon leechdoms. This manuscript seems to come from the time of Charlemagne. And was probably influence by his drive to have a literate class of people with "knowledge" In any case, the Anglo Saxon leechdoms or leech books, may have been partially copied form that source, with other "stuff" inserted. But it was later

My bad,
Anne G

Maybe some medieval monks knew more about what works, fo treating certain ailments. . . . .

Gentle readers:

I haven't written much about medieval-themed stuff lately. There hasn't been much I wanted to write about, especially since much of it was about subjects that didn't directly involve anything in my Great Medieval Science Fiction Masterpiece With Neandertals. OTOH, today, I think I have. There is a site that claims medieval monks knew what they wee talking about, at least regarding remedies for some ailments or conditions. Maybe they were at least partially right. The site gives some fairly specific examples, and the authors claim they work. All I know, is this kind of knowledge was gathered at least as early as Anglo-Saxon leechdoms, writings of people who treated various ailments. Whether there leechdoms weree anything accurate, I can't say. But these medieval cures are later.

Make of this what you will,
Anne G

Another lupiine "goodie" but from yesterday

All:

Now that I'm in sort of wolfish mode for the moment(back to books, writing, Neandertals and medieval anon), I have to pass this on. It seems the late Brutus the Wolf left progeny, if this post from Wolves of the High Arctic is correct is accurate. Might solve the mystery of the "new female wolf" and her nursing, especially if Brutus bred with both wolves(sometimes this happens).I am awaiting further developments.
Anne G

A wolf pack with two mothers?

All:

Now that the team is back up there, studying Ellesmere Island's wolves, the pack they're studying seems to have two nursing females. Which is rare in wolf packs, but has been known to happen, especially if the pack is large(and maybe about to split), but not unheard of. There is a "new" female who nurses at least some of the pups(they diddn't say how many there were). Then there's a "resident" female who apparently is the "alpha". Did she have some pups too, so they always have a milk bar when Mrs. Alphawolf is away? The team didn't say anything more, so all is mysterious at the moment. I look forward to hearing more. You can find it at this site. It also has some pretty neat pictures, one of which is of a wolf followng an ATV or the like. The wolf seems to be checkiing them out.

Current read

Gentle readers:

Before I get back to my take on various kinds of thrillers(it will be titled "intelligent and Unintelligent Thrillers, Part II or something similar, I would like to say a few words about the book I'm currently reading. It's by Kamran Pasha, and it's called Shadow of the Sword

It's the story of the Third Crusqade, seen from various "religious" points of view. Kamran Pashi, the author, is a Muslim, which, at least in writing fiction about the Crusades, is, to me, almost unheard of.Since this book features Saladin -- a hero to many Muslims, and Richard I("Lionheart"), a hero to many in the West, it may feel controversial to some readers, at least as far as I can tell. Richard I doesn't seem to come off very well, and Saladin comes off a lot better. Whether or not Mt. Pasha has done his research, it's harder for me to tell. I know something about the Crusades ear, and the effect it has had on all of us through the ages. He even compares the actions of the Crusaders at various points, to 9/11 and the various al-Qaidas and Talibans floating around the Muslim world today, and the damage they have done. In short, he doesn't think these sorts of actions are very good Christianity or Islam, or much of anything else. He also thinks the thre "Abrahamic" religions(Judaism, Christiahity, and Islam), have more in common, re their basic values of making the world a better4, not a worse place, and those who use vioulence in the name of "religious" faith, are violating their own faith, whatever it may be.

I'd like to say more, and I will, eventually, when I finished the book. At the moment, I don't feel I can do that. But I can say this: to me, so far, it looks very promising.
Anne G