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August 22, 2006
"Wormholes?" "Giant worms. Huge."
6 million years ago, most American horses and all camels and rhinos were killed off by grasses that used C4 photosynthesis.
Contrary to the popular belief that horses were foreign to the New World until they were brought here by the Spaniards, the animals actually evolved in North America, spreading to Europe by crossing the Bering land bridge that once connected Alaska and Siberia. But they later died out in North America near the end of the Ice Age.
Well before their disappearance, however, their life history took an abrupt turn that killed off all but those horses with the longest teeth. In fact, numerous other mammals, including camels and rhinos, suffered the same fate in North America.
Scientists have known that the extinctions were somehow related to expanding grasslands and shrinking forests. Grasses possess a gritty compound called silica, which is contained in sand and is used to make glass. As animals chew grass, the silica wears down their teeth. Therefore, animals with longer teeth live longer because their teeth don't wear down as fast, and they can continue to feed.
Stargate's been cancelled, and Cheyenne Mountain closed down, within a matter of weeks. Coincidence?
Apple's quietly developed multithreaded OpenGL support in OS X for games.
Uh-oh, Sony hasn't started manufacturing of the PS3 yet.
Posted by Jon Rubin at August 22, 2006 11:22 PM
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