Researchers from the Universite de la Mediterranee-CNRS-EFS in France analyzed the DNA of Neanderthal fossils and found that the species might actually be composed of several "races":

We tend to think of Neanderthals as one species of cavemen-like creatures, but now scientists say there were actually at least three different subgroups of Neanderthals.

Using computer simulations to analyze DNA sequence fragments from 12 Neanderthal fossils, researchers found that the species can be separated into three, or maybe four, distinct genetic groups.

The evidence points to a subgroup of Neanderthals in Western Europe, another in Southern Europe near the Mediterranean, a third in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and possibly a fourth in Western Asia. These groups have been postulated before, but this is the first study analyzing DNA data to look for genetic variations differentiating the subgroups.

Link

(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Swiss twins Harold and Michael Lengen have found the perfect loophole to get out of paying parking tickets:

Police say that in the last year alone the twins have collected 29 parking tickets on a car which they both share. But every time they refuse to pay them and tell courts that the other was driving.

And police say that as they are identical twins it is impossible to rely on visual evidence to prove who was driving the car when they got the ticket.

A police spokesman said: "It is immensely frustrating for our officers. Every time we hand one of them out a ticket we know what is going to happen next and that they will never pay it.

Link

If Twitter were human, what kind of a person would it be? And, more importantly, would you befriend such a person? Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum has an opinion about what she dubbed the "Age of Oversharing":

... at the risk of unilaterally offending 14 million people, I need to say this: If Twitter were a person, it would be an emotionally unstable person. It would be that person we avoid at parties and whose calls we don't pick up. It would be the person whose willingness to confide in us at first seems intriguing and flattering but eventually makes us feel kind of gross because the friendship is unearned and the confidence is unjustified. The human incarnation of Twitter, in other words, is the person we all feel sorry for, the person we suspect might be a bit mentally ill, the tragic oversharer.

... as Twitter's popularity wobbles at the tipping point between faddish distraction and worldwide obsession, it's worth wondering how much of this "connecting" is simply hastening the erosion of our already compromised interpersonal skills. Are we tweeting because we truly want to communicate with a select group of true friends, or because typing has replaced talking and indiscretion has been stripped of all negative connotations? Are most Twitter posts merely inane, or do they carry the faint whiff of the insane?

Link

Those wily Tasmanians have hit upon a gem of an idea that lets them:

a) get rid of stuff no one wanted (i.e. wombat poo)
b) make lots of money doing it (make it into paper)
c) from people they don't like (tourists)

Creative Paper manager Darren Simpson says the manufacturing process can be rather unpleasant.

"When we are boiling it, it does smell horrific as you can imagine, but once it has been sterilised and rinsed properly there's no scent left to it. If anything it just gives you a nice organic smell," he said.

He added that it was the tourists themselves who came up with the wombat idea.

"As people were coming through and we were showing them the samples of our paper, they would throw questions at you like 'can you make it from sheep poo or can you make it from koalas?'. And the one that kept popping up more than any other was the wombat."

Link

Previously on Neatorama: Tiny Flower Turns Pig Poop into Fuel, Elephant Dung Paper

Madrid-based Industrial designer Javier Alejandre created a mix-and-match lamp unlike anything we've seen before. His lamp ChromoSoma takes inspiration from the genealogical tree, which lets the owner choose his or her own unique configuration. It's easier just to watch the clip to see what it's all about: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - Thanks Javier!

If this isn't history's most awesome video clip of an elephant in action, then I don't know what is ... Behold the water skiing elephant which performed for the 1959 Pittsburgh Bicentennial regatta.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Canucklehead

Photo: Lance Wilson via Love Made Visible

Love beer? Here's something for you: a neat collection of vintage beer cans by Lance Wilson and Dan Becker. According to TheDieline blog, the duo have over 2000 beer cans from the past 70 years or so, and have uploaded photos of a small fraction of them onto Flickr.

Link [Flickr Photoset]

What to get your barbecue-lovin' number cruncher? How about this spreadsheet barbecue grid, designed by Roma Voroneshski of Art. Lebedev Studio? Link

This reminds me that I should update one of our favorite Neatorama posts: Top 10 Coolest BBQ Grills (And Then Some!)

Who says being a geek isn't sexy? Flickr user SA Steve has a large collection
of neat vintage computing ads from old magazines and other photos. Check it out: Link [Flickr Photoset]

Tunas at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Photo: Fisherman (Wikipedia)

Psst! Love your tuna sashimi? Well, eat up because they may not be around much longer. The World Wildlife Fund has a dire report saying that unless current fishing practices are changed, tunas will be wiped out by 2012:

The population can only be saved by a complete halt to fishing in May and June, when the fish swim to the Mediterranean to spawn, the WWF says. The call comes as the two month tuna fishing season begins.

'Bluefin tuna is collapsing as we speak and yet the fishery will kick off for business as usual,' said Sergi Tudela, of WWF. 'It is absurd and inexcusable to open a fishing season when stocks of the target species are collapsing.'

Link

One of the way scientists try to combat cancer is to selectively disrupt angiogenesis, the process by which blood vessels form to support the growth of the tumor cells.

Biotech company Amgen launched a spiffy new website with 15 gorgeously rendered animations explaining the process of angiogenesis as it relates to vascularized tumor in plain English.

You don't have to be a molecular biologist to appreciate the "Fantastic Voyage"-like animations - and you may learn something cool about cancer biology!

Not to be missed: Link - via Wired Science

Aw! Being the Internet slowpoke, I've just learned that NASA has bucked the will of the people and named the International Space Station's next module "Tranquility" instead of the rightful winner of the online voting contest, "Colbert" (after the comedian Stephen Colbert).

But Colbert didn't go away empty handed: he's got a treadmill named after him and millions of adoring fans (and lots of money) to console him during these difficult times:

The space agency had asked people for help naming the node by voting on NASA-suggested names and writing in their own suggestions. After the poll ended on 20 March, "Colbert" came out the clear winner with more than 230,000 votes, while "Tranquility" garnered a mere 4493 votes. [...]

But Colbert didn't walk away empty handed.

Astronaut Sunita Williams, who ran the first marathon in space two years ago, announced on his show on Tuesday that Colbert would get something in the new node named for him – and it's not the toilet, as had been rumoured. Williams said his name would grace the node's treadmill, due to launch in August. The exercise equipment will be called the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill.

Link

After putting long hours at work and navigating the treacherous waters of office politics, you've finally landed that promotion you've been after - but is it good for you?

Not according to this study by economic and psychology researchers at the University of Warwick in England. They found that job promotions can be downright dangerous to your health:

Economics and psychology researchers at the University of Warwick in England found that promotion produces 10% more mental strain and leaves up to 20% less time to visit the doctor in the event of illness.

The team tested the widely held assumption that an improvement in job status leads to better health due to an increased sense of self-worth.

Using data collected in Britain on about 1,000 individual promotions from 1991 to 2005, they found no evidence of improved physical health after promotion. But they did find that people thrust into more senior jobs suffered significantly greater mental strain.

Link

So, would it be an act of compassion for your boss to deny you that promotion? ;)

Rochester, New York-based artist Andy Gilmore's artwork shows us that simple form and colors can create mesmerizing geometric art. This one above, titled mmmmmmm (available for sale at his Etsy's shop), is unlike anything my spirograph toy ever produced!

thecoolhunter has a feature on Andy's art: Link | More at Andy's Flickr page

Whatever you do, don't get into a fight with Japanese samurai Isao Machii! If he can cut a rubber bullet fired straight at him in two, then chopping off your noggin is trivial. Yup, you read that right: he can cut a bullet in two.

Link [embedded YouTube clip]