Word: chimp
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...part of an international team led by U.S. and Ethiopian scientists, a graduate student named Yohannes Haile-Selassie (no relation to the Emperor), enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, has found the remains of what appears to be the most ancient human ancestor ever discovered. It's a chimp-size creature that lived in the Ethiopian forests between 5.8 million and 5.2 million years ago--nearly a million and a half years earlier than the previous record holder and very close to the time when humans and chimps first went their separate evolutionary ways...
...fossil and modern apes. Even the way in which the teeth had been worn down was telling. Explains Haile-Selassie's thesis adviser, Berkeley paleontologist Tim White: "Apes all sharpen their upper canines as they chew. Hominids don't." The new creature's back teeth are larger than a chimp's too, while the front teeth are narrower, suggesting that its diet included a variety of fibrous foods, rather than the fruits and soft leaves that chimps prefer...
...unlike a chimp or any of the other modern apes that amble along on four limbs, kadabba almost certainly walked upright much of the time. The inch-long toe bone makes that clear. Two-legged primates (modern humans included) propel themselves forward by leaving the front part of their foot on the ground and lifting the heel. This movement, referred to as toeing off, causes the bones in the middle of the foot to take on a distinctive shape--a shape that is readily apparent in the ancient toe bone. "If you compare a chimp's foot bones with...
...pelvis is longer in humans than in apes, allowing the lower spine to curve, which locates the upper body over the pelvis for balance. The pelvis grew broader, meanwhile, and humans developed a hip joint and associated muscles that stabilize the pelvis. Explains Lovejoy: "That's why a chimp sways from side to side as it walks upright and humans...
...There were a few quality commercials, but my favorite was the E-Trade one with the chimp crying over the death of the dot-coms. The other E-Trade commercial with the dreaming security guard was also excellent. The Budweiser take-off of its own 'wassup' commercials ('what are you doing?') was cute, as was the Bud Light commercial of the guy who spills the beer on his girlfriend after dancing in the kitchen. The running of the squirrels and the Levi's donor jeans get unusually low marks, as do (as usual) all of Pepsi's attempts at humor...