Discovery sheds light on the origins of matter in the early universe PhysOrg - July 29, 2024
The early universe was 250,000 times hotter than the core of our sun. That's far too hot to form the protons and neutrons that make up everyday matter. Scientists recreate the conditions of the early universe in particle accelerators by smashing atoms together at nearly the speed of light.
God did not create the Universe BBC - September 2, 2010
There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, Professor Stephen Hawking has said. He had previously argued belief in a creator was not incompatible with science but in a new book, he concludes the Big Bang was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics. The Grand Design, part serialized in the Times, says there is no need to invoke God to set the Universe going. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something," he concluded.
The term "sexual selection" refers to the evolutionary pressures that relate to a species' ability to repel rivals, meet mates and pass on genes. We can observe these processes happening in living animals but how do paleontologists know that sexual selection operated in fossil ones? Historically, paleontologists have thought it challenging, even impossible, to recognize sexual selection in extinct animals. Many fossil animals have elaborate crests, horns, frills and other structures that look like they were used in sexual display but it can be difficult to distinguish these structures from those that might play a role in feeding behavior, escaping predators, controlling body temperature and so on. However in their review, the scientists argue that clues in the fossil record can indeed be used to infer sexual selection.
