Cognitive Labs

Genetics expert Dr. George Church, a prominent scientist, estimates that for a $30 million investment, a living Neanderthal could be brought to life in an updated version of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park.

Only this time, it's science - not science fiction.

Who will fund the project? Here are some ideas.

Studios: An investment of $30 million could easily be recouped by a domestic feature film, international distribution fees, DVDs, VOD, and of course, merchandising. Theme park attractions also pop into the imagination like sugar plums. Of course, "America's Favorite Neanderthal" a reality TV show, could follow,

Yahoo!: A weird way to breathe vibrancy into the brand while shattering the matrix. "Don't be a Caveman, Use the New and Improved Yahoo!" Of course, Yahoo could option the rights off to the studio and be sponsor/executive producer.

Microsoft: The Caveman could make an appearance in each new Microsoft store to attract the curious.

The Neanderthal X Project. Teams of smart, underfed doctoral students compete to flesh out the best plan to resuscitate said Caveman.

These are just a few ideas.

Labels: churh, neanderthal, xprize

Scientists in the SF Bay Area have succeeded in analyzing DNA of the homo Neandertalis (Neanderthal). The remains of bones from Europe were airlifted to a lab in Walnut Creek, run by the U.S. Dept of Energy. The scientists conducting the investigation suspect that the tiny differences between homo sapiens and neandertalis, which account for no more than 1/2 of 1% of the genome, was enough to provide the characteristic differentiation between the 2 species, such as the prominent brow ridge of the neandertal and the more slender sapiens. While there is no evidence that there was any intermingling of the species, both species co-habitated until approximately 30,000 years ago.

Background links: article in wikipedia
mitochondrial DNA of the sapiens and neandertalis

Another contribution of man's altered DNA was enhanced cognitive ability, which seems to appear suddenly in the archaeological record.

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Labels: brain, cognitive_labs, dna, lab, neanderthal, sapiens