Science roundup: "Hobbit" evolution, African wave migration, origins of life, creationists

Carl Zimmer reports on discovery of 700,000-year-old teeth and an arm bone from Homo floresiensis, our "human hobbit" evolutionary kin. The biggest takeaway? They're even tinier than previously thought, as in 3 feet, 4 inches, or 1 meter or so. They would officially be "dwarves" in modern human height classification.

How they evolved? Under as much dispute as ever.

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Indirectly related? Humans of Homo sapiens left Africa in multiple waves, it appears, starting 250K years ago. This, in turn, will surely offer new insight on Neanderthals and Denisovans, their interactions with Homo sapiens and more. It may also offer more insight on climate and human migration and related issues.

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Zimmer also interviewed Sara Walker for her controversial "assembly theory" of the origins of life. And, yes, controversial. Rosemary Redfield, among people who blasted the "arsenicgate" claims about Mars, basically calls it dreck. (And, indeed, Zimmer, then at Slate, had one of the biggest callouts, citing Redfield extensively.)

Per friend Massimo Pigliucci, and per less harsh critics, the idea that you can number the complexity of molecules and use that number as part of a sharp cutoff between life and non-life? Sounds like another version of the demarcation problem, which itself is connected partially to the old sorites paradox. I also venture that it comes close to circular reasoning.

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And, controversial but honest while lying? That's my summation of friend Paul Braterman's review of an article by two young-earth creationists. Rather than attack evolution by natural selection directly, like most YACs, who use the word "Darwinianism," of course (has any fundagelical ever called general relativity "Einsteinianism"?) attack its methodological presuppositions.