I’m surprised these emails (known as 419 scam or 419 Nigerian scam) are still going out. Are people actually still responding to these?

For me, I think they’re funny just because of the poor English grammar, and the “reasons” for contacting you. I’ve received emails from Bon Ki-Moon, a soldier in Irag, and even Hilary Clinton! But, none of them were as funny as Mr. Dudu Ben (yes, his name is Dudu! Dudu! I’m still laughing at the name).

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My Name Is Dudu (lol – editor) Ben (MR), I have A Good Business Proposition for you which I know by the special Grace of God will be beneficial to you (how do you know? is God talking to you?). Firstly before I proceed, I have to assure you that this letter is neither Illusion nor Mere Imagination (whew! I thought I was imagining emails in my inbox), But practically achievable if given your maximum support and Co-operation (that’s all you need? My “maximum support”?). its all bout you assisting me for a transaction and after that we could use this money by expanding better things in future or business. ia m waiting for your positive response if you are capable of handling things like this..you can reach me with this number{ (phone number redacted)
$15.5 Millions U.S.
Dudu (roflmao! I’m still laughing at the name) Ben

(Phone number was delete just in case someone is an actual believer).
Editor’s comments in italics. I spelling and grammar mistakes were not edited.

In a fascinating example of vocal mimicry, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and UFAM (Federal University of Amazonas) have documented a wild cat species imitating the call of its intended victim: a small, squirrel-sized monkey known as a pied tamarin. This is the first recorded instance of a wild cat species in the Americas mimicking the calls of its prey.

The extraordinary behavior was recorded by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and UFAM in the Amazonian forests of the Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke in Brazil. The observations confirmed what until now had been only anecdotal reports from Amazonian inhabitants of wild cat species — including jaguars and pumas — actually mimicking primates, agoutis, and other species in order to draw them within striking range.

The observations appear in the June issue of Neotropical Primates. The authors of the paper include: Fabiano de Oliveira Calleia of Projeto Sauim-de-Coleira/UFAM; Fabio Rohe of the Wildlife Conservation Society; and Marcelo Gordo of Projeto Sauim-de-Coleira/UFAM.

“Cats are known for their physical agility, but this vocal manipulation of prey species indicates a psychological cunning which merits further study,” said WCS researcher Fabio Rohe.

[Science Daily]

Tibetans live at altitudes of 13,000 feet, breathing air that has 40 percent less oxygen than is available at sea level, yet suffer very little mountain sickness.

The reason, according to a team of biologists in China, is human evolution, in what may be the most recent and fastest instance detected so far. Comparing the genomes of Tibetans and Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, the biologists found that at least 30 genes had undergone evolutionary change in the Tibetans as they adapted to life on the high plateau. Tibetans and Han Chinese split apart as recently as 3,000 years ago, say the biologists, a group at the Beijing Genomics Institute led by Xin Yi and Jian Wang. The report appears in Friday’s issue of Science.

If confirmed, this would be the most recent known example of human evolutionary change. Until now, the most recent such change was the spread of lactose tolerance — the ability to digest milk in adulthood — among northern Europeans about 7,500 years ago. But archaeologists say that the Tibetan plateau was inhabited much earlier than 3,000 years ago and that the geneticists’ date is incorrect.

When lowlanders try to live at high altitudes, their blood thickens as the body tries to counteract the low oxygen levels by churning out more red blood cells. This overproduction of red blood cells leads to chronic mountain sickness and to lesser fertility — Han Chinese living in Tibet have three times the infant mortality of Tibetans.

The Beijing team analyzed the 3 percent of the human genome in which known genes lie in 50 Tibetans from two villages at an altitude of 14,000 feet and in 40 Han Chinese from Beijing, which is 160 feet above sea level. Many genes exist in a population in alternative versions. The biologists found about 30 genes in which a version rare among the Han had become common among the Tibetans. The most striking instance was a version of a gene possessed by 9 percent of Han but 87 percent of Tibetans.

[NYTimes]