Marky Turns 40: Happy Birthday, Mark Wahlberg
!
It’s the highest compliment we can give Mark Wahlberg that we regularly forget he was once the shirtless dynamo Marky Mark
. After two decades of quality film work in movies ranging from The Other Guys
to Three Kings
to Boogie Nights
to The Departed
—the last of which earning him an Oscar nomination—”Good Vibrations” is nowhere near the first thing that comes to mind when we think of him today.
that we regularly forget he was once the shirtless dynamo Marky Mark. After two decades of quality film work in movies ranging from The Other Guys to Three Kings to Boogie Nights to The Departed—the last of which earning him an Oscar nomination—”Good Vibrations” is nowhere near the first thing that comes to mind when we think of him today. However, when we do think of “Good Vibrations,” we do remember that the successful actor was once the doofus brother of a New Kid On The Block, rapping about how vibrations are good like Sunkist with his pants around his ankles. And boy, do we laugh.
The Departed wasn’t the first time he worked with Leonardo DiCaprio
!
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Molly Sims
The "Las Vegas" star is engaged. The rep for the actress confirmed to Us Weekly that the star's boyfriend Scott Stuber
popped the question on May 20. The two had been dating for a year before the "Love and Other Drugs
" producer proposed.
popped the question on May 20. The two had been dating for a year before the "Love and Other Drugs" producer proposed.***
Reese Witherspoon
to receive MTV Generation Award
Reese Witherspoon better make some room on her trophy shelf.
MTV
says Witherspoon will receive its Generation Award at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards.
says Witherspoon will receive its Generation Award at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards.The 35-year-old Oscar winner is being recognized for her range as an actress and for delighting the MTV audience throughout her career. MTV President Stephen Friedman called Witherspoon "one of the most versatile and accomplished performers of her time."
Saturday Night Live
" star Jason Sudeikis will host Sunday's ceremony at the Gibson Amphitheater, where Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Shia LaBeouf, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Selena Gomez and Nicki Minaj are among those set to present the prizes.
" star Jason Sudeikis will host Sunday's ceremony at the Gibson Amphitheater, where Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Shia LaBeouf, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Selena Gomez and Nicki Minaj are among those set to present the prizes.Fans voted online for the winners in categories such as best kiss, best villain and best line from a movie. MTV chose Witherspoon, who joins previous Generation Award winners Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey.
Sunday's show will also feature a first-look at footage from the latest "Twilight
" installment, "Breaking Dawn
, Part 1."
" installment, "Breaking Dawn, Part 1."
It doesn’t take much for anyone to get excited about The Hunger Games
— books and movie. Star Jennifer Lawrence
can tell you that.The 20-year-old actress shares of the excitement with The Hunger Games
with PopWrap, “I love that it’s kind of this sick look at our world that’s obsessed with reality TV and obsessed with brutality. We’ve become so numb to the shock factor. We see people die on TV now, we see dead bodies and blood on the nightly news. I mean, the things people can find on YouTube are crazy! We’re so desensitized to it all now.”Jennifer
continued, “Also the message of history repeating itself.Then there are these scenes where it honestly looks like gladiators. Roman History – people murdering other people for nothing more than entertainment. I just think all of that is genius and hard hitting and fascinating.”
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Woolly Mammoth
May Have Interbred With Elephants
Woolly mammoth roamed the planet for more than a million years, ranging from Europe to Asia to North America. Nearly all of these giants vanished from Siberia by about 10,000 years ago.
Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) roamed the planet for more than a million years, ranging from Europe to Asia to North America. Nearly all of these giants vanished from Siberia by about 10,000 years ago, although dwarf mammoths survived on Wrangel Island
in the Arctic Ocean until 3,700 years ago.
in the Arctic Ocean until 3,700 years ago.Although woolly mammoths lived in the cold of the tundra, the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) preferred the more temperate regions of southern and central North America. The Columbians were much larger than woollies, with Columbian males reaching one-and-a-half to two times that of woolly males.
lived in the cold of the tundra, the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) preferred the more temperate regions of southern and central North America. The Columbians were much larger than woollies, with Columbian males reaching one-and-a-half to two times that of woolly males."We are talking about two very physically different species here," said researcher Hendrik Poinar
, an evolutionary geneticist at McMaster University
in Hamilton, Canada. "You have roughly 1 million years of separation between the two, with the Columbian mammoth likely derived from an early migration into North America approximately 1.5 million years ago, and their woolly counterparts emigrating to North America some 400,000 years ago."
, an evolutionary geneticist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. "You have roughly 1 million years of separation between the two, with the Columbian mammoth likely derived from an early migration into North America approximately 1.5 million years ago, and their woolly counterparts emigrating to North America some 400,000 years ago."Poinar and his colleagues investigated the evolution of Columbian mammoths by analyzing DNA retrieved from the tusks, bone and teeth of two approximately 11,000-year-old fossil specimens, one found in the Huntington Reservoir in Utah and the other found near Rawlins, Wyo. The researchers concentrated on the genomes of the mitochondria, the "powerhouses" of the cells, which have their own unique DNA and are inherited from the mother.
Surprisingly, they discovered the mitochondrial genome of the Columbian mammoth was nearly indiscernible from that of its northern woolly counterparts.
"At first I thought, 'Oh crap, there's contamination of some sort,'" Poinar said.
However, any minor contamination they found could not explain the extensive genetic evidence they uncovered, and they replicated their results in an independent lab. "I think we were very lucky," Poinar told LiveScience.
"We think we may be looking at a genetic hybrid," said researcher Jacob Enk, a graduate student in the McMaster Ancient DNA Center.
When glacial times got nasty, woollies likely moved to more pleasant conditions southward, where they came into contact with the Columbian mammoths.
"Living African elephant species hybridize where their ranges overlap, with the bigger species out-competing the smaller for mates," Enk added. The offspring are perfectly fertile, Poinar added.
Since woollies and Columbians overlapped in time and space, it is not unlikely that they interbred in much the same manner.
"It reminds me a bit of high-school days — the larger males are more successful at meeting women across the dance floor than the rest of us," Poinar said.
These findings could explain why some mammoth fossils
had features intermediate between woollies and Columbians, although the genomes of both species should be sequenced to tell for sure. The researchers also want to look at Columbian mammoth specimens from farther south where no woollies ever ventured, to get an idea of what nonhybrid samples might look like.
had features intermediate between woollies and Columbians, although the genomes of both species should be sequenced to tell for sure. The researchers also want to look at Columbian mammoth specimens from farther south where no woollies ever ventured, to get an idea of what nonhybrid samples might look like.The scientists detailed their findings online May 31 in the journal Genome Biology.
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Feel the 40 Vibrations! LoL!
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