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The Future of Human Evolution

Posted by Alexis Montgomery in Science and Society - Best on

It is no easy task to predict what the future of the human race will be. According to US News, “Humans are evolving faster than ever before, picking up new genetic traits and talents that may help us survive a turbulent future.” The human race, which is a quite intelligent, evolves everyday. Until recently scientists believed that the human evolution had slowed down, due to the lack of visual changes, failing to look deeper into the issue. Human are now evolving within their genomes and DNA, it has been scientifically inferred that with so many changes within the human body as opposed to the physical features, will one day start to change humans outer body.

A recent study in the news, (available on livescience.com) shows that speculation that changes in human mating patterns may be contributing to the increase in autism. Others track how humans have morphed in response to changing circumstances, including enhanced abilities to metabolize sugar and fight disease. One of the biggest changes within human DNA is that some humans are becoming more resistant to the HIV virus and it will become more common in the future, as well as changes in human body makeup. One of the factors of that is that it a new form of DNA testing helps parents choose the genetic makeup of their children, rejecting embryos with inherited flaws or embracing those with desired traits—such as being the right sex. The future of human evolution is based on the future of new testing techniques.

Sorry this is late, I thought I uploaded, but didn't...

Mental Disorders.

Posted by Mary Altamuro in Science and Society - Best on

Mary Altamuro

 

When we think of the mentally handicapped or those with mental disorders, we instantly feel pity.  We usually do not stop to wonder why or how a person came to be stricken with the disability or disorder that afflicts them.   I find myself curious about why these disorders still exist generation after generation even after all the scientific effort at uncovering the causes and possible cures.  A great deal of time and attention has been spent on how these disorders came to exist and what might make them worse and how to make them better, but there is still so much we still need to learn.  Thankfully, scientists have given us a great deal of information that can be very beneficial in understanding, treating and hopefully someday curing or preventing mental and emotional issues. 

Recently, studies have shown that a genetic predisposition may be hidden in people that makes them prone to certain characteristics that when provoked, can create emotional or mental conditions.  This predisposition, in conjunction with a triggering event or simply by the quality in that person’s environment and upbringing can cause these characteristics to become problematic and spark a mental or emotional abnormality. This peculiar phenomenon is called the diathesis-stress model.

According to this theory, when provoked, a characteristic may go into overdrive, causing a person to have a legitimately diagnosable illness. Environmental stimuli that may cause such a thing to happen are social issues or trauma that may have occurred at a young age.

 One of the most common problems that can cause such a change in people would have to do with their parents. If a young person does not receive the right kind of attention as they are maturing, it can cause emotional and social problems for them later in life.  An overbearing or judgmental parental figure can cause a person to have low self-esteem, which could then inflict disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, social anxiety disorder or even depression.   Parents who get divorced have also been shown to cause obsessive-compulsive disorder in as children of divorced parents tend to feel they have a loss of control in their lives and obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disorder driven by a person’s overwhelming need and drive for control. 

These disorders reveal themselves when people who are predisposed for the characteristics are triggered by an emotional or social stress. This ignites an inner need to balance themselves out, mentally. Sadly, they often emotionally overcompensate; leaving them worse off then they were in the beginning.





Sources:

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Initials. (2005, May 20). Narcissistic personality disorder. Retrieved from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/personality_disorders/hic_narcissistic_personality_disorder.aspx


Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD, Initials. (2008, November). What causes ocd?. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/ocd.html#


Amal Chakraburtty, MD, Initials. (2010, March 01). Causes of depression. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/causes-depression


Rashmi Nemade, Ph.D., Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D., and Mark Dombeck, Ph.D., Initials. (2007, September 19). Current understandings of major depression - diathesis-stress model. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=12998&cn=5


Cadena, Christine. (2007, November 16). How anxiety develops in children: the "diathesis-stress" model. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/446920/how_anxiety_develops_in_children_the.html

Research Question: Like other initially controversial scientific theories, will evolution one day be universally accepted by society?

Posted by Yousef Ahmed-Serir in Science and Society - Best on

Research Question: Like other initially controversial scientific theories, will evolution one day be universally accepted by society?

Evolution has been a controversial theory since the first day word reached out about it. But, this is not unlike many other theories which we consider true and indisputable today. For example, Copernicus' Heliocentric theory and Newton's gravitational theory. Copernicus' Heliocentric theory basically asserted that the earth was not the center of the solar system, but the sun. At the time, everyone believed in geocentric theory which said that the earth was the center of the universe. This theory was so novel and unprecedented, people were quick to scorn Copernicus and dismiss the theory as nonsense. The dissension around it did not end for later Galileo defended it. He was a supporter of Copernicus and was put on trial by the Catholic Church for defending something that they felt contradicted religion.They wanted the theory banned. This is almost the exact same scenario with evolution today. The Copernican theory gained legitimacy over time and became universally accepted. Newton's theory of gravity had similarly controversial beginnings yet no one contests it's admissibility today.


 If history has taught us anything, it's although initially controversial, theories with strong foundations such as Evolution do become universally accepted over time. There is evidence of evolution gaining more support today. Although just 39% of Americans believe in evolution, as indicated by a Gallup poll in 2009, that number has been on the rise, especially with the newer generations. 74% of people with a post graduate degree believe in evolution. There are some creationist museums today that include evolution in their displays. Perhaps one day even religious people can believe in the basic concepts of evolution while still holding faith in their religion at the same time. With the number of people who believe in evolution on the rise with newer generations, it is safe to assume that we will one day live in a society which almost unanimously accepts evolution as true. 

Sources: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2009/02/12/4427408-poll-just-39-believe-in-evolution
http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/creationism-evolution/

Evolution; Endangered Species

Posted by Ashley Melendez in Science and Society - Best on

Evolution, evolution is a very touchy subject. It is also a very debatable subject in regards to many different things and the way that they’re taken. But it is something that I personally find very interesting. There’s something that I question actually and it’s not exactly on topic of evolution but instead of an occurrence, extinction. We all know that extinction is the dying off of something, but specifically in this case species. So my question is, if extinction is so posed to be a natural part of life on Earth, why should we care about protecting endangered species?


extinction-risk

This pie chart here is a proportion of all assessed species in different threat categories of extinction risk on the IUCN Red List, based on data from 47,677 species. Source: IUCN, pie chart compiled by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2010) Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, May 2010.




extinction-risk-by-species




This visualization here are the threat statuses of comprehensively assessed species by IUCN. Source: IUCN, compiled by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2010) Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, May 2010.


Endangered species are species in which are dying off due to natural or some other source of endangerment to their habitat. A very good point is that trying to save each and every endangered species is something that is practically impossible. Things we do everyday kill our world and animals habitats in a way and these aren’t things that can just change, their things that take time. But against that you can say that we are doing things to try and help like helping clean, recycling, coming up with different gases, and solar energy. A question for your thought on this though is, is it all worth it?

Personally i am a big believer that it is worth saving endangered species but not all them individually. I feel that an ideal strategy would be to focus on putting limits for human impact to entire ecosystems instead of protecting individual species based on some chances that they have of recovery over others. Chris Packman a TV naturalist did hit a good point in an article i read on extinction. He say's, "Extinction is very much a part of life on earth. And we are going to have to get used to it in the next few years because climate change is going to result in all sorts of disappearances." This was said in an article about saving Pandas (pandas in which are part of an endangered species) to where he is on the side of yes and is for saving them. But in that same article chief scientist at World Wide Fund for Nature says no, and because he feels that to much has already gone to them and not the purpose of habitat.  

I guess the answer to my question ultimately comes down to personal belief and opinion towards the subject. Although something that can be taken from this is that human-induced warming is already rapid and is expected to further accelerate. We as humans are not only harming habitats by doing stuff we have become accustomed to but also hurting ourselves with endangering our environment. 

A great video on this is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS0gpU6P-6M

Sources:
1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/23/panda-extinction-chris-packham
2) http://www.createdebate.com/user/viewprofile/PungSviti
3) http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions
4) http://www.skepticalscience.com/Can-animals-and-plants-adapt-to-global-warming.html

Does evolution stop once a species has become a "species?"

Posted by Shanice Braxton in Science and Society - Best on

Does evolution stop once a species has become a species?
             Well my question was, does evolution stop once a species has become a “species?” And from what I have researched, evolution does not stop once a species becomes a species. Every population of living organisms is enduring some sort of evolution. Even though they’re undergoing a some sort of change, though the extent speed of the process varies significantly from one group to another. Populations that experience a great change in environmental conditions, whether that change comes in the form of a new predator or a new island to disperse to, evolve much more quickly than do populations in a more stable set of conditions. This is because evolution is driven by natural selection, and because when the environment changes, selective pressures change, favoring one portion of the population more heavily than it was favored before the change.

"Evolution: Frequently Asked Questions." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/cat05.html#Q03>
Screen shot 2010-11-12 at 11.26.17 AM
Screen shot 2010-11-12 at 11.26.17 AM

Curiosity And Humans

Posted by Onjelique Jackson in Science and Society - Best on


Topic: Why, as humans, must know the answers to questions such as evolution and other scientific theories?

David Quammen's "Was Darwin Wrong?" immediately allowed me to raise the question, why can't we just agree to disagree? Well, Quammen mentions that if you are skeptical by nature and are unfamiliar with science then those are the people who are unaware of the overwhelming evidence and confess that evolution is "'just' a theory." This statement allows me to believe that every human being has evolved to be curious, but to different degrees. Without our curiosity we would have built the civilization way have today. It probably all began in the following mind processing:
  • Cavemen accidentally discover fire
  • Is intrigued by the discovery
  • Leads to creation and discovery
  • Because of the new found way of life, there needs to be a new form of communication
  • Experiments with manual communication
  • Then to verbal communication
  • New form of communication spread and changed with different communities
  • After learning a more efficient way to communicate, a "civilized" way of living begins
This is my theory of how curiosity has evolved humans to be the way that they are. However we are still evolving with curiosity each day. From children and imagination, to doctors and scientist forming new cures for diseases. And soon, in 2050 we just may have an entirely new way of living, due to curiosity.


Citations:
http://www.personal-development.com/chuck/curiosity.htm
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0411/feature1/fulltext.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/evolution/curiosity1.htm
http://www.lorencoleman.com/cabinet_of_curiosities/curiosity2.jpg
curiosity2
curiosity2

Are Humans Still Evolving?

Posted by Devon Thomas in Science and Society - Best on

300_179975
300_179975
​ Studies show that the human race is still evolving. Children are becoming shorter and heavier with lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Women generally have their first child at a younger age. According to TIMES magazine women who are stout and heavier have more children because they ovulate more regularly. This agrees with why children are shorter and heavier.

ScienceDaily completed a long-term experiment that explains all of these traits. They did a study of the same people and their children over the course of 60 years.  Their conclusions showed that humans are still evolving, and children are becoming shorter and heavier.


Humans are still evolving, but how fast are things changing? “The changes may be slow and gradual, but the predicted rates of change are no different from those observed elsewhere in nature, the researchers say.”  Humans aren’t going to be extinct anytime soon, but we will be eventually. The more technology we have, the less we rely on natural selection.


Evolution of Intelligence

Posted by Zachary Walls in Science and Society - Best on

​Why does a species evolve to speak? What causes something evolves to the point where it can think, “hey this fruit is too high maybe I can use these rocks to get it down”.  Like with many things a credible theory for why would be evolution. If we look on our branch we will find Chimpanzees.  Chimpanzees evolved from a common ancestor and for all purposes are our sister species.  Like humans there is more to what they do then eating and mating. They have figured out how to communicate with each other, they work together to accomplish goals. They can stop and analyze a situation rather then just jumping in. they make use of tools in their surroundings to help them complete their goals. They care what other members of their species think about and fall into ranks under who has the most food or best ability to get food. And they are quite capable of using deception to gain the advantage over other members of their species. At the moment it is unknown exactly what caused us to develop the way we did and what caused our relatives to evolve the way we did. But what this does show is that intelligence is a evolutionary trait and not something we just have. It shows that something must have gone right in our branch’s past to allow us to be how we are today.

apes-and-humans-tree



http://www.indiana.edu/~origins/teach/A105/lectures/A105L12.html



picture provided from: Richard E. Leakey, The Making of Mankind, Michael Joseph Limited

found at http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/ee/origin-of-humans 

I Now Pronounce You Chimp & Larry

Posted by Davonte Martin in Science and Society - Best on

Screen shot 2010-11-12 at 2.14.47 AM
Screen shot 2010-11-12 at 2.14.47 AM
Image By:Da Vonte Martin

Scientific evidence has merely proven that humans share a common ancestor with Apes. Yes, that means we have some of the same DNA in fact DNA evidence proves that we share more than 98% of the same DNA.Though we share the same DNA there is an "unknown" ancestor whom takes the credit for connecting the human and ape species.With that being said most people would think that humans are able to mate with apes because the common DNA links them as the "same" species. Humans and apes share some of the same physical features like:

  • Walking up right

  • Thumbs

  • Ability to grasp with all five fingers

  • Similar skull structure

  • Round Ears

Sadly, humans can not reproduce with the monkey specie because that other 2% which makes the ape and human race are the chromosomes. Monkey's have 48 (24 pairs) chromosomes whereas the human body makes up of 46 (23 pairs). In order for any species to reproduce, both subjects need to have their 23 pairs of chromosomes because every chromosome carries DNA which corresponds to the opposite sex which enables them to have children.Though humans and monkeys cannot reproduce now , that doesn't mean that they have then. According to well-known Science Correspondent Richard Ingham, "The youngest chromosome in the human genome is the X, which helps determine gender. On average, X is around 1.2 million years more recent than the 22 non-sex chromosomes, the scientists found.". This means that the X-Chromosome in humans and apes are as recent as the first recorded humans only about seven-million years ago. So not only did humans and apes have sexual intercourse , but they were able to reproduce.Your maybe wondering "I thought humans and apes didn't have equal chromosomes to mate?". That's absolutely right , however more scientific evidence leads to the theory that during the interbreeding of the "unknown" ancestor and apes , two of the chromosomes look as if they had fused together.

Screen shot 2010-11-12 at 3.06.49 AM
Screen shot 2010-11-12 at 3.06.49 AM
​http://www.synapses.co.uk/genetics/chromos.html
"​Thus something unusual must have happened on the way to speciation: an initial split between human and chimp, followed by interbreeding..." says Richard Ingham.This means that mating between was at one point possible.At one point before the fusion of chromosomes, humans and apes were like opposite genders rather than opposite species. 

Citations:
  • Ingham, Richard. "Early humans had sex with chimps ." News in Science (2006): n. pag. Web. 12 Nov 2010. <http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1641443.htm>.
  • Ape, . "Apes." How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works, 16 May 2008. Web. 12 Nov 2010. <http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/ape-info.htm>.
  • Marks, Jonathan. "What It Really Means To Be 99% Chimpanzee ."Department of Anthropology (1999): n. pag. Web. 12 Nov 2010. <http://personal.uncc.edu/jmarks/interests/aaa/marksaaa99.htm>
  • MacAandrew, Alec. "Human Chromosome 2 is a fusion of two ancestral chromosomes ." Department of Anthropology n. pag. Web. 11 Nov 2010. <http://www.evolutionpages.com/chromosome_2.htm>.
  • Rodriguez, Monica. "Ask a Geneticist." Tech Museum:Stanford School of Medicine (2007): n. pag. Web. 12 Nov 2010. <http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=229>.
  • Pbs, Science. "Evolution Frequently Asked Questions." PBS Science (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Nov 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/cat03.html>.

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