Human Evolution by Brenda Walkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig Gina De Cesare, Christina Tempesta , Scott Vincent, Brenda Walkenhorst en-us 2017-11-14 15:42:27 UTC 2023-07-27 02:16:39 UTC hello@padlet.com The Human Skull bwalkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/206960458 2017-11-14 20:35:31 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/206960458 Human Evolution and the Sense of Smell bwalkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/206963449 2017-11-14 20:43:03 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/206963449 Gene editing challenges & complexity decesaga https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208422157 Katherine and Lisa discussed the complexity of the human genome and how editing a single gene may not be as easy as it sounds. Lisa gave the example of commercially grown tomatoes. Through years of genetic modification and selective breeding for larger and more disease-resistant plants, many of the genes for taste have been lost, leaving some tomatoes dry and flavorless. Similarly, editing our own genome could have unintended consequences.]]> 2017-11-19 01:01:25 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208422157 Genetic engineering decesaga https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208422177 CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows a specific gene to be cut out of a strand of DNA and replaced with a new sequence. This type of genetic engineering is likely to impact the future of human evolution, but it also raises ethical questions.]]> 2017-11-19 01:01:53 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208422177 To edit or not to edit? decesaga https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208423068 Susan, Angelina and Aniko talked about the potential of "designer babies" and the possibility that gene editing could be used for aesthetic reasons, like to make people taller and more attractive, or to improve on existing human abilities, like intelligence or athletics. This could change the course of our evolution, for better or for worse.]]> 2017-11-19 01:29:51 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208423068 Can we control it? decesaga https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208423146 Kevin and Katherine both pointed out that this technology is likely to spread rapidly, and that it may be difficult to control how it will be used. Kevin compared the situation to Pandora's box, citing an article about do-it-yourself (DIY) gene-editing and how these tools are already becoming available to many biologists. Katherine talked about some of the steps that have been taken by the international community to limit research into gene editing due to ethical concerns.]]> 2017-11-19 01:32:22 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208423146 Medical benefits decesaga https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208423245 The benefit that was most commonly cited throughout the discussion was the ability to cure or treat diseases such as Huntington's disease, cancer, and HIV. This could be accomplished through editing the genes of an embryo to replace a harmful allele, or by using gene therapy in patients to target and repair cells.]]> 2017-11-19 01:35:16 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208423245 Adaptive responses tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208486015 The provided example was how humans responded to the prevalence of lactose intolerance through mutations, development of low-lactose foods, and colon microbiome adaptations.
The video below describes how lactose intolerance and lactase persistence came to be.]]> 2017-11-19 16:10:43 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208486015 Gene-culture Coevolutionary Theory tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208487121 The group discussed many examples where the interaction between cultural preferences and inherited traits influenced human adaptive responses.]]> 2017-11-19 16:18:42 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208487121 Vegetarianism tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208488633 Kristen, Katherine, and Ashley exchanged thoughts on adaptive responses to maintaining our ancestral vegetarian diet.  Kristen speculates that this may result in a change in "jaw structure, teeth size, shape, and structure, gut bacteria, and genetic mutations which help absorb fatty acids or handle inflammation."
Katherine poses the question, “Do you think that a shift toward 
vegetarianism would result in a collective decrease in human's energetic output?"  Kristen speaks from personal experience that she does not believe so, but describes multiple benefits of vegetarian diet besides energy output.
Ashley wondered if over time there will be genetic variation differences between a "vegetarian family line vs. a non vegetarian family line." Citing the role memes play in our evolution.
]]> 2017-11-19 16:30:01 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208488633 Elevation and Location tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208488657 Taliah looked at skin tone as an adaptive response to the exposure to the sun. The dispersal of humans across the globe has lead to varying levels of melanin in human skin, mostly determined by the region in which one's ancestors settled. Angelina makes a similar comparison to the varying levels of pigment in the iris based on location. Christi, Taliah, and Angelina discuss not only genetic responses, but also plastic responses to changes in seasons and locations. ]]> 2017-11-19 16:30:15 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208488657 TEDed Video tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208489707 The video below explains how the varying levels of skin color has evolved.]]> 2017-11-19 16:37:17 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208489707 Reduction in Access to Nutritious Food tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208503775 Eliza looked at the adaptive response in Polynesian population's ancestors to long voyages with limited food availability. This was "positive selection pressures for thrifty metabolisms." This has lead to a prevalence of Type II Diabetes and obesity in current Polynesians because of the exposure to modern day western diets. She asks, "Do you think, if it were possible, a shift in diet would be the only change necessary to initiate the change in prevalence? What other social changes might have to take place to further the shift?"]]> 2017-11-19 18:11:25 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208503775 Agriculture tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208517782 Lisa, Taliah, and Belinda discussed the role agriculture has played in our evolution.  Lisa identified the development of salivary amylase from pancreatic amylase as an adaptive response to agriculture making starchy foods more prevalent.  Although she warns that "correlation does not mean causation."  
Taliah brought up the cultural influence of crop availability in different regions and the impact that has on disease susceptibility or prevention. Lisa and Belinda question the role this adaptive response has had on modern population's allergies and gut bacterial (colon microbiome adaptation) evolution and whether or not it is a question of keeping up with changes in our diet.]]> 2017-11-19 19:50:36 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208517782 Consequences of Adaptive Responses tempesc https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208521657 Many noted the negative consequences of gene-culture coevolutionary adaptive responses on modern populations, such as increased prevalence of diabetes, cancer, vitamin D deficiency, obesity, inflammation, lactose intolerance, and allergies.
At the same time many examples of technological advances (sunscreen, use of UV protecting sunglasses, vitamin supplements) have been utilized in response to these consequences.
Which brought some to question if   these advancements and adaptive responses have stopped our evolution?
Ashley states, "with the increased mobility of humans across the globe, advanced medicines, and many other external advantages modern humans have acquired, it seems so unlikely that humans could really evolve much more (Owen, 2009).”  In fact there has been evidence of indigenous populations changing as a result of not taking advantage of these modern advances.]]> 2017-11-19 20:16:33 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208521657 What is a Meme? vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208693020 "People would get rid of half of their problems if they could agree on the meaning of words."
-- Rene Descartes

There's a lot of misunderstanding as to what memes are. In the lexicon of the internet a meme refers to a picture with a funny caption however the word "meme" was coined \by biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976. The word is a play on the word gene but is meant to convey some sort of cultural information, which may or may not have survival value, through society.  In this sense almost anything can be a meme; a piece of art, a mathematical formula, your grandmothers secret recipe for chicken soup.]]> 2017-11-20 13:30:20 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208693020 Meta-Memes vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208704172 Large-scale concepts such as religion can be considered a meme which is comprised of memes itself. 

Margaurita expresseed that memes might be akin to DNA -- a kind of language or thought pattern by which larger structures are built. 

Katherine's post on religion extended this idea by seeing religion as a product of many memes -- moralizing supernatural agents, credible displays of faith, social solidarity, high fertility rates -- and that the current schism between religiosity and atheism is really a clash between memetic structures.]]> 2017-11-20 13:53:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208704172 Information is the 5th Dimension vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208707897 Philosophically, one has to ask do memes, as social constructs, have their own propagating intelligence (i.e. do they contain their own, inherent, survival impulse)? Susan's article by Sugorakova brings up an interesting point -- do memes live in a world their own? I equate this to my pet theory that information is  the 5th dimension -- that information transcend space & time. Susan contends that perhaps intelligence has an equal role to play. It seems that intelligence or Mind may be the 6th Dimension.]]> 2017-11-20 14:01:30 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208707897 The Usefulness of Memes vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208710871 Margurita is a bit skeptical as to the idea of internet memes, questioning their true value above and beyond telling a joke or expressing an idiom. While not being able to pass along deep knowledge an internet meme maybe be akin to a "premade stamp" -- a small image with some sort of abstract value. I tend to liken internet memes to what Walter Sobchak is saying -- image macros (well, you get the image part but a macro is a thing which depend on several other items to function / be understood). ]]> 2017-11-20 14:07:43 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208710871 Memes and Evolution vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208711367 We've spent a semester learning about the biological methods of natural selection but do memes themselves have some power over the human evolutionary process? The mechanisms at play would be that trends in a culture would transfer into how humans live their lives. ]]> 2017-11-20 14:08:42 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208711367 Early: Homo Rudolfensis vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208714917 From Aniko -- "Homo rudolfensis is the earliest known species in the Genus Homo. This species was found 2.5 to 1.8 million years ago in Africa. Their fossils have been discovered in parts of East Africa.  This species had a large head, large molars and a longer and broader face especially near the nose and eye sockets. 

The dental structure of the species being discussed were indicative of the species being herbivorous and consumed fruits and plants. The fossil remains also suggest that this species of early Homo may have contributed to the making of stone tools."]]> 2017-11-20 14:15:53 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208714917 Early: Handy Man -- Homo Hablis vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208715176 From Elizabeth -- "Homo habilis was a species of Hominini from roughly 1.1 to 2.4 million years ago. This species is from eastern and southern Africa, with definite trends in Tanzania. This species did use stone tools however, which was a major adaptation at the time of their life. This species was known to also have arboreal behaviors, which made them significantly different from their relative, H. erectus.]]> 2017-11-20 14:16:29 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208715176 Early: Lucy : Australopithecus afatensis vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208715643 Angelina says -- "Lucy has one of the most complete fossil records from our human ancestor tree dating back 3.2 million years ago.  This species actually did really well for itself surviving for over 900,000 years, and utilized a huge variety of habitats (woodland, grassland, etc.). 

This species was very small, and the young reached adulthood very quickly. [They] were able to walk upright based on fossil evidence from the hip, leg, and spine. Their brain is about 1/3 of the size of ours today. Dental analysis shows Au. afarensis eating mostly plant-based, soft and sugary foods."]]> 2017-11-20 14:17:33 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208715643 Early: Paranthropus robustus vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716040 From Ashley -- "Paranthropus robustus belongs to the Paranthropus group of the human family tree, from about 1.8 to 2.2 million years ago. The "robust" in P. robust does not refer to the body build as they were quite small but instead to their teeth and skull as related to the jaw. 

They used tools (perhaps bones!) to dig in termite mounds, much like chimpanzees, hooded monkeys and other modern non-human primates. They likely ate a lot of tough foods, such as grasses as skull specimens have attachment points for enlarged chewing muscles and broad teeth."]]> 2017-11-20 14:18:17 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716040 Modern: Homo heidelbergensis vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716265 From Belinda -- "It lived about 700,000 to 200,000 years ago in Europe, possibly Asia (China specifically), And Eastern and Southern Africa. These were some of the first humans to travel into the colder latitudes of Europe, and there is evidence that they built shelters and hunted animals with wooden spears. Their larger head and larger brain cavity, as well as their more advanced tool usage is what makes them their own separate species. They are considered direct ancestors of Neanderthals in Europe, and the populations in Africa most like are Homo sapiens’ ancestors. Comparing it to modern humans, it’s brain was actually about the same size as modern day Homo sapiens."]]> 2017-11-20 14:18:41 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716265 Modern: Cave Man -- Homo neanderthalensis vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716508 From Dani -- "Neanderthals coexisted with Homo sapiens or modern humans before becoming extinct over 28,000 years ago. Neanderthals roamed Europe, and central and southwestern Asia with modern humans for about 70,000 years. Neanderthals were found They adapted to live in cold environments  with short and stocky bodies, and wide noses to help humidify and warm the cold dry air of their frigid environment. Like modern humans, Neanderthals used tools, made clothes, hunted animals, lived in shelters, built fires and buried their dead.  Neanderthals actually differ more from Homo sapiens than from Homo erectus.

Biologists are still not sure if European Homo are a hybrid between sapiens and neanderthal 
or if there is a definite break in the lineage between Homo heidelbergensis,  neanderthal and sapiens."]]> 2017-11-20 14:19:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716508 Modern : The Hobbit -- Homo floresiensis vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716743 From Nicole and Sarah --"The most recent Homo to go extinct, living from about 95,000 to about 12,000 years ago. It was a dwarf species at was approximately 3.5 feet tall and fully bipedal and was first discovered at the Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003. Based on their brain size H. floresiensis likely exhibited cognitive function at least equivalent to that of H. habilis.  Because of the distinct difference in body size, there is speculation that this “hobbit” human species may not have evolved directly from Homo erectus but instead may have evolved from the Dmanisi hominids, who were much smaller in size. However, just how the “hobbit” fits into the family tree of hominins is unclear."]]> 2017-11-20 14:19:28 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208716743 Social Memedia vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208728847 Whether or not internet memes are true memes can be debated but there is no doubt cultural information is transmitted at lightning speed around the world due to social media. 

Kevin sees a usefulness of memetic info being transmitted via internet arguing that in olden days cultural information was highly skill based whereas today and in the future internet memes may be a valued communication skill as cultures become more global and one's community extends across space.]]> 2017-11-20 14:42:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208728847 Diet Memes vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208740230 Along with identity memes come sustenance memes. Diets come in and out of vogue just like bell-bottom pants and trucker ballcaps. The problem is that these diets aren't usually based on any clear science but are rather a grouping of random ideas (e.g. other health related memes) or an amalgamation of previous diet memes. Folks try on different diets like they try on new coats. Afton is concerned that such random and often fluctuating eating habits may change a persons body chemistry in a deleterious way. ]]> 2017-11-20 15:01:42 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208740230 Our favorite ancestors. vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208770855 Everyone in the class had interesting input on their favorite early humans.  The time line and the artistic representations of their physical features certainly makes one want to delve deeper into the studies of human evolution.

]]> 2017-11-20 15:59:32 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208770855 Conclusion vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208816801 Memes have always had a place in our lives under different guises. The fact that we have several definitions for memes themselves is memetic!  However, the veracity of today's cultural information is suspect as a good portion of what is part of the zeitgeist is internet based. In fact, you can't believe everything you read on the internet. ]]> 2017-11-20 17:36:33 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208816801 Selection Fads vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208887243 In the spirit of a true meme we can look to how cultural identity expresses itself; it can be anything from fashion to body modification. Sarah and Lisa raised a point about how the meme of sexy body types fluctuates not based on survival values but by materialistic motives. Is appearing like a model on a magazine cover or  hi-hop model more evolutionarily advantageous?]]> 2017-11-20 20:26:42 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208887243 The Supernatural vincensd https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208889055 Susan brought up the idea of myths and legends in reference to one of the most feared of all creatures - the dragon. Indeed, dragons represent many of humanities deepest fears -- mammalian remembrance of dinosaurs, volcanoes, comets and snakes -- all rolled into one archetypal meme. Humans tend to place "agency" on outside supernatural forces for things we don't understand leading to legends and myths which have some sort of survival component to them creating instant memes. ]]> 2017-11-20 20:32:59 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208889055 This question was based on the paper by Foley et al. (2016) and the major steps in hominid evolution. Each of the responses was well researched and thought provoking. Skull development, and the brain was a big part of the discussion responses. bwalkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208924979 2017-11-21 00:00:57 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208924979 Thumbs and evolution. bwalkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208926545 Eliza wrote her discussion point on humans using thumbs as tools for picking up things as using it as a tool.  The article below has a different perspective on the reason humans have a thumb that folds over the other fingers.  He agrees using it to pick things was important, but he points out that making a fist to punch other creatures may have been an important part of human evolution.
Read and see what you think.]]> 2017-11-21 00:16:49 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208926545 Skin Pigmentation bwalkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208928607 Marguarita and Susan wrote about skin pigmentation and that lighter pigmentation came later in evolution. There is some research in genetics that say lighter pigments may have been there for much longer than we originally believed. Researchers continue to uncover information that changes some of our original theories of evolution.]]> 2017-11-21 00:32:42 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208928607 Just For Fun-How Will Humans Evolve in the Future? bwalkenhorst https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208929606 There was a lot of discussion on different theories of evolution-bacteria, agriculture, facial structure and more. What changes could be in our future?]]> 2017-11-21 00:42:26 UTC https://padlet.com/bwalkenhorst/yg5vgvdcarig/wish/208929606