• Question: what adptations have we made to fit in to our environment?

    Asked by myersh to Daniela, Hannah, Ian, Jono, Mark on 25 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Hannah Brotherton

      Hannah Brotherton answered on 25 Jun 2013:


      Hi myresh,
      hmmmmm good question!

      So from being the early humans to know, we have bigger brains, we are taller, and have smaller feet (we don’t do a lot of walking). but we have become less sociable with each other in general. This is because we have created so much technology. But in terms of science, there are more and more disease that affect humans. This is because we live longer and pass genes that cause cancer to our children. So to tackle this, scientists have become more sociable to share information and cures for diseases. This is why we are creating so much more medicine than ever before, because we are all working together.

      Also, have you ever wondered why we don’t have claws or sharp teeth like animals – this is because we don’t have a predator. We have adapted to become the top of the food chain. So we don’t need natural defenses. However, humans are very complex and so because of our intelligence we have been able to create weapons to use on each other, which is ridiculous!

      So have you ever wondered if animals will ever adapt to their new environment – the human dominated world….I think they will
      So cats have claws and sharp teeth but they don’t need them because we love them so much and keep them safe and warm. So one day these might not be seen on cats, because they have no use for them. Also we breed animals for their traits like cuteness and fluffiness. So one day we will probably breed a cat or a dog that has no claws or teeth, because we have created a safe environment with no predators. Also these dogs or cats will probably be the cutest and sweetest things in the world. 😛

      Nature used to influence how animals adapt to their environment through natural selection, but humans have such an influence now over the world, we are now having a faster and more direct impact on how animals live and act.

      😀

    • Photo: Mark Hodson

      Mark Hodson answered on 25 Jun 2013:


      Hi myersh,

      all sorts of stuff. Some important ones are:
      1) being able to walk upright – possible to help us see predators back in the past
      2) having what is known as a prehensile thumb to allow us to grip things
      3) our brain function has evolved so that we can deal with more complex ideas

      Evolution is a continual process so we are continuing to evolve. However we control our environment so much that the drivers for natural selection are being altered. I think in the future we are most likely to evolve resistance to some bacteria and viruses that are currently deadly.

      cheers

      m

    • Photo: Ian Wilson

      Ian Wilson answered on 25 Jun 2013:


      Hi myersh,

      Excellent question! There are loads of adaptations that humans have made over time.

      First off, we’ve learned to walk upright, as opposed to monkeys and apes, which hunch over and use their arms for support. This happened as we evolved to live on the ground, rather than in trees. In a similar theme, have you ever compared a monkey’s hands and feet with ours? Take a look at this picture:

      Their hands and feet are much longer and both are able to curl and grab onto things so they can climb in trees. Most humans have much straighter and inflexible feet (though a friend of mine can pick up pens with her feet – weird!).

      Interestingly, I went to a talk last week where the scientist presenting said that his research suggested that humans learned to walk upright BEFORE we came down from the trees. It was always thought to be the other way round.

      Now, how else have we adapted? Well, our digestive system has changed quite a bit over time as our diet changed. We eat more processed food now (so burgers and chicken nuggets) so our stomachs have adapted to cope with that. In fact, if you look at people from around the world, there are differences in the bacteria in their stomach, as a result of the food they eat.

      The last one I’ll give you is that we’re considerably less hairy than our chimp relatives! In the past, man would have been far more likely to survive cold weather if he was really hairy. So only the hairy neanderthals survived to pass on their genes to the next generation. When we learned how to make fire, clothes and effective shelters, hair became less necessary. Less hairy neanderthals began to pass on their genes. Eventually, less hairy people were considered…well, sexier! So they were more likely to be chosen as mates. That’s why we’ve become far less hairy over time.

      Hope that answers your question!

      Cheers,

      Ian

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