The Cold and Human Variation and Race

The cold has the ability to negatively effects hemostasis by restricting blood vessels and pulling the blood to the vital organs, leaving the hands and feet cold. The homeostasis is disrupted because it is harder for oxygenated blood to flow to certain parts of the body. The body’s defenses are also slowed down to adjust to the cold making it perfect for germs to flourish, leading to illness.

Short-term adaptation

Short-term adaptations to the cold consist of restricted blood flow to keep vital organs warm, leaving hands and feet cold.

Facultative Adaptation

1.    Increased metabolic rate

2.    Fat insulation of vital organs

3.    Long term change in blood flow patterns

Developmental Adaptations

The adaptations seen in cold climates can be explained by Bergman’s Rule, people tend to have large, compact bodies with relatively small surface areas from which they can lose their internally produced heat.

Cultural Adaptations

Many people living in freezing climates drink alcohol to warm themselves.  This increases blood flow to the body extremities, thereby providing a feeling of warmth.  A much more effective cultural response to extremely cold temperatures is the use of insulating clothing, houses, and fires.  People all over the world also adapt by limiting outdoor activities to warmer times of the day.  In some societies, sleeping in family groups with bodies pushed up against each other is also done in order to minimize heat loss during the cold months of the year.

It is important to study human variation from environmental clines because different people and cultures arise out of the type of climate people live in. It is a necessity to being able to understanding different cultures as a whole. For example, if we discovered a secret hidden society hiding out in the North Pole by studying their adaptation to their climate and conditions we are able to possibly explain why there society functions the way it does, or how it has survived for so long.

Since different races live in different climates we are able to see how each functions through the means, which they are given. Because by studying adaptations rather than race we can see how not only there body reacts, but how the culture has adapted as a whole.

Language

Part 1
       This experiment wasn't so much easy or difficult it just required a lot of restraint, not having the ability to communicate in any way just made you have to think about everything a lot more. my partner didn't really alter their conversation they just adapted to me not being able to speak. Obviously it was strange not being able to get feedback, made her a little uncomfortable, she just had to continue on though but said she felt like she was talking to a wall.
       If we were just meeting the person with the more evolved language would most likely be able to communicate their complex ideas, though it would be difficult. this would most likely involve a bunch of hand signs as well as demonstration. and the culture with the evolved language would most likely look down upon those who don't have a language of their own. Well people in this culture who would have difficulty communicating wood be someone not native to the United States, whether from China or Mexico they wouldn't be able to communicate quite as easily. Well in our culture since they are not able to be understood we tend to loath them and wonder why they can't just learn the language. But of course it's not that simple, they have been raised on the language and though this country is accepting it has its moment of exclusion, especially around language.

Part 2
I sadly was not able to make it the full 15 minutes being Italian made it difficult for me not to incorporate my hands in some way into the conversation. My partner felt weird, mostly because i was trying to hold my hands to my side the entire time, but also communication is not based solely on verbal communication but also body language. I think non-speech language techniques may be as important as verbal techniques. Yes many people definitely do have difficultly reading body language, but sometimes it's just people being oblivious but also disorders form around it such as Aspergers. An environmental condition were it would not be necessary would be in a dark cave where you and the person you are communicating with are laying down facing the ceiling and not moving. But in that situation I could still see myself adding some type of body language. Body language and verbal language go hand in hand definitely.

Piltdown Man

The Piltdown man hoax was when bone fragments were found in 1912 in a gravel pit in Piltdown, East Sussex, in England. These bone fragments were found and thought to be the missing link between apes and humans. This discovery was made by Charles Dawson and was later proven to be a hoax. The bone fragments found to be the cranium of a modern human and a jawbone of an orangutan. Later the molars of the Piltdown man along with a second Piltdown man were discovered, leading to yet another forgery.

This discovery led scientist down a blind alley in the field of evolution and real discoveries in evolution such as Australopithecine fossils were ignored. Along with that the fossil was used as evidence during the Scopes monkey trial, prior to it being proven a hoax. It was a black mark on science that it took them 40 years to discover that this was a forgery. J.S. Weiner, Sir Kenneth Oakley and Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark jointly exposed the hoax.

The human faults that came into play here was the hope for an answer to find the missing link. They were so desperate to find the answer and prove it to the world that they were willing to accept something without looking too deeply into it. They didn’t want to find fault with it because it was just easier to accept that this was in fact the missing piece to the puzzle.

Through a fluorine test considerably increased the chances of the jawbone and cranium being of the same creature. Then a gravel test came out saying that the dating for the Piltdown man was earlier than previously thought. But what really proved it wrong was the shape, it did not fit in with the rest of the evolutionary models, it was the right color but wrong shape. And after examining the molars of the Piltdown man, under a microscope, they appeared to be tampered with and done by hand. So in the end it was all proven false by the fact that the teeth did not match.

I don’t think it is possible to avoid issues like that of the Piltdown man, though it was staged and a hoax it could happen to anybody. Science can be tampered with even with computers, but we can’t rely solely on a computer to make scientific discoveries. I think they should definitely be incorporated but not the only mean for scientific work. Without human interaction there would be no opposition, which is how the Piltdown man was proven to be false. And without human discoveries we would become stagnant, a computer is simply a tool to help prove something. But only humans can judge a discovery, think about it, and prove it wrong. A computer can only produce facts and figures; though that is an important part it is not the only part of science.

What you can take from the Piltdown man is not to take things at face value, no matter how much you want to believe. Science especially should be checked and rechecked because if you are going to introduce a new phase in the evolutionary process it should at least be backed by science and facts. Also never use an unverified source that is something true for all aspects of life.

 http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/piltdown.html

Locomotion in Primates

Lemurs (Prosimians/Strepsirhini)

Lemurs are native only to the island of Madagascar and its neighboring Comoro islands. They are mostly arboreal creatures and usually spend their time in the canopies of the rainforest. Most lemurs are awake during the day and asleep at night except for the several few who are nocturnal such as the mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs.

Their locomotion can vary depending upon the species of lemur but the most common is quadrupedal, with short bouts of bipedalism. They tend to run on branches or leap between them, using their hind legs to push off and landing on either hind legs or on all fours. This allows them to travel easily between trees, which occupy the majority of their habitat.

How we see their locomotion develop was through the climatic extremes of Madagascar, rainforest to the east and dry regions to the west. We see that specific lemurs such as the fork-marked lemurs feed on tree gum, sportive lemurs feed on leaves, and giant mouse lemurs occasionally feed on insect secretions. But lemurs have sometimes been described as being opportunistic omnivores, leading to the need to be in trees. Along with dietary needs trees provided escape from predators along with being able to quickly travel through the trees for food.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/476264/primate/225204/Four-types-of-locomotion           

library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/ringtailed_lemur/lemur.htm

Spider Monkey (New World/Platyrrhini)

Spider Monkeys are found mainly in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America, Brazil, and Mexico. They are arboreal creatures and mainly live in evergreen rainforests, semi deciduous and mangrove forests. Spider monkeys like to stay in the upper canopy and rarely ever go to the forest floor.

The majority of the Spider Monkeys locomotion revolves are suspensory and quadrupedal. Suspensory locomotion is seen when they are hanging, climbing, or in some cases gliding through trees. Suspensory locomotion is also seen when they use their tails to climb or grab onto things. While quadrupedal is seen but in some cases when they are running or walking on all fours, which they generally only do when on a stable surface when searching for food.

Since Spider Monkeys mainly live in the upper layers of the rainforest they would require a need for climbing and jumping from tree to tree. And their primary source of food is fruit, leaves, nuts, flowers, and insects; it would make sense that they would evolve towards suspensory and quadrupedal locomotion.

http://www.angrydmonkey.com/different-locomotion-in-spider-monkeys-study.htmlBaboon (Old 

Baboons (World Monkey/Cercopithecidae)

Baboons tend to be ground dwelling and are found in the savannah, open woodlands and hills across Africa. Being mainly omnivores and vegetarians, with the exception of the occasional goat or sheep, they tend to be more hunter-gatherers.

Their locomotion patterns tend to be quadrupedal, walking on all fours and specifically on their digits. This allows them quick movement on level ground. Since baboons are a larger primate and located in the Africa there are not many trees to climb, so it would make sense that they would be quadrapedal due to their available sources of food.

Gibbon (Lesser ape/Hylobatidae)

Gibbons live in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia. In the rainforest they tend to live in the treetops. Their locomotion consists mainly of brachiation and bipedalism. Briachiation consists of moving by swinging of their arms as well as the walking on two legs. They are on of the most acrobatic apes being able to practically fly through the treetops. Along with that they are able to walk both on the ground and on branches on only two legs.

Since the gibbons are so fast at gliding through trees virtually no predators are able to catch them. They were able adapted for their food and to get move with alarming rates through the forest. They mainly eat fruits, leaves, flowers, tree bark, and occasionally insects. And though they have the ability to walk on the ground they tend to stay in the trees to avoid predators and to forage for food. 

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/apes/gibbon/

Chimpanzee (Great ape/Hominidae)

Chimpanzees inhabit about 22 African countries from the west coast to the east as far as Tanzania, but wild populations are only found in Africa. The Chimpanzees live mostly in tropical rainforests, mostly the equatorial forest belt of Africa. Are able to live in both arboreal and terrestrial environments but generally tend to stay near forests.

The Chimpanzees locomotion is quadrupedally on the ground or in trees but also have brachial and bipedal abilities. They can travel either on all fours, on only 2 legs, as well as swing/climb trees. Along with that they have opposable thumbs so they are able to stand and hold things.

These adaptations definitely came from the environment, being as they are able to adjust to many different environments. They survive on fruits, leafs, and insects but do occasionally hunt and have adapted to do so. Creating the need for both the speed of quadrupedalism and the ability to stand and grasp things that comes with bipedalism. And the foraging abilities that comes with braichiality and the ability to climb.

  

http://www.janegoodall.ca/about-chimp-behaviour-diet.php

Conclusion

               In conclusion, i believe environment has a big role to play in the development of physical and behavorial traits. All the different primates had adapted not only to the environment but adapted in such a way that they can avoid predators and collect food. though they all live in different environments they all generally lived in areas with forests or trees, except baboons. Along with that most of the primates shared a similar diet of plants, fruits and occasionally insects--except baboons and chimpanzees who occasionally would hunt. And though they were all different species of primate, being quadrupedal was a general locomotive trait they all shared. 

Homology and Analogy

1. The tailbone of a human and the tail of a monkey are two examples of homology. The tailbone is actually called the tailbone because of this shared lineage.  Humans don’t actually have a tail but the tailbone is the last remains of where a tail would be and it's referred to as a “vestigial.” In utero between the stages of 14-22 weeks the embyro will have a tail. As opposed to monkeys who have fully functioning tails since day one. some tails on primates are used simply for swatting flies but some also have the ability to grasp and use them to swing from trees. And the change in characteristics could of occurred as early as the first bipedal hominin.

2. A shark fin and a dolphin fin are two analogous structures. The dorsal fins of a shark tend to be more rigid and supported by cartilage; as the fins of dolphins have no internal support. Dolphins evolved from the artiodactyl, which is a land mammal with no fins. These structures evolved independently of sharks, making it an analogous structure. But only the Dorsal fin of both the shark and the dolphin are the only analogous structures since the pectoral fin is homologous.

Protein Synthesis

CGTTACAAAACCTTGTCTTAAGGATTAAGTTTAGGATAAATCGCT

Thomas Malthus and the Theory of the Principle of Population

Thomas Malthus is the man I believe to of most effected Darwin's theory of Natural Selection. Malthus' contribution to the scientific community was An Essay on the Principles of Population. Although his theory was based around human population growth it is a topic that also follows well with Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Malthus' theory was that the human population tended to expand more while the resources would stay relatively the same, leaving the population to be kept in check by the amount of resources available. This relates to many of the bullet points stated including:

• all organisms have the potential of reproducing exponentially
• what is preventing organisms from reproducing at their potential?
• resources are limited
• organisms with better access to resources will be more successful in their reproductive efforts
•  who gets better access to these limited resources?

Malthus was discussing how populations have the potential to grow but are limited by the resources that are available to them, i.e. limited food and water. He also believed that a lack of food and water created famine and a decrease in population, but only to those who had difficulty obtaining them. To the people who have resources readily available to them they are viewed as more desirable and are able to pass on there traits. It's like a competition between humans for resources not between two different species like previously assumed.

Darwin could not of developed his theory without the help of Malthus he even said:

"In October 1838, that is, fifteen months after I had begun my systematic inquiry, I happened to read for amusement Malthus on Population, and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long- continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. The results of this would be the formation of a new species. Here, then I had at last got a theory by which to work".

                                   -Charles Darwin, from his autobiography. (1876)

Darwin's basis for his entire theory was on the fact that traits are passed on and are changed by surroundings and a need for adaption. Which is what Malthus provides, explanation on why a human population grows and expands or withers and dies based on resources available.

Why it took Darwin so long to publish his work was because at the time it was extremely controversial and the church would not accept it, many still don't. But he feared that going against the status quo would result in threats or the fate Galileo suffered. And the result of his publication was many people ignored it and chose not to believe and but it is now out there and is widely accepted.

Sites 
http://members.optusnet.com.au/exponentialist/Malthus_Evolution.htm
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html