Human life histories are understood to consist of different levels of factors that contribute to the variation and evolution of human health, and this can be analyzed by categorizing the various lifetime events on a fast-slow continuum (Promislow & Harvey, 1990 as cited in Kaplan, Lancaster, & Robson, 2003). Mammals, for example, are located on the fast end of the continuum and are known to reproduce early, have a shorter period of pregnancy, grow into smaller body sizes, and produce a great amount of offspring that are vulnerable to death. On the other hand, species scattered on the other end of the continuum tend to have characteristic that are opposite to those of mammals (Kaplan et al., 2003). These changing momentums are generally explained by focusing on external forces, such as natural disasters, changing climate, availability of food, population density, and diversity of diseases. In addition, interactions between populations of species can also be considered a contributor to the variation in those populations’ life histories (Kaplan et al., 2003). Moreover, the external forces mentioned earlier may strengthen over a long period of time and that may affect development of the species. However, there is evidence indicating that, even though these factors have benefitted human evolution, resulting in extended lifespans, there appears to be some tradeoffs between the costs and benefits to the species. For example, Shanley and Kirkwood, (2000 as cited in Kaplan et al., 2003) state that, even when there is plenty of food during the later life cycle, when young rats are deprived of needed calories, this correlates with delayed development resulting in diminished adult frames in later life. This essay will focus on the human life...
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...n human evolution, it is essential to understand the main concepts in each theory.
Works Cited
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The Industrial Revolution was not only a turning point in the progress of human history, but the start of a great change in the Earth’s environment. Technological advances in industry and mass migration into urban areas led to a rising demand for energy sources, a demand met by fossil fuels. Casper, J. (2010) describes coal as ‘symbolic of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution’, the increased combustion of these ‘dirty’ fossil fuels further polluted the air and enhanced the volume of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Changes in land use attributed to population rise, reduced the amount of photosynthesising biomass on Earth, diminished an important ‘carbon sink’ and concluded to enhance the Greenhouse Effect.
Human characteristics have evolved all throughout history and have been manipulated on a global scale through the use of science and technology. Genetic modification is one such process in which contemporary biotechnology techniques are employed to develop specific human characteristics. Despite this, there are a countless number of negative issues related with genetic modification including discrimination, ethical issues and corruption. Hence, genetic modification should not be used to enhance human characteristics.
As we age, we become more prone to a wide array of diseases, such as cancer and heart disease and treating these diseases most definitely helps us live longer but they do not seem to halt the natural aging process that eventually causes our bodies to weaken and wither away. New research suggests that, like several biological processes, the aging process could also be controlled and this could lead us to live much longer lives. However, commoners and bioethicists alike are often concerned about the bioethical issues pertaining to the life extension phenomena. They argue that the quality of life may be compromised in exchange for longevity and this may be due to intervention in the
In class we watch a clip called “Journey of Man” and basically the all over view of this movie was about a man named Spencer Wells and his team of scientist researching for approximately 15 years of investigating to find out our family history. They believe that they have discover some life changing information. They had this discovery for a while now but that needed time to gather up all of the facts from their research. This information that they have could transform our view on the world. They have revealed some type of time machine that has allow them to see back in ancient history. For that past ten years this man and his team have been using this time machine to gather all types of different information about the past history. This information came for just once source, blood. Many people views it as and gift from the past, but to scientist it carries the past and has a unique story behind it. A time machine hidden within us.
Paleoanthropology: Pliocene and Pleistocene Human Evolution. Paleobiology, 7:3:298-305. Frayer, David W. and Milford Walpoff 1985 Sexual Dimorphism. Annual Review of Anthropology, 14:429-473 Key, Catherine A. 2000 The Evolution of Human Life History.
The importance of an individual’s lifespan has to be taken into account in order to fully understand the human development. Throughout this module I have learned that an individual’s lifespan consists of several beliefs that form a group of perspectives, that gives a consistent outlook on the nature of development. The concept of lifespan development is the study that observes patterns of growth and change and stability in one’s behavior that occurs throughout one’s lifespan. An interesting thing I picked up is that lifespan development derives from other features, such as sociology, that suggest that this field of lifespan development did not completely originate from developmental psychology. There are different areas in a lifespan such as
“The scientific study of how humans developed did not begin until the 1800s in Europe. Until that time, people relied on religious explanations of how humans came into existence. Starting in the 1500s a scientific revolution began to sweep Europe. Thinkers started using scientific methods and experiments to try to better understand the world and the creatures living in it. Eventually these methods were turned to the question of human origins” (The Nature Of Human Origins, 1). Earth made it possible for species to change over time because Ancient Earth provides ability to plenty of time.The Homo Sapien a is very complex creature. The species started off very simple by living in caves and surviving with little food and then later evolved into a species that were able to do many more complex things. The first species was Sahelanthropus tchadensis They were one of the most simple humans in that time period and on. They had very small skulls compared to Homo Sapiens today and their motor skills were just the same. We have evolved and changed for the better both mentally and physically. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens started off simple, such as the Neanderthals, and now we are the most advanced species to ever walk the planet so far.
Therefore, we can conclude answering to the second question introduced in this last section. Nowadays, to have a higher life expectation does not necessarily mean an advantage for
According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species. Human beings are no exception to biological evolution. Like other organisms around the world, humans have significantly changed over time and have developed all sorts of diverse characteristics.
Feldman, Robert S.. Development across the life span . 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
Evolution is the complexity of processes by which living organisms established on earth and have been expanded and modified through theorized changes in form and function. Human evolution is the biological and cultural development of the species Homo sapiens sapiens, or human beings. Humans evolved from apes because of their similarities. This can be shown in the evidence that humans had a decrease in the size of the face and teeth that evolved. Early humans are classified in ten different types of families.
When extrinsic mortality rates increase, they lower the probability of survival and cause the strength of selection to decline faster with age which increase in intrinsic morality rates with age. Age is defined as the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed. To age well is to maintain your physical and mental health as you grow older. Age is marked by certain stages, aging well can be considered the freedom from disease and an active engagement with life. Some lifestyle choices with respect to aging well can be exercising and dieting. Growing old does affect our hair, skin, heart, muscles and more but aging well is possible if we incorporate a healthy lifestyle. There are two mechanisms that mediate aging. They are proton leakage, and telomere damage. The proton leakage is when the growth rate and metabolic rate cause energy flow to increase. When these genes mediate energy metabolism could cause aging. The telomere is a protective cap at the end of chromosomes that are shorten with each cell division. When they deteriorate away the next cell divisions unsuccessfully duplicate the
March 17, 2014. Hinrichs, Roger ; Kleinbach, Merlin. Energy, Its Use and the Environment. 2013. The. Print.
Without evolution, and the constant ever changing environment, the complexity of living organisms would not be as it is. Evolution is defined as a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations (8).Scientists believe in the theory of evolution. This belief is based on scientific evidence that corroborates the theory of evolution. In Figure 1 the pictures of the skulls depict the sequence of the evolution of Homo-sapiens. As the figure shows, man has evolved from our common ancestor that is shared by homo-sapiens. The change of diet of homo-sapiens over time has thought to contribute to the change in jaw structure and overall skull shape.