Have you ever imagined what life would be without bones? It is lunchtime and you are trying to eat a sandwich, but you are trying to do this without teeth, or a jaw, or hands. Eating a sandwich for lunch would be impossible without a skeleton, and all of our daily activities would become impossible as well. The skeletal system is too often taken for granted. Its importance on life on Earth today is not emphasized nearly as much as it should be. The evolution of bones is what allowed for the vast differentiation of multicellular life on Earth. Dating back somewhere around 635-545 million years ago life consisted of only soft-bodied creatures floating around in the ocean. These creatures resemble something like our jellyfish of today. So how did we get from jellyfish to modern-day humans with skeletons?
Initiation of Bone Formation
In Darja Wagner and Per Aspenberg’s article entitled, Where Did Bone Come From, it states that at roughly 1.5 billion years ago all life resided in the ocean, and the tectonic plates were actively shifting at this time. Bone did not just appear out of thin air one day it was several initiating factors that brought about the transition from soft bodied to hard-bodied life. It is the shifting of these tectonic plates that jumpstarted the transition to bone (6). The movement of tectonic plates released various minerals into the oceans through hydrothermal vents. One of these various minerals being released was calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and this mineral played a key role in the formation of bone (6). Calcium carbonate did two things for living organisms; it aided the break down of minerals that were being absorbed from the ocean water, and also led to the ability to develop hard structures (6). Additionally,...
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The skeleton had a hideous impact to the community and was predicted by local investigators to be reasonably modern. To get better understanding and avoid confusion, a bone sample was sent to a laboratory in the USA for investigation and analysation using series of scientific
1) Carroll, R. L. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.
Edwidge Danticat novel, The Farming of Bones, provides readers with an understanding of the relations of Haitians and Dominicans by chronicling the Haitians escape from the Dominican Republic following the parsley massacre and emphasizing the importance of remembering the past. Though it is a work of fiction, Danticat is able to present characters and plot points that illustrate the racial and ethnic relations between Haiti and The Dominican Republic that led to the spread of antihaitianismo. The main themes of the novel explores the impact of nationalism and the formation of ethnic/racial formation through the characters actions which allows the reader to understand the ethnic/racial tension occurring at the time on a much personal level,
The novel “Salvage the Bones” started with the bible verse “See now that I, even I am he, and there is no god with me; I will kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal, neither is there any can deliver out of my hand.” As the novel started with this verse, readers could expect to see a lot of painful experiences that involve life, death and painful events in the characters in the novel. The theme of loss and tragedy is one of the prominent themes that is being portrayed in this novel. The two characters that are affected badly by the theme of loss are Esch and Skeetah. Esch losing the love of her life: Manny, while Skeetah losing his precious dog, China. Through the loss and tragedy event, the readers could see how the characters develop and
Feder and Park present a list of traits that are used by paleoanthropologists to distinguish the appearance of skeletal features and characterize these changes over time. Th...
The system of the body that consists of bones, connective tissues, and cartilage is known as the skeletal system. Some major functions of this system are as follows:
The axial skeleton is part of the skeleton where there is bones at the top and bottom of a vertebrate. The human skeleton has 80 bones and is made of 6 parts. The axial skeleton has 2 responsibilities. The first is to support and defend the organs in the dorsal and ventral cavities. The second is to make a surface for the muscles.
One world up above where they can watch over the ones below. Susie in The Lovely Bones she has restricted use and effects on earth, because she is in heaven up above. Alice Sebold portrays these events through the view of Susie Salmon, Susie have the ability to know what everyone is thinking. Sebold shows that young love have many differences to those that are also in love, but mature. Susie the narrator, attitude toward the lover of young and old also is different. There is also a unique character in the novel, his name is George Harvey, and his view on love is extremely different.
Fox, R. 2001. Invertebrate Anatomy OnLine: Artemia Franciscana. Lander University. http://webs.lander.edu/rsfox/invertebrates/artemia.html, retrieved February 13, 2011.
The three functions of the skeletal system are to support, to allow movement, and to protect. The skeleton is the framework of the body and also cradles its soft organs, with it the body would be just a jelly mass it wouldn’t have no definite shape and would just collapse. It supports the softer tissues and provides points of attachment for more skeletal muscles to hold all of the parts of the body upright. For example, the bones of the legs as pillars to support the body trunk we stand up. It also supports the body against the pull of gravity. The skeletal allows movement. The skeletal muscle attached to the bones by tendons and uses the bones as a simple mechanical lever system to move the body and its parts. All together with the muscles
Bone homeostasis occurs when the bones are being “remodelled” or it is also known as “bone metabolism” this is the process in which new bone is created and the old bone which was there was removed, it is more common to see this process in younger growing children or adults who have broken any bones.
There are several theories about how the Cambrian Explosion started. There were major changes in marine environments and chemistry from the late Precambrian into the Cambrian, and these also may have impacted the rise of mineralized skeletons among previously soft-bodied organisms. One theory as to what happened is that oxygen in the atmosphere, with the contribution of photosy...
Although your teeth are also considered part of your skeletal system, they are not counted as bones. Your teeth consist of enamel and dentin. Enamel is the strongest substance in your body. The main priority of the skeletal system is to provide support for the body. Without bones our body would be in a pile of guts and mush on the floor. Your skeleton furthermore assists to protect your internal organs and fragile body tissues. The brain, eyes, heart, lungs and spinal cord are all sheltered by your
The two hundred and six bones in the human body produces a lot of blood cells, store important minerals such as homeostasis (storage and release), and also release hormones, which are necessary to life. During body movement, the skeletal system assists by contracting and pulling on bone to produce movement. Although, in the world we all live in today, skeleton symbolizes all kinds of means/significant reasons. From people using it as a symbol for death (Halloween, rituals, etc.), movies, and many other scary things, the real fact is that skeletal system is one of the most body’s most life giving systems. Apart from other living organs such as the skin, eyes, and many more, the bones are the main primary function that carries them all. Bones are sturdy and firm, but each one in our bodies has their own blood, lymphatic vessels, and nerves. Being the fact that the skeletal system makes up our body movements, support, and protection, it also has its
The Skeletal System, also known as the Skeleton make up a framework that support the body and protect the organs. The Skeleton consists of the bones and joints of the body. In the human body there is 300 bones at birth, these then fuse together to make 206 bones in a fully grown adult. The Skeleton is made up of two divisions: The axial and appendicular Skeleton.