EVOLUTIONARY IMPERFECTION
Dan HarrisJohn Lones
Robert Norris Brendan Little
Subrina Thapa
Introduction Consilence of Inductions
Analogous structures, DNA/RNA, Fossil record, Homologous structures, Sexual Selection, Embryology, Continental vs. Oceanic Islands, Microevolution of bacteria, Artificial selection (dogs), Hybridization
However, imperfection is unique…..
Vitamin C Production?
Subrina Thapa
GUESS WHAT THIS IS?
Vitamin- C
an essential nutrient It also is a cofactor in enzymatic reaction
and several other collagen synthesis. protects our body from oxidative stress by
working like antioxidants.
OXIDATIVE STRESS
long term effects : sickle cell , parkinson’s , heart failure, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia
Short term effects : prevents aging
Lack of Vitamin – C
DO WE MAKE VITAMIN- C ?
“Enzymological studies in the late 1950s revealed that the genetic defect was caused by the deficiency of L-gulono-y-lactone oxidase GLO, the enzyme that catalyzes the terminal step of L-ascorbic acid biosynthesisin most animals.” However, recent study show that the human genome contains a nucleotide sequencet hat cross-hybridizes toa cDNA for rat GLO. But a frame-shift mutation has made these genes non-functional
WHY DON'T HUMANS AND OTHER PRIMATES SYNTHESIZE VITAMIN C
70 - 80 million years ago Early primates lived in tropical regions
and ate lots of fruits (e.g. they were largely frugiverous), and therefore the mutation was not lethal to these animals and was passed on to all descendents.
So just like they say “ what you don’t use you loose” we too have lost the ability to synthesize Vitamin-C
PROBLEM Now we moved out of tropical environments, developed agriculture, started traveling on ships, planes and eating can goods. The repressed ability to synthesize Vitamin-C is in high demand. However, now the question is will it reselect this trait.
Evolutionary Imperfection of the Eye
Dan Harris
The Eye
“Irreducibly Complex???” Proponents of Intelligent Design
Far too complex to be “evolved”i.e. evolution is built of emergent properties,
however, if one took a component of the eye, there would be no eye
However, evolution works differently says Dr. Kenneth Miller from Brown University
Evolution of the Eye
Imperfection(s)•Acute Glaucoma •Aqueous blockage•Very painful•Temporary to permanent vision damage
Scotoma Commonly known as the blind spot Caused by an optic nerve infraction upon
the light entering the eye Test!
Take a blank sheet of paper Draw an “X” on the right side of the paper and
an “O” on the leftCover your right eye and focus on the “X”Very slowly move toward the paper and watch
the “O” disappear!
BIOLOGICAL IMPERFECTION OF CHOKING
Basics of Choking “When someone is choking with a
completely blocked airway, no oxygen can enter the lungs. The brain is extremely sensitive to this lack of oxygen and begins to die within four to six minutes.” - John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP
Basics Continued There are two openings in the back of
the mouth:1. The esophagus where food travels to
the stomach2. The trachea where air passes to the
lungs
Basics Continued When something is swallowed the trachea
is covered by a flap called epiglottis. The trachea splits into left and right
bronchus which lead to the left and right lungs.
When an object ends up in the airway, it gets stuck when the airway narrows. Often times large objects get stuck just inside the trachea.
Speech The cause for the biological imperfection of
choking in humans is speech. According to scholar Neil Shubin: “We produce
speech sounds by controlling motions of the larynx, the back of the throat, and the tongue. All those structures are relatively simple modifications to the basic design of a mammal or a reptile...
Price of Speech “... In humans, the back of the throat...has flexible
walls that can be widened and narrowed by relaxing and contracting a number of muscles. The human tongue, too, is woven of multidirectional muscle fibers that give it a remarkable range of movement. By changing the size and shape of the mouth cavity and the softness or rigidity of the throat, we are able to modify sounds from the larynx.”
Functions at Odds Shubin continues to note that because we
use this flexible passage to swallow, breathe, and talk, “those functions can be at odds, for example when a piece of food ‘goes down the wrong pipe’ and gets lodged in the trachea.”
What’s different about humans? When comparing humans to other animals
Shubin observes: “Other mammals, and reptiles too, use the same
structures for eating, breathing, and communicating but the back of the mouth does not need to be so vertically spacious and flexible as ours. The basic mammalian structures are arranged so that nonhuman animals can safely swallow while breathing. Tweaking the engineering to enable us to talk has left us peculiarly vulnerable.”
Choking Conclusion With the useful biological development
for complex speech, we became more susceptible to the perils of choking.
Sources:-Shubin, Neil. "Fish out of water: human ailments as varied as hernias, hiccups, and choking are a legacy of our 'fishy' ancestry." Natural History Feb. 2008: 26+. Academic OneFile.- Cunha, John P. “Choking Overview” http://www.emedicinehealth.com/choking/article_em.htm
TESTICULAR HERNIATION
John Lones
Hypthotheses Introduction Hypotheses describing the evolutionary
origin and functioning of the scrotum The molecular physiology of testicular
descent in modern mammals Material and character coding
Tree topology/ results Evolutionary scenario of testicular
descent and scrotal development Adaptive significance of the scrotum and
testicular descent Conclusion
Evolutionary Significance Sperm need an environment at a
temperature lower than 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit
The scrotum allows optimum sperm production, however it is not void of imperfection
There is an opening to allow the Vas Deferens connectionThis opening however can cause a painful
hernia that must be corrected.
Bipedalism
Robert Norris
Evolutionary Imperfection of Bipedalism Bi-Pedlelization
Load on the lumbar compared to quadpidals Load on Knee
Load on Lumbar
Load on Lumbar increases as Gestation Period Increases
Male and Female Dorsal Wedging
Bird Vs. Human
Angle of the Knee
Quadruped Vs. Ancestors
The femur sits nearly perpendicular to the ground in a quadruped, while the femur sits at an angle in a biped. The A. afarensis Lucy exhibits a distinctly angled femur.
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