Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Human Variation and Race blog post Anthro 101 #4


Human Variation and Race Blog Post:

High Levels of Solar Radiation:

1)      Those that are exposed to high levels of solar radiation can be harmful to the balance of human physiology in many ways including uncomfortable burning of the skin, destruction of folic acid, and the increase risk of skin cancer.  People who are at higher risk of these problems are people who have lighter skin coloring. This is because it can produce a defective form of skin protein called melancortin- 1 receptor. This defective gene causes their pigmentation to be lighter allowing for less protection from ultra violet rays. While this is beneficial for the absorption of the necessary amounts of vitamin D, lighter pigmented people do not benefit from the same protections against the harmful aspects of high levels of solar radiation. The destruction of folate can cause anemia which can cause bleeding problems, bruising and fatigue. The destruction of folic acid can cause birth deficiencies in pregnant women because folic acid is essential to the reproduction of DNA. With less protection from the ability to produce melanin people with lighter pigmentation are at greater risk of skin cancer like melanoma. Burning of the skin, increased risk of birth deficiencies and diseases such as cancer and anemia all can result in upsetting the balance of human physiology making it hard for certain types of skin pigmented people to survive in environments that they were not evolutionarily adapted to. On the other hand, people who have darker skin color can adapt more easily to living in places with high levels of solar radiation because they have developed the ability to produce melanin which helps protect their skin from the sun’s ultra violet rays. As darker pigmented people thrive in areas with a lot of UVB, these people suffer from the inability to produce vitamin D in areas that do not receive the high levels of solar radiation. This too can affect the balance of the human physiology in that these people may develop weak bones due to the lack of vitamin D produced in their bodies.

 

2) A) Humans have adapted to dealing with high levels of solar radiation through four different methods: short-term, facultative, developmental, and cultural. Short-term adaptations for higher levels of solar radiation in the body’s physiology are hard to pin-point. Maybe there really is not any short-term way to defend the skin from high levels of solar radiation unless that population’s skin coloring already has large amounts of melanin. Other strategies for short-term adaptation may be something like seeking shelter or shade or simply covering the skin in an effort to protect it from solar radiation.


B)

  Facultative adaptation in light pigmented people would be the increased amount of melanin in that population’s skin. The increase of melanin is considered a seasonal adjustment in that melanin is increased in the summer and decreased in the winter. Melanin is the body’s natural defense against radiation from the sun. It gathers under the skins surfaces to act as a natural sunscreen against the harmful rays of ultra violet light.  Special cells called melanocytes produce the melanin in response to radiation which can cause a change in the skins pigment generally a few hours (however sometimes in can just take minutes in very warm weather and especially if you’re not wearing sunscreen) after exposure. The increase in melanin is seen by a change in the skins coloring, tanning. Tanning is a facultative adaptive trait to help the body’s physiology to remain in a balanced state. 
Sunburnin' in the Stix

C)  Developmental adaptations is another example of a way to protect you from the harmful UVB rays. This adaptation to high levels of solar radiation is what produces the difference in skin coloring (pigmentation) which establishes the idea of race. The developmental trait of skin pigmentation to allow a certain degree of UVB to either penetrate or not penetrate a person’s skin is a metamorphic trait that has been developed over a long period of time through natural selection to allow those people with lighter skin optimal survival capacity in the environment where they live. These traits are inherited through birth and are developed over generations. There is evidence to this in respect to where people live in the world and their environments.  The populations who live closer to the equator experience a higher level of solar radiation. In response to this higher level of solar radiation, these populations developed darker pigmented skin through the level of melanin in their skin. This acts as a natural sunscreen protecting these people from skin cancer and the destruction of folate and folic acid in their bodies. Populations that live closer to the poles and experience less solar radiation over time have  developed lighter skin pigmentation in order for their bodies to receive more of the solar radiation in an effort to produce vitamin D. Since these populations live in an area that receives less radiation from the sun it is essential to optimize the absorption of the suns radiation in order to maintain a balance of vitamin D in their systems, however they are more at risk for sunburns and skin cancer.
Human Variation and the Race Concept... good overview of the distribution of skin color across the world

 

D)  Cultural adaptations have been made to accommodate the contrasting needs of different pigmented people. Darker skinned people have since moved away from the equator and lighter skinned people have since moved closer to the equator which creates a perception of how to culturally adapt to the new environments in which their skin pigmentation is not acclimated for. Dark pigmented people adapt culturally to areas with less solar radiation in order to find other ways to receive the necessary amounts of vitamin D. Since people who live closer to the tundra are relatively dark pigmented for living in a place with low solar radiation they had to find a way to ensure they were receiving the amount of vitamin D they needed. These people have adapted to their vitamin deficiency by eating a diet that consist of fish and large mammal blubber. Another cultural adaptation to the lack in vitamin D could be the production of manufactured vitamin D that people can take in a supplemental form. Light pigmented people who have moved to areas with higher levels of solar radiation have adapted culturally through the use of sunscreen and protective clothing in order to shield their skin from harmful radiation. Clothing such as breathable material that have a special protect ant layer to shield skin under the clothes from the sun, sunscreen, bathing suits, and large hats can all be seen as a cultural response to shield radiation.
... Water Babies Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50, 8-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 2uv protection clothingWide Large Brim Summer Beach Sun Hat

 

3)

Studying human variation has benefits in order to assess their ability to tolerate solar radiation across the environmental clines mainly because the better understanding we have of our genetic make-up in response to environmental stressor the better we are to ensure maximum survival. The research of skin pigmentation in relation to solar radiation is very important to understand. As a light skin colored person I found it interesting to see how my genealogy evolved to allow the absorption of UV rays in order for my ancestors to maintain the necessary levels of vitamin D needed to function.  The ability for my skin to tan ( I actually don’t tan anymore after years of tanning and abusing my skin as a teen I now burn, peel and turn white again) is a fascinating way to see that my pigmentation can adapt facultative to help shield the destructive properties of solar radiation. Personally for me and maybe other light skinned individuals it is important to understand the damaging effects of the sun and know how to protect your skin from it. It is also important for those people with darker skin to understand that they still need vitamin D. Most people are aware of the damaging effect of too much solar radiation, but many are unaware of the damaging effect of too little solar radiation in darker pigmented people. This is an important aspect of the studying of human variation and environmental clines to ensure that light and dark pigmented people are aware of how to maximize their health in an environment they may have not been adapted to through evolution.

 

4)  People usually don’t understand the reason behind skin color that it has to do with pigmentation and environment and not because of race. Why should the color of a person’s skin determine that person’s worth?  What does skin color have to do with politics, intelligence, ability to perform different jobs, social status, or wealth, when really skin pigmentation is an evolutionary result of a population’s ability to survive in the environment. The study of evolution to environmental stresses is a better way to study human variation rather than race because it allows us to see why persons from Africa have darker pigmentation. It allows people to understand that people with darker pigmentation developed that trait in order to withstand the environmental stressors in their area. The reason why lighter skinned persons developed lighter pigmentation is so they could establish that they were able to produce vitamin D from the lower amounts of solar radiation in their environment. When human variation is studied through evolution, it is fascinating to see how evolution works through natural selection in order to increase a higher rate of survival. When looking at human variation through evolution, race is no longer relevant. Without race, racial discrimination would no longer be relevant. If more people had to really look into why skin is the color it is maybe there wouldn’t be “racism”? However I still feel people would always be in competition with each other it just wouldn’t be over the color of a person’s skin. 

 

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Language assignment experiment Anthro 101 #4

So here is the turn out on my "experiment". Some of this came out quite funny, other parts frustrating, some surprising and highly enlightening to myself and my "experiment" partners.

I should start out by saying that my first partner did not fare so well with this experiment. Since nobody else was home I thought it would be a fun way to spend some time with my son and also teach him a little about what mommy is doing for school (since he always hears me saying I'm doing homework or is watching me do homework), my son is 7 years old, a very bright, animated and enthusiastic 7yr old. I wasn't worried that he wouldn't get the idea of what I needed to do however I did not expect him to get so frustrated and stomp off, he's never done that before....EVER! So here it goes!
Part 1 started off well, as I said before my son was my buddy in this experiment,  that's how it started anyways. After explaining to him what we needed to do he was excited to help mommy as long as I promised I would tell you all that his name is Noah, that part was very important to him. We started the experiment and I set the timer. Noah carried on a conversation with me about how he wanted to go swimming and see his cousins, however he was looking for affirmation that this was ok. This is were the frustration started with us. Now since in this part I could use non verbal cues, it started out ok, almost a typical conversation while I'm listening to him or doing homework or taking care of his sister by no means does this type of communication dominate my house, however he wanted a YES or NO answer, I shook my head sideways as to say maybe for a 7 year old that was like saying yes, which started getting me frustrated. He said "mom just type it out" , I shook my head NO, he states "no I can't go? or no you can't type it out?" I shook my head yes and shook my finger to wait and he got mad. I have never seen my son so upset. We were only about 8 minutes into the experiment @ this point and he stomped off. I took off after him and made a weird noise that I truly don't even know what it was and he stopped, looked @ me and said "isn't you class supposed to be about the skulls on your computer and the monkey's on your book? Why are you doing this? It's stupid!" I don't allow that in my house and I think he saw from the rosy red color that I was originally to the vibrant red I had turned that I was NOT happy! We are now 12 minutes into this experiment ( more like a wake up call for me and Noah) and he says" is it time yet?" I'm thinking how am I ever going to do part 2 with him. I'm not. He sat there on his bed with his big eyes staring at me and asked me if I was mad at him, I shook my head no. I have never been more happy than when that timer went off 15 minutes! I should just say he did go to his cousins and go swimming but it was already planned AFTER homework. Noah and I learned a lot on that day. I have vowed to listen more closely to my son and he has promised that he won't assume he will wait till I can verbally acknowledge him with eye contact ( well at least verbal and a head nod). Which brings me to part 2. After part 1 I could not bring myself to do part 2 with him, because he is so animated I knew he would having me rolling with laughter just so we would have to start over and he could say he got me!
Part 2
So this part took place with my significant other. What started out a little boring got funny and annoying at the same time.  So after explaining to him what the assignment was and getting his two cents about this we embarked on this assignment. I am sure by this time you all have figured out that I'm a bit animated myself. What I thought would be easier because I was dealing with an adult wasn't! I started off the conversation with a few simple questions about his day. As he was answering my questions I found myself wanting to move my hands and move eye brows. I have never had to be so aware of my facial expressions as I was those 15 very long minutes! While he was talking about his day I would ask him another question in what I thought was a strictly monotone voice, what I didn't realize is that after having the ability to be so animated when I speak taming that would be nothing short of a miracle, which brought up a little laugh inside of me. As we carried on the conversation I could tell that he was getting annoyed that I showed no emotion for how well he did at his competition which actually hurt, because I am so very proud of his accomplishment and I wanted to give him a hug and smile and I couldn't, which in turn annoyed me that I was having this type of conversation with him about something so great. why couldn't we be having a conversation about the weather or the Kings game or work? Why about something so great? As time ticked on he told me that he doesn't like this side of me and that I could have never become a nurse if this was my attitude towards patients (which it is not). The last part of the conversation was about him asking me how it went with part 1 of this assignment and Noah. WHY?? I asked him why he would ask me such an in depth question at such a hard time? He said " I want to see how good you are at this?!?" I couldn't believe he was trying to pull the same thing I knew my son would do, trying to get me to crack. At that moment the bell went off and I found myself sinking into the chair and trying to get my facial muscles to work, and then hugging him and smiling @ him and telling him how proud I was. This assignment was not the least bit easy, I saw sides of myself and two people I love that I have not seen before.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Piltdown Hoax Blogpost Anthro 101 (#4) week 5

 Piltdown issues were discovered in 1912 by a worker in a farm & was given to the amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson, who disclosed them to the paleontologist Smith Woodward in the Geological Society of London. For years the debate has erupted about the origin of these remnants, and the press said that  it most likely corresponded to the “missing link” between apes and humans. The deception (hoax) was discovered by a dentist A.T. Marston who examined the teeth and did a fluorine absorption test. At this point when the truth was found out, it was a very argumentative because the British were ridiculed, scientific related fields of human evolution began to be more skeptical and people started to doubt the scientist. 

 One fault that came into play in this case was that the scientists got very excited. The early twentieth century was the golden age of paleontology, and the British were very frustrated because they had not found any human fossils while Europe and Africa had found an abundance. This was a big mistake because making an scientific investigation using feelings,  because a scientist but use the most objective options possible.

The contentment of the British ended when the dentist A.T. Marston found that the teeth of the skeleton belonged to an orangutan and the loose tooth to a monkey and a human skull. The confirmation was made because of the fluorine absorption test. The principle of this technique is simple: the bones absorb fluoride depending on how long they have been buried. The greater the amount of fluorine present the older the bone may be. The remains of Piltdown’s fragments(both the jaw and skull) contained trace amounts of fluoride. Therefore,  the fragments had been buried in recent times.

It is impossible to diminish 100% the human factor from science because science is accessable for humans who dedicate their lives to understand the mysteries of the universe. Scientists still make mistakes in their investigations, but it should not stop people from studying science.  The Piltdown was a dishonest person, however in the end credible scientist were able to figure out the truth. The only way to avoid another "hoax" is to have these scientists be more careful when theories like these are presented. 
  
This "story" was a warning in a way to all of us.  Scientists have to further investigate issues so that a hoax like this does not get as far as it did the first time, however their will always be people out there trying to disqualify science. Furthermore their needs to be further investigation followed by evidence into any and all "ideas" by people before they are made public which can cause quite an uproar in the science community as well as in the public.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Comparitive Primate Blog post week 4 Anthro 101 (#4)


Comparative Primate Blog Post

The trait I was to use is Locomotor patterns.
         
             Lemurs

a)     Lemurs: The lemurs are found in rainforests and are native to Madagascar. Some lemurs are nocturnal and they are usually found alone. Lemurs that are day dwellers are found in the trees or bushes. Some lemurs are herbivores. They eat plants, leaves, seeds and anything from the trees. There are some lemurs that are omnivores. Those Lemurs will eat lizards, insects, eggs of other animals and small mice.

b)    The locomotor pattern of the lemurs include, jumping from tree to tree, sometimes spanning fifty feet. They can use vertical clinging and suspensory climbing. They use their long tails for balance however they don’t use them to hang from treetops, they use their long arms and legs to grip trees. Their arms are longer than their legs (Brachiators).

c)     How can the trait be viewed as an adapdation to their environment? Because of the lemurs ability to swing swiftly from tree to tree they also jump from side to side while on the ground, which is not often, this forced adaptation to their environment helps them stay away from predators .

d)Description Lemur-ring-tailed.JPG




Spider monkey

a)     Spider monkeys are found in the tropical rainforests of central and South America, as well as, the southernmost part of Mexico and Brazil. These primates also live high up in the trees to avoid predators therefore looking for food high up in trees. They like eating fruits, nuts, and eggs from other animals. It has been noted that spider monkeys are quite loud and will shake trees when predators are around.

b)    Their locomotor pattern is being able to move around using all four limbs and their tails. They have prehensile tails which means that the tail has been adapted to be able to grasp and hold trees. This means that their tails are very strong. They also have tactile pads on the underside of their tails which allows them to grasp objects, it is said that they use their tails almost as an extra hand to hold and manipulate food items.

c)     As I mentioned above because of their prehensile tails it helps with gathering food and eating, because of this the environment has strongly influenced their locomotor adaptation. They are also very rarely found on the ground in order to escape their predators.

                  d)spider monkey so bad i thought i would literally die







Baboons

a)     Primarily baboons live in Africa and Arabia. They prefer the savanna and semi-arid habitats, very few live in the tropical rainforests. They spend most of their time on the ground however they can climb trees to eat and sleep as well as keep an eye on their possible predators. Baboons will eat pretty much anything they can find, fruits, seed, bark, farmers crops as well as meat.

b)    The locomotor pattern of a baboon is called “terrestrial quadrupeds”; this means that they use all four limbs to walk. Because of this trait the baboon’s arms and legs are the same lengths. They can also walk strait up.

c)     Their environment is important to their locomotor pattern because they use all four limbs equally and do not have a prehensile tail to use as an “extra limb”. Furthermore because of this their limbs tend to be stronger than those of the lemurs or spider monkeys.
 
d) photograph of baby baboon
 
 
Gibbons
A)    Gibbons are mainly found in northeast India, Indonesia and southern china. Their habitats are tropical and sub tropical, usually liking the warmer climates and only live in trees. Because they live in the trees they eat fruits, twigs, leaves and insects. Gibbons are also the fastest of all the primates that live in the trees.
B)    Gibbons are medium in size and fast. They have wrists that have a ball and socket joint which allows them to completely rotate their hand. They use their arms to swing from tree to tree. Their locomotor pattern called “brachiating” allows them to swing with a hand over hand motion. When they do walk on land it is bipedally which means they walk on two feet.
C)    Gibbons have strong arms and legs and have adapted to their environment with their arms being longer in order to go from tree to tree and look for food as well as stay away from predators such as leopards, large snakes and other wild animals.
D) The secret of gibbons’ incredible jumping lie in great technique, a ...
 
 
 
Chimpanzee
 
A)    Chimpanzees live in social communities with lots of other chimps sometimes up to 100 at a time. They can live in the African rainforests or in woodland areas, swamps and forests. They primarily just need trees. Their diet is usually made up of plants, fruits, and leaves. At times they will eat insects, eggs and meat.
B)    Chimpanzees are quadrupeds, meaning they walk on all four limbs, however they can walk upright. Chimps have increased upper body strength so that they can move through the trees.
C)    Chimpanzee’s locomotor pattern has been greatly affected by their environment and very quickly. Chimps can climb quickly into trees, swing from tree to tree using their arms and they can walk standing up adapting to whichever environment they are in. Chimp’s arms are longer and stronger than their legs. Being able to change from swinging in the trees to walking on the ground works to the chimpanzee’s advantage in avoiding their predators.
D)Jane Goodall making "be quiet" gesture
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Anaology/homology blog post (Anthro 101 #4 week 3)

Anthropology 101 (#4) Week 3
 
 
Analogy/homology blog post
 
 
 
The two different species I chose were the Horses front legs and a humans arms as homologous traits. I found that both contain the humerus, radius and ulna bones. They exhibit differences due to the fact that humans are part of the primates and horses are part of the mammalian class. Humans use muscles and bones together in order to function.  However horses' bones are connected which allows the animal to lift its leg as well as run and jump. What connects both of these species is called *Eutheria,  a subclass of mammals all of which have a placenta and reach an advanced state of development before birth. ( Which took a lot of digging to find the common ancestor since the two species are from two different classes).
(*Madsci website)
 
 
Analogous
 
The Two species I chose were the webbed feet in ducks and the webbed feet in frogs.
 
Ducks use their webbing to push water faster, making it easier for them to swim and primarily have more webbing because they are in the water more. Ducks are aves and are not mammals as many people think. Ducks are also warm blooded.
Frogs while some have lots of webbing some have minimal webbing dependent on how much time they spend in the water. Frogs can use their webbing to swim as well as to grasp on to things, catch their food and climb. Frogs are amphibians and cold blooded.
Although no genetic history is shared between these two species they do share this trait. Their is no common ancestor between these two species which make them analogous.
 
Webbed FeetWebbed hind foot, Rana catesbienna, American bullfrog.
 
 


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Anthro 101 historical influences of Darwin


Charles Darwin
 
1. Select one of the five individuals listed above who you would argue had the  most influence over Darwin’s development of his theory of Natural selection. This could be a positive or a negative influence. 

I chose French naturalist names Jean-Baptiste Lamarck who had the most influence over Darwin's development of his theory of Natural Selection. I saw similarities with a positive influence from Lamarck in reference to Dawrwin's theorizing.
However,unlike Darwin, Lamarck believed that species evolved through a specific process of choosing what traits worked best for the environment and constantly making these traits more complex. Darwin believed there was a selection in who survived, who receives traits. This means is that traits  must be passed through reproduction over the course of generations. This was actually a problem for Darwin because he did not know how traits were passed on.  Organisms with those new adaptive traits will have greater reproductive success than others and those new beneficial traits will spread, producing a change in the population. This is the process of natural selection, essentially the process of the natural environment selecting the organisms that will be most successful. 
2)  Briefly (but completely) describe the contribution this individual made to the scientific community.
Lamarck suggested a relationship between species and the environment. He suggested that when the environment changed, animals activity patterns also would change to adapt. According to Lamarck, organisms altered their behavior in response to environmental change. Their changed behavior, in turn, modified their organs, and their offspring inherited those "improved" structures. His theory is known as the inheritance of acquired characteristics, or the use -disuse theory. This would result in the increase or decrease (the use or disuse) of certain body parts. In other words, as the environment changed, the animal would have body parts that would change to accommodate the new surroundings. If this meant longer necks or shorter legs or thumbs, sharper teeth, etc; then this is what would happen. Lamarck emphasized the importance of interaction between organisms and the environment with the process of evolution. He is not correct  on his explanation of species changing genetically; but his idea is correct. Lamarck is credited with helping put evolution on the map and with acknowledging that the environment plays a role in shaping the species that live in it.
 Work Cites:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/3/l_023_01.html
www.victorianweb.org/science/lamarck1.html




 
 
3. From the bullet point list above (under "How does evolution work?"), identify the point (or points) most directly affected by this individual’s work and thoroughly explain how this point was influenced by your selected individual. Again, this could be a positive effect, meaning Darwin built upon the knowledge this information provided, or a negative effect, meaning that Darwin demonstrated that this individual’s idea(s) were incorrect and the mechanism of natural selection was an alternative explanation.
 
If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful for reproduction will change.
This involves the concept of Lamarck’s idea that animals will change and adapt to their new surroundings for survival....to continue. The traits that are most desired in maintaining life and continuing will be created and passed on.
"In order for traits to evolve and change, they MUST be inheritable.
Traits must be inherited in order for them to evolve and adapt to the new environment. This correlates with Lamarck’s idea "inheritance of acquired characteristics". (Cited from textbook)
"Individuals do not evolve. Populations do. Individuals cannot change their heritable traits; they can only pass them on. Evolution does not occur within a generation. It occurs between generations". Although Lamarck was genetically incorrect, his idea that heritable traits were passed on that assisted the animals to adapt and thrive in the new environments that were create

 
 
 
4. Could Darwin have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence and ideas of this individual?  

In my opinion I can’t say that Darwin would or would not have developed his theory without Lamarck. Lamarck’s time frame is 1744-1829 and Darwin did not begin to realize the correlation to the animals and their environment until the late 1830's. As Darwin wrote (pg 36) "It at once struck me that under these circumstances favorable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavorable ones to be destroyed. The result of this would be the formation of a new species."(F. Darwin, 1950, pp. 53-54) Darwin was basically stating what Lamarck had interpreted some years prior that animals would lose and or change what was not needed or desired in order to continue striving in the changing environment.
 
 
 
5. How did the attitude of the church affect Darwin and his eventual publication of his book On the Origin of Species”?

The attitude of the church affected Darwin and his publication because it involved evolution theories and the ideas were considered atheism. Many believed and feared that if evolutionary ideas were generally accepted that the Church would be upset and social order would be torn apart, and civilized man would return to savagery. Science and Religion are not easily manageable. Both do explain, in their own ways, ideas and theories. Science can be tested over time and religious ideas cannot. Most people believed evolutionary ideas and theories were defeating what God was saying via the bible and that his creations (humans) would challenge the beliefs.