Questions tagged [human-evolution]
The study of evolution with a particular focus on questions about the evolution of modern humans.
243
questions
-5
votes
0
answers
29
views
Are short-haired men an evolutionary or a social phenomenon? [closed]
It has been alleged quite often that women actually prefer short haired men (see here for example). Also, short hair was a thing in Ancient Greece, so short haired men have been around for long enough ...
- 91
0
votes
0
answers
17
views
Do the EDAR sinodont mutation affect brain size or intelligence?
I am reading on wikipedia that a certain mutation in the "Ectodysplasin A receptor" known as rs3827760 or 370A is responsible for the sinodont dentition pattern in East Asians as well as ...
- 590
2
votes
0
answers
90
views
Genetic differences between Africans and non-Africans due to cross-breeding with Neanderthals?
It is estimated that soon after the "out of Africa event" there was some interbreeding between Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. All non-African peoples are thought to have ...
- 590
1
vote
2
answers
137
views
Is it possible that East Asians are a hybrid between modern and achaic humans?
As I understand it, all populations outside Africa have at least 2% Neanderthal ancestry. In eastern Asia and I think Papua New Guinea in particular that percentage could be more than 4%.
Now you also ...
- 590
0
votes
1
answer
114
views
How well evolution is supported by experts? Are there acceptable scientific objection to evolution? [closed]
There are people in internet , with professional sounding voice , who claim that evolution is not scientifically possible (such as there is not enough time for evolution, or modern genetics has ...
- 17
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
How do we know that the DNA we share with other species (especially primates) isn't fully the result of transposable elements?
I recently read a couple studies that concluded the 25% of genetic similarity between cows and reptiles is actually primarily due to TEs (transposable elements) rather than common ancestry.
Here's the ...
2
votes
2
answers
68
views
Flora and fauna of early homo sapiens environment?
Where can I find as much detail as possible on the flora and fauna (and perhaps geological structures too) between the time of the origin of Homo Sapiens say ~300kya to their "out of Africa" ...
- 759
1
vote
0
answers
37
views
evolution of a preference for cooked meat
When I got a meat thermometer a few years ago, I was startled at how low optimal cooking temperatures are for beef, less that 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, as a kid, I remember reading that the desert ...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
178
views
Intelligence without natural selection?
Natural selection is not the only driving force of evolution. There are other mechanisms such as genetic drift, mutations, gene flow, etc... To what extent can these different mechanisms (which don't ...
- 23
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
How do we logically infer large time scales using Molecular Clocks?
If molecular clocks are uses in genetics to determine the mutation rate of genes to estimate times speciation occurred between two or more life forms, are there genes that have mutation rates that we ...
- 103
4
votes
2
answers
170
views
What motivates an organism to reproduce? [closed]
What is the biological factor (gene or something else in case of humans) which motivates an organism to reproduce?
By reproducing the evolutionary success of an organism increases. But why would an ...
- 41
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
How do we know how long speciation occured? [duplicate]
Just as we use radiometric dating to age rocks, what is the method used to age how long ago speciation occurred in genetics?
- 103
-1
votes
1
answer
146
views
Are babies cute, or is cute babies?
I have no doubt that the cuteness of babies is an evolutionary advantage. So the 'why' is clear, a bit of research also explains the mechanics, such as babies having certain features that trigger ...
11
votes
1
answer
986
views
Human Evolution Chromosome 2: Fusion or Break?
I have a question regarding Chromosome 2. I've heard that there is evidence that the Human Chromosome 2 is a fusion between the two ancestral chromosomes 2a and 2b, but could it be possible that it ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
78
views
DNA from Egyptian Mummies Evolution vs Human of Today
Comment: I ask my biological questions from the point of view of mathematical proportions. I am not a biologist.
Are there significant differences in DNA from Egyptian Mummies vs. those available from ...
- 269
0
votes
1
answer
130
views
Disease-causing allele frequency and modern medicine
I was thinking about what the impact modern medicine might have on human evolution based on a couple assumptions.
If we assume that:
modern medicine has massively cushioned the selection pressure ...
- 103
1
vote
0
answers
143
views
Biological reason for "deadlift face"?
Always when I deadlift at the maximum load, my face looks more or less like this:
or this:
The same applies for when I do other heavy-weight exercises.
But what biological mechanism causes that? ...
- 295
0
votes
0
answers
41
views
Abilities used to survive against natural enemies: directional selection or frequency-dependent selection?
Regarding abilities used to survive predators and parasites, are they subjected more to directional selection or frequency-dependent selection?
It's usually that host-parasite coevolution is ...
- 466
0
votes
0
answers
59
views
Is the human mouth more burn-resistant than other animals which don't eat cooked food?
I burnt my mouth on some hot pizza and it got me wondering if we have been eating cooked food long enough to have evolved a better resistance to oral burns than other species. Have there been any ...
- 109
0
votes
2
answers
189
views
Is there any species of mammals where males can feed the offspring with milk?
It seems to me that an evolutionary path where not only females, but also males could feed the offsprings is entirely plausible: the males anyway have niples, so it is easy for the offsprings to ...
- 2,996
2
votes
0
answers
84
views
Do human lungs have more protection against smoke compared to other animals?
Our ancestors have used fire for more than a million years. Wood smoke is not good for the lungs, but our ancestors were depended on fire. Especially in colder regions of the World like in Europe, ...
- 758
0
votes
0
answers
121
views
Tribes outside humanity
All humans are a group with common ancestry but some humans distinct themselves into sub-groups by "distinctive ancestry" and tend to ask other humans "where are you originally from&...
-4
votes
1
answer
94
views
On the Origin of Homo Sapiens
Paleoanthropologists are certain Homo sapiens originate from Africa. However where in Africa is still contested.
Could you give the reasons why it is thought that Homo sapiens evolved in Eastern ...
1
vote
1
answer
118
views
Where in Africa did Homo sapiens evolve from? [closed]
I’m aware that the possible oldest homo sapiens fossil was found in Morocco. The vast majority of our fossils however is found in Eastern Africa. In recent years,a controversial study on mitochondrial ...
1
vote
1
answer
76
views
Do mutations that cause the loss of a complex trait occur more often than mutations causing gain of a complex traits?
The Wiki entry on the evolution of biological complexity states that "[m]utations causing loss of a complex trait occur more often than mutations causing gain of a complex trait". There is ...
- 13
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
What were the three dinosaur evolutions and do they imply that bipedalism could have evolved multiple times in hominins?
At this pop-sci article transcribing an interview with Jeremy DeSilva, they state:
"If we’ve learned anything about evolutionary trends, it’s that good
ideas evolve over and over again. For ...
- 111
4
votes
1
answer
116
views
Which others human species/subspecies are known to have coexisted in the past with anatomically modern humans?
According to this article,
interbreeding between archaic and modern humans
There is evidence for interbreeding between archaic and modern humans
during the Middle Paleolithic and early Upper ...
- 2,777
3
votes
1
answer
967
views
What's the most recent common ancestor of reptiles and humans?
In the Phylogeny of humans and reptiles, what is/are some of the most recent common ancestors?
- 217
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
What are evolutionary reasons for humans' limited regeneration abilities? [duplicate]
As far as I understand (I am not a biologist), a ability of a species arises during the evolution if:
It increases reproduction chances
It is not too energy expensive
It is physically possible
At ...
- 109
0
votes
1
answer
104
views
Does mitochondrial eve have to exist?
Suppose we took all living humans and found the set of their mothers, mothers' mothers, etc. and then traced down as far as possible. Is there a logical reason that this tree has to converge to one '...
user65483
-5
votes
1
answer
95
views
How can monkeys be ancestors to people when they are herbivores? [closed]
How monkeys can be ancestors to people when monkeys are herbivores but humans are omnivorous?
Maybe it is monkeys that evolved to become omnivorous gradually?
How does the generally accepted theory of ...
0
votes
1
answer
56
views
Common ancestry of our cells to the first unicellular cell
If we start the chapter of life with low fidelity self replicating RNAs forming exactly identical copies of themselves, which then later evolved to form the first primordial basic cells which further ...
- 141
0
votes
1
answer
215
views
Evolutionary selection pressure for human hair patterns?
Are there hypotheses or conjectures that postulate any selection pressures or benefits that account for the patterns of non-pubic human hair? Particularly:
Humans do not grow notable (i.e., non-...
- 795
0
votes
2
answers
800
views
Why did the indigenous peoples of northern Asia and America not evolve the same physical characteristics as people of Nordic ancestry?
I was watching DW's documentary on the Arctic the other day, and I was struck by how the indigenous peoples of the far north seemed - visually speaking - to fit into two categories. On the one hand, ...
- 191
45
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Are humans more adapted to "light mode" or "dark mode"?
I was discussing with a colleague about using dark-mode vs. light mode and remembered an article arguing that humans vision is more adapted to light-mode rather than dark-mode:
I know that the trend “...
- 1,665
-5
votes
2
answers
137
views
Why do apes still exist? [closed]
If we are evolved from apes, why don't all ape evolve and become human.
Or
Why the today's ape stop evolving to become a human?
- 125
3
votes
0
answers
67
views
Why is the spinal cord shortened in some vertebrates (cauda equina) but not in others?
Hodos, 2009, mentions that the "spinal cord tail" that humans have is not present in most vertebrates. This page mentions cauda equina is not present early on in human embryonic development, ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
138
views
confusion in types and kingdom system of classification
I am a high school student and I want to ask: is the 'kingdom system' of classification (two-kingdom, three-kingdom etc.) different from artificial or natural classification? I am asking this because ...
- 279
1
vote
0
answers
90
views
What is the evolutionary advantage of breathing and heart beats syncing between partners?
I recently read that partners who are close to one another usually when touching have their heart beats and breathing in sync. Why does this occur? What is the benefit of it occurring? How does this ...
- 568
3
votes
2
answers
210
views
What motivates children to start walking?
Crawling is a way we first learn to translocate but , in all our lives, there comes a point where naturally try standing up and try to walk.. but why? What really pushes us over the edge to start ...
user56920
1
vote
0
answers
33
views
Why didn't more muscles evolve the endurance of heart muscle? [closed]
The heart is a muscle capable of both the quick contraction of white muscle cells, and also the endurance of red muscle cells. Why haven't more muscles in the body adapted the same combo of abilities? ...
- 111
-3
votes
1
answer
123
views
Why do humans need pillow to sleep better? [closed]
As far as I know, no animal sleeps with a pillow/support under their heads. Why then do we need to keep a pillow?
- 201
2
votes
0
answers
48
views
Shrinking size of Y chromosomes
I read on the web that the size of Y chromosomes decreased in earlier period of time and the picture below tells that it is still occurring.
So basically I want to know what caused this shrinking and ...
- 221
1
vote
1
answer
404
views
Did humans evolve the ability to swim? Or is it just luck that we are able to swim?
Many animals like ducks have evolved features to be able to swim. Even not so aquatic animals like a tiger evolved so that its feet can act as paddles. In humans I don't see any direct feature that ...
- 119
-3
votes
1
answer
347
views
Disprove mitochondrial eve is 6500 years old
Some creationists, such as Roger Liebi, actively exploit this article:
A high observed substitution rate in the human mitochondrial DNA control region (published in Nature Genetics, April 1997).
This ...
- 19
1
vote
0
answers
58
views
Why is it that only humans are ashamed of certain critical biological activities
Humans are ashamed of certain activities that are critical to our survival.
Examples: mating, defecation, exposing certain parts of our bodies
This restricts some activities from being performed while ...
- 119
0
votes
0
answers
179
views
When did humans or their ancestors gain the instinct to take shelter?
I was going to ask if seeking shelter in a constructure dwelling or natural formation was instinctive to modern humans or if it is a learned sociatal behaviour. By shelter I mean seek routine ...
- 101
-3
votes
1
answer
396
views
Why do humans have flat faces, as compared to chimps?
Apparently adult, particularly older human faces resemble infantile chimps more tham they resemble any other adult hominid.
And adult humans even have as many body hair follicles as infantile chimps. ...
user59946
1
vote
0
answers
16
views
(Soft) Lay Survey of human natural history
I am looking for an introduction to the natural history of humans. I had originally thought Sapiens until I found out it is more a history and archeology book of dubious scientific accuracy. The Sorts ...
- 111
-1
votes
1
answer
87
views
Can there be significant new changes in physical features of Humans due to evolution in 10000 years of span? [duplicate]
Humans migrated from Africa about 60000 years. And in these years humans physical features undergone significantly in terms of skin color, hair, eye color and facial features.
So, with this we can ...
- 109