Evolution is defined as a gradual process in which organisms become better adapted to their environment through gradual changes that occur from generation to generation. Throughout the history of life, the human species has changed to become better suited to the environment. All of the changes have ultimately resulted from mutations, which occur at the gene level. Pathogens such as bacteria or viruses that live inside of our cells have had a major influence upon our evolution (Parks, Panelli & Weinstein, 2003). Pathogens have affected our evolution in two major ways, which I will focus on: antibiotic resistance and virulence. Virulence has also changed in regards to ways of reproduction and establishing a higher rate of fitness. Other than pathogens, the human body has evolved to develop processes in which the cells are better protected (Parks, Panelli & Weinstein, 2003). These processes are referred to as the defense mechanisms, or immune system. Due to the ongoing change in human health and medicine, evolution has been selective to provide the human species with a higher level of fitness.
At the cellular level, genes are made of DNA, which is the genetic blueprint for growth and development. When DNA is replicated and undergoes cell division, there may be errors, known as mutations that occur. After multiple generations of offspring are produced, eventually the mutations will change enough to show a new distinguishable trait such as disease or a particular disorder (Ovchinnikov, Rubin & Swergold, 2002). If the same genes are passed on and carry the traits for a particular disorder, then fitness of the host will be lowered, because of the impact of a certain disease. An example would be cystic fibrosis, which develops ...
... middle of paper ...
...ca, 88(10), 4270-4274.
Madigan, M., & Martinko, J. (2006). Brock biology of microorganisms. (11 ed.). New York, NY.
McDade, T. (2005). The ecologies of human immune function. Annual review of anthropology, 34, 495-521.
Ovchinnikov, I., Rubin, A., & Swergold, G. (2002). Tracing the lines of human evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 99(16), 10522-10527.
Parkes, M., Panelli, R., & Weinstein, P. (2003). Converging paradigms for environmental health theory and practice. Environmental health perspectives, 111(5), 669-675.
Futuyma, D. (2009). Evolution. (2 ed., pp. 421-424). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Willard, H., Angrist, M., & Ginsburg, G. (2005). Genomic medicine: Genetic variation and its impact on the future of health care. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, 360(1460), 1543-1550.
Wilford, J. (2004).Another Branch of Early Human Ancestors Is Reported by Scientists. [Online], March. Available at: http://gateway.proquest.com [Accessed 28 March 2004].
Madigan, Michael T. et al. Brock biology of Microorganisms. 13th ed. California: Benjamin Cummings, 2012. Print.
I learned that the gene for telomerase is the focus for a discussion of aging and immortality. I also learned that the ethnic differences in the frequency of a particular breast cancer gene are used to describe the relationships among population genetics, prehistoric migrations, and linguistic groups. Also, the gene for the classical ABO blood group is the springboard for a discussion of genetic selection and drift. This book reveals genes that we share with all living creatures and those that are unique to our species. It describes genes that are essential to every cell and then those that seem to serve no useful purpose at all. It tells us about genes that predict disease with complete certainty and those that only tilt the scales.
Myers, provider of source material for Edie Heydt's notes from "Human Origins," fall 1997, Alfred. Much of the material in the notes is paraphrased, and the original information sources are unknown.
One of the most revered and utterly enigmatic topics present within humanity is the evolution of humankind itself. Collectively contrasting both the origins of man physically and the very beginning of complex thought processes has been an incredible task, which is currently undetermined. The exact methods of the mind and of human character are both delicate and completely beyond true understanding. The only ways
read for my book report. Roger Lewin is a British award-winning science author and writer of 20 books. He was employed at New Scientist in London for about nine years. He went to Washington, D.C. to write books and other pieces for science for ten years as news editor. The book by him that I chose, in 201 pages, this book explained answers to questions like where and when modern humans first appeared, what features distinguish modern humans, who our immediate ancestors were, and many more. For example, the subtopics are; the African origin, the multiregional origin, the archeology of modern humans, language and modern human origins, symbolism and images, mitochondrial divergence, human variation, and an overview of homosapieans and the modern debate. In this book there are two main views in paleoanthropology, the study of humankind, about the origin of modern humans: the African origin and the multiregional origin.
... William Keck. "Environmental Health in Public Health." Principles of public health practice. Albany: Delmar Publishers, 1997. 584-588. Print.
In my visit to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), I observed many interesting things concerning the issue on evolution and natural selection. An example of evolutionism I saw in the AMNH was the Hall of Human Biology and Evolution. This hall concentrated on human evolution and how certain traits arose through successful generation—such as the change in the skeletal system as a result of walking upright. Fossils of Australopithecus afarensis, which is believed to be the earliest human relative, are dated back nearly 4 million years.
Talaro , K., & Chess, B. (2012). Foundations in microbiology. (8th ed., pp. 563-564). New York, NY:
The majority of scientific work in genetics and genomic sequencing has been done in the last 155 years. In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species where he proposed evolution by natural selection. Evolution is the change of inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.Yet, the principals of genetics required to explain how characters are ...
Evolution is still nevertheless one of the most largely discussed topics in modern society. The theory of evolution was first proposed by Charles Darwin (1990) and is described as process by which all biotic creatures have developed and advanced from primitive organisms through changes occurring over time. The relevance of this fundamental theory is witnessed throughout the many disciplines of the pathology department in subject area biomedical science. Biomedical science consists of seven major disciplines; haematology, transfusion science, clinical chemistry, histology, virology, cytology, immunology and medical microbiology. However, significance of evolutionary theory had a drastic impact on mostly haematology and some virology.
The following information is a researched paper on the conditions and evolution that made human beings. There of course comes great controversy with this topic. Many scientists and people in general see the human race as completely evolved. The main and simple argument of anti evolution-debaters is that there is no record of humans evolving drastically in recent history. Another common argument is simply why are there still monkeys if we have evolved from them? This paper will provide evidence that proves these assumptions wrong. significant research has been done to show that we are, in fact, still evolving.
Since the discoveries of Charles Darwin and other nineteenth century explorers, humans have created an analogy of the evolution of our own species. This view of our evolution is often represented by an all-too-familiar branching tree. Recent studies, however, suggest that this interpretation should be replaced with a map of human derivation in the form of an interwoven “tapestry.” These lineages would come together in kinships over time (Finlayson). Two recent studies have proved that Neanderthal DNA is still present in modern human keratin, the protein that helps produce skin, hair, and nails (Yong). Today, there is much uncertainty in the work of anthropologists. Any new discovery in paleontology, large or small, is likely to change our big understanding of human evolution.
2004 Has the Comination of Genetic and Fossil Evidence Solved the Riddle of Modern Humans?, Evolutionary Anthropology 13: 145-159.
Another mechanism is a hereditable type of evolution is mutations. Mutations are alterations to a gene. Mutation can be harmful, beneficial or neutral. Mutations are the origin of the source of genetic diversity (9).Mutation that are harmful, hinders the chances of the organism chances of survival and are likely to die along with the mutations. Beneficial mutations increase the chances of the individual to survive in its environment, and they will be more likely to reproduce and pass on the gene to future generations (9).