Over the course I have learned that us, the human species, is an ongoing evolution that has impacts us biologically, behaviorally, environmentally, and culturally over time and space. One way we are capable of seeing these changes is by utilizing a biocultural approach. We can understand the consequences in our biology in response to our cultural behavior that has influenced migration, food production, politics, technology, and much more.
Speaking of technology, since our advancement we are capable of seeing these traits evolve from our past, present, and even predict the future. Currently, in our modern world, natural selection has been a very important and noticeable trait. It operates differently [fast or slow] based on two factors: their traits and environment. An example would be how is your body capability of having antibiotic -resistance infections from any disease like Zika virus or E. Coli? The ability to fight this has to do with both your genetic make-up and environment that is dictated by our culture.
The key thing is our environment is very complex and diverse; it affects the change in our biology. Another key contribution to this is, mutations-which often occurs. It may seem that these changes have to be a a complete 360, but it really is not the case. It takes time for it to even affect a large group to where their genetic composition could be a modified or even create a new set of genes.
So what are some examples of traits that are evolving in humans currently?
Our appendix for instance, which was originally believed to be eliminated will not. Well, it is predicted that the larger appendix will stay because we will die with a small and slender one. Meaning with a smaller appendix, which its purpose is unknown, it will have a higher chance of getting an infection because the swelling can cut off the blood supply. I find this really shocking because I remember growing up being taught that the appendix is useless and since we do not use it compared to way back when; it is normally removed in surgeries because of appendicitis. Appendicitis is the result when inflammation that is filled with pus leading to really severe abdominal pain.
Humans are not the only thing evolving, so are diseases. However, humans defense have evolved against these organisms but they have been overlooked. For instance, coughing is the way the body uses as a defense mechanism. It is crazy to think that but then again I am not a medical student. We have been taught and have normalized “coughing or pain is usually interpreted as a disease or trauma”(Nesse and Williams, 1998).
As the list goes on for defense like diarrhea, vomiting, anxiety, sneezing, and so on. I can not wrap my mind as to why doctors continue to use it in a negative light. No wonder doctors struggle in diagnosing someone because these “symptoms” are very much alike!
Overall, I thought the course we have learned about our evolution has helped us understand our now but has raised questions about our past and future. I hope we make good choices because they will impact human evolution in the future. Our choices do have an irreversible consequence to some extent, so lets be mindful with the only home that we have.
Hi Silvia, great job on your blog! I liked how you mentioned and went into detail about the appendix because it wasn’t an example that I’ve seen in some of the other blogs that I’ve read. I also grew up hearing that the appendix is useless and have heard many stories of how people just get them removed during surgeries and it doesn’t affect them. I also liked that you reminded us about diseases. I think that’s important to keep in mind as we discuss evolution because the more people get vaccines for these illnesses and diseases, the more people will become immune to them. Current diseases could possibly evolve into something more harmful and new diseases will come to the surface as humans and the environment evolves.
Hello Silvia! I thought you had a very thorough and interesting blog post. I thought you did an excellent job leading into your examples by explaining our advancements in technology and our diverse environment. Your specific example of the appendix was fascinating and a great point that I never really chalked up to evolution. You then brought up the idea that diseases are evolving alongside us humans and I think that’s a very apt observation. I agree with you that over the course of this class we learned as much about our past and how that can affect our future. I also agree that we get our act together when it comes to our decision s that affect more than just our species but the entire planet. Good job this week. Your post made me think about a lot more than just human evolution.
I agree with you, in this course learning that us, the human species, is an ongoing evolution. It has impacted us biologically, behaviorally, environmentally, and culturally over many centuries. Evolution has helped us understand our now and has gave us questions about our past and future that we will learn about eventually. I like how you talked bout the evolution of diseases that humans carried and how they continued to get passed down through organisms. A topic that wasn’t really talked about but is really overlooked. Good Blog
Hello, your post was a great read as I like that you spoke on things like disease and even behaviors, food production, technology, and even politics. We over all are a genius species in my opinion. We are extremely creative with how we are able to get into different studies of human nature and even evolution as a whole. Humans have the ability to do so much that I do not know what species can trump us. I think the traits you spoke on was great choices. I do not think we give ourselves the credit that is due when it comes to the creation that were made before us and even after us. I like this course a lot as it for sure allowed us to see more of our physical self worth and knowing that without histories or our ancestors we probably would not be some smart today.
Hi silvia! This was a very interesting blog! Im a human biology major so i feel like I’ve got a pretty good understanding about how the body works, in a very rudimentary way, but I had no idea about the effect of the appendix on the body. You’d think that it would be the opposite, the bigger the appendix, the larger the swelling would be due to infection rather than the smaller one. I know from personal experience, having a poor immune system, its so hard to tell the cause of many symptoms as they can arise with many different problems. A sore throat could be mono, or pneumonia or strep or just a common cold. All of this requires more testing in order to determine the answer.