Human Variation and Race

 

Alma Payne

May 28, 2021

 

Human Variation and Race

 

 Discuss specifically how this environmental stress negatively impacts the survival of humans by disturbing homeostasis.   How does it make it difficult for the human body to maintain internal conditions that allow the physiological systems to function correctly? 

One environmental stress that negatively impacts the survival of human by disturbing homeostasis’s is COLD. When body is stresses by cold the body strives to control its temperature through physiological adjustments. The body’s control system is analogous to thermostatic control of temperature in a house with both heating and cooling capabilities. When body temperature rises above a certain temperature, effector responses associated with cooling, so basically the body will do things like sweat, your blood flow will increase. My mom uses to say “rub your hands together to warm up” this was to get the blood flow going. Another way to try to control this stressor is by wearing appropriate clothing and doing things like (“huddling”) are far more important in cold ambient conditions than in the heat. A second difference is the greater role played by hormones during cold stress, including the increased secretion of catecholamines (norepinephrine and epinephrine) and thyroid hormones. (2011. Extreme Weather and Climate). When body temperature falls below a set point, heat gain responses (decreasing skin blood flow, shivering) are initiated and because the human thermoregulatory control system does not operate as a simple on-off system, but also has proportional control and rate-of-change control characteristics.

 

For each of the four types of adaptations described above, (short term, facultative, developmental and cultural), identify and explain one adaptation humans have evolved or developed to solve the problems caused by your chosen stress. Use information in the assignment module to locate these adaptations.    Include one image for each adaptation.   To summarize, you should have four separate sections here, one for each type of adaptation, with an image for each.  

 

Developmental Adaptation-

when it comes to developmental adaptation, race would be considered a subspecies’. People who have lived together for a long time may have some alleles in common (for example, those that code for skin color or hair color), there is more genetic variation within races than there is between races, but skin color and hair color are some that I can think of.

Cultural Adaptation-

The theory of cultural adaptation refers to the process and time it takes a person to assimilate to a new culture. It is not always an easy transition. The example I can think of is a foreign exchange student coming to the U.S unable to read signs or understand the American Culture, they will have to adapt the American way of doing things. The image I chose is to show the different cultures and how they say hello, it shows how we all have a universal language (the human language), its just demonstrated in different ways.

Short Term Adaptation-  

These types of traits allow an organism to respond quickly to changes in the environment to maintain homeostasis (i.e., normal physiological conditions).  The response is quick and the return to the original expression of the trait is rapid once the stress is removed.  An example of this would be sweating in response to heat stress. An example of short term adaptation is our body’s ability to adjust to temperature as defense mechanism, like in the picture the man is cold he wearing warm clothes and the body is shivering, when the body shivers it is increasing the blood flow which is way to warm the body, it is your bodies way of relieving that stress.

 

Facultative adaptation- 

 Facultative traits are genetic traits.  They do not require a change in an organism’s DNA but they do involve turning on and off genes to alter a phenotypic expression in response to an environmental stress.  Sickle cell anemia is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body.

 

 

What are the benefits of studying human variation from this perspective across environmental clines?

A benefit to study human variation is to better understanding ourselves. Human Variations concerns itself with what most of us consider to be the most interesting species on earth the Homo sapiens. A second reason for studying Human Variation is its practical value for human preservation and the discovery and description of the genetic contribution to many human diseases, this had been why we have a cure for so many diseases and is also why this information is very useful to us.

 

Is it possible to use race to understand the variation of the adaptations you listed in #2?   Yes, it possible to use race to understand the variation of adaptations because, humans exhibit biological diversity. The evolution of the human species and how our biological variation can be similar or different from that of other species of animals like other primates and apes.

Studying the human race and the different sub species and gives us the ability to understand how different biological traits developed over evolutionary time.

 

 

 

The Language Experiment

Alma Payne

May 25, 2021

The Language Experiment

I did this activity with my boyfriend in the kitchen and we were talking about my son’s soccer practice. He asked me how was his first practice today, I found the conversation to be awkward because I did not say anything (verbally) but still being able to use my head, hands, and expressions, he was able to grasp my responses, It sort of felt like charades. He id not alter the way he asked his questions but he felt it was weird that it was a one-sided conversation because I was unable to ask question back or give open ended comments which gives him the room carry on the conversation easier. My boyfriend was in control of the conversation, He initiated the topic by asking about how my son’s day was at soccer practice? He definitely had the hand up in the conversation because I was unable to answer back. When it comes to this particular conversation where you can only use non verbal ques, it is a language that everyone world wide will be able to understand. The only thing that would make it culturally a problem if different hand gestures mean something else in different cultures. Like the looking at your watch gesture, means “im in a hurry” or I got to be somewhere”, in the United States, but in the middle east, in a conversation should not run on time, and it would be rude to look at your watch- mid-conversation. SO just depending on who you are talking to it can be taking in different ways. According to concordian.org, “Western cultures, especially that of native English-speakers, tend to view silence as problematic. Worse still, in a Western social context silence is often perceived as a sign of inattention, apathy or even hostility.” (https://www.concordian.net/post/the-sounds-of-silence). According to the famous Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, "Silence is a source of great strength". In China, silence is often used to indicate agreement and receptiveness. In Asian cultures silence can often be a sign of respect. If an Asian person asks a question, it is considered polite for the listener to pause to consider the answer – even if they know the answer immediately. By not being able to use any gestures it was almost impossible to have a conversation and it actually comes off as rude because the person has no idea what was happen and felt he was being ignored. This assignment was difficult because you can talk to the person., if you cant use and gestures it makes thinks almost impossible to complete a conversation. This assignment has shown me just how important t is to have sign language as a form of communication for those who don’t have the ability to speak verbally. It brings to light how powerful body language, the way we stand the expression on our face can speak volume to us and means just as much as what actually comes out of mouth, but the energy that we put off. In fact, according to tutorialpoints.com, “Our body language helps others identify our emotions, status and even our lifestyle. Non-verbal communication plays a significant role in conjunction with the spoken words. ... Any sign of conflict between the body language and our words can make us appear untrustworthy and deceptive.

Being able to read and understand body language , gives us a better understanding as to the person we are having a conversation with. Body language is more that just something we put on  for an interview and it can only help you get a job opportunity, body language is way more important than we think, and without proper body language, in bland conversation where you are wondering how genuine the person is or how sure they are, there are many difficulties in the absence of body language in places like home, school or the  workplace. So along with paying attention to your body language, you should always pay attention to how people around you use body language to express their opinions - this allows you to accurately determine your next move. So when I think of a body language style that can be taken “the wrong way”, I think of fidgeting, fidgeting may mean that there is a lack of interaction between the two sides of the conversation.  Many people who have anxiety will fidget and people make take that as a sign of rudeness or being impatient, it also a defensive mechanism and is done to self sooth. Turning to other directions rather than talking to each other, or crossing your hands to your chest can mean that the other party does not agree with your opinion, or that the content of the conversation gives them a tendency to close their minds. Loich Batumba, vice president of the student council of EHL, says that he clearly remembers similar experiences: “At the time of my first interview, my interviewer and I barely communicated eye-to-eye, so I could clearly feel that there is a lack of interest between our conversations”.

The Piltown Hoax

 

    So the question is what is the Piltdown Hoax? Maybe they really thought this was a great discovery. In 1912 Charles Dawson, an amateur archaeologist claimed to have discovered the ‘missing link’ between ape and man. He CLAIMED to  had found part of a human-like skull in Pleistocene gravel beds near Piltdown village in Sussex, England. The Piltdown Man, was a species of extinct human lineage whose fossils, including a portion of the skull, a jawbone, and a few teeth, were found in 1911 and 1912. This was believed to be "the earliest Englishman," and also the missing link between apes and humans. This took a turn when in 1953, the jawbone was found to be that of a modern ape. It was said that it had been treated with chemicals to make it look as though it had been lying in the ground for hundreds of centuries. 

 The top of the skull was

 still thought to be a genuine fossil, but far more recent than originally believed. Scratches on the surfaces of the teeth, visible under the microscope, revealed that the teeth had been filed down to make them look human. They also discovered that most of the finds from the Piltdown site had been artificially stained to match the local gravels. In 1949, scientist conducted a test on the Piltdown fossils by measuring the fluorine levels of fossils scientist can roughly date them. 

    According to PBS.org, "The New York Times in 1953 further reported, "Sir Arthur Keith, famous British paleontologist, spent more than five years piecing together the fragments of what he called a 'remarkable' discovery. He said the brain case was 'primitive in some respects but in all its characteristics distinctly human.' The Piltdown man was named Eoanthropus dawsonii, or Dawn man, in honor of its discoverer, and paleontologists throughout the world handled it with reverence". (pbs.org) This made matters even more confusing, since there were fossil examples of modern humans from 50,000 years ago. That would have made Piltdown Man a freakish throwback, not a missing link. (pbs.org). Some of the pieces came from an orangutans, teeth were filed down, joints had been broken off. this was leading to ape, not human . What was the motive? Some may say that because England had not broken any barriers (like other great countries) in the world of archeologist Dawson may have felt the need to lie, in order to have a leg in the race. Some people do things for reason of desperation, I cant understand why? This situation however does bring me back to the topic of good and bad science and there differences. I feel the Piltdown hoax was a prime example of Bad science  and how it is a flawed version of good science, if they would have done a bit more research on the bones then who know what they could have discovered as opposed to making them appear to be something that they were not.  When you have a hypotheses it can come with the best of intentions, but by lying about something is very misleading and sets back science for years and years.

The Tailbone's Connected to the.........

 

All Mammals share the vertebrae also known as a tailbone. The human tailbone is similar to the tail bone of  many animals. The tailbone is proof of human evolution. Despite their outwardly differences they have the same form but they have different functions. "Other mammal find their tails useful for balance, but when humans learned to walk, the tail bone in humans became useless and evolution converted it to just some fused vertebrae we call a coccyx"~ Lifscience.com

 

 

"The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone    
The hip bone's connected to the backbone
The backbone's connected to the neck bone
Doin' the skeleton dance"

 

 

 

  Animal tails are used in a variety of ways. They provide a source of locomotion for fish and some other forms of marine life. Many land animals use their tails to brush away flies and other biting insects, this analogous structure serves a different purpose for different mammals

 

 

Lets Talk Gravity

 

 

Just wanted to share some of my favorite movies about Gravity. Please feel free to add yours!!!!

 

Top 5

1. Gravity

2. Interstellar

3.  Blackhole

4. Man of Steel (superman)

5.Impact

 

 

 

 

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin both had different opinions about how life on earth evolved. Although, Lamarck and Darwin ideals regarding life on earth differ they also shared similarities. For instance, both Lamarck and Darwin both recognized that life had changed over time, in addition Lamarck also agreed life evolved from organisms. Lamarck believed that living things changed to adapt to their surroundings. for example, Lamarck believed that the giraffe stretched its neck to reach high for eating and subsequently the changes are passed on to giraffes’ offspring. Several years after Lamarck’s Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics was published Darwin book Origin of Species dealing with natural selection was published.

Darwin’s book pointed to the inconsistency of species from common ancestors. Darwin was influenced by Lamarck and spent many years considering Lamarck’s theory that over time living things change to adapt to their environment.

If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different. 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.

Darwin it is believed that Darwin was interested in life and how life evolve. I believe because of his contemporizes work it encouraged Darwin to set out on a journey to understand the process of natural selection.

No doubt Darwin was closed mouth about his theory on evolution and the process of life due to the overwhelming influence the churches had on society at that time. Darwin’s life would have been at risk if the churches felt that Darwin was undermining the bible.

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book%3A_Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/05%3A_Evolution/5.15%3A_Theory_of_Evolution_by_Natural_Selection

https://necsi.edu/lamarck-vs-darwin

Two items I would take to a desert island.

 If I were stranded on a desert island the two items I would take with me would be a fire starter and water purification pills. I would have plenty of water to sustain myself by using the purification pills. I would also have fire to provide warmth, cooking and provide light at night.