GoddessManko
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Joined: 3/6/2013
From: Dante's Inferno
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jlf1961 is right on this one - the evolution (mutation) of man.
The important thing to note is that evolution started from Hardy-Weinberg theory and eugenics to currently RNAi technology and yes, genetic engineering on humans. There are "designer babies".
What causes mutations (based on environment, from the way we attain our food and the type of food we consume, to the temperatures during night and day, geography etc.) is known as the epigenome. Although genetics and DNA are also affected by hereditary traits, personal ethics and values etc.
RNAi technology is known as "gene silencing" and scientists believe they can use it to map out the human genome and be able to silence genes that may cause a predisposition to certain diseases like cancer. It's here and now.
I actually did quite a bit of research into eugenics myself. Lincoln for example was an extremely tall man in his time though barely over 6 feet tall. Most men in that era were shorter than 5'9. (Relatively recent). Another instance is that a giraffe mutated to have a long neck for sake of survival, being able to reach the leaves of trees that grew taller in time.
There are great papers about what factors may cause one of three types of mutation in man, however the best of them all are the Oxford papers on Biometrics, otherwise known as: Biometrika.
Right now is peculiar because we are seeing a lot of the changes in the planet accelerated by our behaviors and by us changing the landscape of the planet itself. Monocelled organisms mutate and evolve MUCH faster than multicelled organism because their make up is the far less complex RNA as opposed to DNA so they may be able to keep up with the accelerated change in the atmosphere, especially in warmer climates. Ergo, the super virii which are now emerging. Thankfully a virus can only mutate one of two ways usually, to be more contagious OR more lethal, rare to see a combination of the two but scientists are keeping their eyes peeled in the meantime.
quote:
ORIGINAL: jlf1961
quote:
ORIGINAL: Dvr22999874
I'm with you jlf , although in my time at sea around this ball of mud, I have seen some VERY strange things. I have learned not to let them play on my mind too much though...............that way lies madness *smile*.
One thing though............if you can get a hold of a book called 'What Happened When', written around the british Time Team, you will see a pic of one of the nutty bastards wearing a suit of armour ( Tudor or Pre-Tudor, I think), so either the bloke who wore it first could be a big-fella, or Phil, the fella wearing the tin suit could be a bit of a short-ass. Having watched the programme many times, I would bet on the former.
I went to Arundel castle when I was about 8 to 10 years old and there was a suit of armour there that would have fitted me perfectly at the age I was then, so I agree with you again, most of those guys (and it's only 450 years ago) were a hell of a lot shorter than modern man.
While working on my master's in history, I did some studies on the physiological differences over the development of modern man. Otzi, the ice man was short and stocky, pretty common for his era, however, as technology developed leading to changes in diet, it seems homo sapiens grew taller, and depending on the prevailing climate, leaner. Peoples indigenous to colder climates maintained a stocky body while increasing in height.
Just like there has been a recent discovery in the genetic makeup of the human species that shows a marked resistance to disease. Interesting enough, it was discovered among the hemophiliac population during the worst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It was discovered that some of the patients receiving whole blood never developed HIV or AIDS. Blood tests would reveal the virus in their system, but no antibodies, and eventually the virus seemed to die off. In other words these people just broke the rules and did not get sick.
A researcher got curious and studied their DNA compared to AIDs patients. He noticed that the patients not contracting AIDs had a different genetic make up in one specific area. He traced this back to people that during initial and subsequent plague events in the British isles seemed to initially contract plague, but then seemed to beat it in the first stage. Others just never got it, although DNA tests showed the plague was in their physical remains, found in a portion of the teeth that retained blood at time of death. These individuals died of natural causes, like old age, but not of plague.
Basically a random mutation among a small population has carried on to the present, however still rare.
This prompted studies looking for unique traits that, if allowed, could be introduced to the general population, but that means genetic engineering on humans which is illegal under International Law, UN and other treaties, and most fundamentalist Christian and Islamic religions.
Of course that is a topic for another discussion.
< Message edited by GoddessManko -- 2/11/2014 12:32:19 AM >
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