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Topic: It's official: Chimps are more evolved than humans
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500_Apples
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12684
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posted 18 April 2007 06:38 AM
I wonder how many evolutionary biologists would have actually "assumed" that humans have more new genes.Let alone new *active* genes. But anyhow, their methodology seems strange upon reading the new scientist article. Humans have more in common with different types of cousins than they do with each other, for example gorrilas and bonobos and chimpanzees. Wouldn't surprise me if that was true for rhesus monkeys as well. [ 18 April 2007: Message edited by: 500_Apples ]
From: Montreal, Quebec | Registered: Jun 2006
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Le Téléspectateur
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7126
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posted 18 April 2007 09:33 AM
quote: Humans have stoped evolving since we learned to control our environment, as we are no longer exposed to changing environmental pressure. Although not that long ago evolutinary wise, that is your 'fitness' has little influence on your number of progeny.
This end of history claim is not really something that can be made. Evolution occurs over huge amounts of time, as you allude to. If you are inferring that recent technological changes in some parts of the world have halted evolution you need to have more humility. Humans aren't as powerful as we let ourselves believe. "Fitness" is the number progeny you produce that survive until they can reproduce. So you're right fitness does not influence number of progeny, it's the other way around, mathematically speaking. quote: Just an example. I bet also that large scale studies would show good-looking people are more likely to have children than not good-looking people, for example.
I'm not sure how you would operationalize "good-looking" and "not good-looking" for use in such a study. Those categories seem to be far too reliant on personal taste to actually mean something for more than just one person. [ 18 April 2007: Message edited by: Le Téléspectateur ]
From: More here than there | Registered: Oct 2004
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