This blog is devoted to BIOL 6988, a graduate level seminar in the biological sciences at Youngstown State University. While targeted towards graduate students, BIOL 6988 actively incorporates undergraduate participants in their scholastic endeavors in the biological sciences. This blog is intended as a educational tool not just for YSU students and faculty, but for anyone who wishes to contribute to an active-learning environment.
Sorry that I have started this post late, but today you watched Your Inner Fish. Who is suppose to start this conversation? I'm looking forward to your thoughts.
The father of evolution played a great role on Earth from his discoveries and this has really improved our ability to think on who we are and how we came to existence.This video is very interesting to bring about the relationship between humans and all the other creatures on earth .Thanks be to this great team for sharing this important information.I have seen and heard in the video that there are similarities such as the four limbs,the DNA that are shared between humans and fish ,what about some of the features that fish have and human beings do not have such as the tail,human being breath through the nose but fish breath through the gills,how did this happen?
That's interesting to think about the ways our evolution branched to cope with different environments. I've always been fascinated by fish's electroception. Using ampullae of Lorenzini fish can sense electrical currents in water. What would life be like if we had developed or not lost this sensory trait from evolution?
In reference to the disappearance of the tail on humans, there is evidence on the human anatomy where a tail would have been had humans evolved with one. Our spines are made up of individual bones and the most distal bone of our spine is called the coccyx, or also known as the “tail bone.” Upon some further research on the subject, a human embryo will have a small tail for a short time during development in the womb. In rare cases, a human can be born still having the tail, which is about 12 cm long. It is then surgically removed, with the individuals going on to live normal lives. I guess the tail on a human was never very useful if we were able to evolve without one.
All of these concepts regarding evolution and diverging from ancient aquatic ancestors are very fascinating. It brings a thought to my mind about evolution in the future. While we definitely won't be able to witness any drastic changes in our own lifespans, it makes me wonder how our very distant grandchildren and relatives might differ, in evolutionary respects, from us. Humans obviously did not have use for a tail, but I have heard different theories about what may arise from the human genome. For example, I distinctly recall a theory about humans eventually losing the pinky finger and redheads and blue-eyed people becoming completely extinct. Not to mention how the advancing technology could influence genetic change. To be truthful, I just majored in biology to genetically engineer mermaids so I think that's a pretty realistic milestone. Any other thoughts on what may become of the human race, or any other species, in the future?
Well for humans in the future I know that less people will be born with wisdom teeth. Teeth are already much smaller and they decrease in size about one percent every 1000 years. Jaw size has also decreased over the years. Also I read that humans will have less body hair in the future than they do today.
That is really logical as far as structures we no longer have use for. I just read an article that detailed that most wisdom teeth removal surgeries are actually unnecessary. While some cases, the teeth are actually causing harm, the author stated that dentists and oral surgeons deem the surgery "routine" but a decent number of the patients would have been fine without. How interesting that we as a society have built an industry on a structure that may disappear in the future. Thank you for the insight!
I am agree with Michelle, and have gone through some articles and posts where I found that humans would loss their hair and will become more and more bald in the future. Our clothing, air conditioning and heating system everywhere making our body's insulating properties no longer in use. Furthermore, women are seen more attractive with less hair on various parts of their bodies. These are making the researchers think that humans of the future will have much less body hair than they do today.
I found the ‘one bone, two bones, many bones, and digits’ concept to be quite interesting. By way of evolution fins, although they differ by use, contain similar structures to that of arms or wings. In regards to Jillian’s response, I believe we are currently beginning to see evolutionary changes in our species. Just recently UK scientists have been granted access to alter the DNA of human embryos to study the early stages of embryonic development by using CRISPR-Cas9 and related techniques. Last year Chinese scientists attempted to use the technique to correct a gene mutation (beta thalassemia), but resulted in off target effects on other genes. By being able to correct gene mutations at the embryonic level, although not as obvious as losing a tail, can be considered evolution in respect to the human genome.
Zac brings up a valid point in regards to evolution at work in today's age. The process of evolution ultimately leads to a more fit species, a better equipped species for life's daunting tasks. A study i found "The truth about pheromones" brings up an interesting topic. Researchers asked women to rate the odors of T-shirts worn by different men. Women preferred men whose DNA was different enough from their own that it would increase the likelihood of producing a child with a robust immune system". What a great example of evolution by selecting individuals that could potentially help you produce a child with a more equipped immune system, potentially leading to a more evolved immune system for humanity in the future.
This is somewhat parallel to a similar to a study I read in the past regarding history and the attraction of men to women with larger hips and percentage body fat. In theory, it increased the likelihood of a survival of the child and mother through birth, the ability of the mother to feed the child and therefore the male's genes to be passed on. While this is not directly pertaining to genomics, it is interesting to consider that there may be a lot more genetic influence in choosing a partner than we even realize.
I too have read about the CRISPR/Cas9 system and am very interested in what its impending commercialization will yield in the coming decades. The obvious initial targets are genetic diseases, but as time goes by it will almost certainly expand into the area of more benign issues, such as tailoring embryos to have better eyesight or even a particular hair color. As to how this applies to the idea of human evolution, I suspect that the next step for our species will be marked by the use of artificial modification, rather than natural selection, as the primary driver of genetic change. If anyone has seen the movie Gattaca, this is the type of future that I consider to be a near certainty. The real question is not if it will happen, but how long will it take? Importantly, these advances may eventually allow Jillian to create horrible mermaid creatures.
I agree with the wisdom teeth thoughts. I also had all four of mine removed, the doctor stating that there was just "simply no room" in my mouth for them. All of mine were impacted and were causing me a lot of pain. I wish we would all be around to see how we evolve over the next 1000 or even 10000 years. To see what would change. Has anyone ever thought that maybe we would adapt more to the water (not literally becoming fish again :) )sort of going back to our "roots" instead of futher in the other direction? Maybe Jillian can add some insight into this one.
I agree with Marshall's point of the CRISPR/Cas9 system of genome editing becoming commercialized within our lifetime. While this system, once optimized, seems to have great short-term benefits regarding genetic diseases, I believe that genome editing could pose a much more significant problem for the human species down the road in terms of evolution and natural selection. In order for a species to evolve, certain mutations must be selected against over a long period of time, but with the introduction of genome editing techniques, those mutations would no longer be selected against, therefore preventing natural selection. Obviously this is way out of the scope of our lifetimes, but it would be interesting to see the molecular tug-of-war between natural selection and artificial genome enhancement.
Up until this point, natural selection has been required for evolution to occur. What I'm getting at is that, with the advent of precise, cheap gene editing, mankind will have overcome the slow process of random mutation and selection and entered a "next stage" of evolution ("guided evolution" perhaps). When you consider where the state of gene editing was 50 years ago and compare it to today, I'm not so sure that the issue is outside the scope of our lifetimes.
I agree with both Marshall and Kory in thinking that the CRISPR/Cas9 system will end up being commercialized within either our own or our children's lifetimes. The real question at this point is if it will be kept out of the hands of the public and used to create "super soldiers" as we've seen in popular fiction or if it will be something that will be readily accessible to the majority of the public. We'll also then, potentially, need to deal with the questions of who owns the altered genes, should we treat those with altered genomes differently, or even have they become a separate species? These are things that we will need to consider in our lifetimes.
Although late, I am still here. I absolutely loved this video and showed how we did evolve from aquatic life. I agree with Jillan because it does make me wonder how we will evolve and what type of environmental change might occur to cause us to evolve or head into the direction to adapt.
The father of evolution played a great role on Earth from his discoveries and this has really improved our ability to think on who we are and how we came to existence.This video is very interesting to bring about the relationship between humans and all the other creatures on earth .Thanks be to this great team for sharing this important information.I have seen and heard in the video that there are similarities such as the four limbs,the DNA that are shared between humans and fish ,what about some of the features that fish have and human beings do not have such as the tail,human being breath through the nose but fish breath through the gills,how did this happen?
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting to think about the ways our evolution branched to cope with different environments. I've always been fascinated by fish's electroception. Using ampullae of Lorenzini fish can sense electrical currents in water. What would life be like if we had developed or not lost this sensory trait from evolution?
DeleteIn reference to the disappearance of the tail on humans, there is evidence on the human anatomy where a tail would have been had humans evolved with one. Our spines are made up of individual bones and the most distal bone of our spine is called the coccyx, or also known as the “tail bone.” Upon some further research on the subject, a human embryo will have a small tail for a short time during development in the womb. In rare cases, a human can be born still having the tail, which is about 12 cm long. It is then surgically removed, with the individuals going on to live normal lives. I guess the tail on a human was never very useful if we were able to evolve without one.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAll of these concepts regarding evolution and diverging from ancient aquatic ancestors are very fascinating. It brings a thought to my mind about evolution in the future. While we definitely won't be able to witness any drastic changes in our own lifespans, it makes me wonder how our very distant grandchildren and relatives might differ, in evolutionary respects, from us. Humans obviously did not have use for a tail, but I have heard different theories about what may arise from the human genome. For example, I distinctly recall a theory about humans eventually losing the pinky finger and redheads and blue-eyed people becoming completely extinct. Not to mention how the advancing technology could influence genetic change. To be truthful, I just majored in biology to genetically engineer mermaids so I think that's a pretty realistic milestone. Any other thoughts on what may become of the human race, or any other species, in the future?
ReplyDeleteWell for humans in the future I know that less people will be born with wisdom teeth. Teeth are already much smaller and they decrease in size about one percent every 1000 years. Jaw size has also decreased over the years. Also I read that humans will have less body hair in the future than they do today.
DeleteThat is really logical as far as structures we no longer have use for. I just read an article that detailed that most wisdom teeth removal surgeries are actually unnecessary. While some cases, the teeth are actually causing harm, the author stated that dentists and oral surgeons deem the surgery "routine" but a decent number of the patients would have been fine without. How interesting that we as a society have built an industry on a structure that may disappear in the future. Thank you for the insight!
DeleteI am agree with Michelle, and have gone through some articles and posts where I found that humans would loss their hair and will become more and more bald in the future. Our clothing, air conditioning and heating system everywhere making our body's insulating properties no longer in use. Furthermore, women are seen more attractive with less hair on various parts of their bodies. These are making the researchers think that humans of the future will have much less body hair than they do today.
DeleteI found the ‘one bone, two bones, many bones, and digits’ concept to be quite interesting. By way of evolution fins, although they differ by use, contain similar structures to that of arms or wings. In regards to Jillian’s response, I believe we are currently beginning to see evolutionary changes in our species. Just recently UK scientists have been granted access to alter the DNA of human embryos to study the early stages of embryonic development by using CRISPR-Cas9 and related techniques. Last year Chinese scientists attempted to use the technique to correct a gene mutation (beta thalassemia), but resulted in off target effects on other genes. By being able to correct gene mutations at the embryonic level, although not as obvious as losing a tail, can be considered evolution in respect to the human genome.
ReplyDeleteZac brings up a valid point in regards to evolution at work in today's age. The process of evolution ultimately leads to a more fit species, a better equipped species for life's daunting tasks. A study i found "The truth about pheromones" brings up an interesting topic. Researchers asked women to rate the odors of T-shirts worn by different men. Women preferred men whose DNA was different enough from their own that it would increase the likelihood of producing a child with a robust immune system". What a great example of evolution by selecting individuals that could potentially help you produce a child with a more equipped immune system, potentially leading to a more evolved immune system for humanity in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis is somewhat parallel to a similar to a study I read in the past regarding history and the attraction of men to women with larger hips and percentage body fat. In theory, it increased the likelihood of a survival of the child and mother through birth, the ability of the mother to feed the child and therefore the male's genes to be passed on. While this is not directly pertaining to genomics, it is interesting to consider that there may be a lot more genetic influence in choosing a partner than we even realize.
DeleteI too have read about the CRISPR/Cas9 system and am very interested in what its impending commercialization will yield in the coming decades. The obvious initial targets are genetic diseases, but as time goes by it will almost certainly expand into the area of more benign issues, such as tailoring embryos to have better eyesight or even a particular hair color. As to how this applies to the idea of human evolution, I suspect that the next step for our species will be marked by the use of artificial modification, rather than natural selection, as the primary driver of genetic change. If anyone has seen the movie Gattaca, this is the type of future that I consider to be a near certainty. The real question is not if it will happen, but how long will it take? Importantly, these advances may eventually allow Jillian to create horrible mermaid creatures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the wisdom teeth thoughts. I also had all four of mine removed, the doctor stating that there was just "simply no room" in my mouth for them. All of mine were impacted and were causing me a lot of pain. I wish we would all be around to see how we evolve over the next 1000 or even 10000 years. To see what would change. Has anyone ever thought that maybe we would adapt more to the water (not literally becoming fish again :) )sort of going back to our "roots" instead of futher in the other direction? Maybe Jillian can add some insight into this one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marshall's point of the CRISPR/Cas9 system of genome editing becoming commercialized within our lifetime. While this system, once optimized, seems to have great short-term benefits regarding genetic diseases, I believe that genome editing could pose a much more significant problem for the human species down the road in terms of evolution and natural selection. In order for a species to evolve, certain mutations must be selected against over a long period of time, but with the introduction of genome editing techniques, those mutations would no longer be selected against, therefore preventing natural selection. Obviously this is way out of the scope of our lifetimes, but it would be interesting to see the molecular tug-of-war between natural selection and artificial genome enhancement.
ReplyDeleteUp until this point, natural selection has been required for evolution to occur. What I'm getting at is that, with the advent of precise, cheap gene editing, mankind will have overcome the slow process of random mutation and selection and entered a "next stage" of evolution ("guided evolution" perhaps). When you consider where the state of gene editing was 50 years ago and compare it to today, I'm not so sure that the issue is outside the scope of our lifetimes.
DeleteI agree with both Marshall and Kory in thinking that the CRISPR/Cas9 system will end up being commercialized within either our own or our children's lifetimes. The real question at this point is if it will be kept out of the hands of the public and used to create "super soldiers" as we've seen in popular fiction or if it will be something that will be readily accessible to the majority of the public. We'll also then, potentially, need to deal with the questions of who owns the altered genes, should we treat those with altered genomes differently, or even have they become a separate species? These are things that we will need to consider in our lifetimes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough late, I am still here. I absolutely loved this video and showed how we did evolve from aquatic life. I agree with Jillan because it does make me wonder how we will evolve and what type of environmental change might occur to cause us to evolve or head into the direction to adapt.
ReplyDelete