UPDATED: 2/11/16: My apologies. For those who attended seminar, you know that the videos that were to be shown disappeared. Instead, we watched Your Inner Reptile. Your discussions should reflect this film.
For this coming Friday, the following two videos will be shown followed by a discussion section.
Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies and Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
Both can be found at the following URL: https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/making-fittest
I am looking forward to the discussion.
Hello, I apologize for waiting until Monday to start the discussion! I had been watching the blog to see if a reptile discussion title was going to be started, but decided to post on this one.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love these videos. I believe most of you can agree with me. I think it is very intriguing to see how we relate to fish and reptiles.
Going back to the presence of yolk in pregnant women, I found it very interesting that we still have these yolk genes, but that they are inactive. Do you think that there will ever be a time that we adapt to not having the yolk/gene at all in our bodies? It also made me think if there were to be any more adaptations that we may possess over time, whether it be 1000 or 10000 years, that would change the process of pregnancy at all?
I also thought it was very intriguing to hear about all of the fossils that they had found. It makes me wonder how many more hundreds or thousands of different fossils are out there that we haven't ever seen before. Have any of you found any fossils?
Unfortunately, I've never found a fossil on my own, but I do agree that these are some pretty interesting shows. I think the enthusiasm of the host gets the viewer more excited about some of the more boring part of his research.
DeleteIn response to the process of pregnancy changing, it seems to me that 1000 or 10000 years might not be long enough for any drastic changes to happen, but maybe it would be in millions of years before we see any type of drastic changes to pregnancy that would happen naturally. Maybe a new science or technology could produce a change that would happen in a nearer future.
I enjoy the videos as well, the host does a great job of being enthusiastic to get the viewers into it and engaged. I found the gene EDA to be interesting in the fact that its responsible for making us and animals hairy and factors in the development of teeth. It gets you thinking, what if we didn't have dentists to help maintain our teeth? Over thousands of years it would be interesting to know what our teeth may come to be.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by the development of fur starting as a sensory organ. I think we tend to think of it arising for thermoregulation or physical protection. So it was enlightening to see that it arose as a way to avoid predators in a dark subterranean environment.
DeleteI also enjoy these videos very much, and agree with Bill that the host's extensive knowledge and obvious passion for the topic contributes greatly to the entertainment aspect of the series. He certainly has a lot of experience with many locations and colleages. I have never myself found a fossil but it would be exciting to travel to a location where I might! I was very interested, in this video, in the evolution of the inner ear from the jaw, and how that contributed to a whole new sense. I am currently learning a lot more about the ear because of my own.. auditory health.. and the way it arose from the bone structures was really fascinating to me. Makes me wonder if any current parts of the human body could contribute to different sensory systems in the future.
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ReplyDeletethink it could be a mutation of one or some genes that resulted to inactivation of the genes that are responsible for yolk production and this could be caused by the sun or direct sunlight since our ancestors before the reptiles ,used to live inside water.I also think that since mutation continues to occur in our bodies,it will reach a time whereby we will no longer have the genes or they will be mutated to a different gene with a new function
ReplyDeleteThis host can do no wrong! I’ve never found a fossil but it would be fun to visit areas where ancient lake beds and glaciers used to be to try and find some. A section that I found particularly interesting had to deal with the evolution of early reptilian teeth into the teeth that we have today. The identical little pegs of various sizes seen in modern reptiles, for example alligators, only allow the animal to bite into it’s prey and then swallow chunks whole without chewing. Through evolution the mammalian like reptile ancestor (Synapsids) arose that had the ability to chew it’s food due to variations in the structure of their teeth. These changes in teeth structure are a key component in the development of mammalian life. Without these changes would our species have developed? Or worse, would we be walking around with pegs in our mouths?
ReplyDeleteI agree that for human pregnancy to evolve it will take millions of years. As for the yolk sac, I don’t think we will adapt to not have it because while there is no yolk anymore, we still use the yolk sac. The yolk sac acts as the preliminary circulatory system for the embryo. It also provides nourishment until placental circulation is established. The absence of a yolk sac is associated with embryonic death. It starts to shrink and then disappear in about the 11th or 12th week of gestation.
ReplyDeleteI have a great deal of respect for those that have the drive and willingness to search for these minuscule fossils. While I find their research very interesting, I personally do not have anywhere near the amount of patience that it would require to unearth these fossils. I also find it very interesting how the one scientist claimed to be able to tell a great deal of information about an organism just by seeing its teeth. In many cases, the adaptation of a specific tooth structure of an animal is just as important for its survival as anything else.
ReplyDeleteMichelle brings up a very interesting point about the human yolk sac which I was unaware of. The fact that it actually serves a purpose during the early stages of pregnancy makes its loss seem unlikely, even in the fairly distant future. Getting back to the fossils, I have never found one, but I think it would be a very interesting hobby to take up. The people in the video made it seem like it was relatively simple to find common fossils if you know where to look... But then again, experts tend to make anything look easy. Finally, I agree that this series is very interesting and informative. I would be all for watching the final episode at some point!
ReplyDeleteI have also found a bit interesting fact that we carry a genetic signature of our egg yolk in the form of derelict genes which still lie buried in our genome like fossils from the past. One of the examples is the vitellogenin (VTG) genes in non-mammals are responsible for the production of yolk protein. Evolutionists gave a notion that mammals, chickens, and reptiles share a reptilian ancestor. These differences of mutation eventually destroyed the unnecessary yolk-making function in the mammalian line.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Marshall and Michelle. I was unaware of the human yolk sac and found that aspect of our evolution from reptiles to be very interesting. I also have to say this series of videos is pretty interesting and this host really makes learning both educational and fun. Lastly, I just have to say how much I respect these guys as fossil hunting is such a difficult job that many times is very difficult to have a sense of accomplishment as it can be months or years to even have a single breakthrough, as shown by the fact that weeks went by without finding anything and just by luck they found that fossil on the other side of the hill when the tides were high.
ReplyDeleteI do also enjoy these videos and did found Gene Eda to be interesting. Considering how we have adapted overtime its incredible. I did like how they use chicken eggs to research the effects of changing and moving the gene have on the chick. Also the kid that had a bunch of fingers was pretty sweet as well. my brother has webbed feet and so does my dad. Does anyone know if webbed feet cam be inherited?
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