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Brain ontogeny and human life history evolution were looked at by Leigh, in a 2006 paper. He compares brain growth patterns for Homo erectus and Homo sapiens to get at the evolution of brain size and weight. Leigh found three different patterns, all of which pointed to the growth rate of H. erectus either matching or exceeding H. erectus. [6]
Professor of biology Jerry Coyne sums up biological evolution succinctly: [3]. Life on Earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive species – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years ago; it then branched out over time, throwing off many new and diverse species; and the mechanism for most (but not all) of evolutionary change is natural selection.
The body uses resources derived from the environment for metabolism, for reproduction, and for repair and maintenance, and the body must compromise when there is a finite supply of resources. The theory states that this compromise causes the body to reallocate energy to the repair function that causes the body to gradually deteriorate with age. [2]
Understanding the changes that have occurred during an organism's evolution can reveal the genes needed to construct parts of the body, genes which may be involved in human genetic disorders. [242] For example, the Mexican tetra is an albino cavefish that lost its eyesight during evolution.
This can be due to any number of factors, including improved nutrition resulting in rapid body growth, increased weight and fat deposition, [19] or exposure to endocrine disruptors such as xenoestrogens, which can at times be due to food consumption or other environmental factors.
Developmental explanations for changes in individuals, from DNA to their current form Mechanism. Mechanistic explanations for how an organism's structures work Evolutionary. Why a species evolved the structures (adaptations) it has Phylogeny. The history of the evolution of sequential changes in a species over many generations Adaptation
Recent human evolution refers to evolutionary adaptation, sexual and natural selection, and genetic drift within Homo sapiens populations, since their separation and dispersal in the Middle Paleolithic about 50,000 years ago. Contrary to popular belief, not only are humans still evolving, their evolution since the dawn of agriculture is faster ...
Evolutionary physiology is the study of the biological evolution of physiological structures and processes; that is, the manner in which the functional characteristics of organisms have responded to natural selection or sexual selection or changed by random genetic drift across multiple generations during the history of a population or species. [2]