Human Culture, an Evolutionary Force

This video talks about cultural evolution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk7aDGntUbw

It also relates to the other article, "From a Songbird, New Insights Into the Brain".

- People have begun to think that the way a certain group of people live, changes the way humans change and develop over long periods of time.


- There are three major gene changes that biologists use to support this point:


1) Extra copies of the amylase gene:


- Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch. In societies where more starch is consumed, people will have more copies of the amylase gene.


- More copies are frequently found in farming communities, rather than hunting or fishing communities.

2) Genes that affect bone growth:

-After living a settled life became more common, the human skeleton began to become lighter and less sturdy.

3) The EDAR gene:


-This gene controls hair growth. One form, causes very thick hair and is found more commonly among East Asians and Native Americans rather than in Europeans or Africans.


-3 reasons that this may be so is:

1. To retain heat in colder climates

2. People may have found it more attractive in their partners

3. When the gene is turned on thicker hair seems to controls part of the immune system

Reflection:

I found it interesting that the way people live and act, affect the way that their genetics change over time. When a certain way of living stops, so do the genes that benefited that way of living. When a new way of living starts, genes slowly begin to develop to benefit the new way of living. I understood this article because I understood that there are many different probable causes for genetic changes because of all the different selective pressures present in the world.

Wade, Nicholas. "Human Culture, an Evolutionary Force." New York Times. 1 Mar. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2010.