Solar Radiation

Although beneficial in aiding the production of vitamin D within humans, high levels of solar radiation negatively impacts the survival of humans by disturbing homeostasis, or more specifically, damaging and/or rapidly changing skin cells. This “damage” can begin as a sunburn, and has the potential to be more destructive each time a sunburn occurs, and can result in chronic hyperpigmentation, and even cancer

Humans have developed a short term adaptation to high solar radiation-the reddening of the skin, in varying degrees up to and including sunburn

Another adaptation to solar radiation, of a more facultative nature, is tanning. When exposed in shorter lengths of time to solar radiation, melanin synthesis occurs, temporarily thickening a layer of the epidermis, and producing the appearance of darker skin in a localized  area. 

Humans who lived close to the equator, with the highest level of exposure to solar radiation, were found to adapt to this stress through the permanent darkening of skin's pigmentation. "High-UVR environments generated strong selective pressures on the skin and human body, leading to the evolution of permanently dark constitutive pigmentation, and the ability to increase eumelanin production in response to seasonal increases in UVB." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3024016/

Lastly, several cultural adaptations have developed from this environmental stress...for example:

Sunscreen...

Shades

...and bikinis!

The benefit of studying human variation across various clines is that it removes prejudice or other possible stereotypes from the equation, leaving only objective results and expands our test group.  It also allows us to see any potential benefits of this environmental stress, such as vitamin D increases due to exposure to solar radiation.

The use of race to understand human variation, especially related to the study of solar radiation, would just be a redundant restatement of the question. Skin color is simply a more concentrated pigmentation due to these environmental factors. These influences provide a static foundation for analysis across the variety of humans, instead of promoting a changing test group...much more accurate and objective.

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place."-George Bernard Shaw

Part 1:

Just for fun:  I’m pointing at you, then my eyes, then my blog post on your computer screen. Then I point at you, smile, and hold my hands together, flat, like a prayer, and then curl my fingers and wriggle them to imitate typing, then grin, again, sheepishly this time, raising my shoulders as if in question.  I hope you understand, and can deduce the results I am looking for. 

This experiment was semi-frustrating for me, and very entertaining for my partners in intercourse. (Haha, perked up there a little, didn’t you?) Intercourse simply means “conversation” . Yes, definition #3 has also become a common variation, but the adjective “sexual” usually precedes it, so I’ve written off its standalone value.

  

in·ter·course   [in-ter-kawrs, -kohrs] noun

1. dealings or communication between individuals, groups, countries, etc.

2. interchange of thoughts, feelings, etc.

3. sexual relations or a sexual coupling, especially coitus.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intercourse

I’m off topic, so I’ll move on… (Point at my friend, nod, point at my friend’s brand new car, nod, point at me, smile, make steering wheel imitation with my hands, smile bigger.)  My friend is already shaking her head, saying “No, no, NO!” and flailing her arms back and forth across her body to demonstrate the degree and depth of her answer before  I can even twist my finger from her shiny new SUV toward myself.  That killed all of about 30 seconds.   14 minutes and 30 seconds to go…

Honestly, once we got off of the “staged” conversation idea and the other two participants were carrying on an exciting conversation about their drive home from their camping trip, where they encountered snow, it flowed better.  However, I found that by the time wanted to interject something, I had to quickly calculate a method in which to demonstrate my intended contribution, then abruptly signal them to stop talking so that I could provide input consistent with the flow of the discussion (since earlier in our allotted time I missed the topic I was addressing in the conversation, and they had to backtrack just so that I could feel included) and act out my idea, I was frustrated with the inefficiency of the dilemma, and they were laughing at my reaction! Whew!  Eventually they just inserted pauses at strategic points in the conversation, to allow me to “catch up”-I was begrudgingly waited for, included simply out of pity!  I also noticed that since I was communicating through facial and hand gestures, and body language, that they seemed to mirror this increase when they responded to me, relying more on expression and hand movements than usual. 

I imagine that if we were representatives of two different cultures, the culture in possession of the ability to use complex spoken language would perceive my culture, reliant on physical gestures, as a much less intelligent variation.  Certainly the advantage is held by the culture that has developed advanced linguistics, since they are able to communicate much more thoroughly, instead of just saying the basics, as I did in the experiment. Trust me, I wasn’t saying any more than I felt I HAD to.  This really makes you focus on the important facts or details, and leave out all the adjectives and other extras.  This experiment also opened my eyes to the fact that I need to listen better. Effective communication is very reliant on listening, and comprehension of the meaning of the words and gestures being shared. During this time, I was too busy trying to anticipate where the conversation would go so that I could be prepared for the next subject, or thinking about what I was going to say next, to really understand the complete picture of what the others were trying to share with me.

Examples of people unable to use spoken language to communicate include infants or young children, or sufferers of medical problems such as stroke victims.  In order to effectively interact with these individuals, we must modify our approach not only while talking to each other.  In some cases we must reflect on how our individual (or generalized-either can be detrimental) biases and predispositions alter our perception, in order to increase self-awareness of our own (potentially limited) level of understanding of another's basic needs/functions and apply those to the circumstances surrounding each occasion.

Also, people from different cultures with different complex languages can be difficult to address as well. I ran into a situation last week in which I was trying to sell tires to a consumer who spoke only Farsi.  They brought no translator, and didn’t even quickly jot down the size info, and didn’t have the car present they wanted to buy tires for.  My tire salesperson ordered him tires that would have suited the original requirements for size and type on that vehicle. The tires arrived, and the man’s wife came in to have them installed 2 days later.  She was furious when I told her we could not install the 15 inch tires on her 18 inch aftermarket wheels.  It was impossible for us to understand, without comprehending each others’ language, and without the ability to reference the vehicle, what his needs were…they left without re-ordering, very upset with our customer service…what could I have done?

Part II.

I was able to last 15 minutes in verbal-only speech.  It was difficult because I kept having to start over, after realizing that I had my hands in the air, or furled my eyebrows, or raised just the left one (as apparently is my trademark, I discovered).  My partners in this conversation had to pay very close attention to my words since (as much as I could) I tried to disguise any emotion or inflections in my voice.

I noticed that my son, Zack, closed his eyes as he listened to me, in order to focus on what I was saying, while my mom had to visually focus on my lips as they moved in order to understand. 


This form of communication was tedious, since once I had described an event or situation, I also had to explain how I felt about it (without emotion in my voice) instead of my audience already being able to deduce this from the expression in my face and body as usual. 


Non-speech language techniques are imperative in effective communication, but can also be detrimental to our desired meaning if others perceive negative body language or facial expression. 

Children, I believe, have trouble reading body language, or not as effectively as an educated or experienced adult, anyway.  As a result of this lack of "filter" capabilities, it has become a common saying that "Kids say the darndest things" in response to questions or conversations with similar sounding words, or words with multiple definitions.

Sometimes we have to rely on verbal speech only, when reading body language. For example, people with current injuries, or even permanent handicaps (i.e. quadriplegia), are disinclined or even unable to perform the basic functions that would allow them to use this mode of communication. 

The benefit of the ability to perceive and translate body language as a form of communication is immeasurable within any relationship.  It allows the trained communicator to recognize signals and to be proactive in responding to their respective audience’s reactions, needs, wants, concerns, (mis)perceptions, etc.

Hmmm…environmental conditions in which NOT reading body language would be beneficial?  I remember visiting my grandfather in the hospital when I was very young…probably 4 or 5 years old.  I knew that my family was sad that he was sick, but I was unable to perceive the depth of emotion in their body language and expression…. Looking back on my memory now, having experienced loss, and developed my ability to perceive the lack of hope and the inability to accept his loss…the search for peace in coping with the resignation that he was not going to be there forever like he said he would…. I think I would like to be unaware of the weight, the gravity of the situation and the static within the dense air of morale, in circumstances such as these.  However, this ability evolved with a purpose. It comes in handy often, and as a survival instinct, is obviously more beneficial to own than discard.

In conclusion, if we analyze the level of reliance we place on the human use of symbolic language within cultures and physical communications worldwide, this ability has evolved from a habitual degree of expression to an obligate one.  Yes, there are cultural differences and unique circumstances that can make communication difficult, but even Helen Keller, with no sight or sound, was able to learn to effectively communicate. Go Humans!

1.       Begin by giving a brief synopsis of the Piltdown hoax, including when and where it was found, by whom, and varying affects this had on the scientific community. Also include how the hoax was discovered and the varying responses it received from the scientist(s) involved and in the related fields of human evolution. (5 pts)

The Piltdown hoax refers to a scandal within the scientific community in which a laborer finds an unusual fragment of skull at Barkham Manor near the village of Piltdown and passes it on to Charles Dawson, an amateur archaeologist. Dawson invites a few select scientific minds to come dig with him in what he anticipates to reveal England’s own “primitive man”, since none had been found thus far. They find a part of the lower mandible of an ape-like being, with teeth similar in shape to a human’s. This excites the scientific community, adding credibility to Darwin’s evolutionary theories. Later proven false, and a setup, scientists were criticized and questioned, having always been considered esteemed. 

The human downfalls of jealousy and pride are obviously at the heart of this. Ambition is a great thing to have, but it must be accompanied to persistence and an unyielding work ethic.  I'm sure that there was a lot of national pressure within the scientific community since Britain had yet been unable to source evidence of a local primitive man , although several other countries had been able to take ownership of part of the history of our evolution. I'm not sure if this idea was spawned as a result of national pride to "keep up with the Jones'", or personal-the greed for recognition.  Either way, the general population, and, more specifically, peers in the scientific community would hope and assume that the quest for knowledge would remain accurate and unadultered   However, just like any hypothesis, every discovery, small or large, must be thoroughly tested and re-tested. Hope has no place in science.

The advancement of the dating process where the amounts of organic material remaining could be tested and the logical thought process of scientists who questioned the discovery enough to follow up aided the revelation to prove that it was, indeed, a hoax. Kenneth Oakley applied this test, which revealed that the bones contained the same amount of nitrogen that would be seen in a current specimen.  The jig was up!  They continued their horrified examination to realize that the teeth and bones had been filed down, and stained.


Although science may seem objective, if humans were not involved, science would not exist. Yes, the processes and the organisms we study would still exist, but science, by definition, is

1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical sciences.

2. systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/science

Humans are required to do the studying, the analysis, and to simply be creative enough to come up with new hypothesi to test

We must not just be so excited about a discovery that we mount it with pride in a museum and allow no one near it…we must not only test not only our hypothesis, but also what we consider hard evidence to guarantee the validity of its source.

Lemurs are small primates that can only found on the island of Madagascar and a few surrounding islands. This limited adaptive radiation is believed to be limited by the unpredictable environment of these islands.  Several sub-species of lemurs exist today, but as a whole, lemurs are primarily vegetarian and eat a variety of fruits, leaves, flowers, vegetables and insects. Some species are omnivores and commonly consume insects, eggs, frogs, and lizards as well as plants, and they rely on their sense of smell more than monkeys do. Some sub-species of lemurs have developed physical adaptations that affect their diet, or dietary adaptations that affect their other abilities. For example, Giant bamboo contains cyanide, which can kill humans if they eat it, yet a lemur’s digestive system has adapted to be able to process this, as it is one of their primary sources of nutrition.  Another adaptation related to lemur diet is the extended length of the middle finger on the “aye aye” lemur, which eats insect larvae.  The aye aye taps on the tree bark and listens for signs of panicked insects within, ripping the bark away and using his long finger to search and capture small insects within.

Spider Monkeys live in tropical climates ranging from the forests of South America and as far north as Mexico.  They are arboreal, or tree dwellers,  and their diet is more specifically identified as “fruigivorous” vs. omnivorous because the majority of their food intake consists of mostly fruits and seeds, although they are fond of insects and bird eggs as well. Most interesting is that they eat on the go, while climbing or hanging in trees, but always on the move!  The size of their groups is also very dependent upon availability of food-the more abundant the food supply, the larger the group becomes.

Baboons are found in almost every habitat across Africa, including the savannah, the desert, and the mountains.  Baboon diets include a fruit, flowers, seeds, pods, leaves, gum, and almost any small animal that they can catch. Their ability to adapt to their environment is very strong-they seem to have all the makings of a strong species.  Baboons are omnivorous and opportunistic in their feeding, which means they will eat almost anything and will change their diet as the environment around them changes. Baboons are very flexible within their diets, but they are also highly selective in their food choices,  choosing foods that are high in protein and lipids and low in fiber and potential toxins.

The gibbon is a small sized ape that resides in the jungles and tropical rainforests across south-east Asia. The main food of the gibbon is ripe, locally grown fruit fresh off the trees.  This makes up around three quarters of the gibbon's diet. Gibbons also prey on insects, eggs, spiders and small birds and reptiles living in the tree. It is advantageous for the gibbon to live in the trees, because not only is there plenty of food but is also a safe distance above ground from predators.

The Gibbon Conservation Center (GCC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and the only organization in the world devoted exclusively to the study, preservation, and propagation of gibbons, and to education of the public about them.  We do this by establishing secure captive gene pools in case attempts to preserve species or subspecies in the wild fail.  We strongly support the conservation of gibbons in their natural habitat.  We have the largest group of gibbons in the Americas, including six of the 15 extant species, and have reproduced six gibbon species (white-cheeked, Javan, lar, agile, pileated, and siamang).Admission to the Gibbon Conservation Center (all of which goes directly to support the gibbons) is as follows: •Adults/College Students:  $10.00 per person . I’m planning on taking my son over to the Gibbon Center…There will be a 45 minute tour on Sunday, March 4^th at 10:00 AM for those of you who would like to meet up. 19100 Esguerra Road Santa Clarita, CA 91350 (661) 296-2737

Chimpanzees are found throughout the tropical forests of West and Central Africa. Their habitat is extremely variable, and includes tropical forests, open grassland, mountainous regions and deciduous woodland. These primates are mostly found in areas with lots of fruit bearing trees. The major part of chimpanzee diet includes fruits and leaves. They also feed on animal prey that includes insects like ants and termites that live within the tree bark around them. Bigger animals are hunted occasionally.

The extensive analysis we completed, analyzing different traits across a set of similar species, plays a huge role in my understanding the adaptation that occurs (or does not occur) within a species as a result of environmental pressures and their force as related to specific traits. I hope that at least some of you are able to join me at the Gibbon Center on Sunday morning!