Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology (11th Edition)
11th Edition
ISBN: 9780133923001
Author: Gerald Audesirk, Teresa Audesirk, Bruce E. Byers
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 15.3, Problem 1HYEW
Between 70% and 85% of people will experience lower back pain at some point in life, and for many people, the condition is chronic. This state of affairs is an unfortunately painful consequence of the evolutionary process. We walk upright on two legs, but our distant ancestors walked on all fours. Thus, natural selection formed our vertically oriented spine by remodeling one whose normal orientation was parallel to the ground. Our spinal anatomy evolved some modifications in response to its new posture, but as is often the case with evolution, the changes involved some trade-offs. The arrangements of bone and muscle that permit our smooth, bipedal gait also generate vertical compression of the spine, and the resulting pressure can, and frequently does, cause painful damage to muscle and nerve tissues.
Why Backaches Are So Common?
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Adaptations are physical or behavioral traits that help an organism survive in its environment. What are some of the adaptations in the evolution of hominins that allowed for the evolution of the genus Homo to evolve (eventually) into modern humans (Homo sapiens)? (Note: you don’t have to explain why these adaptations allowed the genus to evolve, just list some of the adaptations.)
On the back of the human skull, there is a small bump, below which is an opening where the spinal cord enters the skull. Which of the following statements provides the best
evolutionary explanation for the location of the opening near the base of the skull?
It is associated with the change to a bipedal stance.
It provided greater protection for the spinal cord.
It allowed for the hominin brain to grow much larger than other primates.
This change was necessary for the increase in size from prosimian forms to anthropoid forms.
In many ways, modern human lifestyles are at odds with our bipedal locomotion. At no point in history have humans been as inactive as today (especially in developing nations), which has led to a number of physical ailments, such as obesity, loss of mobility, and low back pain. What are some other impacts of evolution on our species? What are some ways we can alleviate these problems?
Chapter 15 Solutions
Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology (11th Edition)
Ch. 15.1 - identify some of the thinkers whose ideas set the...Ch. 15.1 - Prob. 2CYLCh. 15.1 - define evolution?Ch. 15.2 - A recent study found that Galpagos mockingbirds on...Ch. 15.2 - Prob. 2TCCh. 15.2 - explain how natural selection works and how it...Ch. 15.2 - describe the logic, based on four postulates, by...Ch. 15.3 - The fossil history of some kinds of modem...Ch. 15.3 - What Good Are Wisdom Teeth and Ostrich Wings?...Ch. 15.3 - Are a peacocks tail and a dogs tail homologous...
Ch. 15.3 - Between 70% and 85% of people will experience...Ch. 15.3 - describe the evidence that evolution has occurred?Ch. 15.3 - explain the difference between similarity due to...Ch. 15.3 - What Good Are Wisdom Teeth and Ostrich Wings? Just...Ch. 15.4 - To reduce the incidence of pesticide resistance,...Ch. 15.4 - describe some observations and experiments that...Ch. 15.4 - CONSIDER THIS Some advocates of the view that all...Ch. 15.4 - Some advocates of the view that all organisms were...Ch. 15 - Whale skeletons contain nonfunctional pelvic bones...Ch. 15 - Darwin was influenced by Malthuss thinking about...Ch. 15 - Prob. 3MCCh. 15 - Which of the following is not required for...Ch. 15 - Prob. 5MCCh. 15 - The flipper of a seal is homologous with the _____...Ch. 15 - Prob. 2FIBCh. 15 - Georges Cuvier espoused a concept called ______ to...Ch. 15 - Prob. 4FIBCh. 15 - Prob. 5FIBCh. 15 - Darwin's postulate 2 states that ______. The work...Ch. 15 - Prob. 1RQCh. 15 - Distinguish between catastrophism and...Ch. 15 - Describe Lamarcks theory of inheritance of...Ch. 15 - What is natural selection? Describe how natural...Ch. 15 - Describe how evolution occurs. In your...Ch. 15 - What is convergent evolution? Give an example.Ch. 15 - How do biochemistry and molecular genetics...Ch. 15 - In what sense are humans currently acting as...Ch. 15 - In discussions of untapped human potential, It is...Ch. 15 - Does evolution through natural selection produce...
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- What is Neil Shubin (the narrator) looking for? 2.What job does Neil have? 3.Fish were the first creatures with what trait? 4.When did the first mammals show up? 5.Sir Richard Owen was the first scientist to notice what skeletal pattern? 6.Instead of limbs fish have what? 7.Where did the paleontologists go for their first expedition? 8.What type of environment was the Canadian Arctic hundreds of millions of years ago? 9.In the early stages of development, all animals begin as what? 10. If you look at a fish and human embryo side by side, how similar do they look?arrow_forwardSome human traits may have arisen by sexual selection. Over thousands of years, women attracted to charming, witty men perhaps prompted the development of human intellect beyond what was necessary for mere survival. Men attracted to women with juvenile features may have shifted the species as a whole to be less hairy and softer featured than any of our simian relatives. Can you think of a way to test this hypotheses?arrow_forwardRegardless, many people have a problem with the idea of evolution. Why? To complete it, answer some of the following questions: Why is evolution so controversial? Does understanding it better make it less controversial? What were you taught to think/believe about evolution? Why?arrow_forward
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