What Genetic Changes Made Us Uniquely Human?

What makes us human?

To RSVP or for more information, please call Daniel Leonardich at 415.734.2080 or email [email protected] Science for Life lectures are free with open seating. Parking is available across the street in the UCSF Rutter Center garage. Co-sponsored by San Francisco Conservatory of Music cellist Erin Wang will share with us a brief discussion of “evolution” from baroque through contempora...

What makes us human ?

What makes us human?

The title of this report was the theme of the 7th Oxford International Biomedical Centre (OIBC) Symposium, just a few months after the publication of a paper suggesting that the genus Pan (including the chimpanzee and the bonobo) should be merged with the genus Homo. It has been realised for many years that the chimpanzee is our nearest living relative, and recent DNA studies have strengthened ...

What Are the Uniquely Human Components of the Language Faculty ?

9.1 Introduction From a biologist's perspective, language has its own particular design features. It is present in virtually all humans, appears to be mediated by dedicated neural circuitry, exhibits a characteristic pattern of development, and is grounded in a suite of constraints that can be characterized by formal parameters. Th us, language has all the earmarks of an adaptation, suggesting ...

The impact of human-made ecological changes on the genetic architecture of Daphnia species.

The overenrichment (eutrophication) of aquatic ecosystems with nutrients leading to algal blooms and anoxic conditions has been a persistent and widespread environmental problem. Although there are many studies on the ecological impact of elevated phosphorus (P) levels (e.g., decrease in biodiversity and water quality), little is known about the evolutionary consequences for animal species. We ...