You have commented 340 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Guess Our Bark Really Is Worse Than Our Bite
2004-03-25
Severely EFL
Early humans swapped bite for brain
NewScientist.com news service

Humans owe their big brains
like Chomsky? "Big brain" is the same as "fathead," right?
and sophisticated culture
like mud wrestling
to a single genetic mutation that weakened our jaw muscles about 2.4 million years ago, a new study suggests. The slack muscles relaxed their hold on the human skull, giving the brain room to grow. Other primates
such as the Paleos
remained stuck with mighty muscles that squeezed the skull in a vice-like grip.
So that explains why they don’t have brains. Or common sense.
But why did this process occur in humans and not in other primates?
or Islamofacists, Paleos, and their ilk
According to Hansell Stedman, an expert on muscle disorders at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, it was a simple mutation in a gene found in our jaw muscles.
I think there was a large mutation behind the Paleonazis’ jaw muscles, too.
In follow-up work, Stedman’s team studied the gene in people from all over the world, including natives of Africa, South America, Western Europe, Iceland, Japan and Russia. They also studied seven species of non-human primates, including gorillas and chimpanzees. Every human
which leaves out Ara-Rat
had the mutation, whereas none of the animals did. Detailed genetic analysis suggests the human mutation occurred approximately 2.4 million years ago. Shortly after that, the earliest known members of the genus Homo appeared - with smaller jaws, and larger brains.
Except for the genus Homo-Islamo, which kept the smaller brains, and the genus Homo-Politico, which grew much larger mouths.
Posted by:Barbara Skolaut bskolaut@hotmail.com

#16  Sofia is hardcore RB.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-03-25 4:50:54 PM  

#15  Mr Davis - I always heard it as "...rent it." And believe me, there are males (I don't think I'd call them men) like that too - like .com, been there, done that, got the bills to prove it.

As for evolution, well, I remember a few in college who were breathing proof that even if the theory was true, some of us hadn't come very far. In fact, I remember a couple who seemed to have opted for "bite" instead.

Posted by: Sofia   2004-03-25 3:59:24 PM  

#14  Evolutionists and their neverending theories have gotten more and more bizarre over the years.

They are contorting themselves and their "ideas" to fit the theory, and ultimately come across as wacked as any Bible-thumper ever has.

(Personally, I think the truth is that evolution exists... but doesn't apply to humans 100%. I believe we were "helped" along the way in some fashion. There is NO explanation under evolution which explains the staggering differences between human intelligence and our nearest intellectual rivals within the animal kingdon.)
Posted by: Unmutual   2004-03-25 2:39:45 PM  

#13  Denny - Purrfekt!
Posted by: .com   2004-03-25 12:01:54 PM  

#12  High Maintenance here
Posted by: Denny   2004-03-25 11:57:42 AM  

#11  MrD - Lol! And that's exactly what I do. Those categories cover most of the "high maintenance" items, heh! ;->
Posted by: .com   2004-03-25 11:34:00 AM  

#10  This ties in pretty good with that Zapo dude.
Posted by: Lucky   2004-03-25 11:27:44 AM  

#9  Damn Mr. D., now that is to steal a phrase "stylebook material"

LOL
Posted by: Shipman   2004-03-25 11:07:10 AM  

#8  .com,

A friend of mine had a motto; If it flies, floats or f**ks, lease it.
Posted by: Mr. Davis   2004-03-25 11:04:28 AM  

#7  Well, 98% of the genetic material is the same - at least as tested in Western labs - prolly using local DNA samples...

Frank, are you suggesting it's higher in other geographic locales? Lol! ;->
Posted by: .com   2004-03-25 9:30:55 AM  

#6  Now that I think of it - compare and contrast: Paleo car swarm vs the monkey rioting in 2001 - a Space Odyssey
Posted by: Frank G   2004-03-25 9:23:14 AM  

#5  phil_b - That may be so, but all the bone-crunchin' gave the cranially-compressed female Neanderthals semi-permanent migranes, thus allowing H. sapiens to out-compete through faster breedin'. The lesson? Ditch the missus if she gets 'headaches' - it's bad for your genes.
Posted by: Bulldog   2004-03-25 4:18:20 AM  

#4  Funny commentary Barbara.

If anyone is interested I don't buy the 'mutation occured 2.4 million years ago', or it caused us to have bigger brains. As I recall Neanderthals who were around 10k to 20k years ago had the big jaws and could crack the bones of large animals with their teeth to get to the marrow.
Posted by: phil_b   2004-03-25 3:18:30 AM  

#3  A permanent one? Heh, no tanx, Bro. Been There / Lost That in the Deevorce. When you hit the jackpot on the firt pull, as I did, you are rather spoiled (leery?) thereafter. By jackpot, well let me phrase it this way: She is the Cure for the Man who has Everything. Since I am an honest man, a major flaw, here it is sans all of the incredible BS:

I don't wanna own it, I just wanna borrow it for awhile.
Posted by: .com   2004-03-25 2:17:43 AM  

#2  .com, you need to get laid a girlfriend :-)
Posted by: Steve White   2004-03-25 2:01:50 AM  

#1  Close your eyes (metaphorically, of course) and let the voice of William Shatner or John Cleese or Alistair Cook or James Mason or even James Earl Jones, whoever the hell you picture as The Master Storyteller, resonate in your consciousness with this fateful tale...

In the prehistoric mists of Olduvai Gorge, zygote Lucy takes a nutrino hit squarely on the chin the RNA template's molecular bond attaching 2 base pairs on the second twist past her fine genetic tendency for superior honkin' booty and *BAM* - in every subsequent cell division, each DNA strand constructed produces reduced bite muscle / slack-jawed offspring; female sirens with that honkin' booty, pendulous tatas, simply fabulous personalities; and male wankers with a relatively complimentary obsessive fascination for monster trucks, monster burgers, and monster hooters. Oh yeah, they also had larger brain cavities due to the reduced constraining bite muscle. Every descendent from this maternal line has been (in males, at least, happily) reduced to utter bliss helplessness, sucking tit for several months before taking the first bland solids... instead of feasting on wabbit and wattlers basted with KC Masterpiece - as had her ancestors before her. She didn't give it much thought.

And thus cometh Breast Brainy Man: Homo Lactatus Magnificus Cum Erectus Maximus de la Cranius Humongous. From knuckle-dragger to friggin' Letch Genius. A mere Stroke (or Two) of Fate.
Posted by: .com   2004-03-25 1:47:49 AM  

00:00