Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
news.flinders.edu.au
Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
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Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#2This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries?
The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#3This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries? The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Right from the article:
> Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#4This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries? The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Right from the article: > Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
>because it increases overall blood supply
But that's what I want explained why is more blood beneficial for a person's forearm?
I don't feel like I am lacking blood flow during my daily tasks in life. Can "extra arm artery mutant guy" out-compete me in a specific task so critical it means his genes are more likely survive than mine are?
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#5This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries? The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Right from the article: > Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
So this means evolution actually reacted on progress on medicine and we are evolving our own spare parts for surgical procedures. While this makes sense im still amazed!
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#6This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries? The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Right from the article: > Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
But that does not increase, in any way significantly, a person's reproductive success.
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#7This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries? The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Right from the article: > Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
That second part seems unlikely to me. I would guess the percentage of people that’s beneficial to is extremely low.
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#8This seems rather dubious to me; what selection pressure exists that's increasing fitness for people with three arteries? The fact that it's progressing so rapidly suggests that this is either bad data, or environmental changes
Right from the article: > Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
That’s not exactly a selection pressure. It would seem likely that there is no selection pressure here but in fact greater genetic diversity due to overall better survival of more and more people.
Perhaps those that developed differently to have this artery retained were selected against in less civilised times.
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right from the article: > Senior author Professor Maciej Henneberg who is also a member of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, says the median artery offers benefits because it increases overall blood supply and can be used as a replacement in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
>because it increases overall blood supply But that's what I want explained why is more blood beneficial for a person's forearm? I don't feel like I am lacking blood flow during my daily tasks in life. Can "extra arm artery mutant guy" out-compete me in a specific task so critical it means his genes are more likely survive than mine are?
Replacement makes sense, your friend with extra artery will survive in case of a critical surgery and might have another kid while you'd die with no extra kid. Does not need to happen to you but on average.
Your friend with better bloodflow might also have a stronger erection and therefore on average more kids (pulling this out of my ass obviously). You dont need to have any obvious disadvantages, on average it might still work better..
Re: Forearm artery reveals human evolution continues?
#10The selection pressure on three versus two arteries feeding the hand has to be so incredibly small (in terms of survival to reproduction in humans) that I am having a hard time imagining how this story has any causal plausibility.
Edit to be more clear about what in the article I'm responding to, it's this:
> Dr Teghan Lucas from Flinders University says ... “This increase could have resulted from mutations of genes involved in median artery development or health problems in mothers during pregnancy, or both actually. If this trend continues, a majority of people will have median artery of the forearm by 2100.”