Human skeleton has become lighter over time

Guest Tue Dec 23, 2014 8:05 pm

If you compare a chimpanzee’s bones with those of a modern human, one difference will immediately jump out at you. Chimp bones are densely packed with microscopic structures known as spongy bone. Human bones aren’t. That relative lack of spongy bone makes our skeletons lighter and increases our risk of fractures and osteoporosis. But weaker skeletons and more broken bones don’t seem like great evolutionary strategies. So why the change? Two papers published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences propose an explanation.

http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/12/human-skeleton-has-become-lighter-over-time?rss=1

Right really have to go, so hope all have a good evening.

Flix Tue Dec 23, 2014 8:14 pm

They were actually paid to come up with that?

Flap Zappa Tue Dec 23, 2014 8:26 pm

Phil Didge wrote:If you compare a chimpanzee’s bones with those of a modern human, one difference will immediately jump out at you. Chimp bones are densely packed with microscopic structures known as spongy bone. Human bones aren’t. That relative lack of spongy bone makes our skeletons lighter and increases our risk of fractures and osteoporosis. But weaker skeletons and more broken bones don’t seem like great evolutionary strategies. So why the change? Two papers published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences propose an explanation.

http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/12/human-skeleton-has-become-lighter-over-time?rss=1

Right really have to go, so hope all have a good evening.

surely those hunter gatherer tribes in south america and elsewhere who have no interaction with the modern world would still show a difference of some type if that was the reasoning.
I'm no doctor or evolutionary scientist, but could it be more to do with using our brains more for problem solving and not needing the brute strength of our ancestors.

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Human skeleton has become lighter over time

Human skeleton has become lighter over time

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Re: Human skeleton has become lighter over time

Re: Human skeleton has become lighter over time