How Did Humans and Chimps Diverge as a Species?

It makes perfect sense to me that humans and chimps diverged as a species. I am equally impressed with the current insights we gain through DNA research. This is allowing a lot of loose threads to get more closely woven together. It does not sound like this highly debatable topic has been proven as fact though. David Reich's research team has produced controversial evidence that the split between humans and chimpanzee’s occurred a lot differently than has been suspected in the past. It also makes sense the split did not happen based on one event, and then the separation took place. The fact that interbreeding linked us for a theorized ‘several million years’, sometimes with sterile offspring, and other times with favorable traits to pass on through generations, feels like a more complex and thorough explanation of how this split took place.

Not all agree though. Jeffrey Schwatz, who has compiled evidence linking humans to orangutans, feels the data was skewed. He feels that Reich’s team focused solely on evidence to support our connection to chimpanzee’s, but skimmed over evidence of similarities to other primates (Wikipedia). Other controversy is stirring over the origins of intelligence, behavior patterns, and how this ties in with religious communities. This new evidence also offers tantalizing hints that hybridization events up to ten million years ago may have introduced significant amounts of DNA from gorilla and orangutan lineages (Wikipedia).

We will have to see how these recent discoveries unfold once more DNA-data is unwound…

Can We Raise Our Levels of Dopamine?

Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter released by the hypothalamus. It has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward (Wikipedia). It is released naturally in rewarding experiences such as food, sex, some drugs, and neutral stimuli that becomes associated with them.

Dopamine is believed to provide a teaching signal to parts of the brain responsible for acquiring new behavior. It is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person to perform certain activities.

It has been theorized that dopamine pathways are pathologically altered in addicted persons. With the study read in class, biomedical solutions were investigated. Some results were positive, but you also have to face the consequences of the side-effects of the drugs you are using. For example, one drug which has been studied, naltrexone is linked to severe liver damage. Why not try a more holistic approach, like qigong, for example. Qigong has been proven to resolve digestive problems, asthma, arthritis, insomnia, pain, depression, and anxiety, as well as cancer, coronary heart disease, and cases of HIV/AIDS. Tests have also shown that qigong triggers the body’s relaxation response by reducing the level of dopamine, an enzyme that controls neurological activity (David Eisenberg, M.D., a clinical research fellow at Harvard Medical School). A better question to ask would be, “Can we lower the levels of dopamine ourselves?’ I believe by that by adopting a more natural approach to life, we can re-educate ourselves to be less dependent on what is perceived as desire, and shift towards a more holistic and rhythmical approach to life.

Is There A Drug for Everything?

So many drugs are prescribed today without the proper testing period to look into the side effects, internally as well as externally (with regards to the environmental effects as well). How many cases do you see where the drug is recalled after only a few years, once the effects are starting to show themselves, yet after 6 months of testing it was determined to be safe for consumption? I get a bit nervous when you see the list of side-effects in such small print, long enough to wrap around a city block, with words that most would not even be able to pronounce, let alone decipher.

We are such a drug-based society, looking for the quick fix, the one pill that can solve life’s unease. Starting each day with coffee and sugar (in the form of a quick, easy, cinnamon roll for breakfast), and then out the door. Adrenaline has now kicked in (we are running late) and the traffic is not in our favor. A few hours of work and then off to lunch… a quick sandwich (meat, cheese, white bread, lettuce (if you can call it that), potato chips and a soda (still working on the sugar diet). Back to work, exhausted now, jump start it with more caffeine (missing the societies of siesta), ah, but we do have that 10 minute nicotine break coming up soon, finish the day off with ‘happy hour’ to calm our internal state of affairs. A late-night dinner (had to unwind at the bar a little longer than usual), toss down a bunch of antacids and aspirin (feeling the effects of the alcohol a little too much), get a few hours of sleep and start it all over again. Sound familiar?

I feel that you can even list computers, television, advertising and media as drugs. With our dependence on such a quick pace of life, being such adrenaline junkies, it makes perfect sense that our poor kidneys are in such a state. We are so far removed from nature now, what has happened to our perception to our natural body rhythms? It is such a concern now that they are even terming the condition ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ for children (shouldn’t be age specific if you ask me). If I was asked one drug to prescribe for most conditions that you see currently I would have to say ‘rest’. It doesn’t cost a lot, there are no side-effects, and the addiction is only temporary (until your natural rhythms are re-established). I feel that adopting a lifestyle, which embraced more vacation time, more breaks throughout the day, and a slower pace of life would make us far less dependent on drugs, prescription and those everyday vices we don’t always consider to be ‘drugs’.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault

Cybernetics?

Pox via caos!
(Peace through chaos)

Definitely agreed with the need to be able to organize and connect different life systems, didn't the Taoists already have an explanation for this? Would like to discuss further in class...

Our relationship to Chimps?

It makes perfect sense to me that 99.4% of our most critical DNA sites are identical to chimpanzees and bonobos. The interesting point to bring up is where the differences lie in that small .06%. What makes that small percentage, which accounts for such an overall genetic similarity, allow for such a huge evolutionary distance as well? We do have many similarities, including our skeletal systems, opposable thumbs and our large toes, and the patterns existing from having a common ancestry. Their social patterns, ability to use tools, and the communication that exists with one another are very common links. A very good book to recommend, 'Primates in Question' by Robert Shumaker and Benjamin Beck, discusses many of the issues and questions raised. To illustrate one example of the differences is our ability to communicate with spoken language. 'Humans and the other great apes have all of the same anatomical features related to speech production, but in a slightly altered formation. This small difference has profound consequences related to vocal abilites (Shumaker and Beck)." It is due the positioning of the larynx and how it does not descend in their development. It is also connected to the way we walk. "Bipedalism requires balancing the head in an upright position on top of the spine rather than in a slightly jutted forward position, as in the quadrupedal great apes. This upright position reorients the vocal apparatus as well as increasing the mobility of the tongue. These factors suggest that bipedalism and an increase in cvocal communication were linked for the ancestors of modern humans (Shumaker and Beck)." It is interesting to note that while they cannot produce spoken language, they are perfectly capable of understanding what they hear and the symbols and gestures that they see as well, and can communicate in turn with these symbols.
I find it very enlightening that we share so many notable physical, behavioral and cognitive similarities with our common ancestors and feel that it is our responsibility to make sure that our actions do not influence our evolutionary relatives negatively.

Thoughts on Human Genetic Evolution

It is interesting how the fabric of life can be theoretically woven to bring us to present day. These articles were very informative and covered a lot of terrain. A few of the studies I found interesting were the connections to agricultural based societies and what that did to the population, the fact that mtDNA can tell us that we are all connected to a single female, and the fact that life may have began around underwater thermal vents. I also found it intriguing that primitive cells were created in a space lab and their possible involvement in the beginnings of life as we know it (NASA). It makes perfect sense to me that we could have come in with the comets and meteorites, isn't that how we got Samuel Clemens here?

This was my first introduction to the story of the Taung child, and how it was discovered that the positioning of the foramen magnum allowed them to determine that he must have been bipedal. Also, the fact that his canine teeth were short, allowing them to determine that he was more human than ape. I also found it interesting that approximately 3.7 million years ago they found bipedal footprints in volcanic ash which looked like those of modern humans.

Thoughts on Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes and Viruses

A very educational tool, I also found it interesting to read about life from the perspective of the bacteria. I definitely feel sympathy for the bacteria, it must be a very good test in non-attachment! I took a few of the quizzes, and felt them useful as well (very detailed).

Would like to know more about how are immune system uses carbohydrates to detect infection. I have definitely put a lot of thought into the overuse of antibiotics (as well as the heavy use of antibacterial soap), and what effects these will have on all life forms. I eat a rich diet in fermented foods to try to keep a healthy flora!

It was interesting to note, from the readings on 'Human Genetic Evolution', that "eukaryotes developed as the result of ingestion of prokaryotes by other prokaryotes (endosymbiont hypothesis)". I also found myself pondering the lives of prokaryotic cells, especially the fact that they contain photosynthetic pigments, and what this could mean...

From the Box to the Bloom

Considering the current theories and debates as to how we have evolved to this present state, it is difficult not to question the egotistical attachment involved. I feel it would be in our best interest to study more about the interrelatedness necessary in our development as a species, and to drift from this Cartesian mode of thinking. The idea that nature must be conquered and utilized for the benefits of a few has been a very destructive mode of being. It has been documented that there are only 23,000 human genes, where rice has 35,000 (M. Pollan, TED talks). Gives you something to chew on!

We truly are just one species among many in this fabric of life. "Our planet-mates (plants, animals and microbes) have been patiently perfecting their wares for more than 3.8 billion years, turning rock and sea into a life-friendly home. What better models could there be (J. Benyus, TED talks)?" Looking to the ideas of biomimicry, and the study of nature as a whole, instead of something we have to conquer and change, would greatly shift this current paradigm. With new illnesses developing, such as Nature Deficit Disorder, we have to question the state we are currently in. We need to study with these enlightened organisms, to adopt their amazing capabilities and survival techniques which they have utilized to take care of their home and that of their future generations.

My Thoughts on Evo-Devo? Ask the Mycelium!

Walking home from a long day of studies, with the gears rapidly turning in the brain, my nose was the first to catch the scent of an amazing dinner being prepared. I recently read that our sense of scent was a major factor in the development of our brain (A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman). The dinner being prepared, Fuling Noodle Soup. Fuling, a fungus from pine root, was discovered by Tao Hong-Jing (456-536 CE), a Taoist master, alchemist and herbalist looking for the elixir of immortality. He left no corpse.

A major ingredient in this giant theoretical pot of stew called 'Evo-Devo' which should not be omitted is the consideration of mycelium. The medicinal properties of mushrooms have been utilized for thousands of years. It has recently been documented that these 'soil magicians' were the first organisms to land here, approximately 1.3 billion years ago. Plants did not appear until a few hundred-million years later. We are most closely related to mushrooms than any other species (Stamets, TED talks). Their usefulness as antibiotics, pesticides, habit restoration and for bioremediation, are only a few of the amazing results discovered from current research. Because they do not need sunlight to grow, it is believed that the fungus 'inherited the earth' after an asteroid impact, 65 million years ago (Stamets). The network system formed by the growth of mycelium, the Earth's natural 'internet', has very similar properties to how dark matter forms(Stamets). Entire microbial universes are developed throughout these neurological networks. It has also been theorized that spoken language developed from synesthesia, the blurring of boundaries between the senses, caused by the medicinal use of mushrooms, which led to the development of spoken language (T. McKenna).

After finishing my delicious bowl of Fuling, still finding myself in mortal form (more research needed into what additional herbs Tao Hong-Jing must have discovered), resting my head on the pillow for a much needed bit of slumber, I find it very difficult not to consider the role of these multi-faceted magicians in our evolutionary development.

The Heart's Code

Excert taken from an article from Mantak Chia's website:
http://www.universal-tao.com/article/three_minds.html

"Medical science has also discovered the consciousness in the heart. They found that the heart can record a whole event, and it has its own brain, the Third Brain. Dr. Paul Pearsall has written a new book, called The Heart’s Code 3.They have found that people who have a heart transplant can actually experience the emotions of the donor.

One of the published cases is that of a girl who was brutally killed. The police didn’t know who had killed her. Her heart was subsequently transplanted into another girl. The recipient of this transplant started to get nightmares and described somebody killing her. She described the killer’s physical appearance. Finally, the mother took the girl to a psychiatrist, who then contacted the police. The girl gave the police an exact description of the 'man from her nightmares' and a police artist drew a reconstruction of the killer. With this new information the police were able to go and arrest the man.

Afterwards, when confronted with clear details of the crime, the man confessed that he was indeed guilty of this crime. So, from that experience, medical science came to realize that the heart can record all of an event and remember it."
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Your thoughts?

Do We Really Understand Our Biological Selves?

It has been our attempt to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves through the science and study of life, breaking it into smaller and smaller pieces. Microbiology, through the practice of genetic engineering, can now present us with the 'perfect' tomato in any season, quite astounding, or not? While this has much to offer on many different levels, it also stirs far more questions as to the effects of our current trends. 'Do we truly understand the affects of our biological selves?' might be another question to consider as well. What determines the correct testing period before these 'frankenfoods' are placed on our shelves? Do we truly think 6 months is a sufficient time period to study the causes and effects of our current behavior and trends? One aspect to consider in the grand mosaic of present day life.

This has been one of the large attractants for me in my decision to pursue Traditional Chinese Medicine. The rich and vast history of this medicine and it's approach and consideration towards all aspects and interconnections throughout nature, without the need to try to control her. Taking this to a deeper level of understanding and applying this methodology to the study of ourselves and relating this microcosm of self into to the larger macrocosm of life. The study of Five Element Theory shows this quite eloquently. There is not one isolated part that can be looked at under a microscope without considering how the other elements are related. In fact, you cannot solely focus on one area of study because it is all connected. There exists a true rhythm and balance to the universe, and when these connections are not considered, that is when trouble begins. I feel that a more universal approach, one which considered the effects over numerous generations, would be in our best interest and offer a greater understanding as to the affects of our current practices and to a deeper connection to our true biological selves.

A Bit About Myself

I have just completed my first week of acupuncture school, a pursuit I have had now for ten years. While it feels like a new beginning in many ways, it does not lack familiarity. This journey has been an enlightening one.

After finishing with a B.S. in Earth Science and Physics at UCSD, I traveled for the summer through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. It was during that time that I received my first massage, a significant event for me. I truly enjoyed my studies as a scientist, but felt that I needed some nourishment for the right side of my brain as well. It followed the natural flow to now add the physics of the body to my studies. Upon returning, I immediately enrolled in massage school and found myself drawn specifically towards Shiatsu and Tui Na. This also led me to a deeper understanding of energy through the practice of Chi Kung.

The photo shown above is home, Sierra valley, the largest alpine valley in North America. I currently live and work at a hot springs resort, Sierra Hot Springs, which has been frequented for centuries for its healing properties. When I moved here, five years ago, my energy shifted to the water through the studies of Watsu (Shiatsu done in water) and its extension, Waterdance. I also found myself living in a communal setting for the first time and took this opportunity to explore life and the dynamics of living in a community. I found myself living off the grid in a geodesic dome which could only be accessed with skis or snowshoes in the winter. It was great! The only sounds I heard outside were of the gurgling creek and my friendly neighbors, the birds. I also jumped right into running the office and Health Services Department, in which I developed a spa service program and enhanced their existing structure. This has truly been an educational experience on many different levels, and I am thankful for the innumerable gifts of wisdom and humbleness it has given me.

Most recently I have been exploring Chi Nei Tsang, a Taoist visceral manipulation which emphasizes the movement of chi energy through the abdominal organs. Sound has also travelled into my studies through Acutonics, the use of tuning forks on the meridian system. I have learned much through this complex and enlightening journey and truly appreciate the value of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. I believe strongly in the wisdom carried down from these great masters and am moving forward to a deeper awareness into this great tradition.