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Human evolutionary developmental biology
Human evolutionary developmental biology or informally human evo-devo is the human-specific subset of evolutionary developmental biology. Evolutionary developmental biology is the study of the evolution of developmental processes across different organisms. It is utilized within multiple disciplines, primarily evolutionary biology and anthropology. Groundwork for the theory that "evolutionary modifications in primate development might have led to … modern humans" was laid by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Ernst Haeckel, Louis Bolk, and Adolph Schultz. Evolutionary developmental biology is primarily concerned with the ways in which evolution affects development, and seeks to unravel the causes of evolutionary innovations.
The approach is relatively new, but has roots in Schultz's The physical distinctions of man, from the 1940s. Shultz urged broad comparative studies to identify uniquely human traits.
Brian Hall traces the roots of evolutionary developmental biology in his 2012 paper on its past present and future. He begins with Darwinian evolution and Mendel's genetics, noting the tendency of the followers of both men in the early 20th century to follow separate paths and to set aside and ignore apparently inexplicable problems. Greater understanding of genotypic and phenotypic structures from the 1940s enabled the unification of evolution and genetics in the modern synthesis. Molecular biology then enabled researchers to explore the mechanisms and evolution of embryonic development in molecular detail, including in humans.
Many of the human evolutionary developmental biology studies have been modeled after primate studies and consider the two together in a comparative model. Brain ontogeny and human life history evolution were looked at by Leigh, in a 2006 paper. He compares brain growth patterns for Homo erectus and Homo sapiens to get at the evolution of brain size and weight. Leigh found three different patterns, all of which pointed to the growth rate of H. erectus either matching or exceeding H. erectus. He makes the case that this finding had wide application and relevance to the overall study of human evolution. It is pertinent specifically to the connections between energy expenditure and brain development. These finding are of specific utility in studies on maternal energy expenditure. Comparative study of nonhuman primates, fossils and modern humans to study patterns of brain growth to correlate human life history and brain growth.
Jeremy De Silva and Julie Lesnik examined chimpanzee neonatal brain size to identify implications for brain growth in Homo erectus. This changed the understanding of differences and similarities of post-natal brain growth in humans and chimpanzees. The study found that there was a distinction necessary between growth time and growth rate. The times of growth were strikingly similar, but the rates were not. The paper further advocates the use of fossils to assess brain size in general and in relation to cranial capacity.
Utilization of endocranial volume as a measure for brain size has been a popular methodology with the fossil record since Darwin in the mid 1800s. This measure has been used to access the metabolic requirements for brain growth and the subsequent trade-offs.
Some of the work on human evolutionary developmental biology has centered around the neotenous features that present in humans, but are not shared across the primate spectrum. Steven J. Gould discussed the presentation of neoteny with "terminal additions" in humans. Neoteny is defined as the delayed or slowed development in humans when compared with their non-human primate counterparts. The "terminal additions" were extensions or reductions in the rate and scope of stages of development and growth.[pages needed] Gould hypothesized that this process and production of neoteny in humans might be the key feature that ultimately lead to the emotional and communicative nature of humans. He credits this factor as an integral facet of human evolution. However, there have also been cautions against the application of this aspect to group ranking during it inappropriate as a measure of evolutionary achievement.
Early comparative and human studies examined the fossil record to measure features like cranial sizes and capacities so as to infer brain size, growth rate, total growth and potential implications for energy expenditure. Helpful as this is, the static nature of individual fossils presents its own challenge. The phylogenic fossil line is itself a hypothesis, so anything based upon it is equally hypothetical.
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Human evolutionary developmental biology
Human evolutionary developmental biology or informally human evo-devo is the human-specific subset of evolutionary developmental biology. Evolutionary developmental biology is the study of the evolution of developmental processes across different organisms. It is utilized within multiple disciplines, primarily evolutionary biology and anthropology. Groundwork for the theory that "evolutionary modifications in primate development might have led to … modern humans" was laid by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Ernst Haeckel, Louis Bolk, and Adolph Schultz. Evolutionary developmental biology is primarily concerned with the ways in which evolution affects development, and seeks to unravel the causes of evolutionary innovations.
The approach is relatively new, but has roots in Schultz's The physical distinctions of man, from the 1940s. Shultz urged broad comparative studies to identify uniquely human traits.
Brian Hall traces the roots of evolutionary developmental biology in his 2012 paper on its past present and future. He begins with Darwinian evolution and Mendel's genetics, noting the tendency of the followers of both men in the early 20th century to follow separate paths and to set aside and ignore apparently inexplicable problems. Greater understanding of genotypic and phenotypic structures from the 1940s enabled the unification of evolution and genetics in the modern synthesis. Molecular biology then enabled researchers to explore the mechanisms and evolution of embryonic development in molecular detail, including in humans.
Many of the human evolutionary developmental biology studies have been modeled after primate studies and consider the two together in a comparative model. Brain ontogeny and human life history evolution were looked at by Leigh, in a 2006 paper. He compares brain growth patterns for Homo erectus and Homo sapiens to get at the evolution of brain size and weight. Leigh found three different patterns, all of which pointed to the growth rate of H. erectus either matching or exceeding H. erectus. He makes the case that this finding had wide application and relevance to the overall study of human evolution. It is pertinent specifically to the connections between energy expenditure and brain development. These finding are of specific utility in studies on maternal energy expenditure. Comparative study of nonhuman primates, fossils and modern humans to study patterns of brain growth to correlate human life history and brain growth.
Jeremy De Silva and Julie Lesnik examined chimpanzee neonatal brain size to identify implications for brain growth in Homo erectus. This changed the understanding of differences and similarities of post-natal brain growth in humans and chimpanzees. The study found that there was a distinction necessary between growth time and growth rate. The times of growth were strikingly similar, but the rates were not. The paper further advocates the use of fossils to assess brain size in general and in relation to cranial capacity.
Utilization of endocranial volume as a measure for brain size has been a popular methodology with the fossil record since Darwin in the mid 1800s. This measure has been used to access the metabolic requirements for brain growth and the subsequent trade-offs.
Some of the work on human evolutionary developmental biology has centered around the neotenous features that present in humans, but are not shared across the primate spectrum. Steven J. Gould discussed the presentation of neoteny with "terminal additions" in humans. Neoteny is defined as the delayed or slowed development in humans when compared with their non-human primate counterparts. The "terminal additions" were extensions or reductions in the rate and scope of stages of development and growth.[pages needed] Gould hypothesized that this process and production of neoteny in humans might be the key feature that ultimately lead to the emotional and communicative nature of humans. He credits this factor as an integral facet of human evolution. However, there have also been cautions against the application of this aspect to group ranking during it inappropriate as a measure of evolutionary achievement.
Early comparative and human studies examined the fossil record to measure features like cranial sizes and capacities so as to infer brain size, growth rate, total growth and potential implications for energy expenditure. Helpful as this is, the static nature of individual fossils presents its own challenge. The phylogenic fossil line is itself a hypothesis, so anything based upon it is equally hypothetical.