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Humans Were Born to Run, Scientists Say
Reuters ^ | 11/17/2004 | Patricia Reaney

Posted on 11/17/2004 11:06:41 AM PST by ElkGroveDan

LONDON (Reuters) - Humans were born to run and evolved from ape-like creatures into the way they look today probably because of the need to cover long distances and compete for food, scientists said on Wednesday.

From tendons and ligaments in the legs and feet that act like springs and skull features that help prevent overheating, to well-defined buttocks that stabilize the body, the human anatomy is shaped for running.

"We do it because we are good at it. We enjoy it and we have all kinds of specializations that permit us to run well," said Daniel Liberman, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

"There are all kinds of features that we see in the human body that are critical for running," he told Reuters.

Liberman and Dennis Bramble, a biology professor at the University of Utah, studied more than two dozen traits that increase humans' ability to run. Their research is reported in the science journal Nature.

They suspect modern humans evolved from their ape-like ancestors about 2 million years ago so they could hunt and scavenge for food over large distances.

But the development of physical features that enabled humans to run entailed a trade off -- the loss of traits that were useful for being a tree-climber.

"We are very confident that strong selection for running -- which came at the expense of the historical ability to live in trees -- was instrumental in the origin of the modern human body form," Bramble said in a statement.

AGAINST THE GRAIN The conventional theory is that running was a by-product of bipedalism, or the ability to walk upright on two legs, that evolved in ape-like human ancestors called Australopithecus at least 4.5 million years ago.

But Liberman and Bramble argue that it took a few million more years for the running physique to evolve, so the ability to walk cannot explain the transition.

"There were 2.5 million to 3 million years of bipedal walking without ever looking like a human, so is walking going to be what suddenly transforms the hominid body?" said Bramble.

"We're saying 'no, walking won't do that, but running will."'

If natural selection did not favor running, the scientists believe humans would still look a lot like apes.

"Running has substantially shaped human evolution. Running made us human -- at least in the anatomical sense," Bramble added.

Among the features that set humans apart from apes to make them good runners are longer legs to take longer strides, shorter forearms to enable the upper body to counterbalance the lower half during running and larger disks which allow for better shock absorption.

Big buttocks are also important.

"Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns," said Bramble.

Humans lean forward when they run and the buttocks "keep you from pitching over on your nose each time a foot hits the ground," he added.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: anthropology; archaeology; crevolist; evolution; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; history
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To: WildTurkey

Mortality
7% IP 9% Control Group

Yes, the case is closed. The control group had higher mortality, wturkey.

You not only don't have the document, you are willingly letting others do your thinking for you.

Shame on you.

I'm disgusted. But not surprised. When you find some dignity come back and maybe I'll engage in honest intellectual discourse with you. But probably not.

Good luck. Oh, you don't believe in that. Well.... then, have a life.

BTW, I'm praying for you.


321 posted on 11/18/2004 4:22:33 PM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: WildTurkey

And to paraphrase a Henny Youngmanism:

100% of them will die eventually.


322 posted on 11/18/2004 4:24:43 PM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: ColoCdn
You not only don't have the document

Ok. Post the document and show your numbers are correct.

Show that the control group was NOT more sick to start with.

Show that the prayed-over group had a higher percentage of re-admissions to the Coronary Care Unit, needed 4 times the number of temporary pacemakers as the control group, and three times the number of permanent pacemakers.

Explain why he did not submit his study to the Journal of American Medicine.

323 posted on 11/18/2004 5:50:59 PM PST by WildTurkey
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To: ColoCdn
Mortality 7% IP 9% Control Group

Statistically insignificant, particularly when you consider that he did not correct for the different initial conditions concerning the illness of the test subjects.

Conclusion: Don't bother to pray to say someone's life.

324 posted on 11/18/2004 6:18:50 PM PST by WildTurkey
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To: ColoCdn

Explain why it took five years to get his study published!

How many credible journals rejected his study?

Was the Journal of American Medicine more credible in rejecting his study than the religiously biased journal that printed it?


325 posted on 11/18/2004 6:30:49 PM PST by WildTurkey
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To: ColoCdn
A little exercise in thought. For the sake of the argument, let us assume your position that the Byrd study proves that God responds to IP then it follows from his study that God responds to those that receive the most prayers, not those that are most deserving.

What kind of God would respond to a few extra prayers by a stranger rather than to a mother's prayer for her son or a husband's prayer for his wife?

Is it compassion when God sides with the ones that receive the most prayers?

326 posted on 11/18/2004 6:36:38 PM PST by WildTurkey
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To: ColoCdn

No significant differences between the prayer and control groups were found in days in CCU, days in hospitial, discharge medications and deaths, despite explicit prayers for "a rapid recovery and prevention of death.

Are we thus to conclude from all of the data derived in this study that although God may reflexively respond to the will of the majority, his manifestations are so marginal as to approach insignificance?


327 posted on 11/18/2004 6:42:00 PM PST by WildTurkey
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To: ElkGroveDan

Sorry, I was off my feet for a while.


328 posted on 11/18/2004 7:44:43 PM PST by Eagle Eye (Al Anbar -- not just another bad neighborhood, it's a state of mind)
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To: WildTurkey

Miss me, huh?
Too bad.
Your credibility is zero.


329 posted on 11/19/2004 8:41:46 AM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: ColoCdn
Miss me, huh? Too bad. Your credibility is zero.

Does that mean you are not going to pray for me anymore?

330 posted on 11/19/2004 8:51:37 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: WildTurkey

For a contrarian you assume way too much.
All you know about my thoughts about you is that your credibility is zero.


331 posted on 11/19/2004 9:06:50 AM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: orionblamblam

---
Over time, yes. And that's just what the evidence shows.
---

Mathematics really should be required for a degree in evolutionary biology.

Time is not a factor in a continual, on-going process. It cancels out of the equations. That's why we can study stellar life cycles in human life times even though an individual star itself takes anywhere from a million to 20 billion years to go through its life cycle.

The point is, we shouldn't HAVE to look in a fossil record, we should be able to measure speciation occurring throughout the entire biosphere right now. We should be able to take sample populations, observe speciation vectors, distribution plots and harmonic resonances around a maximized form. These are all things mathematics predicts should be happening if evolution, as currently theorized, is accurate. We don't see any of this.

The dirty little secret is that biologists with a good math background already know this. That's why they keep resurrecting the theory of Punctuated Equilibrium, and then state that we are currently in an Equilibrium period.


332 posted on 11/19/2004 9:11:28 AM PST by frgoff
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To: frgoff

> That's why we can study stellar life cycles in human life times even though an individual star itself takes anywhere from a million to 20 billion years to go through its life cycle.

That's becasue there are enough stars, and stars are sufficiently simple, that the life cycle is based not on watching individual stars, but on the differences between simialr stars. Just like the fossil record.

> we should be able to measure speciation occurring throughout the entire biosphere right now

Just like we should be able to mathematically predict future history, just like Hari Seldon, yes? Predicting the future of evolution in detail is like predicting who is going to win the 2020 Presidential election, and by how many electoral college votes. In principle, with enough information both should be possible.


333 posted on 11/19/2004 9:16:41 AM PST by orionblamblam
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To: ColoCdn
For a contrarian you assume way too much. All you know about my thoughts about you is that your credibility is zero.

I assume nothing. Just going by your earlier post.

------------------------------------------

BTW, I'm praying for you.
321 posted on 11/18/2004 4:22:33 PM PST by ColoCdn

334 posted on 11/19/2004 9:17:09 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: WildTurkey

"BTW, I'm praying for you."

You ASSUMED that I would no longer be praying for you.

Credibility=MegaZero


335 posted on 11/19/2004 9:22:31 AM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: ColoCdn
You ASSUMED that I would no longer be praying for you. Credibility=MegaZero

I assumed nothing. I ASKED you if you would still be praying for me. Notice the "?"?

Now answer the question.

Are you still going to pray for me?

336 posted on 11/19/2004 9:29:36 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: WildTurkey

Bwahahahaaahaaaahaaaaa!

Someone with no credibility DEMANDING I answer the question?

AHahahahahahahahahahahahhaaaaahaaaaaa!

(Drying my eyes)

Right. Any day now.

Come back when you grow up.

BTW, I'm praying for you.


337 posted on 11/19/2004 9:55:19 AM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: WildTurkey

Or maybe I just forgot the quotation marks.

Hahhaahaahaahaaaaa.

Yep, now I'm just funnin' you.

Hmmm...or am I just quoting you?


338 posted on 11/19/2004 9:59:39 AM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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To: ColoCdn

I think you forgot to take your meds today.


339 posted on 11/19/2004 10:04:08 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: WildTurkey

Are you sure I don't just pray for my good health?


340 posted on 11/19/2004 10:04:58 AM PST by ColoCdn (Truth never dies)
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