HELP! Could the evolution of humans hinge on one mutation affecting JAW size? This article says that......?

Question

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/25/tec...

ARTICLE FROM: Gene Mutation Divided Man, Ape?

Answer 1

No.

Answer 2

The later development of speech maybe?

Answer 3

I'd be highly skeptical also of any claims of evolution from pre-apes to man...considering we share only 94-96 percent of our genes...that equals a 4-6 percent difference of our 3 billion base pairs of DNA or 120-180 million individual changes. How did mankind undergo that many individual beneficial mutations in 10-50 million years when even a single beneficial mutation is rare? That's an average of 2-3 beneficial mutations per year, every year...where's the data to support this? Seems to me that scientists are grasping at straws and inconclusive evidence. Some people like microcephalics of Pakistan have very small heads and brains from inbreeding and yet they are fully human.

Answer 4

Generally speaking, never trust anything scientific that comes out of a news source.

First of all, we split off from the apes 6 or 7 million years ago - this mutation occurred 2.5 million years ago, long after we were separated from other apes. The title is misleading, as it implies that somehow this mutation caused us to evolve to our current state.

Also, the idea that somehow having a smaller jaw means having a larger brain is ridiculous. If such a mutation occurred to make our jaw smaller, this wouldn't have affected our brain size. If our brain size got larger (which it did), it must be due to some factor in the environment - an environmental pressure that favored larger brain size. Our brains grew larger because natural selection (or sexual selection) selected for it, not because of any mutation.

Also, if you read farther down in the article, it says that the researchers (who are NOT anthropologists, mind you) are not even sure when the mutation occurred!

You have to remember, the job of News sources is not to bring you accurate news - it's to sell newspapers. If you ever see an article entitled "Researchers discover gene for violence!" you should instantly know it's a crock of c**p. However, the articles that rescind those stories are never published because, hey, it wouldn't sell any newspapers.

Skepticism is the sign of a healthy mind!

Answer 5

Jaw size is more likely related to a fully bipedal mode of locomotion - which required a complete reorganization of the distal portions of the skull - especially the occipital region.  Our species' spinal cord enters the cranium at a different angle from other apes and is fairly close to the ascending ramus and the mandibular articulations.

Answer 6

the fact that apes and humans are built 'rather the same', doesn't prove evolution