Here are the topics for discussion we came up with:
Zeder-
Would domestication be considered a mental defect in the animals as their brains reduce in size compared to their wild counterparts?. Are there examples of increased brain size? What about “smart” dog breeds?
If so, what makes something a mental defect? After all, in their new environments domesticated animals are much better adapted than their wild counterparts.
If domestication truly follows the pathways Zeder described, would it be theoretically possible to domesticate any animal via one or more of those pathways? Obviously some animals would be easier to domesticate than others, but in theory what would make an animal truly impossible to domesticate?
Dunn-
What evidence do we see in the modern world of the way the diet and utilization of agriculture influenced our genetic makeup and evolution over the years? Agriculture has obviously changed since its invention thousands of years ago, what staples have stuck with us and why? In such a rapidly changing society, the needs of which are so vastly different than those of the ancient world, should we change our approach to the basic foods we farm and eat?
What do you think about the theories Dunn presents on how we evolved to be able to process milk? Today people who are lactose intolerant don’t suffer physically because of it (they can be just as healthy or unhealthy, fit or obese, as lactose-tolerant people), so what does this mean evolutionarily speaking?
Do you think gene therapy is a viable weight-loss option for the future? What about popular restrictive diets?
See you in class,
Corinne and Kelly
Discussion Points 3/04/14 0
by corim14 • January on March 3, 2014
Here are the topics for discussion we came up with:
Zeder-
Would domestication be considered a mental defect in the animals as their brains reduce in size compared to their wild counterparts?. Are there examples of increased brain size? What about “smart” dog breeds?
If so, what makes something a mental defect? After all, in their new environments domesticated animals are much better adapted than their wild counterparts.
If domestication truly follows the pathways Zeder described, would it be theoretically possible to domesticate any animal via one or more of those pathways? Obviously some animals would be easier to domesticate than others, but in theory what would make an animal truly impossible to domesticate?
Dunn-
What evidence do we see in the modern world of the way the diet and utilization of agriculture influenced our genetic makeup and evolution over the years? Agriculture has obviously changed since its invention thousands of years ago, what staples have stuck with us and why? In such a rapidly changing society, the needs of which are so vastly different than those of the ancient world, should we change our approach to the basic foods we farm and eat?
What do you think about the theories Dunn presents on how we evolved to be able to process milk? Today people who are lactose intolerant don’t suffer physically because of it (they can be just as healthy or unhealthy, fit or obese, as lactose-tolerant people), so what does this mean evolutionarily speaking?
Do you think gene therapy is a viable weight-loss option for the future? What about popular restrictive diets?
See you in class,
Corinne and Kelly