London: Humans are losing intellectual and emotional capabilities because we no longer need intelligence to survive, a new study has claimed. Researchers from Stanford University claim the intricate web of genes which endows us with our brain power is particularly vulnerable to mutations - and these mutations are not being selected against our modern society because we no longer need intelligence to survive.
However, we shouldn't lose any sleep over our diminishing brain power - as by the time it becomes a real problem - technology will have found a solution making natural selection obsolete, the 'Daily mail' reported. "The development of our intellectual abilities and the optimisation of thousands of intelligence genes probably occurred in relatively non-verbal, dispersed groups of peoples before our ancestors emerged from Africa," said Dr Gerald Crabtree, lead author.
In this environment, intelligence was critical for survival, and there was likely to be immense selective pressure acting on the genes required for intellectual development, leading to a peak in human intelligence. It was downhill from there on in as, from that point, it's likely that we began to slowly lose ground, researchers claim.
According to researchers, with the development of agriculture, came urbanisation, which may have weakened the power of selection to weed out mutations leading to intellectual disabilities. Based on calculations of the frequency with which deleterious mutations appear in the human genome and the assumption that 2,000 to 5,000 genes are required for intellectual ability, Crabtree estimates that within
01:55 PM, Nov 14, 2012
New York: Humans can sniff fear and disgust, and the emotions are contagious, a new study has found, suggesting we communicate via smell just like other animals. "These findings are contrary to the commonly accepted assumption that human communication runs exclusively via language or visual channels," researchers led by Gun Semin from Utrecht University in the Netherlands said. Most animals communicate using smell, however, because humans lack the same odour-sensing...
03:30 PM, Nov 07, 2012
London: Scientists have discovered that a tiny particle within a protein allowed humans to become the most intelligent creatures on the planet. Researchers from the University of Colorado found that the protein domain issue known as DUF1220 holds the key to understanding why our brains are so much bigger and more complex than any other animal, the Daily Mail reported. DUF1220 is a protein domain of unknown function that shows...
04:33 AM, Aug 20, 2012
London: Scientists have sequenced the genome of the gorilla, the last great ape to have its genes decoded, and say it gives new insights into differences between the apes and humans - including their ability to produce competitive sperm. While confirming that our closest relative is the chimpanzee, the research also shows that around 15 percent of the human gene map resembles the gorilla more closely than it does the...
10:12 AM, Mar 08, 2012
Los Angeles: Ancient humans fashioned hand axes, cleavers and picks much earlier than believed, but didn't take the stone tools along when they left Africa, new research suggests. A team from the United States and France made the findings after traveling to an archaeological site along the northwest shoreline of Kenya's Lake Turkana. Two-faced blades and other large cutting tools had been previously excavated there along with primitive stone flakes....
11:01 AM, Sep 01, 2011
London: Prairie dogs chat with each other and can describe what different human beings look like. The species, only found in North America, call out to warn their friends when a predator approaches their habitat. Not only that, they have calls for 'human', one for 'hawk' and another for 'coyote', radio station NPR reports, according to the Daily Mail. Con Slobodchikoff of Northern Arizona University in the US has been...
05:57 PM, Jan 23, 2011
Houston: Do you know what's common between amoebae and humans? Well, some amoebae do what many of us do -- packing a lunch before travel. Researchers at Rice University in Houston found that the social amoebae Dictyostellum discoideum, commonly known as slime molds, increase their odds of survival with the help of a rudimentary form of agriculture. Some of them, the "farmer" class, sequester their food -- particular strains of...
12:50 PM, Jan 21, 2011
London Human demands on natural resources have doubled in under 50 years and are now outstripping what the planet can provide. Consequently, at current rates of consumption of resources, humankind will need the capacity of two earths by 2030, according to the biennial Living Planet Report. Wildlife in tropical countries is also under huge pressure, with populations of species falling by 60 percent in three decades. And the report from...
03:25 PM, Oct 15, 2010
The US Centre for Diseases Control has confirmed over 50 cases of infection so far. ...
09:34 AM, Apr 26, 2010
An Australian zoo has put up humans on display to raise awareness about primate conservation. ...
06:59 PM, Jan 09, 2007
Rajasthan High Court has placed elephants in the same category as human beings. ...
11:50 PM, Dec 21, 2006
NASA has unveiled its Global Exploration Strategy for a proposed US lunar architecture. ...
12:09 PM, Dec 05, 2006
Neanderthals may have given the modern humans who replaced them a priceless gift - a gene for superior brains. ...
09:06 AM, Nov 08, 2006
