Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
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Evolutionary biology
Weird stuff the developing body does in the womb? How about making finger muscles that our reptilian ancestors had but which "disappeared" when mammals evolved. The muscle in the thumb is a throw back to this and helps give us our dexterity, but the others all disappear as the foetus develops. We make similar in the foot but then they disappear - except in other apes/monkeys where they remain to allow climbing etc. Other adult mammals don't have these muscles at all. Sort of weird when you think about it, I reckon. Weird but interesting.
Adeveloping left hadn showing the "lizard muscles" that will disappear later:
Click image to enlarge
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"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
It is amazing that it works at all. That it does so reliably - but not to the extent of preventing evolution - is astonishing. I can't help wondering what advantage there is to growing these cells and then deleting them, when this approach would seem to waste resources. Perhaps it is not a burden for an embryo in-utero with resources reasonably plentiful, or is some sort of genetic 'sub-routine' necessary to trigger other sets of genes.
All life - according to Prof Dawkins at least - is just a means by which genes continue themselves.
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