Question One: Bio-cultural Evolution
Culture plays a fundamental role in human evolution. Human beings possess high-order cognitive abilities. However, despite these advanced capabilities, they are biological organisms who rely on various biological processes to survive ( Bogin et al., 2018 ). One of the core characteristics of living organisms is their ability to adapt to different environments. A highly progressive association exists between biology and people’s culture. The relationship plays a central role in genetic and neural evolution. Bio-cultural evolution denotes a gradual process of evolution that results from relevant interactions between people’s culture and significant biological aspects ( Bogin et al., 2018 ). It also explicates on the nature of the former and the latter, the way they relate, and their influence on human evolution. Bio-cultural evolution takes place when living organisms shift from their primitive forms that are subject to environmental impact, to advanced ones ( Bogin et al., 2018 ). Anthropologists have conducted numerous studies that reveal that significant interactions between people and their environments, that can alter their genetic constitution. Culture and biology have a dynamic relationship that occurs when the neurons transpose environment-related stimulus that is then transferred to the body system and result in modifications in genetic expressions as the human body strives to respond effusively to the environmental stimulus ( Bogin et al., 2018 ). When such processes recur, the body conditions itself to respond in various ways to specific stimuli, a process that modifies genetic make-up and human behavior to retain the body’s response to the stimuli ( Bogin et al., 2018 ). Therefore, cultural factors and biological factors are intertwined and contribute significantly to human evolution.
Question Two: Human Biological Variation
Human biological variation refers to the vast physiological and genetic differences existing in human populations. Anthropologists and other scholars have gained much interest in this area to gain a profound understanding of biological variability and to explicate on the underlying mechanisms that promote and pattern biological differences ( Maitra et al., 2019) . People’s difference in skin colour is an excellent example of human morphological variation. A trait such as this that people often use to classify others racially results from evolutionary processes and human adaptation to distinct environments. Disparities in skin color occur due to the presence of melanin, a pigment controlled by six genes, in the skin. The skin of both light and dark individuals contains this component ( Maitra et al., 2019 ). However, whether one is dark or light depends on the type of melanin produced by their skin. Two primary types of melanin exist pheomelanin and eumelanin that differ in color. The former is red or yellow, while the latter is dark or brown ( Maitra et al., 2019 ). The skin of individuals with lighter complexions contains pheomelanin while that of dark individuals produces eumelanin. Maitra et al. suggest that the presence of red blood cells close to the surface of the skin and the presence of fat and carotene, a reddish-orange pigment also result in skin color differences (2019). Hence, skin color variations occur due to the presence of pheomelanin and eumelanin in the skin.
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People also differ in color depending on the climatic conditions of the places they reside in. For instance, most individuals living in non-forested regions and tropic latitudes have darker complexions because the skin produces much melanin to protect itself from ultraviolet radiation ( Tang & Barsh, 2017 ). Melanin assumes the role of a biological shield that protects the skin from sunburns that can cause a multitude of skin cancers such as melanoma. Under such climatic conditions, dark-skinned individuals have an advantage over light-skinned ones because they are impervious to the effects of UV rays ( Tang & Barsh, 2017 ). Conversely, people living in areas located in the Northern latitudes have lighter skin because the regions pose minimal risk of solar radiation ( Tang & Barsh, 2017 ). The skin conditions itself to produce less melanin when exposed to weak ultraviolent radiation. In such environments, dark skin is disadvantageous because it impedes the production of enough vitamin D, putting youngsters and adults at significant risk of rickets and osteoporosis, respectively ( Tang & Barsh, 2017 ). The latter results from the skins inability to manufacture vitamin D. Hence, skin color variations occur due to the climatic conditions of the place of settlement.
Question Three: Future Climate-Induced Changes in Human Beings
In the future, human health will deteriorate significantly due to adverse climatic changes. The overall effect of human activities on the environment supersedes the ability of biophysical systems to absorb and regenerate at universal and regional levels ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). As a result, scientists expect profound climatic changes related to atmospheric composition, extreme land degradation, shortage in freshwater supply, and the loss in biodiversity to occur at an alarming rate ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). Gas emissions are likely to increase following the upsurge in industries. The concentration of different poisonous gases in the atmosphere will significantly change the climate by boosting global warming. GHanizadeH et al. argue that climatic variations, through a wide range of mechanisms will foster the transmission of many dreadful diseases (2017). The population and distribution of vector-borne organisms, for instance, depends on the various physical aspects such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation, and some biotic factors such as vegetation, the availability of host species, and the presence of competitors, among others ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). A slight rise in the ambient temperature would lead to an upsurge in the geographical dispersal of vector organisms such as the female anopheles’ mosquito in some regions ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). Variations in temperature would further affect the life cycle of a multitude of organisms such as bacteria, viruses, flukes, and protozoa, increasing the rates of transmission for deadly diseases such as malaria, and dengue fever ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). The increase in the distribution of vector organisms will heighten the risk of contracting the diseases, resulting in a decline in the quality of life among many individuals ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). Consequently, this will create considerable financial constraints as state governments strive to fund the treatment of a significant number of citizens. Likewise, the rates of mortality will multiply exponentially as a growing number of individuals succumb to the diseases. Hence, climatic changes will increase the rates of transmission for a multitude of appalling conditions.
Changes in temperature and the degradation of the ozone layer due to the increased concentration of CFCs will put people at significant risk of cardiopulmonary disease and cancer.
The dramatic changes in temperature will result in longer winter seasons. A significant association exists between temperature and the rise in mortalities during this period ( GHanizadeH et al., 2017 ). Frigid temperatures put people at substantial risk of contracting respiratory tract infections that could lead to the deterioration of the cardiovascular system. Adverse climatic conditions can significantly decrease the quality of people’s cardiovascular health because a significant proportion of the global population displays low adaptability to abnormal weather ( GHanizadeH et al. 2017 ). Likewise, these profound weather changes may lead to an increase in cancer cases, especially those related to basal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and squamous cell carcinoma ( Watson, Holman, & Maguire-Eisen, 2016 ). The release of toxic gas emissions will likely lead to the degradation of the ozone layer, exposing people to ultraviolent radiation. The ozone layer plays a pivotal role in protecting human beings from UV rays because it filters them and minimizes their risk on human beings The Ozone layer has grown weak due to the increase in the carbon, fluorine, and chlorine, some of the CFCs compounds released into the atmosphere ( Watson et al., 2016 ). Watson et al. suggest that one CFC particle annihilates 10,000 ozone fragments before its filtration (2016). Hence, a high concentration of these compounds in the atmosphere could degrade the ozone layer entirely.
Hence, temperature increments and UV radiation could put people at significant risk of contracting these incurable diseases.
References
Bogin, B., Varea, C., Hermanussen, M., & Scheffler, C. (2018). Human life course biology: A Centennial perspective of scholarship on the human pattern of physical growth and Its place in human biocultural evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology .
GHanizadeH, G., Heidari, M., Seifi, B., Jafari, H., & PakJouei, S. (2017). The effect of
Climate change on cardiopulmonary disease-a systematic review— Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research , 11 (12).
Maitra, S., Chatterjee, D., & Bandyopadhyay, A. R. (2019). Skin colour variation: A study on Eastern and North East India. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences , 10 (3), 13-16.
Tang, H., & Barsh, G. S. (2017). Skin colour variation in Africa. Science , 358 (6365), 867-868.
Watson, M., Holman, D. M., & Maguire-Eisen, M. (2016, August). Ultraviolet
Radiation exposure and its impact on skin cancer risk. In Seminars in Oncology Nursing (Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 241-254). WB Saunders.
