Biochemical evidence, Science

Assignment Help:

Biochemical Evidence:

As we had said earlier in section 13.2, Darwin had  recognized  that humans and the great apes shared many physical characteristics. This led him  to conclude, that humans and apes descended from a common stock. Darwin's conclusions were based on the study of fossils and the physical similarities  that he had observed. Now, a century later biochemical studies of  proteins and the genetic material-DNA  show how good his guess  was, Biochemical studies show us that, as evolution proceeds and the species get differentiated,  they accumulate changes in the structure of  their proteins and DNA. Longer the separation time, greater the changes. These changes are expressed in terms of  percent genetic distance which indicates  the proportional difference between the DNA of  the two species. Comparative studies of the proteins of  the African apes and humans showed that chimpanzees, gorillas and humans are closely related  to one another, while the Asian apes, i.e. the gibbon and orangutan were the more distant cousins of  this trio  .

 

1779_Biochemical Evidence.png

Once the Asian and African apes were considered to be closely related and it was thought that  the hominids developed from apes prior  to 15 million years ago. Biochemical evidence, however, indicates that the ape-human divergence may have been much closer to five million years and that  thc gorilla split off  first, leaving the chimpanzees and the human-like creatures to share a common ancestor briefly before separating. Ramapithecus fossil specimen found in Asia, Europe and Africa was at one time thought to be closely related  to the species of modem man. However, on the basis of biochemical evidence, it has now been  shown that  it cannot be considered a homonid, because it  lived before  the Asian apes diverged from hominids. Same is true for Sivapithecus indicus, a fine fossil specimen of which was discovered in  1980 from the foothills of  the western Himalayas in  Pakistan. 


Related Discussions:- Biochemical evidence

Nitrogen cycle, Nitrogen Cycle: Nitrogen is vital part of many essentia...

Nitrogen Cycle: Nitrogen is vital part of many essential organic  compounds especially nucleic acids and proteins. It also forms a major part (79 per cent) of the atmosphere. I

Describe the process of a medical audit, Question 1 Discuss the issues wit...

Question 1 Discuss the issues with existing Health management information system in India Question 2 Explain the significance of health information systems in nursing educ

Define primary transport, Define Primary Transport Primary transport em...

Define Primary Transport Primary transport employes energy directly, light or chemical energy is transformed to electrochemical energy as electrochemical potential of the subst

Explain different types of blinding with an example, Question 1 Which of t...

Question 1 Which of the following is best control group for double blind Phase II clinical trial? Justify your Answer. Placebo Concurrent Control No-treatment Concurrent

What is amino acids metabolism, What is amino acids metabolism ? Nitro...

What is amino acids metabolism ? Nitrogen enters the body through a variety of compounds present in the food, the most important being amino acids present in dietary proteins.

Atoms and elements, why the atoms in neon gas do no join up in the same way...

why the atoms in neon gas do no join up in the same way that hydrogen atoms do?

Radiation, Radiation: High doses of radiation are very harmful for huma...

Radiation: High doses of radiation are very harmful for human health. Do you know about the disaster ceated by  the first atomic bombs which were exploded on two cities of Japa

Explain the procedure of rock formation metamorphic rocks, Explain the proc...

Explain the procedure of Rock Formation Metamorphic Rocks? Concept 1 :   What is a metamorphic rock? First off, what does metamorphism mean? To morph is to change; a butterfly

State about the soil water potential, Sate about the Soil water potential ...

Sate about the Soil water potential Electrical energy, potential energy and kinetic energy together are referred to as free energy or the energy status of water. The difference

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd