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

How we present atoms without drawing the subatomic particles, How do we rep...

How do we represent atoms without drawing all the subatomic particles? Atoms can be represented by their chemical symbols. For example, H is hydrogen, He is helium, etc. All t

What are the effects of temperature variations, What are the Effects of Tem...

What are the Effects of Temperature variations Different minerals present in the rock behave differently to the changing temperatures. The rocks expand on getting heated at day

Centralised cataloguing, advantages and disadvantages of centralised catalo...

advantages and disadvantages of centralised cataloguing

Explain the geoid and the surface of the earth, What is the difference amo...

What is the difference among the geoid and the surface of the earth? The geoid is an visualize surface that equal with the average (mean) sea level around the world. Thus, i

Protozoa, whats the whole profile for the protozoa fossil

whats the whole profile for the protozoa fossil

K-means clustering, 1. Apply the k-means clustering to the following points...

1. Apply the k-means clustering to the following points in R4: (4:1, 3:6, 4:8, 5:5) (7:4, 3:0, 3:2, 6:1) (3:7, 4:9, 6:5, 6:1) (5:1, 5:6, 4:3, 5:4) (3:3, 4:0, 4:3, 5:

Difference between bonded contact and standard contact, 1. What is the diff...

1. What is the difference between an explicit method over implicit in FEA? Which one will you use over the other? Name the kind of analysis. 2. What is the Newton Raphson method

Renaissance (1440-1540), Renaissance (1440-1540): The Renaissance was a...

Renaissance (1440-1540): The Renaissance was a revolutionary movement. It marked a definite and deliberate break with the past.  It swept away the medieval forms of economy, of

Define the levels of drugs in urine, Define the Levels of Drugs in Urine ...

Define the Levels of Drugs in Urine Levels of alcohol and barbiturates (a group of drugs derived from barbituric acid that is used to sedate, to control convulsions or to induc

Need a question answered, 1. Describe the paths of water through the hydrol...

1. Describe the paths of water through the hydrologic cycle. Explain the processes and the energy gains and losses involved in the changes of water between its 3 states. Operatio

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