Biology And Human Evolution Essays - Anthropology, Apes, Free Essays

Biology And Human Evolution Essays - Anthropology, Apes, Free Essays Biology And Human Evolution Human Biology and Evolution Humans are Alive The earliest human life form can be traced back more than 3.5 billion years ago. Humans are said to be descendants of a single celled ancestor. Although they are different in size and shape all basic functions are alike. The more complex the organization of the cell became the more successful and developed it became. As these single celled organisms developed they became known as pre-humans. We share many characteristics with these pre-humans. Some of these characteristics include the masters of heredity DNA and RNA as well as proteins composed of amino acids, membranes or bound cells and lastly controlled cell division or mitosis, key to the daughter cells. Kingdoms are Alive The diversity of kingdoms is arranged into kingdoms that classify organisms from simple to complex. The traditional five kingdoms are Prokaryote, Protoctista, Fungi, Plantae, and Anamalia. Prokaryote is a bacterium that lacks nuclear membrane. Protoctista is a heterogeneous grouping that combines a great diversity of forms. Fungi are known for being important agents of composition they include yeast and mushroom. Plantae, are categorized as plants that use sunlight to convert to energy. Lastly Anamalia, Anamalial members are multicellular and fully mobile, they obtain their nutrients from other living things. Our Place in Nature Humans are hierarchically classified into a series of increasingly specific groups. They range from the Kingdom Animalia to the Genus Homo, the Homo Sapiens appears to be its only living representative Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertabrata Class: Mammalia Family: Hominidfae Genus: Homo Our Place in time Over a considerably large span of geological time life on earth has changed drastically. Humans and their close relatives are the most recent arrivals in the Tertiary period. The periods range Precambrian which was over 56 million years ago to Quaternary which was 1.8 million years ago to present. In this chart you will be able to see all periods ranging from Precambrian to Quaternary. TABLE PERIOD AGE (MILLIONS OF YEARS) SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF LIFE Quaternary 0.01 1.8 Historic time ice ages; humans appear Tertiary 5 65 Apelike ancestors of humans appear major radiation of mammals, birds, and pollinating insects Cretaceous 144 Flowering plants appear; dinosaurs and many groups of organisms become instinct at end of period Jurassic 208 Gymnosperms continue as dominant plants; dinosaurs dominant; first birds Triassic 245 Gymnosperms dominate landscapes; first dinosaurs and mammals Permian 286 Radiation of reptiles; origins of mammal-like reptiles and most modern orders of insects Carboniferous 360 Extensive forests of vascular plants; first seed plants; origin of reptiles; amphibians dominant Devonian 408 Diversification of bony fishes; first amphibians and insects Silurian 438 Diversity of jawless vertebrates; colonization of land by Plants and anthropods; origins of vascular plants Ordovician 505 First vertebrates (jawless fishes); Marine algae abundant Cambrian 544 Origin of most invertebrate phyla; Diverse algae Precambrian 700 4600 Origin of first animals Approximate origin of the earth Biosystems the Movie I viewed a video illustrating the senses through modern dance. The video was very graphic and detailed and showed a virtual tour of the organs. First I observed how deoxidized blood travel through the heart chambers to the lungs to get oxidized this was done through the cardiovascular system. Then I observed three parts of the nervous system, the ear, eye and the brain. I then took a tour through the urinary system, the digestive system, respiratory system and finally the musculoskeloton system, which concluded the film. Humans are Vertebrates Humans are placed in the subphylum vertebrata. The category vertebrata contains all animals with a backbone. This group contains diverse animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Most of our familiar body systems are shared with vertebrates. Musculoskeletal System A skeleton family of four and a dog in a living room watching baseball illustrated the musculoskeletal system. The baseball game was actually an informational video on the joints and muscles of the upper body. Circulatory System The circulatory system has three main components, the lymphatic system, capillaries and blood. The lymphatic system transports intercellular fluid through the circulatory system. Capillaries are microscopic blood vessels whose wall is only one cell in thickness. They carry blood opulent in oxygen and nutrients to all tissues in the body. Urinary System The kidney in the urinary system regulates the chemical composition of the blood thus also regulating the chemical composition of the body tissues. The functional unit of the kidney is known as a nephron and it absorbs much