evolution - latest finding: «early humans swapped bite for brain»
humans owe their big brains and sophisticated culture to a single genetic mutation that weakened our jaw muscles about 2,4 million years ago, suggests a new study.the slack muscles relaxed their hold on the human skull, giving the brain room to grow. Other primates remained stuck with mighty muscles that squeezed the skull in a vice-like grip.
peter currie, an expert on skeletal muscle development at the victor chang cardiac research institute in darlinghurst, australia considered the finding "pretty amazing". he said that changes in muscle anatomy are well known to alter the bones to which they attach, but that the exciting part of this is the mutation in the gene dates to exactly when this transition occurs in the fossil record.
how do you like them apples, mel gibson?
