2. Even though high altitudes can be very fatal, there are ways human beings have adapted to them. One way humans have adapted to higher altitudes is by simply living in areas of higher altitudes. After a while, it can be easier for humans to live in areas of higher altitudes because their bodies would have gotten more used to the environment and affects of these high altitudes would slowly go away, or not affect them as much. Another way humans have adapted to higher altitudes is medicine. Acetazolamide is an example of a medicine that reduces the affects and symptoms of high altitudes. Another thing humans have learned to do in high altitude areas is to stay hydrated. We have learned that hydration also helps limit the symptoms of higher altitudes. The last way humans have adapted from higher altitudes is changes in sleeping and eating patterns. What humans eat in regular altitudes, must be adjusted when in areas of higher altitudes, so that the human body has more energy and resistance towards symptoms of higher altitudes.
3. There are many benefits of studying human variation. One reason is because it helps scientists study and analyze how humans before us migrated from one place to another. Another benefit is that human variation helps show how human groups are related to each other biologically. Human variation also has to do with genetics, and how genetics impact how you adapt in a certain environment. In this case, if the parents of a person were able to easily adapt to high altitudes, the kid of those parents would also have an easier time adapting to high altitudes. Information from explorations can also be very useful and beneficial. This is because you can experiment with the higher altitudes, and know why it becomes harder to live in those higher altitudes. Exploration becomes useful information. If someone were to use exploration by staying in an area of higher altitudes, that person could experiment and find ways to adapt and limit symptoms of those higher altitudes. They could test their experiments out, and if those experiments are successful, information could be written down and be used by others.
4. One way you could use race to understand the variation of the adaptions listed above is genetics. Genes are a huge factor toward what humans can and cannot adapt to. The study of environmental influences on adaptations is a much better and efficient way to understand human variation. Environmental influences affect the expressions of human genes. Examples of environmental influences are climate change, natural hazards, and even environments built by humans. These examples can help us understand how humans react and try to adapt in these environments. Analyzing adaptations by the use of race can be more inconsistent. Again, I believe that race isn't much of a factor towards adaptation besides the influences certain people grow up with, like family members for example. I believe that adaptation and how easy or difficult adaption is, has to do with genetics and what people can, and can't handle.
Regarding images: You have all of them there but it would have been helpful to your reader to place them in your post where you discuss that adaptation. As is, it is left to the reader to figure out which image applies to which adaptation.
ReplyDelete"Without oxygen, humans will die. "
Since this is a course in biological anthropology, can we get a little deeper into the biology here? What happens to the body at high altitudes that can possibly lead to death? Why is it harder for the body to take in oxygen? Explain and expand here so your reader better understands why adaptations to hypoxia is necessary.
" One way humans have adapted to higher altitudes is by simply living in areas of higher altitudes."
That isn't an "adaptation". That is a choice that then requires you to adapt or, failing that, to move out of that environment.
There were four types of adaptations you were asked to discuss here: Short term, facultative, developmental, and cultural. You discuss the last but not the first three, which are actually the biological adaptations. These adaptations are discussed in the resources in the assignment module. I'll offer examples below:
Short term: The immediate response to hypoxia is increased heart rates and respiration to get oxygen to the tissues more quickly.
Facultative: This is a genetic response, in this case turning on genes to produce more hemoglobin, allowing more oxygen to be transported at any one time.
Developmental: These are long term genetic changes. In this case, that would be genetic adaptations that increase efficiency in oxygenation (you see these in Tibetan and Andean populations) or the barrel chested structure that enlarges the lung capacity.
Culture: All of the examples you offer are cultural.
"In this case, if the parents of a person were able to easily adapt to high altitudes, the kid of those parents would also have an easier time adapting to high altitudes."
How is this helpful? Is it even surprising, given what we know about genetics?
"This is because you can experiment with the higher altitudes, and know why it becomes harder to live in those higher altitudes."
Correct... but then what can we *do* with that information? How can we make it useful? Can the information we gain from these types of studies have medical or scientific implications? Help people with lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis?
"One way you could use race to understand the variation of the adaptions listed above is genetics. Genes are a huge factor toward what humans can and cannot adapt to. "
You are conflating "variation" with "race" here. They are not the same thing.
" I believe that race isn't much of a factor towards adaptation besides the influences certain people grow up with, like family members for example. "
This contradicts your first sentence. I agree with your conclusion here but your reasoning is unclear.
To answer this question, you first need to explore what race actually is. Race is not based in biology but is a social construct, based in beliefs and preconceptions, and used only to categorize humans into groups based upon external physical features, much like organizing a box of crayons by color. Race does not *cause* adaptations like environmental stress do, and without that causal relationship, you can't use race to explain adaptations. Race has no explanatory value over human variation.
Hey Nerses,
ReplyDeleteIn part 3, you that "information from explorations can also be very useful and beneficial," but don't outright say it. It is implied that you mean experimentation, but how could the information be beneficial? How is it useful to any other person?
In part 4, you say that race can be used to understand the variation of the adaptions listed above. I know you're talking about high altitude stress in this case, but I think it's best to mention it again. Also, you seem to contradict yourself. You state that race can and cannot be used to understand human variation. Which do you actually believe? It's quite confusing.
Hi Nerses, I really enjoyed your post. I loved how you mentioned the use of medicnine to help combat altitude sickness. I think it would have been great if you mentioned how exactly it affects the body. For example, since altitude sickness is pretty much a result of hypoxia, how exactly does it help combat it. Does it cause the body to produce more red blood cells, allowing for better oxygen consumption. Also the consumption of food and water essentially do the same thing. I also think that when you mentioned how exploration can be useful due to experimentation could have been better explained and used better examples. Otherwise good job.
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