Scientists unearth 66-million-year-old fossil of a bizarre mammal called crazy beast in Madagascar
There is a lot that climate change can be blamed for. Erratic weather patterns, rising sea levels, loss of habitats the list goes on. However, can change in climate lead to changes in the bodies of human beings? Yes, say an interdisciplinary team of scientists. According to a new study, the average size of the human body has fluctuated over millions of years depending on changes in the climate.
The study, led by researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Tübingen, acquired measurements from over 300 fossils from across the world belonging to the genus
Climate changed the size of our bodies and, to some extent, our brains - HeritageDaily
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A reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton, right, and a modern human version of a skeleton, left, on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York in 2003. A new study confirms that early humans who lived in colder places adapted to have larger bodies. Frank Franklin II / AP
Big bodies are good for cold places.
That s the gist of a foundational rule in ecology, which has been around since the mid-1800s: animals that live in colder places tend to have larger bodies, especially birds and mammals that need to regulate their body temperatures. For example, some of the largest whale and bear species have evolved in the coldest reaches of the planet.
In the study, the researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Tubingen write that for every degree of warming, there is a 0.87 per cent decrease in body mass. For example, a 2C warming would be associated with a body size decrease of 1kg for someone weighing 60kg. The same trend works in reverse, so for every degree of cooling, body size increases by 0.87 per cent. Being bigger means a person’s mass to surface area ratio is greater, and they are therefore more heat efficient and lose less warmth than smaller people.
George Empson/supplied
Researchers have found that for every degree of warming, there is a 0.87 per cent decrease in body mass (file photo).
Colder Climates Meant Bigger Bodies For Ancient Humans
Big bodies are good for cold places.
That s the gist of a foundational rule in ecology that has been around since the mid-1800s: Animals that live in colder places tend to have larger bodies, especially birds and mammals that need to regulate their body temperatures. For example, some of the largest whale and bear species have evolved in the coldest reaches of the planet.
The rule applies broadly to modern humans too. Populations that evolved in colder places generally have bigger bodies.
That s also true of human ancestors, a new study finds. The research offers conclusive evidence that human body size and climate are historically connected.
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