The Fattest Ape: An evolutionary tale of human obesity

Fat-Humankind's Greatest Asset In the Evolutionary War:

One of the biggest problems of our era is the problem of obesity. Obesity, especially in our modern culture is viewed as an undesirable trait. Take the pinnacle of urban civilization in America, New York City, for example. If you look closely at your surroundings when walking down a street in NYC, you will notice the flashy social media and billboards that are constantly screaming “skinny is the new beautiful”. Furthermore, any seasoned couch potato can tell you just how annoyingly abundant those weight loss and bodybuilding programs are that crowd the television commercials. Sometimes we find ourselves wondering, why is it so hard to be skinny? Why are we so prone to weight gain? Why do I have so much fat? Why is it that I still gain weight even as I eat leaves for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Racism has an evolutionary explanation? the "Male Warrior Hypothesis" YIKES! check out this article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/prejudice-may-have-evolutionary-basis_n_1258390.html?ref=science

-Hannah

Another look at modern human origins

Recent discoveries have challenged many of our traditional views on the origin of our species.  The discovery of Ardipithecus ramidus, nicknamed “Ardi,” in 2009 contradicts traditional theories of early human evolution, such as the origin of bipedalism and our ideas on the common ancestor of chimps and humans.  The long-help belief that bipedalism evolved because grasslands forced early hominids to walk across open territory, the “savannah hypothesis,” may be incorrect; Ardi, from 4.4 million years ago, is our earliest example of a bipedal hominid, and she lived in the woods.  Another long-held belief, that the common ancestor of chimps and humans was chimp-like, may also be false.  Ardi’s wrists bent backwards, but chimpanzees’ wrists cannot; this may indicate that this supposedly ancestral trait may actually be derived.

Ardi's skull (from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Ardi.jpg)