New Statistical Model Moves Human Evolution Back Three Million Years

[HuckleB]

Source: Science Daily

Evolutionary divergence of humans from chimpanzees likely occurred some 8 million years ago rather than the 5 million year estimate widely accepted by scientists, a new statistical model suggests.

The revised estimate of when the human species parted ways from its closest primate relatives should enable scientists to better interpret the history of human evolution, said Robert D. Martin, curator of biological anthropology at the Field Museum, and a co-author of the new study appearing in the journal Systematic Biology.

Working with mathematicians, anthropologists and molecular biologists, Martin has long sought to integrate evolutionary information derived from genetic material in various species with the fossil record to get a more complete picture.

Comparing DNA among related animals can provide a clear picture of how their shared genes evolved over time, giving rise to new and separate species, Martin said. But such molecular information doesn't yield a timetable showing when the genetic divergence occurred.

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101105124241.htm

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Well, now. Looks like we left those other primates behind a long, long, long, long time ago, depending on your definition of long. Mine, apparently is 2 million years per long.

:hi:

[SoCalNative]

1. Sadly the republicans still haven't made the divergence

:rofl:

[HuckleB]

2. +1

[stevedeshazer]

3. Even with an extra three million years, Republicans couldn't figure shit out.

+1

:)

[DBoon]

6. are they even primates?

I didn't think weasels were part of the primate family tree at all.

[Po_d Mainiac]

8. Chimps aren't the only primates to pick their ass. n/t

[Jennicut]

17. Chimps are smarter, sadly.

[thunder rising]

4. 8 million years, 5 thousand ... yada yada (wingers don't compromise).

[krkaufman]

16. With this adjustment, a winger would say, "See, I told you it was all made up" nt

[skepticscott]

5. Every time Sarah Palin opens her mouth

humanity regresses another 100,000 years...

[DBoon]

7. proof of de-evolution

[Zax2me]

9. Interesting...

So we separated from chimps...maybe they separated from us?!
And what did a chimp look like 8 million years ago - was it even a 'chimp'?

[RainDog]

13. you don't quite get it.... they're talking about a common ancestor

there are branches all along the evolutionary tree - this is the old way of describing it.

mammals are all part of one branch, with multiple branches for diff. kinds of mammals... primates are one group of such mammals. primates include all the great apes - humans, common chimpanzees, pygmy chimpanzees, gorillas, neanderthals, various australiopithecus branches - there are homo branches of the primate tree that are now extinct, so this branching from the chimpanzee line would include them - and what the study is saying is that, rather than postulating that humans, other homo species and chimpanzees (2 species of those now alive btw) had a common ancestor 5 million years ago, the ability to combine data from various disciplines puts that common ancestor back another 3 million years by these scientist's understanding.

there were no "humans" and no "chimps" when primates had a common ancestor. we're all part of the same hominidae family, or branch.

they're talking about when the genus "homo" and the genus "pan" started to branch off from a common hominidae ancestor.

"homo" is the genus that includes the species sapiens (humans - homo sapiens sapiens.

"pan" is the genus that includes bonobo (pan paniscus) and and common chimps (pan troglodytes.)

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. I think that's why they previously thought it was 5 million years -

absent the DNA evidence, a Homo from 7 million years ago probably looked an awful lot like a Pan of 7 million years ago. By the time the differences were pronounced enough to be easily seen, we'd already been diverged for 3 million years.

[bluedigger]

10. As an anthropology major, I just have to say...

This thread is full of win!

:rofl:

[HuckleB]

14. +1

[activa8tr]

11. Thanks for this! I love evolution....and studying all this new discovery. I also

wonder when Republicans evolved BACK to those halcyon days in chimp history.

Somewhere between Eisenhower and Nixon, I think, maybe in the Johnson years.

[hunter]

12. "Such modeling techniques, which are widely used in science and commerce..."

You mean like the derivatives market, computer trading, mad-physics-economics-hybrid-math, and that kind of crazy stuff?

Call me skeptical.

[HuckleB]

18. Call me skeptical of a response that is based on wild assumption creation.

[hunter]

19. ???

I went to the original source. That's what I saw. I am highly skeptical of this kind of math, especially when it is applied to ecology, economics, or in this case, evolutionary biology.

[jberryhill]

20. Aw man, I haven't gotten used to daylight savings time yet /nt