Higher Metabolism Rates In Human Enables To Evolve Larger Brain Than Primates: Recent Study

Overview

• Post By : Kumar Jeetendra


• Source: Loyola University Health System


• Date: 09 Jun,2016

Researcher from Loyola University Health System, Chicago recently uncovered mystery over evolution of human brain in comparison with closely related primates. Study suggests higher the metabolic rate in human than closely related primates enables to evolve larger brain.

The research study recently appears in journal Nature, study founds human have high percentage of fat which fuels higher metabolism rates. At the result of experimental works researcher found Humans consume 400 more calories than chimpanzees and bonobo on daily basis 635 more calories than gorillas and 820 more calories than orangutans.

According to Researcher,

"Humans exhibit an evolved predisposition to deposit fat whereas other hominoids remain relatively lean, even in captivity where activity levels are modest," researchers wrote. "Untangling the evolutionary pressures and physiological mechanisms shaping the diversity of metabolic strategies among living hominoids may aid efforts to promote and repair metabolic health for humans in industrialized populations and apes in captivity."

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Story source: Loyola University Health System

Journal References

Herman Pontzer, Mary H. Brown, David A. Raichlen, Holly Dunsworth, Brian Hare, Kara Walker, Amy Luke, Lara R. Dugas, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, Dale Schoeller, Jacob Plange-Rhule, Pascal Bovet, Terrence E. Forrester, Estelle V. Lambert, Melissa Emery Thompson, Robert W. Shumaker, Stephen R. Ross. Metabolic acceleration and the evolution of human brain size and life history. Nature, 2016; DOI: 10.1038/nature17654