Cool headline: Genetic Errors Nixed Penis Spines, Enlarged Our Brains
Geneticists have linked the physical appearance of humans to patches of DNA lost in the 5 million years since we shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees. One loss prevented men from growing penile barbs, which chimps possess. Another enlarged some regions of our brain.
...
Bigger brains are an obvious advantage (“It probably helped us become the thinkers we are today,” Bejerano said), but it’s unclear why evolution weeded out the spines. These tiny, hair-like projections, found in male chimps and cats, can trigger female ovulation. They also increase sensitivity and remove existing sperm, ostensibly giving males a reproductive advantage. Bejerano suspects the spines are conducive to monogamy.
Could restoring the relevant regulatory DNA in humans resurrect penile spines? “I’m going to leave it to others to paint that picture and its consequences,” said evolutionary biologist Sean B. Carroll of the University of Wisconsin, who wasn’t involved in the study. “But my guess is that something would probably happen.”
http://www.slate.com/id/2287215/
For all you non-huggers out there, a Slate piece by someone else who does not appreciate the hugging.
Now I'm thinking condom with the slogan, "armored for her pleasure"....
For all you non-huggers out there, a Slate piece by someone else who does not appreciate the hugging.
Some of you guys would be very impressed at how far I've come -- when I met my coworker for dinner the other day, I let her hug me with hardly any flinching! (But seriously: We had seen each other like an hour earlier at work.)
::::::::tries to remember if she tried to hug Jesse at Bukowski's::::::nervous:::::::
Bejerano suspects the spines are conducive to monogamy.
I suspect they may be conducive to abstinence.
One loss prevented men from growing penile barbs, which chimps possess. Another enlarged some regions of our brain.
Though actually I see an evolutionary cause and effect from bigger brains and barbless penises: "Let's see, if my dick looks less frightening, I get more attention from the gorgeous cave chicks . . ."
I think we did hug, javachik.... It's fine! I am totally on-board with that author's categories.
You know how Newt Gingrich divorced his first wife when she had cancer and his second wife when she had MS or whatever? Here's his explanation:
There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate,"
[link]
Sullivan sez:
On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that every sinner has a future and every saint has a past. And I don't think the fact of three wives and two divorces should be salient to running for public office. I think the cruelty of two of the divorces is what is at stake. Nonetheless, Gingrich's request for forgiveness is always answered by a loving God if the request is sincere.
But one does not confess sin by finding excuses for it, as above. And it seems to me that someone who has legally had three marriages should not be campaigning against some people being barred from having even one.
