Skin pigmentation mutation:
Melanin is a pigment which changes the colour of skin in humans. The more melanin in our skin the darker our skin colour is. Homo sapiens originally had a white-pink skin colour and they were covered in hair. Over time we grew less and less hair on our bodies resulting in less protection from the sun and its harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In the very northern or southern countries, areas further away from the equator, there is less exposure to UV radiation due to its position. This resulted in people having lighter skin and due to these areas being colder people had to wear more clothing which meant that the skin had little exposure to the skin. Areas close to the equator receive a lot more sunlight and therefore …show more content…
These mutations have helped Homo sapiens outcompete species such as Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) who had a differentiation of DNA by only 0.12%. These mutations and many others resulted in natural selection favouring us. The ability to defer UV radiation due to the mutation of black skin would of lead to more Homo sapiens surviving than Neanderthals due to the folate in Neanderthals being broken down by the UV radiation. The sickle cell mutation would allow people to utilise and survive in malaria areas. This would help by providing more resources and making it difficult for other groups or tribes to attack them due to them being susceptible to malaria. The domestication of cattle and the mutation to be able to digest lactate resulted in a new food source for people and a source of water in drought. This increased survival due to humans using many different sources for nourishment and not just a few resulting in our resources being depleted. Homo sapiens are an apex predator and this is largely due to mutations. We have no predator because we were able to adapt to our environment in such a way that resulted in us dominating over most species. Many different animals can easily kills humans but none of them eat humans as their main food source. Although we are the dominant species and an apex predator we are not on the top of the food chain. Humans have mutated and adapted into omnivores (diets involving plants and animals increases our source of nutrients and vitamins) enables to use many different resources and not just abusing a
Melanin is a pigment which changes the colour of skin in humans. The more melanin in our skin the darker our skin colour is. Homo sapiens originally had a white-pink skin colour and they were covered in hair. Over time we grew less and less hair on our bodies resulting in less protection from the sun and its harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In the very northern or southern countries, areas further away from the equator, there is less exposure to UV radiation due to its position. This resulted in people having lighter skin and due to these areas being colder people had to wear more clothing which meant that the skin had little exposure to the skin. Areas close to the equator receive a lot more sunlight and therefore …show more content…
These mutations have helped Homo sapiens outcompete species such as Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) who had a differentiation of DNA by only 0.12%. These mutations and many others resulted in natural selection favouring us. The ability to defer UV radiation due to the mutation of black skin would of lead to more Homo sapiens surviving than Neanderthals due to the folate in Neanderthals being broken down by the UV radiation. The sickle cell mutation would allow people to utilise and survive in malaria areas. This would help by providing more resources and making it difficult for other groups or tribes to attack them due to them being susceptible to malaria. The domestication of cattle and the mutation to be able to digest lactate resulted in a new food source for people and a source of water in drought. This increased survival due to humans using many different sources for nourishment and not just a few resulting in our resources being depleted. Homo sapiens are an apex predator and this is largely due to mutations. We have no predator because we were able to adapt to our environment in such a way that resulted in us dominating over most species. Many different animals can easily kills humans but none of them eat humans as their main food source. Although we are the dominant species and an apex predator we are not on the top of the food chain. Humans have mutated and adapted into omnivores (diets involving plants and animals increases our source of nutrients and vitamins) enables to use many different resources and not just abusing a