Science Article #7

Evolution Shrank Some Primates Brains

Ghose, Tia. “Evolution Shrank Some Primates Brains”. Wired Science. January 27, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2010 From
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/evolution-shrank-some-primates-brains/

Nature has a funny way of running its course. Research as proven that evolution is responsible for how species came to be the way they are today. An interesting piece of study is realizing that primate brain did not grow but actually shrank in time. Apparently, there was no need for primates to have larger brains to survive.

According to Nick Mundy, an evolutionary geneticist, “it was assumed that brain sizes generally get bigger through primate evolution”. In fact, the primate brain size actually reduced in size. This includes the brains of Marmoset and Lemurs of Madagascar, which has shown a drastic reduction in size

It is not known why the brain of some primates actually shrank but there are some speculations. It may be from the scarcity of food that causes this reduction or a way to conserve the energy consumption as a means to survive by reducing its intelligence.

This study may open doors to explanations of our ancient ancestors and the bones that were discovered. The discoveries of some unique bones of our ancestors had perplexed some experts but understanding the reasons behind the uniqueness might come from looking into our closest cousins – primates. Some things are just hard to explain but each and any clue for understanding mankind is invaluable.