• Question: What is the most interesting thing you have learnt about us as human beings?

    Asked by Bernice to Elliot, Hazel, Thomas on 23 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Elliot Jokl

      Elliot Jokl answered on 23 Jun 2016:

      Thanks for the question!

      I think one of the most interesting things about humans is that we are really not all that different from animals. For example, our DNA is 98-99% identical to the DNA of other primates like apes and gorillas. A lot of our genes are also nearly identical to those in other animals. From the perspective of our DNA, we have a lot more in common with many other forms of life than we have differences.

      This is powerful evidence of the fact that we have evolved from common ancestors, as suggested in the theory of evolution. It is also a nice way to think about how all life on earth is connected in a very bizarre and fascinating family tree – I’ll put a link to one of the diagrams of this tree below:

      https://www.evogeneao.com/learn/tree-of-life

      We are near the bottom right of that tree, if you are struggling to find yourself!

    • Photo: Thomas Biggans

      Thomas Biggans answered on 23 Jun 2016:

      One of the interesting things I see at work is how our bodies adapt to an illness or a treatment.

      I’ve seen how people’s brains can “re-wire” themselves so that they continue to work as normal even though a big part of the brain no longer works. I’ve seen how if one bit of the heart muscle becomes weaker the other bits become stronger to make up for it. And I’ve seen how the body heals itself after we’ve destroyed a cancer tumour.

      We’re a very adaptable species both physically in terms of our bodies but also mentally in terms of our personalities.

Comments