If Humans Were...

[Beorn]

Built To Last.

A number of the debilitating and even some of the fatal disorders of ageing stem in part from bipedal locomotion and an upright posture - ironically, the same features that have enabled the human species to flourish.
Every step we take places extraordinary pressure on our feet, ankles, knees and back - structures that support the weight of the whole body above them.
Over the course of just a single day, disks in the lower back are subjected to pressures equivalent to several tons per square inch. Over a lifetime, all this pressure takes its toll, as does repetitive use of our joints and the constant tugging of gravity on our tissues.

Although gravity tends to brings us down in the end, we do possess some features that combat its ever present pull.
For instance, an intricate network of tendons helps to tether our organs from the spine, keeping them from slumping down and crushing one another.

But these anatomical fixes - like the body in general - were never meant to work forever.
Had longevity and persistent good health been the overarching aim of evolution, arrangements such as those depicted below might well have become commonplace.

Scientific American, March 2001

Our current flaws

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/BeornWulfWer/2.jpg?t=1237240247

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/BeornWulfWer/4.jpg?t=1237240361

If we were built to last.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/BeornWulfWer/3.jpg?t=1237240399

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/BeornWulfWer/5.jpg?t=1237240474

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/BeornWulfWer/6.jpg?t=1237240593



What else would you want to adapt about your body in order to prolong your life, or to better your time on Earth, irrespective of aesthetic beauty?

[Barreldriver]

looks like alpinoids are the progressive humans with their shorter stature and thicker muscle and fat build.

[stormlord]

The above is all great but we're built for some more vital purposes, it doesn't matter one jot how resilient to aging you are if you can't catch your next meal or win your next fight; being short, having a low centre of gravity and bent over posture all make you much slower and less agile, and I'd guess the larger number of check valves in the circulatory system would slow blood flow. Thicker bones would weigh you down and decrease the distance you could run and your explosive reaction times. Large ears would increase heat loss in cold climates, and the tracheal alterations would prevent breathing through the mouth, which is again vital in high intensity situations. A larger ribcage would also restrict articulation and add more weight. The point is we are the way we are for a reason.

The only fixes you'd really want from those charts would be for bones not to start demineralizing after 30, and relocation of the optic nerve as I can't really see any downside to those alterations.

[Odelia]

I wish that most fat was pooped out so we don't get fekkin obese

[zebruh]

I wish that most fat was pooped out so we don't get fekkin obeseOr you could walk for at least 20 minutes a day.
And make good food choices

[Odelia]

Or you could walk for at least 20 minutes a day.
And make good food choices
Errr, read the question of the OP man. And I hope this wasn't aimed at cos I'm far from obese...

[zebruh]

Errr, read the question of the OP man. And I hope this wasn't aimed at cos I'm far from obese...I hope so.