Beorn
03-16-2009, 10:09 PM
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?
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?