Are We Really Different?

1. Are We Really Different? By: James Bolis

2. Introduction The animal kingdom is filled with different species who range in different different sizes, shapes, colors, niches, methods of reproduction, their eating style (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores), their method of defense (i.e. camouflage), and even there adaptations. Humans share 96% of their DNA with chimpanzees Most people accept Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as a truth which explains that modern humans originated from homo sapiens.

3. SIMILARITIES: CULTURE • Animals, in a sense, have some degree of culture. In Africa, for example, a test on Giraffes was done to see if we could communicate their language. They, like all other animals, have a distinct way of communicating with one another. They have different niches, hunting techniques, methods of communication, different ecosystems, different tastes in food, and even different times for sleeping. • Learned behaviors are phenomenon learned from the parents and result from the outside such as hunting in packs, staying close to the mother, or knowing what to hunt. • Inherited behaviors, which are traits that are genetic and not learned. These can be hair color or eye color and can distinguish an animal from another.

5. SIMILARITIES: MIND-READING • Animals are said to understand what other organism are thinking such as predators or even other animals. • Many scientists today test the mind of animal and its capabilities. • Animal Cognition which is the term used to describe the mental capacities of an animal. • Scientists do this in a variety of ways, but on specific animals such as rats and primates (Including others). For example they perform tests on their memory, tool use, attention, reasoning, problem solving, and language. • Another example of animal cognition is the testing on rats where scientists designed a maze with some material at the end such as a type of cheese or chemical, attracting the mouse.

7. SIMILARITIES: TOOL USAGE • Tool usage falls under animal cognition where animals would use their own bodily functions to their advantage. • Tool use doesn’t necessarily refer to actual tools (even though scientists do test animals with them) but how an animal uses their bodily features such as their legs, feet, hands, arms, beaks, even their heads to sustain them in their life. • It is slightly different from adaptations which describes certain features of organisms that help them survive such as gills on fish or birds on a wing.

8. Morality is a concept defined in “how right or wrong something is.” • A test showed that monkeys who were starving were offered food but they wouldn’t take it if another one received pain, a sign of morality. • One can relate this to empathy and sympathy, two powerful emotions associated with humans. It is clear cognition of an animal does include some form of morality that can be related to their emotions. • Another example describes a case of morality in which it says “FrancysSubiaul of the George Washington University and his colleagues showed that captive chimpanzees are able to make judgments about the reputation of unfamiliar humans by observing their behaviour - whether they were generous or stingy in giving food to other humans.” SIMILARITIES: MORALITY

9. SIMILARITIES: EMOTIONS • Animals express emotions in a physical matter, like all humans. • For example, in cats, a fast flipping tail can represent a cat is angry. In dogs, a loud bark can show when they are startled, want affection, or even when they detect unfamiliar sounds or scents (i.e. earthquakes, tornados, or storms).. • Humans tend to express their emotions through facial expressions such as rolling their eyes when they are annoyed or squinting their eyes compressing their eyebrows when they’re mad. The can also use their bodily functions as well such as tapping their leg when they are becoming impatient. In this similarity, humans and animals are closely related when expressing themselves.

10. SIMILARITIES-PERSONALITIES • Humans have a personality that differs from one another. Some people are loud and outgoing, while others are shy and not talkative. Some people are confident while others are humble. Our personality is different and is composed of different degrees of emotions. • This is the same for animals as well. One animal can be more aggressive than another one, even in its own species, while others may be more silent and quiet. • From the cowardly spiders and reckless salamanders to the aggressive songbirds and fearless fish, there are different animals that have different strengths in weaknesses in terms of emotions.

11. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY

12. Homologous Structures- These are parts of animal’s bodies that are similar in structure but different in function and are due to evolutionary changes over time such as the bird’s wing and human arm, two different organisms but have similar functions. HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURES

13. ANALOGOUS STRUCTURES • Analogous Structures- These are structures in different species having the same appearance, structure, or function but have evolved separately, thus do not share a common ancestor.

14. This structure refers to an organ or part which is longer functional or is of reduced or altered function. • Vestigalstructures provide a clue to the evolutionary history of a species because they are remnants of structures found in the ancestral species. • Examples of human vestigial structures are the appendix, tailbone (Coccyx), and wisdom teeth (canine teeth). Others include the hind leg bones in whales and the wings on flightless birds.

15. COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY • It is the study of the embryo from a single-celled zygote and its development to the establishment of form and shape. It is a branch of biology that focuses on the formation and early development of organisms. Similarities are seen in the initial stages of development such as in the embryos of the human, pig, hen, and fish. In the initial stages of development the embryo possess a small tail later on it develops its distinct features.

17. Comparative cytology is the study between the differences of various kinds of cells. • A comparative cytologist may study differences between cells of various species such as a mouse liver cell to a human liver cell or differences between cells of the same species such as a human smooth muscle to a human cardiac muscle cell.

18. BIOCHEMICAL SIMILARITIES • This is the study of structures and physical properties of biological molecules including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids; the mechanisms of enzyme action; the chemical regulation of metabolism; the chemistry of nutrition; the molecular basis of genetics (inheritance); the chemistry of vitamins; energy utilization in the cell; and the chemistry of the immune response.

19. ANIMAL TESTING • Virtually everything that we use, whether it toothpaste or antibiotics, is tested on animals. various products are tested on them such as cosmetics, shampoos, and even medicines • The reason for this is that animals are the closest thing to humans and as stated earlier humans share six special traits with animals as well as six that make us incredibly close to them in regards of DNA and many other features. • Animal testing is incredibly common and the reason some tests fail is because an organism is complex and they aren’t perfect. Despite this, people in the research community are trying to replace animal trials entirely with computer modeling. This type of technology could take years, even decades, before it could be a reality.

23. CONCLUSIONS HUMANS AND ANIMALS ARE ALIKE IN MANY WAYS. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN CULTURE, METHOD OF MIND-READING, TOOL USAGE, MORALITY, EMOTIONS, AND PERSONALITY. THEY ALSO SHARE SIMILARITIES IN HOMOGOLOUS STRUCTURES, ANALOGOUS STRUCTURES, VESTIGULAR STRUCTURES, COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY, COMPARATIVE CYTOLOGY, AND BIOCHEMICAL SIMILARITIES. HUMANS AND ANIMALS ARE SIMILAR IN MANY WAYS AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO TREAT THEM AS IF THEY WERE HUMANS BECAUSE THEY ARE CREATURES OF GOD’S CREATION AND COULD ULTIMATELY HELP UNDERSTAND OURSELVES IN THE FUTURE.