Science Focus
original post »
A big brain is a resource-hungry organ, demanding large amounts of energy-rich foods to keep it functioning. Understanding how species like humans and chimpanzees evolved large, energy-hungry brains is a difficult task: explanations must account for not only how the large brain provided an evolutionary advantage, but also how its energy demands could have been met.
A recent paper in PNAS suggests that a bigger brain can help with the energy needs. A group of female chimpanzees was found to show an unexpectedly advanced ability to plan their movements around what they intended to eat for breakfast. The chimps’ movements were tracked over three-quarters of a year, and their behaviors helped them get through three periods of food scarcity.
Previously, researchers suggested that having a consistent source of food was vital for animals with bigger brains. After all, that extra brain tissue is only worthwhile if the animal can eat enough calories to support it. Large-brained primates like chimps have a surprisingly consistent calorie intake despite seasonal fluctuations in their food supplies, which suggests that their intelligence plays an important role in finding food during periods of scarcity.
Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments
#science
» see original post http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/8auUVgtOeKE/
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'
No comments:
Post a Comment