Domestic animals’ cuteness and humans’ relatively flat faces may be the work of a gene that controls some important developmental cells, a study of lab-grown human cells suggests.
Some scientists are touting the finding as the first real genetic evidence for two theories about domestication. One of those ideas is that humans domesticated themselves over many generations, by weeding out hotheads in favor of the friendly and cooperative (SN: 7/6/17). As people supposedly selected among themselves for tameness traits, other genetic changes occurred that resulted in humans, like other domesticated animals, having a different appearance than their predecessors. Human faces are smaller, flatter and have less prominent brow ridges than Neanderthal faces did, for instance. (1)
We were wild.
Then we domesticated ourselves.
Only to survive.
And live longer.
And create philosophy.
And find out that we die.
And in the face of death we became rough.
And out of fear of death we became wild…
Longing for peace of mind.
Longing for life.
Look at the lion.
Wandering alone.
Seeking chaos.
Seeking blood.
Watch the Moon.
Die in its claws.
Watch the Sun.
(Its the only thing that can go dark…)
The forest will be empty soon.
And the lonely (wild) sound of crickets will terrify you…
