I've added a category for brain stuff, so you can click below where it says "Brain" to read previous posts. Most recently, I mentioned the theory from the Red Queen, that human brains evolved via the battle of the sexes. Here's some fresh information on the issue, this time from the perspective of
cooking.
Highlights:
- Human brains got bigger 2 million years ago, but there's no archaeological evidence of smarter humans until 150,000 years ago.
- "In most animals, the gut needs a lot of energy to grind out nourishment from food sources. But cooking, by breaking down fibers and making nutrients more readily available, is a way of processing food outside the body. Eating (mostly) cooked meals would have lessened the energy needs of our digestion systems, Khaitovich explained, thereby freeing up calories for our brains."
The battle between brain and gut for energy budget has been pointed to
before; interesting to see it pop up again.
