Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: katieHaylor on 15/02/2018 12:24:13
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Robert asks:
Chimpanzees and gorillas share 97% or more DNA with us, why is it that they are orders of magnitude stronger than us? Why are we such weaklings?
What do you think?
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Studies of chimps show a comparabe strength of 1.5 compared to humans.
Muscle fiber comes in two general types, fast-twitch, fast and powerful but fatigue quickly, and slow-twitch, which are slower and less powerful but with good endurance. Researchers found that within fiber types, chimp and human muscle fibers were actually very similar. However, chimps have about twice as many fast-twitch fibers as humans.
So they might be better at strength but less so at endurance.
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I would also add that chimps have much more upper body strength than humans do, but I would not be surprised if we had stronger legs. Chimps not only have more musculature in their upper bodies, they also have longer arms and wider chests, giving them much more leverage. Extreme body builders (human) may be able to bulk up enough muscle to theoretically lift as much as a chimp, but they run the risk of severe injury (like ripping a muscle or a tendon) because there isn't nearly as much support.
On the other hand, chimps have pretty pathetic lower limbs, in comparison, and might face similar challenges when exerting their legs...
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I heard that there was also a difference in how nerve fibers control the muscles.
If I recall correctly, human nerves control fewer muscle fibers than chimp nerves.
That means that chimps can command more muscle, but humans have finer control over their muscle.
A mutation that was a weakness became a strength that made us humans toolmakers?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330200829.htm