Volition

Some of you may have heard of the contamination problems stem-cell researchers are having over in the United States. In short, a sugar not normally found in humans, but common in other mammals has found its way into the line of stem cells used for research.

A much more interesting read is available that delves into some of the history and subsequent discoveries about our genetic heritage.

The interesting thing is that the mutation that caused the offending sugar to be suppressed in humans occured around the time that our ancestors really took off. A possible theory to explain this stems (no pun intended) from the observation that lower levels of this sugar are found in the brains of the lesser mammals, so perhaps the sugar is somehow detremental to the functioning of the brain. When we mutated it out of our bodies, the determental effects disappeared and our brains really took off.

Entertaingly (for me, not the stem-cell researchers) is that the source of the sugar contamination is thought to be from eating meat from mammals. Based on all this, I think it is safe to conclude that being vegetarian not only lets you assume the moral high-ground, but also makes you smarter.

Woo woo!