Why is a chimp stronger than a man

Adult chimps are generally smaller than adult humans; on average, the apes weigh about lbs. Therefore, it has been difficult to accurately compare strength between the two primates. The notion that chimpanzees and other apes have superhuman strength dates back first to tall tales from European explorers in sub-Saharan Africa in the early 19th century and then to research in the s by biologist John Bauman, who studied chimps in zoos.

In a series of studies later revealed to have poor methodology, Bauman found that chimps could pull weights five times heavier than the beefiest college football players could. One particular chimpanzee, named Suzette, supposedly pulled 1, lbs. The "five times stronger" figure stuck for decades until more modern studies in the s refined the estimation to about two times stronger. O'Neill's group reviewed even more recent, laboratory-controlled studies on chimpanzee mass-specific muscle performance and found that, on average, the animals outperformed humans by a factor of approximately 1.

The researchers found that the so-called contractile properties of human and chimpanzee skeletal muscle fibers — that is, how muscle fibers pull two joints together to enable the body to lift or move — are similar. However, human skeletal muscles differ in fiber length and protein composition, the study found. But human muscles are dominated by the MHC I variant.

This variant enables slower twitching, or contracting, which is important for endurance and energy conservation. Ask Smithsonian Image: Kevin Case. This summer, two chimpanzees attacked a graduate student at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden. In fact, the unfortunate student probably would have been better off had he been attacked by two humans. Chimps are far stronger than we are. Slate writes :.

A chimpanzee had, pound for pound, as much as twice the strength of a human when it came to pulling weights. This is a significant, but previously untested assumption. Instead, natural selection appears to have altered more global characteristics of muscle tissue, such as muscle fiber type distributions and muscle fiber lengths. Materials provided by University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. Journal Reference : Matthew C. Umberger, Nicholas B. Holowka, Susan G. Larson, Peter J. Chimpanzee super strength and human skeletal muscle evolution. ScienceDaily, 26 June University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Chimpanzee 'super strength' and what it might mean in human muscle evolution: Researchers conduct first direct chimp muscle measurements. Retrieved November 13, from www.

Blocking this protein increased muscle strength and endurance in old animals.