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Evolution

Big brains explained

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The expensive-tissue hypothesis proposes that brain enlargement during human evolution was offset by a reduced gut size. The finding that the typical trade-off in mammals is between brain size and fat reserves suggests otherwise. See Letter p.91

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Figure 1: Human brain expansion.

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  1. Richard Potts is in the Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560, USA.,

    Richard Potts

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  1. Richard Potts
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Correspondence to Richard Potts.

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Potts, R. Big brains explained. Nature 480, 43–44 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/480043a

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