Necessity: Mother of Mutation, Part II

CNN: Evolution Keeps Pregnant Women Upright

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists think they have figured out why pregnant women don't lose their balance and topple over despite ever-growing weight up front.

Slight differences in the spine allow women to carry the growing load of pregnancy without toppling over.

Evolution provided slight differences from men in women's lower backs and hip joints, allowing them to adjust their center of gravity, new research shows.

This elegant engineering is seen only in female humans and our immediate ancestors who walked on two feet, but not in chimps and apes, according to a study published in Thursday's journal Nature. . . .

I guess it would be weird if the headline said "Elegant Engineering Keeps Pregnant Women Upright."

But I'd like to have been there when the bones of my ancestral cavemother got tired of her toppling over and decided to engineer an elegant mutation. It's a wonder they didn't just choose bedrest. Seems like that would've been easier.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting to mutate those longer eyelashes to bat at Mr. Right (I wonder if I can elegantly engineer a mutation toward a nicer personality and a gentler spirit while I'm at it . . .).