Evolution stops here: Future Man will look the same, says scientist

[Vulpix]

Daily Mail: For centuries, writers have attempted to predict the future of the human race.

Some have argued that we are destined to evolve into super-beings, others that we are turning into dim-witted goblins incapable of anything more demanding than watching TV.

But according to a leading geneticist (), both visions are wrong because human evolution has ground to a halt.

Professor Steve Jones, of University College London, says the forces driving evolution - such as natural selection and genetic mutation - no longer play an important role in our lives.

The people living one million years from now, should Man survive, will resemble modern-day humans.

'We now know so much about the process of evolution that we can make some predictions about what might happen in future,' said Professor Jones in a lecture on Monday.

Evolution is driven by natural selection and mutation. Genetic mutations create traits which, if helpful, give individuals a competitive edge over rivals.

For most of human history, life was so tough that huge numbers of children died before they reached adolescence.

In a harsh environment where people are competing to survive, natural selection is a potent force.

So in Ice Age Britain, a mutation which gave a baby more resilience against the cold or famine also gave it a strong competitive edge, making it more likely to survive and pass its genes on to others.

But in a modern world of central heating and plenty of food, the same mutation is far less likely to give a child any advantage.

Professor Jones argues that mutation is also slowing down because of a drop in the number of older fathers, whose sperm deteriorates and contains more genetic 'mistakes'.

A third factor - randomness - is also an important ingredient in evolution.

Small populations which are isolated can change at random as genes are accidentally lost, he said.

But as the world's population becomes increasingly connected, the opportunity for random change is dwindling.

'Almost everywhere, inbreeding is becoming less common. In Britain, one marriage in 50 or so is between members of a different ethnic group, and the country is one of the most sexually open in the world.

'We are mixing into a global mass, and the future is brown. ( puke...)

'So, if you are worried about what Utopia is going to be like, don't. At least in the developed world, and at least for the time being, you are living in it now.'

[Loki]

From BBC on the same article:




I like the way how it goes from darker to lighter ... not very PC!

[Vulpix]

Haha !

And... Homo Sapiens Ipodiens ?

I like the way how it goes from darker to lighter ... not very PC!

[Loki]

And... Homo Sapiens Ipodiens ?

[Vulpix]

Human evolution 'has stopped'

BBC: Human evolution is over, according to a leading geneticist. Professor Steve Jones, of University College London, says the human race is as fit strong, intelligent and healthy as it ever is going to be.

[Vulpix]

Telegraph: Evolution is complete: so where do we go from here?

[Lenny]

'We are mixing into a global mass, and the future is brown.

(His "we" obviously implies European-derived countries...It doesn't seem like the Japanese islands will be "brown" anytime soon.)

I like how these people are so brazen about it. " Europeans are going to be genetically obliterated ." And no one is allowed to say a word against it. Regimes based on such idiocy eventually collapse under the bloated weight of their own lies. See 1989-1991.

[Albion]

I don't know, humans get by on their knowledge and thinking abilities rather than anything else.

There is no reason for us to evolve, plus add to that we are ourselves inhibiting evolution.

No reasons:

here's an example - it would have taken humans a long time to adapt to life outside of Africa and warm areas of Asia if we didn't learn to wear furs / clothes in order to keep warm.

Instead humans would have slowly moved northwards as each successive generation coupled with natural selection slowly made us hairier.
By the time humans had reached continental or temperate areas there would have developed a range of different fur thickness's in humans. Humans would have had to evolve to have a lot of fur in cool climates, or thick skin or fatty tissue.

Humans without such intelligence would either be confined to warm areas still, or have varying degrees of fur. Imagine a chupacabra and that is probably something as to how we'd look.

Inhibiting:

Clothes again are a good example. Wearing them has meant we don't need fur in cool climates or increased fatty tissue. (However some populations have got more fat than others which is possibly due to extreme cold - Inuit as an example).

There is a disease which causes people to grow a lot of hair - fur, perhaps people with such a disease were the origin of the wolfman and similar humanoid creature myths...


If humans didn't think and weren't able to make clothes in cool areas we'd perhaps look like this!


Humans have never specialised to new habitats that much, being intelligent omnivorous means we can exploit basically anything to survive and do so.
Some populations subsisted on marine mammals and sea birds, but they didn't take to the seas and become fully aquatic like whales, instead they used boats and harpoons.

So long as humans stay fairly intelligent then I can't see us evolving much. There is some rumours of a 6th finger developing which can be seen in some people, but since our smallest fingers are basically useless anyway I don't think it is anything more than a mutation in some people.