ARE WE NOT EVOLVING ANYMORE?

HUMAN EVOLUTION GRINDS TO A HALT?

Leading geneticist Steve Jones asked 'Is Human Evolution Over?' as part of the University of Edinburgh's Enlightenment Lecture Series.

Leading geneticist Steve Jones from University College of London shook up the scientific world by claiming that evolution no longer applies to modern homo sapiens, and that in fact, if we are to survive for another million years, our descendents are going to look exactly like us. His hypothesis revolves around three reasons. One, that with the advent of modern technological ease, natural selection due to competition has been erased. Two, since there are now fewer older fathers, and that men tends to copulate with fewer women as compared to earlier times, there will be less selection due to genetic mutations. Three, random change due to population isolation is dwindling due to better connectivity and lower inbreeding.

This theory is to some extent supported by the research conducted by University of Chicago Geneticist, Chung-I Wu. The study shows that while DNA sequences of primates seems to be experiencing rapid change, the sequences in the human brain remain surprisingly static. This could be because of the brain’s immense specificity and complexity, which leaves very little room for evolutionary tinkering, counters Dr. Wu. He says that even a little bit of change could render a part of the brain functionless.

There are many counter-arguments to Dr. Jones’s hypothesis, the most logical of which I found to be Dr. Hawkes’ s Weblog. Bloggers of Discover Magazine have taken it upon themselves to tear this theory down. The Guardian even published a debate about this contentious theory.

As for me, as much merit as Dr. Jones’s theory has, I lean more towards the second pool of opinions. To over-simplify, most people assume that humans will either evolve towards a super-species that is capable of incredible feats, or couch-potatoes, glued to their machines and incapable of independent thought and action. I think either of those theories is vastly radical. In my opinion, evolution will keep happening – not as radically as before because of the lack of cutthroat competition (and here, I am talking about industrialized countries – low-income countries will face their own isolated natural selection due to the high disease burden and extreme poverty). But overall, the very fact that there is lower inbreeding, greater social intermingling, less geographical division will lead to an evolution based not entirely on genetics, but also on social and cultural factors.

What else but evolution can explain this image, published on Time magazine’s cover, in 1993? It is startling, at least to me, than over 15 years later this face seems so eerily familiar.