what is the most likely next stage of human evolution?

Answer 1

Transhumanity. In the next fifty years alone the convergence of pharmocology, AI, nanotechnology and biotechnology will give us power over our own evolution.Lifespans will extend well beyond a century, our senses will perceive things well beyond their natural ability and we will remember more of our lives with greater fidelity.We will master fatigue, arousal and attention, give ourselves more intelligence, gain greater control over our emotions and be less susceptible to depression, compulsion and mental illness.

Our bodies and brains will be surrounded by and merged with computer power, which itself will become as powerful as our brains, or more so.We will use technology to redesign ourselves and there is the surprising fact that these enhancement technologies could be cheap.Therapies to suppress or reverse ageing could be as inexpensive to distribute as condoms and vaccines.

Of course, these future technologies also carry grave risks such as the possibility of machine intelligence exceeding ours and creating chaos - we don't want science fiction to become science fact at a future singularity.Instead, we need policies to steer human evolution away from the dead ends of selfishness and addictive absorption, and towards greater sociability, self-awareness and reason.

Answer 2

I think we are heading for symbiosis with silicon life forms. In the sense that our nervous systems' are forced to adapting to ever more techology and electromagnetic influences from an ever earlier age.
Our systems did not evolve to deal with the onslaught they have received in the relatively short time since the industrial revolution.
We live longer but natural selection is being interfered with. So whatever the theory, science is rewriting theory as it goes along.
Removing faulty genes is all good and well, it makes me wonder what happens to the space that was occupied by the faulty gene? Might be a butterfly effect that takes a few generations to show, but it seems unlikely the space where the faulty gene was will not be occupied by something eventually.
And as a last thought ... if there is a good possibility of a silicon life form somewhere in the universe ... all computers have to do is evolve, and Artificial Intelligence is a serious science with applications in military and medicine :-)

Answer 3

It could if autism gave a reproductive advantage. The evidence however suggests otherwise. For it to be the next "stage" the alleles of the genes related to autism would have to increase in the population genome. For this to happen the autism alleles would have to be passed on to a greater proportion of the descendant population than the competing allele, hence the need for greater reproductive success. I haven't any hard data but I don't believe that this is the case, though the allele mixture required to create autism, as it isn't a single gene issue, may be related to another advantageous change and so be preserved, although in general it would be seen as deleterious. An example of this effect is sickle cell anemia where a single copy of the relevant allele gives resistance to malaria, but two give sickle cell anemia.

Answer 4

Although evolution cannot be predicted, it is reasonable to ask - what selective pressures are being applied to society which could be overcome by a genetic advantage? Those with that advantage will have more of a chance to have more viable offspring, who will have a higher chance of survival etc. Consider the adaptive changes in locusts which have allowed them, as a species, to become more resistant to pesticides. Are there conditions which could correlate to humans in the same way?
My thoughts are that there are. Radiation is increasing in the world, due to the increasing use of electricity and subsequent electrical fields, microwave radiation, fallout from atomic testing etc, it all adds up. Radiation has been linked to childhood cancers and leukaemias, as well as adult cancers etc. This is due to fragile breakpoints in chromosomes in some people. Whereas other people, when exposed to radiation, do not suffer the same chromosome breakpoints, that is, they are more resistant to radiation induced cancers. These people will have an added advantage as radiation levels increase, and will have more viable offspring. The same could be said of increased pollution etc. Loss of the ozone layer will cause an increase in skin cancer, particularly in lighter skinned people, so this is also a pressure, being darker skinned will be an advantage.

So, what is the next step? Humans will be on average darker, and more resistant to radiation and pollution induced damage .
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Answer 5

In the near term, it will probably involve correcting some of the genetic errors we have collected over the years, such as our inability to manufacture enough heart muscle stem cells to repair damaged tissues, such as cystic fibrosis, and so on. At this time gene therapy is targeting somatic cells (non-sex cells), but it could be used to repair defective genes in sex cells, once we become expert enough to deal with that.

After this stage is passed through, expect genetic manipulations to extend our life spans.

Finally, Ray Kurzweil has written a book called "The Singularity is Near", which predicts that human evolution will merge with the evolution of technology (and they will become intertwined.)

Answer 6

It may be, in my opinion, that we human beings have evolved in a natural sense, as far as natural selection can take us. Because of our improved health care, extended life span, and rapid development in technology, there seems to be little selective pressures that nature can impose upon us that we, as a large population, can't manage. As a result, if man is to continue to evolve, it will not be "natural" selection that determines this, but the natural selection and evolution of our technology will determine it. Fail to adapt to an every growing complexity in technology, and you simply get left behind ... don't survive. We humans will, however, master our biology and man and machine will merge. Once we free ourselves from old religious ideas and old traditions, we will then be ready to evolve to the next level and be well on our way to mastering the universe. It is religion and old traditions that is ultimately holding humanity down, in my opinion.

Answer 7

I wish religious people would stay out of the biology section, it really pisses me off. Why do you have to force your beliefs on people when they want to find out something from within the scientific community.
You all wonder why you are hated, it's because you have closed minds and can't accept that other people aren't like you.
You are exactly what the bible teaches you not to be: judgmental, backward and unloving. Maybe you should take a leaf from the science side of things and accept other people's beliefs and views.

Answer 8

Genetic enhancements and cyber implants.

Genetic enhancements will keep us alive for longer, stronger and immune to diseases. Cyber implants will allow us to communicate with each other and access info wherever we are (built in mobile phone, pc and gps). Whatever biological evolution happens after, it will have to work around those

Answer 9

Probably photosynthesising so we can use up all the extra carbon dioxide that we put into the atmosphere. Sustainable Humans, hahahha.

Answer 10

The colonisation of other planets within our solar system with a lower gravity and therefore less need for large muscles....