Has humankind stopped evolving .....?

Question

Is or will our physical structure evolve to adapt to climate change etc? and are our brains constantly evolving?

Answer 1

Evolution has slowed down because our environment has stopped chaging for the most part (we no longer need to adapt). Also better healthcare makes sure you don't weed out that many individuals through natural selection.

However, we still have the potential to evolve if our environment changes. Remember, evolution doesn't make you "overall better", just adjusted to your environment so you can survive.

Answer 2

No, human kind has not stopped evolving. Whether we will evolve fast enough/sufficiently to adapt to the climate changes going on remains to be seen, but yes, I believe our brains are constantly evolving as well.

Answer 3

My first instinct is to question the truth of evolution.

It does not seem true that evolution is happening, in the first place.

But then neither does the roundness of the apparently flat earth, on which we stand, seem real, instinctively.

At first glance we are evolving away from red hair, and blondes, but that is explained by recessive genes. Is this all there is to evolution?

We seem to be evolving taller and fatter, but in both cases nutrition is the more likely cause than evolution.

With racial inter-marrying, we might someday have no white people left to blame for everything. But is this evolution?

You could argue that society's development of immunity is a form of evolution, but it won't change reptiles into men.

If we are evolving, we might not have 'toes' some day in the future. We could live without them, as long as the foot base stayed the same.

Answer 4

Humans will continue to evolve from gene drift if nothing else, but in the final analysis a gene must provide some reproductive advantage to undergo positive selection & become wide spread in a population. Bruce Lahn (U of Chicago) has identified 2 genes that have something to do with brain development. These genes have undergone a high degree of positive selection during the last 40,000 yrs or so. (~37,000 yrs. for one & 5,800 in the other.) 70% of the World's population now have the 1st & a very large % of Europeans the other. The genes are known as ASPM & MCPH1.

Answer 5

Not only are we now evolving, but there is a project to take blood samples from around the planet so the transmission of mutated genes can be tracked. We are evolving and we are watching it happen.

Answer 6

If global warming is true, i think humanity will evolve to live in the conditions that it brings. I don't think our brains have evolved very much in the last 2,000 years. We still believe in gods that don't exist.

Answer 7

Humans have always sought a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves, such as a clan, city, or nation. Many feel the same about religions. Also, some seek comfort in placing their faith in something. It's different for everyone, though. Religion will certainly change greatly in the years to come, but I doubt it will ever atrophy completely.

Answer 8

Hi Doc, it seems to me that in my lifetime, youngsters are developing physically at a younger age that when I was in my early teens, also as I am quite tall (6ft5ins), when I was younger, there didn't seem to be so many tall people. Do you agree with me it has probably something to do with less physical activity and achange of eating habits?

Answer 9

we're evolving at -(speed of light).. so slow u cant even notice it..just rise from the death a million yrs from now and u will see

Answer 10

Yes except I dont believe we evolved from any animal like the Ape as some believe..Thats my belief anyway..The only changes I could see are that humans get more intelligent with each generation..