2007-10-04 14:58:25 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Not very likely.
The two populations would have to be *completely* isolated from each other for a few hundred-thousand years.
For example, all the current ethnic groups of humans have been diverging for about 170,000 years, resulting in noticeable differences between them, resulting in all the different "races" (although that word is generally not that useful in biology) ... and yet we are all still the same species.
Now that there are almost no geographical barriers for humans, the chances of any population being genetically isolated from the rest of humans for even a few hundred years is remarkably small.
2007-10-04 15:03:05 · answer #1 · answered by secretsauce 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Probably not in the forseeable future. Humans would need to be split into groups with little to no contact with one another. The only situation I can think of would be a post-apocalyptic one. If we lost the ability to travel across the oceans, humans in North and South America would be isolated from the rest of the world (the same could be true of Australia). If it took us a million years or so to regain the technology to travel across the water (in reality, it would probably take humans a few hundred years at the absolute most to regain that technology), humans may have evolved into two different species by that point.
A similar situation might occur if we ever manage to find a habitable extrasolar planet and establish a colony with little earth contact. Of course, it would also be incredibly unlikely that we'd find an alien ecosystem that we could benefit from... It's much more likely that I'm just a big SciFi geek :P
2007-10-05 12:28:06 · answer #2 · answered by andymanec 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I doubt it, I think technology such as consistent inside enviroments and temperatures and being able to go to the store to buy food and so forth has really slowed down the evolution cycle. Essentially easier living has made physical attributes and the need to adapt less important. Just an opinion though.
2007-10-04 22:09:21 · answer #3 · answered by greghyder2000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They might in 100,000 years or so, but not for a while.
If humans become separated so the to groups eventually start to look different.
2007-10-04 22:10:33 · answer #4 · answered by ren 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe someday
2007-10-04 22:06:53 · answer #5 · answered by Oscar de la Hoya 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we are what we are
2007-10-04 22:02:04 · answer #6 · answered by Claude D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋