Human Evolution Is Accelerating!

[Fenris]

From a paper released several days ago, here's (http://johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/evolution/selection/acceleration_embargo_ends_2007.html) a semi-approachable summary.

The HapMap project is an effort to track the human genome geographically; one of the consequences of the work is that they can estimate the age of various gene sequences. There are a lot of new ones in the past few tens of thousands of years; and they seem to be coming faster.

Partly this is because human population has been rising for all that time, so there are more opportunities for mutations to occur. Partly it's because we're selecting in response to cultural effects, rather than a relatively static natural environment.

It's an interesting, weird, life-imitates-X-Men kind of story. Insofar as life can imitate the X-Men, anyway.


õ
In a few million years, humans might catch up with wolves!

[Matt]

Look out! It's Dry-Ear-Wax-and-Good-at-Economics Man!

[Joe Franklin]

So, that's how come my p<ck<r keeps growing longer and bigger every year. I am evolving into the ultimate man.:D

[Pól Rua]

Dang you, evolution!
Gimme back my tail!

[Super Hero Guy]

Fools there is no such thing as evolution! This is obviously the work of Jewish homosexual satanist scientist democratic drug-addicted hippie atheist nazis!

[Alex]

Fools there is no such thing as evolution! This is obviously the work of Jewish homosexual satanist scientist democratic drug-addicted hippie atheist nazis!

When does man evolve past being predictable?

[Pól Rua]

When does man evolve past being predictable?

*flings poo at Alex*

[Paul McEnery]

When does man evolve past being predictable?

We do not care for the aspersions of homo kittius.

[Paradox]

Especially one that goes around sucking fags.

What? :D

[cactusmaac]

It was an interesting study although it needs to be replicated by other teams to see if the findings hold up.

One thing they noted was that human races are becoming more dissimilar.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3031104.ece


A genetic analysis of human evolution has shown that rather than slowing to a standstill it has speeded up, with different pressures on different populations pushing racial groups further apart. Scientists behind the findings suggest that European, African and Asian populations grew genetically more distinct from each other over several thousand years, as their environments took them down different evolutionary paths.

This would call into question the popular scientific view that race has little or no biological meaning, as the genetic similarities between ethnic groups greatly outweigh differences.

While this remains true – all humans share more than 99 per cent of their DNA – the new work indicates that variations tend to differ between races, and that these became more, not less, pronounced.

“Human races are evolving away from each other,” said Henry Harpending, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Utah, who led the study.

“Genes are evolving fast in Europe, Asia and Africa, but almost all of these are unique to their continent of origin. We are getting less alike, not merging into a single, mixed humanity.

“Our study denies the widely held assumption that modern humans appeared 40,000 years ago, have not changed since and that we are all pretty much the same. We aren’t the same as people even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.”

[thehod]

“Our study denies the widely held assumption that modern humans appeared 40,000 years ago, have not changed since and that we are all pretty much the same. We aren’t the same as people even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.”

Less swords for a start.

[Paradox]

Well-developed corpus collosum for another.