Are Humans Still Evolving?

Jack Foster P3

Darwin published his book The Origin of Species in 1859 and ever since then it has been a well accepted fact that natural selection of animals causes certain species to evolve and adapt based on their environment. Many people know and understand this but are humans exempt from evolving? Have in a way beaten the system where are mortality rate has skyrocketed so high that even those with non ideal genes can still survive and live despite not being able to many centuries ago? Although in short the answer is yes we are still changing one example is how many years ago almost all humans would be lactose intolerant after infancy. Now a days it is the opposite being that the majority of people can digest lactose. Many populations used dairy farming as a main source of nutrients so over time people have apapted and changed due to their environment. Also many medical and technological advances have let us saved the lives of those that would've been deemed lost in the past. This trumps natural selection and lets everyone get a fair share of life rather than just the most fit. Although this doesn't completely cancel out natural selection as many dominant traits that are deadly can destroy a population because it i s very likely that it will be passed on but those who are homozygous recessive will still be able to thrive. Many have come to believe that humans will not adapt based on how the world changes but rather how we change the world. There are no other species exactly like humans that have the power to change the earth as we know it. This could either lead to our own demise or give us hope to change ourselves for the better in future years.



Bootle, Olly. "Are Humans Still Evolving by Darwin's Natural Selection?" BBC News. BBC, 03 Jan. 2012. Web. 09 Jan. 2013.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12535647