It is often assumed that modern humans are no longer evolving. But there is now considerable agreement among scientists that evolution is still affecting our species—and this process is taking place “more rapidly” than ever before, one expert told Newsweek.
While cultural and technological innovations now appear to be the main drivers of adaptation for modern humans, this has not replaced biological adaptation, according to scientists.
“I don’t think [the question of whether humans are still evolving] is fully appreciated by the general public,” Michael Granatosky, an evolutionary biomechanist at the New York Institute of Technology, told Newsweek. “Perceptions of evolution tout the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’, which automatically recalls epic battles between fighting individuals vying for a mate, or a ragtag bunch of animals surviving a cataclysmic event beyond all odds.”
“With these images, it is tempting to assume modern populations are no longer under selective pressures. However, evolution simply means a change in a population’s gene pool over successive generations. With this broader definition, I do not believe there is considerable debate among evolutionary biologists that humans are still evolving,” he said.
There are several notable examples of evolution among modern humans in our relatively recent history. In fact, “Humans are evolving rapidly—maybe more rapidly than we’ve ever been evolving before.”
For example, “our brain size is evolving—[they] have actually become smaller over the past 10,000 years since we started living in civilization,” he said. “Brains seem to be smaller now than even in Greek or Roman times.”
Read more at Newsweek.com
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