How will humans evolve in the future? very hypothetical ...read more

Question

I know it is very hypothetical, but will our brains get bigger? will our jaws continue to get smaller....given the environmental, technological and even dietary changes we've seen, what kind of transformation do you see the human species undergoing. Be creative!

Answer 1

I think so.

I was born without wisdom teeth, and my AP Bio teacher considered me "evolutionarily advanced."

Answer 2

Evolution occurs as a result of environmental stress and beneficial mutations. Due to the fact that humans reproduction rate is extremely slow (9 months for Homo sapien vs 20mins for escherichia coli) as well as the fact that, as humans, we alter our environment to suit our needs rather than adapt to our environment based on environmental stressors, some argue that further evolution for humans not likely. However, some individuals have extraordinary capabilities, such as the case with individuals having "synesthesia". Synesthesia is a condition in which one type of external stimulation evokes a sensation of another. For example, for some people having this condition or 'ability' different sounds allow them to see different colors, or, in more rare cases, specific tastes or smells cause the individual to see specific colors. How is this advantageous you ask? Well in an evolutionary sense it may not be. We do not need this ability to survive in our environment, and because of the society we've created it does not give us an advantage for life over another person who does not have this 'ability' but you've got to admit, it's a cool ability and hard to fathom. Studies on individuals with synesthesia have shown some benefits to having synesthesia. When read a list of items and told to recall them, initially the synesthesia-capable individual does no better than the average person in recalling the items, but, when asked hours later they can recall the majority of the list; more than they initially remembered. They have the ability to not only associate the items they are hearing into the schemas for which they have created for them, but they also have colors associated to each word.

It is a possibility that in the future we will be able to 'induce evolution' by manually applying specific genes to the genetic makeup of an individual. Not only will it be possible to select hair color, eye color, and even gender, but it is also possible to include genes such as the one(s) for synesthesia into the unborn individual - a true act of "playing god"; although it doesn't seem at this point anybody is really "playing" anymore.

Answer 3

well i m giving a really imaginary answer but i think that we have everything now which is just perfect 4 our survival instead of one thing that are some extraordinary powers...if u have seen X-men ...i think thats the next thing we r gonna transform into thru evolution.....we r gonna have mutant genes which r gonna enable us to do some extraordinary things.......

Answer 4

I'm only 15, so I've only taken basic biology in 7th and 9th grade, but here's my opinion:

If natural selection is true, then we won't evolve anymore. Why? Because we don't need to. Everything is handed to us since we're born. Our genes don't mean anything if they're not going to be tested against nature. We're all mostly likely going to stay alive long enough to reproduce and pass on our genes whether they're good enough to help us survive or not.