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HOMO SAPIENS?
Contrary to popular belief, humans continue
to evolve. Our bodies and brains are not
the same as our ancestors’ were — or as our
descendants’ will be đŏđŏđŏŏŏ
hen you ask for opinions about what changes to genes for certain behavioral traits.
future humans might look like, you typ- If giant brains are not in store for us, then
ically get one of two answers. Some peo- what is? Will we become larger or smaller, smart-
ple trot out the old science-fiction vision of a er or dumber? How will the emergence of new
big-brained human with a high forehead and diseases and the rise in global temperature shape
higher intellect. Others say humans are no lon- us? Will a new human species arise one day? Or
ger evolving physically— that technology has does the future evolution of humanity lie not
put an end to the brutal logic of natural selec- within our genes but within our technology, as we
tion and that evolution is now purely cultural. augment our brains and bodies with silicon and
The big-brain vision has no real scientific ba- steel? Are we but the builders of the next domi-
sis. The fossil record of skull sizes over the past nant intelligence on the earth— the machines?
KEY CONCEPTS
NESSIM HIGSON (photoillustration); KEVIN SUMMERS Getty Images (ƃQYGT); PAUL TAYLOR Getty Images (hand);
several thousand generations shows that our days
● People commonly assume of rapid increase in brain size are long over. Ac- The Far and Recent Past
RON LEVINE Getty Images (girl); PHOTODISC Getty Images (brain); ISTOCKPHOTO.COM (skull and egg)
that our species has evolved cordingly, most scientists a few years ago would Tracking human evolution used to be the prov-
very little since prehistoric have taken the view that human physical evolu- ince solely of paleontologists, those of us who
times. Yet new studies using tion has ceased. But DNA techniques, which study fossil bones from the ancient past. The
genetic information from
probe genomes both present and past, have un- human family, called the Hominidae, goes back
populations around the
leashed a revolution in studying evolution; they at least seven million years to the appearance of
globe suggest that the pace
of human evolution in- tell a different story. Not only has Homo sapi- a small proto-human called Sahelanthropus
creased with the advent ens been doing some major genetic reshuffling tchadensis. Since then, our family has had a still
of agriculture and cities. since our species formed, but the rate of human disputed, but rather diverse, number of new spe-
evolution may, if anything, have increased. In cies in it— as many as nine that we know of and
● If we are still evolving, what
common with other organisms, we underwent others surely still hidden in the notoriously poor
might our species look like
in a millennium should we the most dramatic changes to our body shape hominid fossil record. Because early human skel-
survive whatever environ- when our species first appeared, but we contin- etons rarely made it into sedimentary rocks before
mental and social surprises ue to show genetically induced changes to our they were scavenged, this estimate changes from
are in store for us? Specula- physiology and perhaps to our behavior as well. year to year as new discoveries and new interpre-
tion ranges from the hopeful Until fairly recently in our history, human races tations of past bones make their way into print
to the dystopian. in various parts of the world were becoming [see “Once We Were Not Alone,” by Ian Tatter-
—The Editors more rather than less distinct. Even today the sall; Scientific American, January 2000,
conditions of modern life could be driving and “An Ancestor to Call Our Own,” by Kate
of the dinosaurs was caused by es in skin pigmentation and development of hair ic [see “The Power of Memes,” by Susan Black-
speeding locomotives. follicles among Asians; and the evolution of more; Scientific American, October 2000].
O
history. One of the many counterarguments is
that human intelligence is made up of many dif-
ferent abilities encoded by a large number of ver the past 10,000 years
genes. It thus has a low degree of heritability, the
rate at which one generation passes the trait to humans have evolved as much as
the next. Natural selection acts only on heritable
traits. Researchers actively debate just how heri-
100 times faster than at any other time.
table intelligence is [see “The Search for Intelli-
gence,” by Carl Zimmer; Scientific Ameri-
can, October 2008], but they have found no sign
that average intelligence is in fact decreasing.
Even if intelligence is not at risk, some scien-
tists speculate that other, more heritable traits
could be accumulating in the human species and
that these traits are anything but good for us. For
instance, behavior disorders such as Tourette’s
syndrome and attention-deficit hyperactivity dis-
order (ADHD) may, unlike intelligence, be en-
coded by but a few genes, in which case their her-
itability could be very high. If these disorders in-
crease one’s chance of having children, they could
become ever more prevalent with each genera-
tion. David Comings, a specialist in these two
diseases, has argued in scientific papers and a
1996 book that these conditions are more com-
mon than they used to be and that evolution
NESSIM HIGSON (photoillustration); ISTOCKPHOTO.COM (skull and boy’s head)
I
of it genetically controlled. If so, the next cen-
tury of genetic research could unlock numerous
f machine efficiency became the genes controlling many aspects of aging. Those
genes could be manipulated.
new measure of evolutionary fitness, Assuming that it does become practical to
much of what we regard as quintessentially change our genes, how will that affect the future
evolution of humanity? Probably a great deal.
human would be weeded out. Suppose parents alter their unborn children to
enhance their intelligence, looks and longevity. If
the kids are as smart as they are long-lived— an
Directed Evolution IQ of 150 and a lifespan of 150 years— they could
NESSIM HIGSON (photoillustration); AMANA PRODUCTIONS Getty Images (YQOCP)
We have directed the evolution of so many ani- have more children and accumulate more wealth
mal and plant species. Why not direct our own? than the rest of us. Socially they will probably be
Why wait for natural selection to do the job drawn to others of their kind. With some kind of
when we can do it faster and in ways beneficial self-imposed geographic or social segregation,
to ourselves? In the area of human behavior, for their genes might drift and eventually differenti-
example, geneticists are tracking down the ate as a new species. One day, then, we will have
genetic components not just of problems and it in our power to bring a new human species into
disorders but also of overall disposition and var- this world. Whether we choose to follow such a
ious aspects of sexuality and competitiveness, path is for our descendants to decide.
many of which may be at least partially herita-
ble. Over time, elaborate screening for genetic The Borg Route
makeup may become commonplace, and people Even less predictable than our use of genetic
will be offered drugs based on the results. manipulation is our manipulation of machines—
The next step will be to actually change peo- or they of us. Is the ultimate evolution of our spe-
ple’s genes. That could conceivably be done in cies one of symbiosis with machines, a human-