ARE HUMANS STILL EVEOLVING?

The typical human has a one- to two-minute underwater breath-holding capacity.

However, the Bajau people of a Southeast Asian archipelago regularly dive down to depths of more than 60 meters to catch fish, and they are able to hold their breath for up to 10 minutes.

How? Better still.

This talent doesn't just appear after years of practice.

It's because this population has undergone genetic alteration.

In other words, it is a recent example of human evolution that has led to a population becoming more suited to its surroundings.

What about the rest of us, though? Do we still change?

Humans are creating more and more instruments to defend themselves from the perilous environment in which they dwell, living longer and dying less often.

Does that imply that we have gotten over natural selection's excellent filter?

What direction will human evolution take?

The Bajau people occasionally hold their breath for five hours each day. That's more time spent submerged than a sea otter, in my opinion. The way they do it, however, is even cooler.

Therefore, a real physiological change is the key to their superhuman ability to hold their breath.

Compared to yours or mine, Bajau spleens might be up to 50% bigger.

The spleen is an underappreciated organ, you know.

By preserving the oxygen-carrying red blood cells, it functions as an oxygen reserve.

Therefore, a larger spleen allows for greater blood oxygenation between breaths.

Other highly adapted mammals for diving They have gigantic spleens too, much like whales and seals do.

Now, you and I can't just dive a lot to bulk up our spleens. That isn't how evolution functions.

Bajau divers have spent their entire history living near water.

A genetic mutation that gave certain people larger spleens occurred somewhere down the line.

Over many, many generations, this adaptation spread because those people were able to survive longer and consume more food.

Natural selection is at work here.

Because people who carry that gene are more likely to survive environmental pressures, that gene is gradually becoming more prevalent in a population.

Our species has colonized every ecosystem on Earth since it first appeared.

Numerous environmental pressures were exerted on our ancestors.

We've had to contend with many dangerous viruses due to our exposure to various diets, climatic variations, and once we settled down in big groups, tamed plants and animals, and began creating civilizations.

Because, you guys, society is filthy.

Many people perished as a result of these new stressors, but our forebears survived—often thanks to updated genetic variants they carried.

like the populations of the Himalayas, who can breathe air that contains 40% less oxygen than the majority of us can.

or those who live in portions of Africa where the bacteria that causes Lassa fever is more resilient.

In order to take use of the less strong sunlight at high latitudes—since our bodies need sunlight to function—populations that migrated closer to the poles may have developed lighter skin to produce vitamin D.

Let's discuss dairy as it relates to vitamin D.

Although milk's calcium contributes to the synthesis of vitamin D, most animals lose their ability to digest milk once they reach adulthood. Losers.

Fortunately, a genetic change allowed some of us to maintain our ability to consume milk throughout our lives.

Additionally, milk consumption developed independently in many different places due to milk's consistency as a source of calories and protein.

Natural selection is responsible for these changes as well as the many others that have shaped our species.

Since genes make it simpler to survive, they are becoming more widespread.

Today, though, is distinct.

I mean, we've created a ton of tools.

We have access to healthcare, clean water, and environmentally friendly living.

We actually have more food than we know what to do with.

Think about the last time you were on your way to fetch lunch and worried that a tiger may eat you.

Simply put, fewer people pass away than in the past.

Over the past 200 years or so, the average human life expectancy has more than doubled.

Does the fact that practically everyone is living past the point at which they can bear children mean that natural selection no longer applies to us?

Is this the human race's post-Darwin era?

Have we reached the hyper-technological nirvana of transhumanism?

Have we ceased to advance?

No. Considering that evolution can occur in other ways other than through natural selection.

Some genetic alterations merely spread by accident.

Let me demonstrate what I mean. M&Ms fill this jar to the brim.

This population distribution is seen in each bag of M&Ms.

The future population of M&Ms will be substantially different from the current population in terms of makeup from the initial population.

And when I took a haphazard bunch, that happened by coincidence.

Delicious.

I could keep doing it, and each time, I'd get a different outcome.

Genes can also experience this.

Genetic drift occurs when random events, not the environment, determine which genes survive and spread more widely.

Say there are a number of highly developed lifeforms present.

These individuals survive due to chance, and as time passes, the population gradually changes.

Or perhaps in a series a few of them are unfortunate enough to wind up on this island.

The people who founded it will determine the makeup of this new population.

The same thing can happen to people.

90% or more of people with European ancestry have moist, sticky earwax in their ears.

You have a 90% probability of having dry, flaky earwax if you're Native American or from East Asia.

Two distinct gene variants are responsible for this discrepancy. However, the type of earwax you have doesn't really give you a survival advantage, so where one version became more prevalent is probably just a reflection of which gene version the first settlers of those areas carried.

Do you follow me?

drift in genetics.

However, in small, isolated populations, the effects of genetic drift are more likely to be noticeable.

Humans are not that, either. We go around, we exchange cultures, and as we mix and move around more than ever, our genes are also mingling.

Thus, the overall genetic variance among human populations has decreased as a result.

Additionally, it's more likely that rare gene variants will be diluted out by mixing rather than arising in the first place.

Natural selection may be less pronounced if humans live longer or experience fewer deaths as a result of our amazing creations.

Genetic drift may be lessened by humans' extensive movement, procreation, and mingling.

That suggests there will likely be fewer truly novel adaptations, such as the Bajau's super spleens.

Future generations are presumably going to have fewer mega spleens. When you combine all of this, many individuals have asserted that these are Darwin's theories.

they loosen their hold on us as people move around

and get confused, we're going to begin looking

more similar. However, that isn't how this stuff operates.

even characteristics like eye or skin color,

they entail a symphony of several, interconnected genes,

countless combinations.

Just think about the differences in physical appearance,

We can already observe this in mixed-ancestry individuals today.

There will always be a wide variety of people.

However, there is one more procedure that can have an impact.

outside of natural selection, our evolution,

Also , it must have to do with the birth process.

Question your parents.

Genes do not randomly cross paths.

The partners they mate with are a choice for each person.

If you gravitate toward the biggest,

most magnificent antlers in a herd,

that will result in babies with fancier antlered,

even while having gorgeous antler genes doesn't guarantee you

better suited to the surroundings.

This is an instance of sexual discrimination

where who is picked depends on the genes that survive

to engage in mating.

The future effects of sexual selection

that's up for discussion in terms of human evolution.

The things we are drawn to right now, shall we say

are connected to intelligence, according to numerous scientists

A few are, at least. More future humans could result from this.

that display intelligence-related characteristics,

such as larger brains,

or an inherited propensity to do something.

Once more, genes do not protect us from germs.

or our environment, genes may simply be what makes us.

the sexier. This final section may feel a little unappealing.

Depending on how you feel about something specifically,

but because of our tools, human evolution will continue.

possibly something that we have some control over.

to at least try. Already, our species is dependent on machines.

to prosper, and we're only going to keep going

in the future to rely more on those machines.

gaining increasing amounts of power

along the route, out of the control of natural selection.

And we won't solely rely on machines anymore.

For help, but eventually we'll need actual assistance

or have them integrated neutrally.

Furthermore, nobody is really sure what that will do to our genes.

or those that grow more or less typical.

Genetic engineering has given us the capacity to

bespoke genetic sequences could be inserted into living creatures,

even ourselves, possibly even selecting specific genes

that we want for our children.

This is an evolutionary process.

that no other species can really do.

How much of an impact these upcoming forces will have

on our species depends on us,

but there will undoubtedly be some impact.

All that evolves is change.

And that process never comes to an end.

for any species, including our own.