Summary: Humans have evolved very quickly over their lifespan on Earth. The rate of natural selection was very quickly increasing 50,000 to around 10,000 years ago, but then it slowed.Throughout there years there has been an increased rate of selection that has occurred for two reasons. One is the increased population leaves more room for mutation, and the other was the need to adapt to different diseases and climates. One reason why the rate may have slowed is because now humans may create barrier to protect themselves from disease and the environment.
Relevance: This relates to our unit because it talks about natural selection in humans and how we tried to slow the rate of natural selection. We adapted to the new environments, but for a while, it was survival of the fittest, and only the humans with the proper skills could survive.
Article: Selection Spurred Recent Evolution, Researchers Say
Published: December 11, 2007
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/science/11gene.html?_r=0
What are some examples of the barrier that humans have constructed to protect themselves from disease , and how did these barriers help?
ReplyDeleteWill the rate of evolution speed up again or continue to slow?
ReplyDelete