Is Human Evolution Speeding Up?

Study Finds People On Different Continents Are Increasingly Different From Each Other

(AP)  Science fiction writers have suggested a future Earth populated by a blend of all races into a common human form. In real life, the reverse seems to be happening.

People are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, with residents of various continents becoming increasingly different from one another, researchers say.

"I was raised with the belief that modern humans showed up 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and haven't changed," explained Henry C. Harpending, an anthropologist at the University of Utah. "The opposite seems to be true."

"Our species is not static," Harpending added in a telephone interview.

That doesn't mean we should expect major changes in a few generations, though, evolution occurs over thousands of years.

Harpending and colleagues looked at the DNA of humans and that of chimpanzees, our closest relatives, they report in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

If evolution had been proceeding steadily at the current rate since humans and chimps separated 6 million years ago there should be 160 times more differences than the researchers found.

That indicates that human evolution had been slower in the distant past, Harpending explained.

"Rapid population growth has been coupled with vast changes in cultures and ecology, creating new opportunities for adaptation," the study says. "The past 10,000 years have seen rapid skeletal and dental evolution in human populations, as well as the appearance of many new genetic responses to diet and disease."

And they found that different changes are occurring in Africans, Asians and Europeans.

Most anthropologists agree that humans first evolved in Africa and then spread to other areas, and the lighter skin color of Europeans and Asians is generally attributed to selection to allow more absorption of vitamin D in colder climate where there is less sun.

The increase in human population from millions to billions in the last 10,000 years accelerated the rate of evolution because "we were in new environments to which we needed to adapt," Harpending adds. "And with a larger population, more mutations occurred."

In another example, the researchers noted that in China and most of Africa, few people can digest fresh milk into adulthood. Yet in Sweden and Denmark, the gene that makes the milk-digesting enzyme lactase remains active, so almost everyone can drink fresh milk, explaining why dairy farming is more common in Europe than in the Mediterranean and Africa, Harpending says.

The researchers studied 3.9 million gene snippets from 270 people in four populations: Han Chinese, Japanese, Africa's Yoruba tribe and Utah Mormons who traced their ancestry to northern Europe.

Richard Potts, director of the human origins program at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, said he thinks the researchers reasoning regarding rapid adaptive change is plausible.

The study mainly points to an overall expansion in the human population over the past 40,000 years to explain the genetic data.

"Yet the archaeological record also shows that humans increasingly divided themselves into distinct cultures and migrating groups, factors that seem to play only a small role in their analysis. Dividing the human population into finer units and their movement into new regions -- the Arctic, Oceania, tropical forests, just to name some -- may have also forced quicker adaptive evolution in our species," Potts said.

Potts, who was not part of the research team, added that he liked the report "because it points to how genetic data can be used to test a variety of ideas about recent human adaptation."

Two years ago Harpending and colleague Gregory M. Cochran published a study arguing that above-average intelligence in Ashkenazi Jews -- those of northern European heritage -- resulted from natural selection in medieval Europe, where they were pressured into jobs as financiers, traders, managers and tax collectors.

Those who were smarter succeeded, grew wealthy and had bigger families to pass on their genes, they suggested. That evolution also is linked to genetic diseases such as Tay-Sachs and Gaucher in Jews.

The new study was funded by the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Aging, the Unz Foundation, the University of Utah and the University of Wisconsin.

[rational_1]

Intelligent Design and Devolution: Random mutations cannot produce new information, only delete it. In the case of the giraffe, the degenerate long-necked variety is "fitter" and has come to prevail in the years following Noah''''s flood.
Posted by octavianfdlr
-Outstanding!! Good to see someone standing up for the Truth from the Word of God on here!!
You go octavianfdlr!
God bless you!
Posted by singinrick at 02:37 PM : Dec 13, 2007

Outstanding?? What he wrote is gibberish. It makes no sense, although he uses scientific terms to make it look like he knows what he''s talking about. What exactly does "Random mutations cannot produce new information, only delete it." mean? Of course random mutations can produce new information. For example, adrenergic, muscarinic acetylcholine and dopamine receptors have sequence homology that indicates they evolved from a common ancestor; so the abilities to bind different neurotransmitters was the "new information" produced by random mutation. Dumba$$ creationists.

[ndg1979]

I just wonder what the purpose of this whole thing is? How does this help us anyhow? Like was said before - you can compare B (today) to A (past), but with no clue what C (future) will be makes all this irrelevant.

[octavianfdlr]

If evolution is true, then why do we not see any strange posts by noseonurface?

[rational_1]

"If evolution is true, then why don''''t we see any missing links running around in mid-transformation stage of evolution."
Posted by noseonurface at 08:56 PM : Dec 11, 2007

How do you know there aren''t tens of thousands of transitional forms around you at this very moment (particularly in the insect species)? It''s not like they walk around with a sign that says "Hi, my name is Fred and I''m a member of a transitional species". In the evolution of the horse, for example, there are tons of transitional species. You can only judge them as such in hindsight, as in A give rise to B which gave rise to C that finally led to D. If you''re living in the time of species B you might be able to compare it to A but have no idea what it will evolve into next.

[gaye5]

mutations occurred.".... come on, if it is not in the DNA then it cant change...
The article says that Asians cant drink milk, who said that they ever could, and is it just like people today cant eat peanuts like we could as kids...
People are very good at adapting, when we go through an ice age we adapt that way and when we go through a heating period we adapt that way, but we are still the same as when we started out..
Natural selection is one way we change but other than viruses, we were taught that if it isn''t in the DNA then we don''t change.. and if the DNA is interrupted for some reason the I gather that the mutation generally cant multiply, and or it takes 7 generations and it is back to normal..
I think it is just making a monkey of himself..

[knyghtwolf]

noseonurface, from your posting I gather you are not much on biology or evolutionary sciences but this may help, there are no gaps or mid-species between humans because of natural selection, adaptation to surrounding ecosystems, and many other environmental conditions. There are visibal differences in humans such as Asians, Africans, Europeons, Native Americans and so on. Combining of species has eliminated one SOLE hominid type. Differences in skeletal structures show that environmental changes allowed for adaption, thus indigenous peoples moved in tribes and met others and combined DNA. Know what the first Cro-magnon said to the last Neanderthal? Good-bye

[makeera-2009]

I''m glad the science guys have come to see the obvious! Yes we are one human race, moving towards a humane "humanly-reality"! The dairy concept
is way true! Our genetic adaptation to climates is right on! Two issues needed to be acknowledged are; (1)
we who are "multi-genetic" carry "whole genes", not a quarter,half, third or eighth of said race. It is the dominant and recessive genetic traits which cause us to be who we are. We also need to realize that race is not based on the color of our
skin! "In love,In peace,Be One"

[makeera-2009]

I''m glad the science guys have come to see the obvious! Yes we are one human race, moving towards a humane "humanly-reality"! The dairy concept
is way true! Our genetic adaptation to climates is right on! Two issues needed to be acknowledged are; (1)
we who are "multi-genetic" carry "whole genes", not a quarter,half, third or an eighth of said race. It is the dominant and recessive genetic traits which cause us to be who we are. We also need to realize that race is not based on the color of our
skin! "In love,In peace,Be One"

[makeera-2009]

I''m glad the science guys have come to see the obvious! Yes we are one human race, moving towards a humane "humanly-reality"! The dairy concept
is way true! Our genetic adaptation to climates is right on! Two issues needed to be acknowledged are; (1)
we who are "multi-genetic" carry "whole genes", not a quarter,half, third or an eighth of said race. It is the dominant and recessive genetic traits which cause us to be who we are. We also need to realize that race is not based on the color of our
skin! "In love,In peace,Be One"

[dmhphils]

If evolution is true, then why don''t we see any missing links running around in mid-transformation stage of evolution. The entire species of any animal would not just suddenly transform, there would be different stages of transformation going on at different levels in all species, but we don''t see that. We are told that the transformation is too small to be recognized because it is happening over millions of years.

Adaptation to environments does not constitute evolving species. The THEORY is faulty.

[gce651]

Human evolution is NOT speeding up, it''s going backwards; just look at the concentration of Neanderthals in the White House!

[slim1h2o]

There was no need for that, you have shown the other end of the evolutionary scale by visible example.
Posted by ToolMangler

Oh fu(k off you complete a$$hole. You are one of the biggest jerks ON this posting site you hypocritical gas bag.

Posted by nigrAPES at 05:44 PM : Dec 11, 2007

Well, there is a certain amount of truth to what you posted, but you don''t have to say it that way, and you don''t have to say toolmangler is a gas bag either.

He knows what he''s talking about, do you? Of course mangler don''t need me to stick up for him, he is just as capable himself.

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by usmcvn at 06:00 PM : Dec 11, 2007




Who are the vulgar newbies?

[makeera-2009]

I''m glad the science guys have come to see the obvious! Yes we are one human race, moving towards a humane "humanly-reality"! The dairy concept
is way true! Our genetic adaptation to climates is right on! Two issues needed to be acknowledged are; (1)
we who are "multi-genetic" carry "whole genes", not a quarter,half, third or an eighth of said race. It is the dominant and recessive genetic traits which cause us to be who we are. We also need to realize that race is not based on the color of our
skin! "In love,In peace,Be One"

[makeera-2009]

I''m glad the science guys have come to see the obvious! Yes we are one human race, moving towards a humane "humanly-reality"! The dairy concept
is way true! Our genetic adaptation to climates is right on! Two issues needed to be acknowledged are; (1)
we who are "multi-genetic" carry "whole genes", not a quarter,half, third or an eighth of said race. It is the dominant and recessive genetic traits which cause us to be who we are. We also need to realize that race is not based on the color of our
skin! "In love,In peace,Be One"

[shuturpiehol]

Judging from internet blogging, Evolution is going backwards. More and more I see a commonality emerging between apes and internet posters.
Of course, that opens me to similar charges. Maybe I should spend my time having more children to propagate my ideas by force of numbers?
Posted by random_radar

LOL!!! YEAH, like Bush and his legacy of nepotism!!!!!

[dmhphils]

Oh fu(k off you complete a$$hole. You are one of the biggest jerks ON this posting site you hypocritical gas bag.

Posted by nigrAPES at 05:44 PM : Dec 11, 2007
------------------------------------------------

Go have another banana and some quiet time with the clan and stay off the top of the house, stop that jumping up and down like an ape.

[dmhphils]

to noseonurface
do you mean tail or tale? I know alot of men with "tales" in their pants, but not tails.
Posted by housefrau1 at 09:38 AM : Dec 11, 2007
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the correction....I meant tail, but I am evolving in my spelling.....I can only do it right if I''m offered a banana.

[callinuout]

Yes, it has been speeded up. No more Barbies, everywhere I look I see a discusting fat body Blonde.
Posted by usmcvn

But, OH, the civilianized USM''s??? Big fat stupid schlubs with white trash klansmen haircuts.

[callinuout]

Oh fu(k off you complete a$$hole. You are one of the biggest jerks ON this posting site you hypocritical gas bag.
Posted by nigrAPES

HA HA!!! Toolmangler IS a gas bag! Good one!!!