Is Humanity Still Evolving? 374
sciencehabit writes "In a world where we've tamed our environment and largely protected ourselves from the vagaries of nature, we may think we're immune to the forces of natural selection. But a new study finds that the process that drives evolution was still shaping us as recently as the 19th century (abstract). 'The finding comes from an analysis of the birth, death, and marital records of 5923 people born between 1760 and 1849 in four farming or fishing villages in Finland. ... Natural selection was alive and well in all of the villages the researchers surveyed."
Evidence (Score:5, Funny)
Of course we are! [darwinawards.com]
Intellectual Evolution (Score:5, Funny)
Now down to those that can best shape their environment to suit their needs.
Of course, we could be left with generations of Brawndo drinkers.
Re:Of course humanity is evolving (Score:2, Funny)
Yes, there are new forces controlling selection. Those who reproduce are the ones who are too stupid to use birth control correctly... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ [imdb.com]
According to Fark... (Score:4, Funny)
Natural Selection is alive and well in the 21st century.
If anything, mankind's crowning achievement is the creation of a vast variety of new and innovative ways to remove ourselves from the gene pool.
Darwin would be proud
Re:Genetic influence (Score:5, Funny)
Well, if your parents were infertile, it's likely you will be as well.
Uh... wait ... something doesn't sound right here...
Re:It's around everywhere else, too... (Score:5, Funny)
Variance in mating success explained most of the higher variance in reproductive success in males compared with females, but mating success also influenced reproductive success in females, allowing for sexual selection to operate in both sexes.
OK, So during that time, successfully obtaining a mate generally lead to children. Got it. Thanks.
Any trip to Walmart will convince you that the situation today seems less clear, and obtaining children seems entirely disassociated with the ability to attract a mate.