Evolution within humanity.

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Ugh. This definition is too imprecise. The change need not be phenotypic.


Even by the definition from your book, this still qualifies as evolution. As long as it is still changing-even slightly- evolution is happening.


OK... the development and use of transmitted culture, including technology and medicine, is an evolutionary adaptation on the part of humans. Cancer treatments, to return to your example, gives those humans a higher chance for survival and reproduction. Ergo still "progress" as you are defining it, although I deeply disapprove of attempting to put such a definition in.

And natural evolution does not tend to make organisms have higher chances of survival/reproduction. It merely favors those organisms that do reproduce successfully. It does not make organisms do anything- they either live or die, reproduce or don't. Those that managed to reproduce will have more copies of themselves in future generations.


That's not what evolution is. That's not even really what natural selection is. No, you do not have to explain it to me. I'm a biologist.


Those toy simulations are barely even a caricature of what's happening.

You are simply misunderstanding definitions. It's easy to do in a subject like evolution, where there is a lot of inaccurate information and misconceptions out there. Just read Campbell's Biology (the best intro book) and you'll get there.


No. Everything still interacts with its environment, and those interactions are sufficiently complex that they cannot be completely controlled.


You still seem to be misunderstanding what evolution is. You speak of evolution as though it were some kind of tool that species use to stay alive. That's not the case. Evolution is simply change over time. A species that never changed at all would no longer be evolving. However, it is unlikely that such a species could survive for long. Certainly not indefinitely.


Ah, band camp. I remember those days. What instrument do you play?

1. Technically, isn't any change phenotypic? Even an addition of a single base-pair would slightly increase how long it takes for a cell to replicate its DNA.

1.5. Then evolution cannot end. But could natural selection be stopped?

2. If the species can't change environmental factors, then it's not "all-powerful". I guess you could say it's pretty much impossible to control everything, but natural selection can do it, then there is an end.

3. What do you do?

5. That's my schools Biology AP textbook. I wanted to take Chemistry AP, Physics H, and Biology AP, but I couldn't fit Biology in. D:

X. French Horn

Some posters have spoken about evolutionary changes to modern humans, what changes would you make? Other than illness free and better self repair, what in the physical layout would you want to change? With the exception of flight capable wings, I don't see that much the human body needs to change. We've shed body hair and claws, walk upright and have opposable thumbs, binocular color vision, and speech.

Our skeleton was adapted from quadrupeds in a rather shoddy manner. Id redesign the spine and hips.

Then id enchance the function of many organs. Primarily the respiratory,cardiovascular and digestive/excretory system so they are much more efficient. Its been rated these organs are quite inefficient at their job.