Sunday, May 10, 2009

What will our descendants look like?

The concept that species change over time to adapt to its environment and has root in its antiquity, or in short, the concept of evolution, though in its crude form, was largely accepted by the Greek, Roman, Chinese and the Arabs. But until early nineteenth century, essentialism (every species has a given set of essential traits that are fixed and unalterable) dominated Western thinking. It was then that Jean-Baptiste-Lamarck proposed the theory of "transmutation of species" which is the first fully formed scientific theory on evolution. Later Charles Darwin published "On the origins of Species" which described the new evolutionary theory based on the concept of "natural selection". Though from its outset evolutionary theory was condemned as heresy since it contradicts the notion of a Creator God, the overwhelming scientific consensus on the evidence of evolution led to its acceptance.

Hence evolution is caused by the change in genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. These changes, though small, when accumulated over generations could lead to substantial changes in the organism and even the emergence of a new species. Two major tenets in the evolutionary science are the concepts of natural selection and genetic drift. Natural selection speaks about a process that causes favorable traits to remain and become more common in the generations to come while genetic drift speaks about an independent process that produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population.


Having said all the well known facts and basics of evolution, a question that has intrigued many is one of the future of the human race. Homo sapiens are said to have appeared in Africa about two hundred thousand years ago. Close relatives of chimpanzees, homo sapiens are the only species having highly developed brains capable of reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving. But how will the future human look like? Will our genes change enough to create an entirely new human species, one that will no longer be able to breed with us? What are the implications of the emerging technology on the coming generations? Or will a mass destruction like a nuclear war or a asteroid collision or an inter-planetary war destroy and wipe out the whole human race?

According to natural selection, only traits that are favorable will be selected and preserved in the newer generations. In such a case, will it be that the future man will end up with fewer body parts. For instance, the wisdom tooth may not be present in the coming generations since we eat cooked food. We might lose our appendix since we do not eat raw food anymore. All redundant parts which were once designed for the primitive man may not be present in the new generation man. Will men of the future develop other organs like wings to fly? Coincidentally, one of my favorite serials, Heroes, features genetically modified men with extra ordinary powers. What role will science and technology have to play in creating such "humans"? Will man himself take up the role of the Creator in inventing new and better species with such extra ordinary powers? Will further evolution take place only in terms of the brain and the intellect? If so, is Einstein not a typical man of our era and generation?

In fact there were some studies conducted on what the future of mankind is and one of them said that in another thousand years humans might divide into two sub species. The study said that "the descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures". Some studies also suggested that in another ten thousand years, humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology. Because of the over use and over dependency on gadgets to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals!

While doing a bit of research to find more about what the world has to say, I came across a website that described men after a million years to be either Unitarans, Survivalistians, Numans, Cyborgs or Astrans.



"The Astran (Astranthopus)

Segments of humanity are re-engineered, genetically and robotically, for voyages to other star systems. Astrans are able to put their vital systems to suspended animation for millennia while robotic pilots take the wheel, then reawaken and reproduce when they arrive at their interstellar colonies."









"The Cyborg (Homo roboticus)

Robotic enhancements become routine. Although these cybertronics "acquired traits" themselves are not inheritable, humans eventually adapt by becoming less immune-resistant to implants. The result is a symbiotic relationship with robotics. Aritificial intelligence might evolove itself, eventually into a species in competition with its human host."






"The Numan (Homo genomicus)

Germ-line genetic modifications creates a variety of "mini-species" ranging from over-the-top "numan" hybrids to "natural" humans who swear off all genetic alteration on ethical and religious grounds. Social as well as natural selection plays a role in small-scale species diversity. Numan could eventually come into conflict with Naturals, but which will prevail?"





"The Unihuman (Homo sapiens sapienter)

Species finds a stable niche. Racial differences blend together as gene mixing becomes global. Caste system may develop to preserve social harmony. Diminished diversity in a human "monoculture" could set our descendants up for a big fall."









"The Survivalistians (Postapocalypticus)

Global catastrophe - perhaps a nuclear war or an asteroid collision - separates human population long enough to allow for renewed differentiation. Physical attributes adapt to local circumstances, perhaps with night-vision or radiation shielding skin."







Whether we will end up being one of these or evolve into something else - only time can tell!


11 comments:

  1. Interesting article, felt like a sci-fi movie :D
    Well, given the time scales on which evolution works, it is very difficult for scientists to predict the future of our species.
    You mentioned Chinese, Arabs, etc. You forgot to mention that the ancient Hindus had a vague idea about evolution, which is reflected in the Vishnupurana in the form of the 'dashavataras'. Think about it - a fish, a reptile, a mammal, a half-human, a full human - it eerily coincides with the Darwinian order of evolution! It might have been plain logic, but still the coincidence is too strong.
    Seen in this light of (imaginary) Hindu mythology, the yet-to-come avatar is human-the-destroyer. Maybe it means that the human race is going to eliminate itself in the near future :) So there might be no scope of evolving into a new species after all!

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  2. Nice one... dude ya dudetee... :)
    life of humans isn't gonna evolve again... its gonna be Cyborgs soon... :)
    then try thinking why one species was selected and all.. because two species will never evolve together.. may be there was another species which failed to survive against humans you never know...
    After all History is what winners of a war write and nothing related to truth.... :)

    ;)

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  3. Ya..true..Lets hope that such no such Kalki avatar comes to destroy the entire world. Let humanity realize that we all have the same roots and grow to appreciate Universal Brotherhood!

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  4. Watch the movie Idiocracy. The only theory on the future man evolution that could made perfect sense to me :)

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  5. @ The Poison Dart: Possible...Based on the Theory of survival of the fittest, two equally powerful species may not exist together...Like some extinct sub species - Homo sapiens idaltu and Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) - homo sapiens may get absorbed or may get extinct if a more powerful species evolves...Like the adage "A kingdom can have only a single emperor"!

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  6. In my opinion "The Survivalistians" becoz of pollution and nuclear war...anyway Kalki avatar came, it is "Global Warming" :)

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  7. Nice post. I had read about the possibility of human species splitting into two in other thousand years, but the final part just blew me off. I am too much a believer of butterfly effect to believe in long scale predictions. Still, very nice post.

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  8. As soon as I read the first paragraph I sent this link to Sunil. So don't be surprised if a flame war erupts here soon. :)

    But this is an interesting question about how evolution will take us in the future. You talked about vestigial organs and wisdom tooth being removed. But that doesn't seem likely via natural selection as their absence/presence does not confer any additional survival prospects on the individual. And that is very key to the idea of natural selection. Similarly one could also argue that intellect/intelligence also provides no advantage in terms of being able to reproduce. :)

    But possibly a bigger barrier to "natural selection" could be our evolved sense of morality and altruism. We are no longer animals that leave the poor and sick out to die. So it is not very likely that evolution will result in future human generations that are "better" than the current ones. And also considering that the genetic drift you talked about is a totally random process, it's very hard to predict where we are going.

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  9. @Ninoy: I haven't watched Idiocracy yet.. Thanks for pointing to an interesting movie..Will surely watch it :)

    @Lalit: Well, that is one of the possibilities..Maybe at the rate of pollution going on, it may be the case

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  10. @Varun/wolverine: The long term predictions and those pics showing possible species that might evolve make the post kind of sci-fi... But it was those pics that provoked me to think about this topic..

    @Mathew: Thanks for adding a new perspective to the topic..Very true, our sense of morality might hinder further evolution. But as you called it, isn't this sense of morality and altruism also an evolved characteristic? I choose to believe that evolution is not just about better physical traits and characteristics but also about improved intellect, values and reasoning power. Maybe humans are the pinnacle of what evolution can lead to, because the very principle of natural selection that is the basis of evolution is balanced by the "evolved" sense of morality and altruism which, I would like to consider, is a by-product/part of evolution...
    But can such a beautiful design not have a master planner? (I hope that pacifies Sunil :D)

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  11. i dont even bother to read your whole of the blog ... cuz the first picture you have put , its wrong . Cut it into halve and the last ape in that is me ( the centre on , in the whole ) .
    The title will now be : " The evolution stops at us " .
    Thats me .

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