Are Humans Still Evolving?

Abstract evolution has occurred in humans for millions of years; however, in a modern society many scientists and evolutionists are now debating whether or not it is still occurring, and if it follows the same rules. With all of the new technology humans have created, some experts believe that humans have essentially conquered nature, and no further evolutionary changes will occur. Still, others hold opposing views; some experts believe that evolution is still occurring, but modern societal advancements have changed the rules. These experts say that the changes in evolution are a result of recent medical advancements that allow doctors to perpetuate genes that would not have lasted years ago. Additionally, others maintain that evolution is not only still occurring, but it has in fact sped up recently. These experts maintain that a rapidly changing society, as well as a rapidly increasing population is causing the human genome to play catch up.

Are Humans Still Evolving? In the year eighteen fifty-nine, Charles Darwin published a book which he called “The Origin of Species”. In this book Darwin theorized that populations evolve over the years through a process called natural selection. Darwin realized that in a population, more individuals were born than could possibly survive, he also recognized that the individuals that survived and reproduced were the ones with some sort of competitive advantage over rival animals, therefore they were more likely to pass their useful traits down to their offspring (Darwin, 1859). As this process of natural selection occurred for millions of years, these desirable traits that were once only prevalent in a few individual animals became common traits for entire species (Winston, 2009). There are countless amounts of evidence that suggest that humans owe their existence to evolution, however, many people are skeptical as to whether or not it is still occurring, and whether or not it is happening in the same way. Some scientists hold