Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Are our genes still shaped by natural selection?

I believe that our genes always have been shaped by natural selection and will continue to do so until we become extinct. I've recently been thinking about the need for our genes to adapt to living in a warmer climate. With the global warming/weirding phenomenon, temperatures across the planet are increasing, and thus our bodies will have to learn how to survive in more extreme weather conditions. Also, our genes will need to evolve with the evolution of food. New foods are produced every day, many of which are too complicated for our digestive systems to break down. Just as the Europeans developed a lactose-digesting gene, our current genes must be undergoing rapid change to keep up with our modern-day diet. I wonder if a McDonald's-digesting gene will be discovered......yuck!

I am entirely confident that humans will become more and more fabulous through the brilliance of natural selection.

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