The ongoing shifts in the human species

ILLUSTRATION: SOPHIE STANDING 

Are we still evolving? You might take a look around you, at your own body and say a firm no. It just isn’t happening. No webbed feet for better swimming, no-stubs-for-wings growing from your back and no giant thumbs for more efficient video gaming. But if you’re talking about evolution of the human species, it’s far more than just dramatic physical signs. The process of adapting or evolving, within your own species, is fascinating and takes place on a mental, cultural and spiritual level, as well as a physical one.

But first, the topic of physical evolution. This insight from sciencemag.org written four years ago offers a neat summation of how it can still be seen: ‘Many think evolution needs thousands or millions of years, but biologists know it can happen fast. Now, thanks to the genomic revolution, researchers can actually track the population-level genetic shifts that mark evolution in action – and they’re doing this in humans. Two studies presented at the Biology of Genomes meeting show how our genomes [an organism’s complete set of DNA] have changed over centuries or decades, charting how since Roman times, the British have evolved to be taller and fairer, and how just in the last generation, the effect of a gene that favours cigarette smoking has dwindled in some groups.’