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DUNE Concept Art; Chris Foss

A pirate ship slices through space in concept art from the lost Dune movie of the 1970s. Artist Chris Foss crafted covers for some... more

remanns
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Super-heroes take a jab at Twilight

~y2009m11d20-Superheroes-take-a-jab-at-Twilight

WesleySmith
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You can animate for DC Universe Online

~y2009m11d20-Sony-joins-with-Mass-Animation-to-launch-DCU-Online-Animation-Contest-on-Facebook Sony and Mass Entertainment join... more

WesleySmith
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Why Vampire movies always break all the Vampire rules.

Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart return to the big screen in Twilight: New Moon this Friday. The first installment shied away... more

remanns
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Do top 10 lists matter?

~y2009m11d19-Do-top-10-lists-matter When top 10 lists are set in stone, they cease being any fun.

WesleySmith
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Breaking the Internet in half: Fans hate Stephen Wacker

~y2009m11d19-Breaking-the-Internet-in-half-Fans-hate-Stephen-Wacker What gives readers the right to expect creative control... more

WesleySmith
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The Future of Evolution: What Will We Become?

"The past of human evolution is more and more coming to light as scientists uncover a trove of fossils and genetic knowledge. But where might the future of human evolution go?

An old cliché has the highly evolved humans of the future sporting large heads to hold their advanced enlarged brains, "but that's nonsense, whole nonsense," said paleontologist Peter Ward at the University of Washington at Seattle, author of "Future Evolution."

"If you've ever gone through a childbirth or witnessed one," Ward says, "we're already anatomically right on the edge of how big our heads can go — our big brains have already caused extreme problems in childbirth, and if we had bigger and bigger brains, that'd cause more mothers to die in childbirth, so evolution would select against that."

Another idea, suggested by evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics, seems like a retread of ideas from science fiction writer H.G. Well's classic "The Time Machine," with the human species split in two over time — an underclass of dim-witted, short goblins, and a genetic upper class of tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent and creative superhumans that eventually are spoiled by technology that will do everything for them, resembling domesticated animals.

"That's crap," Ward said. "Why would that happen? Are we like blind cavefish? After we get Google, do we get stupider? Intelligence is coded on too many genes to just lose a trait like intelligence. That's not going to happen."

Ward suggests that, if left untouched, humans might converge in appearance as populations mix. "I kind of view us all as eventually having chocolate-covered hair and medium stature, getting rid of all extremes," he speculated. "Of course, the big elephant in the room, the change from the past that you cannot ignore when talking about the future of human evolution, is genetic engineering."

Humanity now has an unparalleled means by which to direct our evolution — genetic engineering. By using viruses and other techniques, we can in theory modify our genomes, and over time, scientists may uncover genes underlying intelligence, health, athletic prowess, longevity and other desirable traits, engineering what might seem like superhuman progeny. Genetic engineering is how Ward speculated new species of humans might emerge.

"I think taboos would arise which would prevent mating between populations — 'I don't want them anymore' or 'We want natural people,'" he said. "Of course this is all pure speculation, but this is the only way I can see new human species emerging — unless we get off the planet."

Much more at link!
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/091116-human-evolution-future.html

So much to think about...where do you think evolution will go? What does the future hold for humans?"The past of human evolution is more and more coming to light as scientists uncover a trove of fossils and genetic knowledge.... more