Convoluted human evolution: Still evolving? (Introduction)

by David Turell @, Saturday, July 16, 2016, 21:20 (3052 days ago) @ David Turell

Another view of the same study. Not very impressive: - https://www.newscientist.com/article/2097630-are-humans-still-evolving-growing-evidence... - "What is new is the tie to genetics. Educational attainment is not strongly heritable, with genes estimated to account for no more than 20 per cent of the variation in attainment. But Beauchamp found that gene variants predictive of attainment, including many active in early brain development, were nearly as strongly predictive of reduced reproduction. - "Beauchamp concluded that natural selection was acting on Americans, albeit slowly. Its impact is equal to a small decline in attainment amounting to a month and a half less education per generation, and is in any case swamped by the many other factors driving up educational attainment at the same time. - "Of course Beauchamp's study only covers a limited sample of US citizens. In addition, participants could be women aged 45 or men in their early 50s, which seems too young to judge lifetime reproduction. There are also suggestions that the number of grandchildren or great-grandchildren is a better measure of fitness. - "However, it is not outlandish to imagine that natural selection may still be acting in this way in the US and beyond, given the pace of change. In 1940, only a quarter of native-born American adults had finished high school. By 2000 this was approaching 90 per cent." - Comment: Not much evidence to me.


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