The future of humanity has been a topic of interest for most individuals as it is a mystery (Xue, online). In the past, natural selection and random mutation determined what lives and what dies such as through the cretaceous-tertiary extinction that occurred about 65 million years ago (Enriquez and Gullans, p.226). In recent years, this has changed as half of what dies and lives is dependent on human selection. The future of evolution of humanity is highly dependent on a number of factors that influence and shape how humans respond to opportunities in future. Humans have introduced powerful technological products that have supported the evolution of humanity. Clarke (2016, p.39) states that there is increased cloning, plastic surgery, genetic engineering, and designer organs that determine how we flourish, survive, evolve, or perish. Today, human actions play a huge part in how humans evolve rather than Darwin's principles of natural selection and random mutation (Huddle, p.82). Our actions are directing how evolution proceeds and guides our survival. Humans are altering the path of evolution either purposefully or unintentional and futurist Juan Enriquez and scientist Steve Gullans the authors of the book Evolving Ourselves: Redesigning the future of humanity, articulate a new biological order that is based on nonrandom mutation and unnatural selection.
Unnatural Selection
Humans are the primary drivers of change as they have the opportunity to directly or indirectly determine what lives, what dies, where, and when (Enríquez and Gullans, 2016).Steve Gullans and Juan Enriquez believe that humans are entering a new evolution phase that is driven by human interventions. There is an unnatural selection that has fully replaced the traditional natural kind. Civilization has greatly altered the environment as humans conduct more domestication of the plants and animals through an artificial selection. Furthermore, modernization and industrialization have occupied a significant part in shaping our everyday life. Activities such as agriculture have rearranged the world’s ecosystem and forced the relocation of specific species across the planet. The chemicals used in these activities have entered into water systems and air and have altered the everyday life. Therefore, human activities have exerted a substantial level of pressure on the evolution of humanity and its future is in the hands of humans.
Human interventions and actions have greatly changed humanity such as the human-engineered changes in the environment that have caused the average boy to enter puberty at an early stage from the age of 10 while the average girl experiences her first period from the age of 13 years (McConnachie, online). Furthermore, human conditions such as depression, asthma, obesity, autism, and allergies are increasing at an unusual rate. According to the U.S. government, the rate of autism has risen by 131 percent from 2001 to 2010. This high rate cannot be linked to only the increase in diagnosis rates but to other human actions and behaviors that have altered the environment. The products of technological progress have brought lifestyle changes. In addition, we are living in a new world with the introduction of antibiotics that have helped save millions of lives. Antibiotics are chemotherapeutic substances that are used to manage infectious diseases in animals, plants, and humans. However, these new products have also been linked to adverse body conditions such as obesity. Chattopadhyay (2014, p.334) states that a sizeable amount of the antibiotics that are produced around the globe every year are used in non-therapeutic settings. In the U.S. farmers use as much as 24.6 million pounds in animal rearing where they introduce low doses of antibiotics to stimulate their animals to gain weight (Chattopadhyay, p.334). These human actions affect animals as well as lab animals and pasture-fed cattle that are becoming fatter. Similarly, the use of antibiotics can have the identical effect when used on humans.
Humans are also living in an era of tremendous opportunities. We have made advancements in biotechnology that has helped us mitigate the unpleasant forces of natural selection. We have become smarter and able to live longer and even control our reproduction to determine the number of kids that one can have. Humans are able to save premature born babies and have introduced gene therapies that help save people with conditions such as sickle cell anemia. Today, more than 10 percent of babies in China and one-third of American babies are born through C-section which has greatly eliminated the natural vetoes on the size of a baby at birth. Therefore, technology has allowed us to take control of numerous processes that were previously naturally occurring.
Nonrandom Mutation
Here, the humans alter life more or less at will. We are able to take control of our genes, alter our species, and redesign our bodies to guarantee our eventual survival. New technologies such as altering genes have been introduced through the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) that allows us to make modifications to the genetics of any life form (Jung et al., p.3). This gene-editing technology steers the course of human evolution as genetic engineers are able to cut, edit, and paste any DNA sequence from any genome easily and quickly. In the past, humans who suffered from simple illnesses such as allergies could not live long enough to reproduce. However, scientific advancements have been made in human body and diseases. People are able to survive and thrive in today's environment where there are increased cases of food allergies. The Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) highlights that more than 15 million Americans are living with the condition of food allergy without worrying about their future (FARE, online). In addition, they are able to pass their genes and behaviors to the next generation. Today, there are plenty of unhealthy behaviors that have altered the bacteria in our bodies. These changes have had an adverse effect on our bodies. Biology interventions have intruded on people’s identity as they use hormones to alter their emotions and shape the distinctions that exist between sexes. Researchers have successfully studied the human genome for genes that influence health and disease.
Conclusion
The world is rapidly changing with inventions made in technology as well as other sectors. These changes are important as they shape the immediate future of humans. Humans have become more resilient, gentler, and more intelligent species. We hold an important part in taking care of the planet and determining its future. Therefore, the decisions that are made in the present decade have an impact on the future generations. Today, the progress of humanity is more advanced than it was in the past decades. Humans have changed the world and developed more opportunities to alter their bodies and the environment. They are more than ever, both subjects and agents of biological change as we strive to make a desirable version of the future.
Works Cited
Chattopadhyay, M.K. "Use of Antibiotics As Feed Additives: a Burning Question." Frontiers in Microbiology. 5 (2014). Print.
Clarke, Steve. The Ethics of Human Enhancement: Understanding the Debate. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Print.
Enríquez, Juan, and Steve Gullans. Evolving Ourselves: Redesigning the Future of Humanity - One Gene at a Time. New York, New York Current, 2016. Print.
F.A.R.E. "What is a Food Allergy? | Food Allergy Research & Education." Food Allergy Research & Education® (FARE), 2018, www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/what-is-a-food-allergy. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.
Huddle, Rusty. Human Evolution. New York, NY: Britannica Educational Publishing in association with Rosen Educational Services, 2017. Print.
Jung, C, G Capistrano-Gossmann, J Braatz, N Sashidhar, and S Melzer. "Recent Developments in Genome Editing and Applications in Plant Breeding." Plant Breeding. 137.1 (2018): 1-9. Print.
McConnachie, James. "Evolving Ourselves: How Unnatural Selection Is Changing Life on Earth by Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans." The Times & The Sunday Times, 8 Nov. 2015, www.thetimes.co.uk/article/evolving-ourselves-how-unnatural-selection-is-changing-life-on-earth-by-juan-enriquez-and-steve-gullans-7gsdx7q0lsg. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.
Xue, Katherine. "The Ascent of Man." Harvard Magazine, 17 June 2015, harvardmagazine.com/2015/07/tall-tales-from-biology-s-wild-west. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.
