Our World

Lasting Effects of Our Lifestyles

Although we think of evolution as a very gradual process, working in terms of hundreds of thousands of years, recent studies suggest that the human trait of lactose tolerance developed among African tribes only a couple thousand years ago. There are two reasons this is significant: first, it is good evidence supporting convergent evolution, or the development of similar traits by completely separate groups of a species; here the scientists draw a parallel to the peoples of northern Europe, who formed the same trend completely independent of the Africans. Second, and this is the more interesting part, it corresponds with the period when domesticated cattle were becoming the newest primary source of sustenance. The lifestyle changed, and this led to a change in the evolution of our entire species. Though we think, again, that evolution works through natural environments, we often do not follow through with the thought and make the connection that our culture and lifestyle is really equivalent to our natural environment. It makes you wonder, perhaps even worry, about what effects our lifestyles will have on our descendents in a short 5,000 years.

Article: "The Milk of Evolution..."

posted by Anonymous @ 12/14/2006 12:07:00 AM