Humanity is still Evolving

Modern human beings are involved in an ongoing process of evolution brought about humanities adaptation to environmental and cultural processes.

Humanity is not done evolving. Because in many instances, evolution seems to the unobservant individual to not be happening at all. It is a common belief to view human beings as fully evolved and as a 'completed' species.

One could not be further from the truth. Why is this so? It has to do with natural selection and its ongoing process of constantly defining the shape of the human gene pool.

A particular characteristic of a gene pool is that it locates the comprehensive genetic diversity of a species. This involves the biological discipline of genetics, which is the scientific study of heredity and variation in living organisms involving the inheritance of traits found in the parents of the living thing being studied.

Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species investigated why the genetics of a species can change over a long period of time. Darwin's extensive study of the reasons why such a change occurs over time advanced the meaning and significance of the theory of evolution.

Now a trip back to the gene pool is in order because when discussing evolution, it has been found that over periods of time, evolution favors the most desirable genes or characteristics in the pool. With the passage of time, these preferable characteristics gain an exclusive, or dominant place within the gene pool.

There are several factors that can effect the process of altering the structure of the gene pool.

The first factor that can have an altering effect on the structure of the gene pool describes a process in which genes that are more suited to their environment are favored and is called natural selection.

A Second altering effect on the gene pool, called mutation involves random processes that can result in changing the genome of a living thing.

Gene migration happens when genetic drift (a process of change in the genetic composition of a population takes place because of some random event or occurrence of chance, as opposed to natural selection, takes place) happens when two groups of a single species separate or move apart over time and reproduce separately. It is possible, if the two groups come back together and are able to reproduce then their genetic differences could merge and thereby create a greater genetic diversity (measures the level of the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or the Earth as a whole; also known as biodiversity) refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species.

Non-Random Mating involves continuous inbreeding of a species and is more commonly referred to as selective breeding. These process allows the researcher to favor advantageous genes over less advantageous genes and results in the decreasing of genetic diversity.

When geographical events occur that result in the splitting apart or isolation of a species leaving the separated groups apart and unable to reproduce with one another, it is a process called Genetic Drift. With the groups living apart, natural selection will occur causing quite a dramatic difference in the gene pools of the separated species and over time might result in the creation of entirely different species.

Speciation is the process that happens when one species separates over time and reproduce within the isolated groups for such a long time that if the split-apart groups come together their genetic differences have become so significant that reproduction can no longer occur.

The process of Adaptive Radiation describes a slow change of genotype (the entire set of genes contained within a living thing) and phenotype ( the process of producing visible or measurable genetic traits such as skin color, height, behavior, etc, according to the individual's genetic makeup and the effect of the environment.

Cultural processes concern the uninterrupted developmental sequence of changes of properties or attributes of a human created systems that encompass all human phenomena that are not purely results of human genetics; thus regarding culture from it's simplest, or non-branched form to more complex forms that display a tendency of weaving together or encompassing an array of diverse creations from homogeneous elements showing uniformity to heterogeneous, or varied qualities

So as this brief overview of the numerous processes that can involve the evolution of any living things including human beings has shown: evolution is a continuing and ongoing process that is affected by several factors; any of which could cause a change in a species gene pool and result in the process of adaptation to environmental and cultural processes.