Ipswich Public Library

Evolving ourselves, how unnatural selection and nonrandom mutation are changing life on earth, Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans

eng

index present

non fiction

Evolving ourselves

bibliography

881888274

Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans

how unnatural selection and nonrandom mutation are changing life on earth

In Evolving Ourselves, futurist Juan Enriquez and scientist Steve Gullans conduct a sweeping tour of how humans are changing the course of evolution--sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. For example: Globally, rates of obesity in humans nearly doubled between 1980 and 2014. What's more, there's evidence that other species, from pasture-fed horses to lab animals to house cats, are also getting fatter. As reported by U.S. government agencies, the rate of autism rose by 131 percent from 2001 to 2010, an increase that cannot be attributed simply to increases in diagnosis rates. Three hundred years ago, almost no one with a serious nut allergy lived long enough to reproduce. Today, despite an environment in which food allergies have increased by 50 percent in just over a decade, 17 million Americans who suffer from food allergies survive, thrive, and pass their genes and behaviors on to the next generation. In the pre-Twinkie era, early humans had quite healthy mouths. As we began cooking, bathing, and using antibiotics, the bacteria in our bodies changed dramatically and became far less diverse. Today the consequences are evident not only in our teeth but throughout our bodies and minds

What would Darwin write today? -- Symptoms of real-time evolution -- How does evolution really work now? -- A world of nonrandom mutation -- Evolving ourselves... -- The future of life -- Epilogue

How unnatural selection and nonrandom mutation are changing life on earth