Question: Are we still evolving and if we are what do you think would have changed from now?

Lauren Laing answered on 15 Mar 2016:

Yes, evolution is constantly occurring in all animals, but it is a slow process. It has been said that not only are we still evolving, we’re doing so even faster than before.

Some scientist say there are 5 main pieces of evidence that we are still evolving.

1) We Drink Milk

Historically, the gene that would regulate a human’s ability to digest lactose (a component of milk) would shut down as they were weaned off of their mother’s breast milk. But when we eventually began to domesticate cows, sheep and goats, we realized that being able to drink milk is a nutritionally advantageous quality! Milk is a great source of protein and calcium. People with the genetic mutation that allowed them to digest lactose were better able to propagate their genes. A scientific study showed that this tolerance for lactose was still developing as early as 3,000 years ago in East Africa. That genetic mutation for digesting milk is now carried by more than 95 percent of Northern European descendants.

2)We’re Losing Our Wisdom Teeth

Our ancestors had bigger jaws than we have, and ate tough diets of roots, nuts and leaves. When they ate meat, they would tear it apart with their teeth. Today we use knives and forks, our meals are softer and easier to chew, and our jaws are much smaller as a result. We no longer need our wisdom teeth, one estimate says 35 percent of the population is born without wisdom teeth, and some say they will disappear altogether.

3) We’re Resisting Diseases

In 2007, a group of researchers looking for signs of recent evolution uncovered 1,800 genes that have only become prevalent in humans in the last 40,000 years, many of which are devoted to fighting infectious diseases like malaria.

4) Our Brains Are Shrinking

The reason for this change is still under debate!! Some people say we are getting dumber!! Others say we are becoming more efficient (I like to think its this one!!)

5) We Have Blue Eyes

Originally we all has brown eyes! A genetic mutation brought about the allele for blue eyes. The reason for blue eyes being maintained in the population is also debated, but some people say this is related to attraction!!