December 24, 2023
 
Forced Evolution: A Possibility of Designing Future Human Traits
 
Jorge Liang Sanchez – Stemfinite.com

History of Human Evolution

 

         Earth's organisms have formed, evolved, and gone extinct for billions of years. However, the concept of human evolution is undoubtedly highly complex and has yet to be fully understood by scientists today. The human evolution process is caused by genetic variations that are influenced by the environmental factors an organism is affected by. These factors include nutrition, UV radiation, climate, and much more. For example, Homo Habilis, which were ancestors to humans, most likely had genetic variations since climates became cooler and drier [1]. Other species, like the microscopic viruses living today, went through evolution to adapt to and survive in living organisms.

 

Forced Evolution

 

         This paper aims to investigate an unknown concept in science called forced evolution. This term refers to purposefully withstanding different environments and conditions to alter genetic composition, potentially leading to evolution. Unlike genetic engineering, this process does not require dealing with human genes. It is, instead, the introduction of new human traits through a natural process. Forced evolution can be done on many scales, ranging from extreme climates to repetitive daily actions.

 

         Suppose 10,000 humans were randomly selected and placed in frigid temperatures such as those in Antarctica, which have gone as low as -89° C. The most probable outcome is that their genetic composition would slightly change over the years, leading to an increased body fat percentage (to withstand extreme temperatures). This is due to the human body's ability to adapt to its environment. This example, though, has already happened in history for millions of years and would not give us any new information. Many animals, like polar bears and seals, have undergone the same process where they developed these types of adaptive traits.

 

         On the other hand, a less realistic example is that 20,000 humans are forced to do 200 squats each day of their lives. These humans are then only allowed to reproduce with each other. The most probable outcome is that thousands of years later, descendants of these 20,000 humans would develop thighs much stronger than the average population. The problem is that for these changes to appear in genetic composition, many factors must still be clarified today.

 

Genetic Variation

 

         It is important to know the types of genetic alterations to further understand the changes genes undergo when influenced by environmental factors.

 

         Genes can be altered by the human environment in various complex ways. First, the DNA sequence can change completely; this process, known as point mutation, can be divided into three categories. The second is deletion mutation, which, as the name suggests, deletes nucleotides [2].

 

         The three types of point DNA mutations are missense, nonsense, and silent. Missense mutations occur when only one of the bases is changed and, in turn, is replaced by another base (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine). Nonsense proteins, conversely, completely stop the rest of the DNA strand from being read by ribosomes [3]. In other words, they prematurely end codon translation, leading to nonfunctional proteins. Lastly, silent mutations do not cause a change in amino acid production, even though their codon has changed. This would be the case for AAA codes if they were altered to AAG as both codes for the same amino acid.

 

         The other types of DNA mutations are deletion mutations, which involve the loss of at least one nucleotide. The number of nucleotides lost depends mainly on each factor influencing the human body [4]. These deletion mutations have been studied intensely by scientists and are thought to be the root of many genetic diseases like cancer.

 

Conclusion

 

         Unfortunately, such experiments would be tough to conduct because the evolutionary process takes thousands, even millions of years, to alter just one gene. In addition, experiments involving the control of thousands of humans are nearly impossible due to a lack of facilities and techniques. Lastly, there could be controversy in terms of morals.

 

         Whether or not it is possible to forcefully alter genes, leading to new and improved human traits, is a scientific mystery. It is important to note, though, that innovations and new technologies are leading to discoveries each year. Maybe, after all, it is possible to undergo evolution and turn into super-humans.