Steve Jones Enlightenment Lecture - Is Human Evolution Over?'

Leading geneticist Steve Jones asked 'Is Human Evolution Over?' as part of the University of Edinburgh's Enlightenment Lecture Series.
In his lecture Prof Jones argues that the signs show - at least in the developed world for now - that human evolution has slowed down or stopped.
Steve Jones, a graduate of Edinburgh, is Professor of Genetics at University College, London.
He is an award-winning science author, columnist and presenter for both television and radio.
The University's Enlightenment Lectures examine aspects of the Enlightenment's legacy in the context of our own fraught and hectic times.
See www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/enl...

[@FuncraftVideos]

a possible reason why older mothers have smarter children is that women who have children later in their life are usually more intelligent, in contrast, teenage mothers are usually the less intelligent ones.

[@ralexnicholas]

Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending's 2009 book, "The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution" is an excellent rebuttal to this kind of research. Among other traits, they cite lactose tolerance in adults as an example of continuing human evolution. Besides, static evolution means extinction and some unforeseen cataclysmic event could nullify any technological or cultural response to such a catastrophe.

[@tjmac7]

Skip straight to 3:10.

[@JoannaHammond]

You can tell he's never seen startrek, as it's a social change, NOT a physical change.

[@greul_vietii]

I hope I get an offer from Edinburgh :(

[@skintsquatscum]

We are capable of doing it now. It is no different in principle than what we can already do on animals and plants. It hasn't happened because society wouldn't allow it.....yet

[@Varak8e]

f'kin awesome

[@balkan2k]

More like 20 years, m8 :-) Stem cell research is accellerating at a very fast pace.

[@userwl2850]

simon conway morris says human evolution is inevitable,,,,,, not sure about that.

[@coojordan]

I thought he was Richard Dawkins from the thumbnail!

[@dexr3534]

Aren't you just saying against yourself right now? Differential fertility is also a part of natural selection? Natural selection is a selection of better genes. So if you see a person what you call beautiful and has the qualities you like, the chance is that your kids could inheret them. By this selection nature has given you an attraction to certain genes. Genes you don't like won't be paired with yours and perhaps not anyone else. Isn't that some sort of natural selection?

[@TheUltimateNatural]

That's more sexual selection.

[@Skylark_Jones]

If the covid pandemic has taught us anything, it's that human evolution hasn't stopped.

[@badideass]

It stops when we're all dead

[@BernhardSchaefke]

Interesting lecture. But he seems to assume that Western society represents the "endpoint of human evolution" to which other cultures (Muslim world, Africa etc.) will "naturally develop". But natural selection and genetic drift are still powerful factors in these areas, and if you look at worldwide birth rates, I would rather doubt that in 100 years the whole world will live in "our utopia"...

[@Kashmiran100]

I have read his brilliantly humourous and desparately needed book 'Y The decent of men.' Men have been fembashed for so long now , it was beginning to irritate even me, and I am a genetic female when I last looked and not short on education.

[@farouqnimer]

what's up with those british women biting their nails ? :P

[@samuelluckey4949]

Kkkkmkk

[@samuelluckey4949]

Kkkkk

[@samuelluckey4949]

Kkk

[@anemoonet]

There exist no "human evolution", it'a a joke.