This class has really made me reflect a lot on the ways that the study of fossils can affect the way that we think about not only our history but also present-day human beings. There are so many different ways that humans are continuing to evolve and a lot of it is in ways that we might not even notice.

One of the ways is through gene flow. Gene flow is when culture affects the movement of people and genes. A big thing that can create gene flow in humans today is war. An example of this is Colonialism; when Europeans moved into the Americas, they influenced the genetic makeup of the Americas. This is why so many Americans today have ancestors that can be traced back to many European countries.

Another way that human beings evolved in the present day is through genetic drift. Genetic drift occurs mainly in smaller populations when these populations are evolving separately from other populations. There are many reasons why these drifts would occur; a big reason is because of cultural or religious restrictions that prevent certain groups of people from mating outside of their group. A good example of this is the Amish; they don’t mate outside of their group so they have evolved to look a bit different from the other people and populations of the world.

Another big reason that humans continue to evolve is through natural selection. Natural selection is when certain traits lead to certain people or groups of people to be genetically predisposed to be more successful in surviving and reproducing in a certain environment. A great example of natural selection in humans today is present in diseases. When new diseases (such as the ebola virus, the zika virus, or even any antibiotic-resistant infections) arise, they have the potential to spread throughout humans, and certain humans are genetically predisposed with traits that could help them to fight back against these diseases. These individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce and pass these traits onto their offspring. Natural selection’s effects on human biology are dependent on our environment, which happen to be very complex and diverse. Our environment changes depending on many cultural aspects such as diseases, types of food resources, and the effects of climate change.

I feel like climate change will play a huge influence on the ways that humans and other species will evolve. The climate is changing so quickly and in ways that humans have really never had to prepare for before. Climate change will lead to huge changes in the way that we will live our lives and the way that other species will have to live their lives as well. Luckily humans are able to adapt and be flexible when it comes to changes to our environment, but I am very curious about what types of traits will make certain people or groups of people more genetically predisposed to adapt to the rapidly changing environment.

Overall the way that humans and other species evolve is amazing and I am blown away by all the different ways that evolution is so relevant to our current everyday lives.