I just want to quickly comment on the subject of beneficial mutations.
I live in Finland which is obviously a totally different environment when compared to Africa. I have red hair and light skin, which is most likely due to a mutation that affects the function of the MC1R protein. This is means that there isn't very much eumelanin in my skin and hair. Eumelanin is found in higher concentrations in people with dark hair and skin.
There is a pro to having low concentrations of melanin when living in northern countries and that is the fact that you can then produce vitamin D with less exposure to UV radiation. This means that if one had a darker complexion and wasn't able to get enough vitamin D via food, then one's bones wouldn't develop properly. People with light complexions would thus have been "superior" in a time when vitamin D supplements weren't available. However people with darker skin would be "superior" if I were to live in for example Africa because I have a higher risk of developing some form of skin cancer due to the lower concentration of melanin in my skin.
Somebody could say: "That's not a beneficial mutation, you said it yourself that you have a higher risk of skin cancer". It's not that simple. The mutation is beneficial in the environment in which it succeeded to thrive and it may even be beneficial in other environments and thus spread even further, but it may also be detrimental in a different environment.
As has been said evolution doesn't have a certain species as a goal, only to produce species that are adapted to their surroundings. It is my understanding that this does not necessarily apply to humans anymore as we have learned to use tools in order to change our surroundings rather than ourselves and this negates the need to change in any significant way.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I live in Finland which is obviously a totally different environment when compared to Africa. I have red hair and light skin, which is most likely due to a mutation that affects the function of the MC1R protein. This is means that there isn't very much eumelanin in my skin and hair. Eumelanin is found in higher concentrations in people with dark hair and skin.
There is a pro to having low concentrations of melanin when living in northern countries and that is the fact that you can then produce vitamin D with less exposure to UV radiation. This means that if one had a darker complexion and wasn't able to get enough vitamin D via food, then one's bones wouldn't develop properly. People with light complexions would thus have been "superior" in a time when vitamin D supplements weren't available. However people with darker skin would be "superior" if I were to live in for example Africa because I have a higher risk of developing some form of skin cancer due to the lower concentration of melanin in my skin.
Somebody could say: "That's not a beneficial mutation, you said it yourself that you have a higher risk of skin cancer". It's not that simple. The mutation is beneficial in the environment in which it succeeded to thrive and it may even be beneficial in other environments and thus spread even further, but it may also be detrimental in a different environment.
As has been said evolution doesn't have a certain species as a goal, only to produce species that are adapted to their surroundings. It is my understanding that this does not necessarily apply to humans anymore as we have learned to use tools in order to change our surroundings rather than ourselves and this negates the need to change in any significant way.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
"Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought." - Graham Greene
"So forget Jesus, the stars died so that you could be here today." - Lawrence Krauss
"So forget Jesus, the stars died so that you could be here today." - Lawrence Krauss
