LONDON: Homo sapiens may undergo further evolution in some 100,000 years and will be split into two sub-species, an evolution expert has predicted. One of these species will acquire characteristics of being tall, healthy, attractive, intelligent and creative, while the other will be short, ugly and dim-witted creatures.
Dr Oliver Curry of the Darwin@LSE research centre at the London School of Economics, says an average human being will be of six ft. six inch in height, will gave brown skin and will even live up to the age of 120 by the year 3,000 A.D, all these made possible by newer trends in nutrition, medicine and migration. More importantly racial differences will become less pronounced, he said.
Curry also predicts that with the over dependence on technology and medical interventions, humans as they progress into the future, will decline physically and lose social and interactive skills. Ultimately, by the year 102,000, the species would have split into two distinct sub-species of genetic haves and genetic have-nots, he predicted.
The hypothesis reminds one of H.G. Wells portrayal in his novel, The Time Machine, where mankind actually splits into a frail, wealthy genetic upper class and a downtrodden, ape-like worker class.
A TV channel, Bravo, had commissioned Curry to conduct the study on how mankind will look like over the next 1,000, 10,000 and 100,000 years. He summarizes his findings: "The future of man will be a story of the good, the bad and the ugly.
"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is a possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology — reducing our natural capacity to resist disease and our ability to get along with each other.
"After that, things could get ugly, with the possible emergence of genetic 'haves' and 'have-nots'."
Curry says the human species will peak in their physical capabilities by the year 3000 when their average heights will be between six feet and seven feet. Men will have more symmetrical facial features, squarer jaws, and deeper voices. Women will have lighter skin, large clear eyes, firmer breasts, glossy hair, more symmetrical features and smooth, hairless skin. Most humans will move towards a brown color.
He visualizes that by the year 12,000, the decline would start. Communication skills will decrease and there will be no place for emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. There will be no concept of team play. Increased dependence on processed foods will mean humans do less chewing, leading to less developed jaws.
Curry spent two months investigating to reach his conclusions.
