Most people learn about the phenomenon of evolution in their middle school and high school science classes, but researchers have recently discovered evidence of “microevolution” with significant differences between human pay generations.
More children are born without wisdom teeth, with an extra artery in their hand, or with smaller jaws and shorter faces as a result of microevolution, according to the September Journal of Anatomy via Sky News.
“Many people believed that humans evolved. But our studies show that we are still evolving – faster than at any stage in the last 250 years,” said Tehan Lucas, a doctor at Flinders University.
The reason behind the low teeth in human hair is that the human face gets shorter and the mouth gets smaller, due to which the teeth develop. Few humans develop wisdom teeth as a result of natural selection and the ability of humans to chew food.
The extra arteries in the human hand move forward, just like in the 19th century. The “middle artery” had previously formed in children during pregnancy, and as the radial and alveolar arteries grew they usually disappeared after birth.
One in three people now keep their arteries for the rest of their lives. Thankfully, these do not cause known health problems and actually increase blood flow to the hands.
“Arthritis is an excellent example of how we are evolving because newborns have a higher proportion of this artery than people of previous generations,” said author Professor Kiz Heinberg.
Researchers have determined their findings by dissecting preserved corpses of people born in the 20th century, as well as how many different parts of the body were preserved during the course of the study.
The study also predicts that people born 20 years from now (hence 2100) will all have a middle artery if this trend continues. For further historical exploration, check out the theory of why megalodons were so large (hint: it is due to cannibalism in the womb).
Joseph Noon is the writer / producer for IGN, and has lost his jaw.
