Upper and lower limbs would become more important and become similar in length, as seen in orangutans, who swing through trees rather than walk. These could include longer arms and shorter legs as in low gravity walking would be less necessary.
Body hair would need to increase as a means of insulation.Īnd if we were to colonise other worlds, the body would need to undergo a variety of changes to adapt to low gravity. This would be particularly true for men, who would need to attract a mate through their physique rather than intellect, much like gorillas in the natural world.įemales would also need to become physically stronger. We would become stronger, as reduced resources and technologies would mean physical power becomes more important. Our noses and face size would increase to help warm inhaled cold air in the nasopharynx, the area behind the nose.
#Webbed eyes skin
In the scenario of an ice age, Dr Skinner predicts that our skin would become very pale to help us produce more vitamin D from less sunlight, we would have more body hair, and we would develop more muscular physiques. We might also evolve an extra translucent eyelid to protect the eyes from water. This would also lead to our lung capacity becoming greatly reduced, and our rib cages shrinking.Īn additional layer in the retina - like cat's eyes - could develop to help us see in poor light under water. Regular foraging in shallow waters could lead us to develop artificial 'gills' to help us breathe, extracting oxygen from the water and delivering it to the bloodstream.
We would also retain a layer of baby fat into adulthood as an insulator for spending long periods submerged. To adapt to a 'water world', Dr Skinner expects humans would develop webbed hands and eyes like those of cats to help us see in the poor lighting conditions underwater.
Others could occur over tens of thousands of years.' Some of these things we might try to develop as a necessity rather than occurring over time naturally. He said: 'We could genetically engineer ourselves if important enough to survive. Other changes to allow humans to live in extreme conditions might only take place over hundreds of generations of natural selection, or require genetic engineering.
They also considered what would happen in a second ice age which could be triggered by an asteroid strike, and if humans colonised other planets.ĭr Matthew Skinner, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Kent, examined the three scenarios and worked with artist Quentin Devine to help visualise how humans could look in the future.ĭr Skinner said some changes - such as webbed feet and hands becoming widespread - could take place very quickly as some humans already have a genetic mutation that produces webbing. Humans may develop bizarre features such as webbed feet and eyes like cats in response to changing environments, a scientist claims today.Įxperts calculated how our physical appearance could change under a number of scenarios, including a 'water world' if melting ice caps cause rising sea levels.
0 kommentar(er)
