Are humans still evolving?
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC
4.7 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2019
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are humans still evolving?
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian and author David Baddiel, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics Aoife McLysaght, and geneticist and broadcaster Adam Rutherford to ask whether human beings are still evolving? Has the invention of modern medicine, and technology meant that survival of the fittest is a thing of the past or are humans evolving new adaptations that will help us cope and survive better in our ever changing world (better thumbs for texting anyone?). If evolution happens over 1000's of years, could we even tell if we were evolving as a species, or have humans reached peak human?
Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:04.8 | I'm Brian Cox. I'm Robyn Inz and today we're looking at natural selection. |
| 0:08.2 | We've gone from a lifeless planet to one which has creatures of honey that are bright, |
| 0:13.2 | some that are beautiful, great and small and wise and wonderful. |
| 0:17.2 | And if we get all the way to the end of that song, we actually save a lot of time doing this show |
| 0:20.0 | because then we just get to the Lord God made them all. |
| 0:22.0 | Thank you very much for listening. Goodbye. |
| 0:24.1 | Are you still trying to get on thought for the day? |
| 0:27.0 | I would love to be on thought for the day. |
| 0:29.8 | I would be perfect for thought for the day because I only have one thought a day. |
| 0:33.2 | So I feel that I am. |
| 0:35.4 | In fact, I was hoping to have one during the show but I have one earlier so we'll have to wait for next week. |
| 0:40.0 | So in the absence of any further thoughts from Robyn, |
| 0:43.2 | we are asking a distinguished panel for their thoughts instead. |
| 0:46.0 | Today we're asking are humans still evolving? |
| 0:49.1 | Have we reached peak human? |
| 0:51.0 | Did the principles of evolution by natural selection still apply to us |
| 0:55.0 | in an age of technology and modern medicine? |
| 0:57.3 | Or have we transcended the Darwinian paradigm? |
| 1:00.0 | Today we're joined by three people who through a mix of genetics and cultural influence |
| 1:03.6 | who evolved into the sort of people who we like to have on a panel. |
| 1:06.3 | Are you two proper scientists and a comedian who's refined the skills of making it look |
... |
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