ABSTRACT

We now understand how evolution works to modify a species when its environment changes or other new threats to its survival appear. Humans today represent a long series of bodily modifications over millions of years, starting from a tree-dwelling ape. We, alone among the animals, can control our destiny using innovation to solve new problems. Medical science has removed most of the worries about injury and disease. Many of us would be dead today were it not for medical science. So is evolutionary change no longer applicable to our species? Examining this question is the central theme of this final chapter.