The human body is still evolving. And faster than ever in the past 250 years, new research shows. Australian scientists say all humans will have three rather than two arteries in the forearm by the end of this century.
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No, we do not look completely different yet and cannot suddenly jump three meters higher than two centuries ago. But the human body does evolve. And faster than we think.
For the time being, you can see that best in the arteries in our forearm. “When developing in the womb, all embryos have a third artery in the forearm. Until now, the third artery, the middle artery, disappeared as soon as the other two arteries developed. But in more and more people, that middle artery does not disappear, so that someone can have all three arteries, ”says Professor Teghan Lucas of the Australian Flinders University in the scientific journal The Journal of Anatomy.
“One third of people today already have those three arteries in the forearm. In 1880 that was only one in ten. ” The scientists are certainly surprised by their own research. “Our research shows that modern humans are evolving faster than ever in the past 250 years.”
–Photo: Professor Maciej Henneberg
Positive evolution
“This increase could be due to mutations in genes involved in median artery development or maternal health problems during pregnancy, or both. If this trend continues, a majority of people will have a median forearm artery by 2100. ” In any case, the third artery naturally provides benefits to human health. “The blood supply increases and the artery can be used as a replacement vein in surgical procedures in other parts of the human body.
Even more evolution of the body
According to the researchers, you can also notice the evolution of the human body from various other things. For example, more and more babies are born without or with fewer wisdom teeth because our faces are getting shorter and narrower because we can process food better.
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