Wondering what some peoples opinions of how humans would evolve physically after a 1000 years in zero gravity? What do you think we would look like after so long?
yeah i know that, i also know realistically we wouldn't spend 1000 years in 0 gravity. What i'm asking is if we did, with no tech to keep us from evolving to the conditions, what we might look like. For starters i believe the feet would start to change more towards hands, toes become longer and more mobile, ankle becomes more flexible.....
Until it's time to rush out the airlock that's three sizes too small for you now. Oops! I can't even zipper my emergency space suit! *fat explodes all over the place as decompression due to meteor strike ensues*
no flex well, lets say humans populated a space station with zero gravity. not using much muscles would make them thinner and weaker, however; i dont think that will affect their genes. 1000 years later, if you take a newborn 'zero gravity infant' to earth, the child should progress and flex his space muscles just fine.
I believe that if you were born and grow up in zero G, then you would be seriously disfigured. Regardless of genes if you were born in space and spend some time their until your like 20 then there isn't going to be a single therapy today that could allow you to survive earths gravity.
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ... There's actually a tribe in Africa have that whole "monkey feet" thing going on quite without the benefit of micro gravitational environment - there's a faulty gene running around the gene pool which causes a congenital birth defect - the foot develops with an unusually deep cleft running down the middle of the foot. The bones of the toes fuse together forming two longer, more prehensile digits. Very useful for picking up things like coke cans and spanners, or so those effected say... Absolute bugger finding shoes that fit, of course. Without the given the presence within an isolated, space born population of some form of, in all other circumstances, "defective" gene to develop into a useful adaptation, I somehow doubt the "feet/hand" thing would come to the fore within a 1000 year time span. Reduction in density of bone and muscle tissue, changes in skin pigmentation (reduction of melanin, for example), a change in overall body proportions... etc. Things like that wouldn't be too out of the question. For example, you'd possibly find a disproportionate relationship between head and body size occurring. It wouldn't necessarily mean at all overall head size would in anyway increase - but a normal sized head on a thinner, more slender frame would certainly convey the appearance of a distinct overall look to zero g life. I'm not so certain about the obesity thing. The potential for it might indeed be present, but you'd be dealing with an environment of given dimensions capable only of producing X-amount of food at any given time - the option to chow down, at ones leisure so as too speak, not entirely certain it would be on the cards. With far fewer muscles necessary and no exposure to natural atmospheric conditions one might in practice observe an overall reduction in food consumption coupled with the bodies need to store excess in fat. Skin pigmentation might likely be another noticeable adaptation - with no exposure to natural UV light, the bodies need for producing melanin on the one hand may decrease - however, unless the environment these humans were living in were structurally shielded, or at the very least protected by an external self generated electromagnetic field, exposure to increased levels of heavier charged particle emissions from space over the very long term might provoke the body into adapting either melanin or a melanin-type substance into providing the body with better protection against such particle exposure. Quite what that might look like, haven't the foggiest but likely it'd be distinct and noticeable in comparison to a terrestrially born human. Teeth, body hair also noses - these might also be other things which would start to become more and more vestigial as generations went on. With nothing to breath except processed, temperature controlled air the bodies need to use the nose in the way we do here on earth may diminish, resulting in an overall reduction of the prominence of that particular appendage. Equally, dietary intake may reduce the need for biting and chewing in quite the same manner we do here on earth - a reduction in overall muscle mass may make the process of eating the sorts of foods we usually take for granted increasing problematic in the long run resulting in a preference for easier to ingest and swallow food stuffs. Without the need for strong teeth the population would undoubtedly begin to not require them any further. Same goes for body hair. It's one of those things on the way out for humans anyway, generations in zero g would likely finish it off all together. Finger and toe nails, although likely still present, would equally likely be little more than vestigial features equally. But things like fingerprints, basically anything to do with grip may develop proportionally to become more effective.
We don't need 1000 years in zero-G, because artificial gravity is possible, i.e., rotating parts at the moment.
I doubt that humans will have to fight in space to get laid, so I dont actually agree with Mr Anonymous theory. This theory would work, if there was somesort of natural selection, if womans preffered men with no noses or bigger limbs.
....emmmm. Haven't actually mentioned the subjects of either fighting or getting laid, certainly nothing at all regarding both in conjunction with each other. What are you talking about, exactly?
A thousand years without gravity? - no problem we could all go back to the way we lived before Newton!
1000 years in zero gravity? let's see... fatter people, smaller feet, smaller leg muscles... stronger hands and arms, getting used to observing people/things upside down/from any angle. akin to stepping in dog dodoo, i imagine avoiding the occasional undesirable flying object would increase our ability to identify and avoid things Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
There would be no evolution as 1,000 years is too soon for evolution to take place. This is 30 generations. Evolution requires thirty thousand, minimum.
you don't think our evolution would speed up with technology. we're already using genetics to change farm animals and plants, imagine what we could do in a 100 years let alone a thousand.
Eugenics is not evolution. Evolution is guided by natural selection. Eugenics by selective breeding, application of technology, et cetera.
