09-16-2015, 11:20 PM
(09-16-2015, 09:14 PM)Johnny Cupcakes Wrote: You're right though...the fact that we are evolving toward cancer instead of away from it seems at odds with natural selection. I don't have a counter thought to this right now, but I'll definitely think about it, research it, and try to explain it to myself. If I come up with something, I'll post about it.
I have a counter.
Humans are changing the selection pressure for which we have evolved. Not only are we changing the composition of the atmosphere....which acts to filter and scatter some of that radiation....but we are also staying inside more, reducing the amount of melanin in our skin which also helps shield us from UV damage. And there are still a large majority of humans who dont have skin cancer. That's natural selection in action....as conditions change, the natural genetic variation within a population of organisms means some are pretty much guaranteed to have some resistance to what conditions have changed. The population adapts as those organisms become the majority. 99% of a population could be wiped out, but the 1% that survives is the new majority and is better adapted to the new conditions.