All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Modern man continues to evolve, study shows
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
A study conducted by scientists from the University of Quebec in Montreal (Canada) has shown the obvious influence of natural selection on the human community over the past 140 years.
There is a theory that modern humans continue to evolve. But it is very difficult to prove. Therefore, until now, scientists have limited themselves to indirect signs, assessing the anatomical and genetic changes that have occurred with humans over the past 5-10 thousand years.
However, scientists managed to obtain direct evidence of the pressure of natural selection on humans. The object of the study was a community on the island of St. Laurentius, near Quebec, that had been closed for 200 years. The basis of this community was 30 families who moved here in the 18th century.
The researchers analyzed data from local church documents that related to the timing of marriage and childbearing in women from 1799 to 1940. The results of the analysis showed that over 140 years, women began to give birth to their first child 4 years earlier. The authors of the study claim that the reason for such changes lies in genetic factors, since natural selection is aimed at reducing the age of first childbearing. The earlier a woman gave birth, the more children she could bear in the future and the more and more widely their genes were represented in subsequent generations.
[