Are we Devolving as Humankind?

We are tech savvy, but is the march towards a technological utopia being undermined by a biological dystopia?

Every generation there are 100 to 200 mutations that we accumulate in our genome. Many of these don’t affect us, but like rust on a car that starts out in one little spot over years and generations, it becomes a larger problem.

But athletes are getting faster, records are still being broken at the olympics I hear you protest, and so my story of genetic decline is not really holding up.

Let’s think about that, it’s true there are records being broken, but I believe this is because the equipment, technology and nutrition is far superior to the past, coupled with the rise of the professional athlete, fully dedicated to his or her event. In the past, people played and took part in sports on a part-time basis.

Footwear and training techniques were not as advanced, even the tracks on which they run were far slower than the current tracks. Lighter weight and stronger equipment for cycling, etc. There are many variables at play.

Now let me throw this into the mix. The increased incidence of chronic diseases and genetic disorders. I am talking about autoimmune disorders and diseases. I am talking about Alzheimers and incidences of cancer, heart disease.

Yes, I hear you that many of these occur because of lifestyle, but many of them also occur because of a predisposition to the chronic condition, like that analogy of rust on a car. It starts out in one generation as a tiny spot, but by the 20th generation, if there are mutational loads that are clustered that predispose the offspring to the disease, it becomes hard wired into the genetic makeup.

I cannot do this point more justice than quoting the NIH’s MEDLINE plus article I have linked below.

‘Current research is focused on identifying genetic changes that have a small effect on disease risk but are common in the general population. Although each of these variations only slightly increases a person’s risk, having changes in several different genes may combine to increase disease risk significantly. Changes in many genes, each with a small effect, may underlie susceptibility to many common diseases, including cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and mental illness.’

What does it mean to have a genetic predisposition to a disease?: MedlinePlus Genetics

A genetic predisposition (sometimes also called genetic susceptibility) is an increased likelihood of developing a…

medlineplus.gov

But all is not lost. Some studies show that even when certain mutations are present in a genome, that increase our chances of getting a disease, there are regulatory factors within our genome that can assist in stopping disease.

Outside of the genetic code, is an epigenetic code, amongst other sugar and enzyme codes that regulate gene expression and gene suppression. It is in the epigenetics where the complexity lies (as if genetic codes aren’t complex enough).

My point remains, though, the trajectory of the human genome seems to be toward mutation accumulation and an increase in disease with each generation. It’s not wonderful to think that your genome has 400 or so more mutations than your grandads.

What is more concerning is that the brain seems to be a mutational target. I quote from the article linked below.

‘The long-term consequence of such effects is an expected genetic deterioration in the baseline human condition, potentially measurable on the timescale of a few generations in westernized societies, and because the brain is a particularly large mutational target, this is of particular concern.’

Judging by the current state of the world, I silently contemplate if the outworking of brain mutations is already running rampant throughout humankind…