Taking Control of Our Evolution

This revision is from 2026/02/10 12:36. You can Restore it.

By interbreeding the longest lived people, eventually there would be a human with a lifespan of 250 or more years. Quite possible yet unlikely anyone operates such a program. We cannot really take control of our own evolution, it's too hard.

The eugenics of the past focussed on forced sterilization, this is not what we are discussing here. We are discussing getting more out of willing candidates and not involving the rest.

Humans have been altering fruits, vegetables, seeds, animals for thousands of years. Yield increases of >1,000-fold in edible biomass of corn, wheat by getting the best candidates and germinating those with ideal traits. Chickens have undergone hyper-accelerated growth from 16 weeks in the 1950's to 6 weeks today. Cattle have undergone double muscling and increased weight and increased milk production, 10,000 kg milk/lactation vs 2,000 kg in 1950s ancestors. Dogs, all derived from gray wolf have undergone extreme morphological changes living for 5 years to 15 years depending on breed.

Species Shortest-lived breed/type Longest-lived breed/type Fold difference
Dogs French Bulldog (4.5 yrs) Lancashire Heeler (15.4 yrs) ~3.4×
Cats Sphynx (<7 yrs) Burmese/Birman (~14.4 yrs) ~2×
Horses Large drafts (~20 yrs) Ponies (35–40+ yrs) ~1.75–2×
Rabbits Giants (5–8 yrs) Small breeds (8–12 yrs) ~1.5–2×

Essentially its how humans were built in the first place and taking more control of human evolution means selecting for traits.

  

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