Could man re-evolve?

[The Hammer]

The bird that came back from the dead

Read this article about iterative evolution of a flightless rail, and it got me wondering if humanity could re-evolve, if we ever wipe ourselves extinct? Thoughts?

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Edit: If this isn't a good place for this post mods please move.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The bird that came back from the dead

Read this article about iterative evolution of a flightless rail, and it got me wondering if humanity could re-evolve, if we ever wipe ourselves extinct? Thoughts?

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Edit: If this isn't a good place for this post mods please move.

It depends. It would be interesting to see a return of Neanderthal or Hobbits. Maybe there's an isolated place still around.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

The bird that came back from the dead

Read this article about iterative evolution of a flightless rail, and it got me wondering if humanity could re-evolve, if we ever wipe ourselves extinct? Thoughts?

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Edit: If this isn't a good place for this post mods please move.

Only way our DNA could change and evolve is if we lived in a different environment, like Mars or some other exoplanet or earth-like planet.

 

[The Hammer]

Only way our DNA could change and evolve is if we lived in a different environment, like Mars or some other exoplanet or earth-like planet.

But if we were wiped out of existence, like this particular species of flightless Rail, could humans re-evolve from the remaining ape-like species?

Our environment is changing, fast, and we may not last it.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

But if we were wiped out of existence, like this particular species of flightless Rail, could humans re-evolve from the remaining ape-like species?

Our environment is changing, fast, and we may not last it.

I see what you mean. Hmm well, i would doubt it considering the ancestor of the homo sapien and ape does not exist anymore.

 

[gnostic]

The bird that came back from the dead

Read this article about iterative evolution of a flightless rail, and it got me wondering if humanity could re-evolve, if we ever wipe ourselves extinct? Thoughts?

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Edit: If this isn't a good place for this post mods please move.

Your questions revolve the realm of probability.

The probability of re-evolving gets or de-evolving back to earlier, more primitive stage of man, is yes...BUT it is very tiny probability, and it really depends on many different factors that could affect the reversal changes.

I am no expert in biology, but I think the changes would be more likely be social and cultural changes than that of biological evolutionary changes.

 

[David T]

The bird that came back from the dead

Read this article about iterative evolution of a flightless rail, and it got me wondering if humanity could re-evolve, if we ever wipe ourselves extinct? Thoughts?

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Edit: If this isn't a good place for this post mods please move.

Do you mean characteristics or specifically homo sapien?

My guess is characteristics are very possible and if we cause our own extinction my best guess how we might appear is this.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Probably not as we're the only hominid species extent. There's no other bipedal apes.

 

[Willamena]

Man hasn't stopped evolving. We are not the same people we were a hundred years ago.

 

[The Hammer]

Do you mean characteristics or specifically homo sapien?

I mean did you read the article I posted? This bird came back from extinction, it's species. Could humanity do the same post extinction?

 

[The Hammer]

Man hasn't stopped evolving. We are not the same people we were a hundred years ago.

Not what I asked. If we go extinct, can homo-sapiens re-evolve?

 

[The Hammer]

Probably not as we're the only hominid species extent. There's no other bipedal apes.

But is there a close enough relative to us? Something else that ties us to the ape chain? Or is that the fabled "missing link"

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

But is there a close enough relative to us? Something else that ties us to the ape chain? Or is that the fabled "missing link"

The missing link doesn't exist. Our closest relatives are chimps (bonobos and chimpanzees). Our common ancestor to them is extinct. All the other hominids went extinct, like Neanderthals, although obviously we mated with different hominids to an extent. We are not descended from chimps, although we're closely related, so their evolutionary course would result in something different from us.

 

[Ellen Brown]

The bird that came back from the dead

Read this article about iterative evolution of a flightless rail, and it got me wondering if humanity could re-evolve, if we ever wipe ourselves extinct? Thoughts?

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Edit: If this isn't a good place for this post mods please move.

Our own extinction would prove we were a dead end Evolutionary path. What would be the point of doing it again?

 

[Willamena]

But is there a close enough relative to us? Something else that ties us to the ape chain? Or is that the fabled "missing link"

We are of the ape chain.

Yes, if we were wiped out, 'we' could arise again. They just wouldn't be us.

 

[The Hammer]

Our own extinction would prove we were a dead end Evolutionary path. What would be the point of doing it again?

Ask iterative evolution and that weird Rail from the article?

"New research has shown that the last surviving flightless species of bird, a type of rail, in the Indian Ocean had previously gone extinct but rose from the dead thanks to a rare process called 'iterative evolution'."

 

[The Hammer]

We are of the ape chain.

Yes, if we were wiped out, 'we' could arise again. They just wouldn't be us.

Certainly wouldn't be me. But why couldn't it be Us? If this bird came back after 146,000 years of extinction, what is preventing us?

 

[The Hammer]

The missing link doesn't exist. Our closest relatives are chimps (bonobos and chimpanzees). Our common ancestor to them is extinct. All the other hominids went extinct, like Neanderthals, although obviously we mated with different hominids to an extent. We are not descended from chimps, although we're closely related, so their evolutionary course would result in something different from us.

That makes sense, and what I figured. The article just got me curious about the possibility for it to happen to "humanity". But that phrasing opens up a separate philosophical can of worms.

 

[Willamena]

Certainly wouldn't be me. But why couldn't it be Us? If this bird came back after 146,000 years of extinction, what is preventing us?

Who is to say that this bird matches the one 146,000 years ago?

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

I personally don't think we could, because the exact set of evolutionary forces that brought us into existence aren't here any longer, whatever those forces we're.

Even if those forces were still present, it would still be unlikely.
That path towards homo sapiens started with a primate some 8 million years ago (common ancestor with chimps) that branched of.

8 million years of accumulation of random genetic changes filtered by natural selection, isn't something that would just reproduce itself...

Perhaps something "human-ish" might turn up, but it definatly wouldn't be a homo sapiens.


Let's be clear here.
Suppose you have a "reset button" that will wind back time on earth 8 million years, right before our evolutionary lineage branched off of the primate common ancestor with chimps.

It is extremely unlikely that homo sapiens (or chimps or any other species that didn't yet exist then, for that matter) would re-evolve.

We might(!) again see traits like human-ish intelligence resurface, maybe.
But the exact species Homo Sapiens, Neanderthalis, chimps, bonobo's, etc?

Very very unlikely.