Possible future evolutionary consequences to Homo as a result of the implementation of biotechnology

Arthur Saniotis; Francesco M. Galassi; Maciej Henneberg

doi:10.18778/1898-6773.87.1.05

Authors

Arthur Saniotis College of Medicine, Bachelor of Doctor Assistance Department, Gaborone, Botswana; The University of Adelaide, School of Biomedicine, Adelaide, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9708-6220
Francesco M. Galassi The University of Adelaide, School of Biomedicine, Adelaide, Australia; University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Anthropology, Lodz, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8902-3142
Maciej Henneberg University of Zurich, Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, Zürich, Switzerland; The University of Adelaide, School of Biomedicine, Adelaide, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1941-2286

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1898-6773.87.1.05

Abstract

Biotechnology has become one of the most powerful forces on the planet, since it is capable of altering life processes at a molecular level. Since human bodies are dynamic biological systems, medicine requires to understand the evolutionary antecedents of Homo, especially in relation to neurohormonal regulation. Furthermore, increasing human dependence on biotechnology has led to relaxed natural selection in Homo, with subsequent increase of genetic load. In this paper, we speculate on the possible consequences of the application of parsimoniously derived biotechnologies onto the biological system of humans, with special attention to three areas: 1. human brain augmentation; 2. biotechnology and public health; 3. relaxed natural selection and genetic load. Human ability to manipulate and alter the structure and function of the body may not only make natural selection redundant but will be guided by a teleology whose purpose will seek to improve upon nature’s design.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Agrawal AF, Whitlock MC. 2012. Mutation load: the fitness of individuals in populations where deleterious alleles are abundant. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 43:115–35.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110411-160257

Bateson G. 1973. Steps to an ecology of mind. St Albans, Great Britain: Paladin.
View in Google Scholar

Ballon JS, Feifel D. 2006. A systematic review of modafinil: potential clinical uses and mechanisms of action. J Clin Psychiatry 67(4):554–66. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v67n0406
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.v67n0406

Benedetti F, Aggio V, Pratesi ML, Greco G, Furlan R. 2020. Neuroinflammation in bipolar depression. Front Psychiatry 11:71. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00071
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00071

Berk M, Dodd S, Kauer-Sant AM, Malhi GS, Bourin M, et al. 2007. Dopamine dysregulation syndrome: implications for a dopamine hypothesis of bipolar disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl116:41–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01058.x
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01058.x

Bostrom N. 2003. Are you living in a computer simulation? Philos Q 2003; 53(211):243–55.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9213.00309

Borry P, Bentzen HB, Budin-Ljøsne I, Cornel MC, Howard HC, et al. 2018. The challenges of the expanded availability of genomic information: an agenda-setting paper. J Community Genet9(2):103–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-017-0331-7
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-017-0331-7

Bouton CE, Shaikhouni A, Annetta NV, Bockbrader MA, Friedenberg DA, et al. 2016. Restoring cortical control of functional movement in a human with quadriplegia. Nature 533:247–50. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17435
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17435

Bratsberg B, Rogeberg O. 2018. Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115(26):6674–78.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718793115

Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, Bielau H, Steiner J, Bernstein H, et al. 2014. The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue. Frontiers in Psychiatry 5(47):1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00110

Brown P. 1992. Recent human evolution in East Asia and Australasia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 331:23542.
View in Google Scholar

Budnik A, Liczbinska G, Gumna I. 2004. Demographic trends and biological status of historic populations from Central Poland: the Ostrów Lednicki microregion. Am J Phys Anthropol 125(4):369–81.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10272

Bundy DT, Souders L, Baranyai K, Leonard L, Schalk G, et al. 2017. Contralesional brain-computer interface control of a powered exoskeleton for motor recovery in chronic stroke survivors. Stroke 48:1908–15.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.016304

Burgess J. 1998. Occam’s razor and scientific method. In: Schirn (ed.), The Philosophy of Mathematics Today. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 195–214.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198236542.003.0008

Charlton NG. 2008. Understanding Gregory Bateson: Mind, beauty, and the sacred earth. Albany: State University of New York Press.
View in Google Scholar

Chatterjee A. 2006. The promise and predicament of cosmetic neurology. J Med Ethics 32(2):110–13.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2005.013599

Dutton E, van der Linden D, Lynn R. 2016. The negative Flynn effect: a systematic literature review. Intelligence 59:163–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2016.10.002
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2016.10.002

Ehrlich P. 2000. Human natures: genes, cultures, and the human project. Chicago: Island Press.
View in Google Scholar

Flynn JR. 2009. What is intelligence? Beyond the Flynn effect. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press.
View in Google Scholar

Giurgea C. 1972. Vers une pharmacologie de l’activité intégrative du cerveau. Tentative du concept nootrope en psychopharmacologie. Actual Pharmacol 25:115–56.
View in Google Scholar

Hasler G. 2010. Pathophysiology of depression: Do we have any solid evidence of interest to clinicians? World Psychiatry 9(3):155–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2010.tb00298.x
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2010.tb00298.x

Henneberg M. 1998. Decrease of human skull size in the Holocene. Hum Biol 60:395–405.
View in Google Scholar

Henneberg M, Steyn M. 1993. Trends in cranial capacity and cranial index in Subsaharan Africa during the Holocene. Am J Hum Biol 5:473–79.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.1310050411

Henneberg M, Steyn M. 1995. Trends in mortality and health status in South Africa over the last thousand years and their implications for the opportunity for natural selection, Homo 46:27–37.
View in Google Scholar

Jayanthi S, Gonzalez B, McCoy MT, Ladenheim B, Bisagno V, et al. 2018. Methamphetamine induces TET1- and TET3-dependent DNA hydroxymethylation of Crh and Avp genes in the rat nucleus accumbens. Mol Neurobiol. 55(6):5154–66.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-017-0750-9

Krasnova N, Justinova Z, Cadet JL. 2016. Methamphetamine addiction: involvement of CREB and neuroinflammatory signaling pathways. Psychopharmacol (Berl) 233(10):1945–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-016-4235-8
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-016-4235-8

Knable MB, Weinberger DR. 1997. Dopamine, the pre-frontal cortex and schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol 11:123–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/026988119701100205
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/026988119701100205

Kurzweil R. 2000. The age of spiritual machines: When computers exceed human intelligence. New York: Penguin Books.
View in Google Scholar

Laland JM, Seed A. 2021. Understanding human cognitive uniqueness. Annu Rev Psychol 72(1): 689–716. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-062220-051256
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-062220-051256

Lappin JM, Darke S, Farrell M. 2017. Stroke Farrell M. Stroke and methamphetamine use in young adults: a review. J Neurol Neurosurg 88:1079–91. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2017-316071
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2017-316071

Lappin JM, Sara GE. 2019. Psychostimulant use and the brain. Addiction 114(11):2065–77.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14708

Limanaqi F, Gambardella S, Biagioni F, Busceti CL, Fornai F. 2018. Epigenetic effects Induced by methamphetamine and methamphetamine-dependent oxidative stress. Oxid Med Cell Longev 22:4982453 https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4982453
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4982453

López-Figueroa AL, Norton CS, Lopez-Figueroa MO, Armellini-Dodel D, Burke S, et al. 2004. Serotonin 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B and 5-HT2A receptor mRNA expression in subjects with major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 55:225–33.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.09.017

Mellanby K. 1947. Medical experiments on human beings in concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Br Med J 1(4490):148–50. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.1.4490.148
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.1.4490.148

Pietschnig J, Voracek M. 2015. One century of global IQ gains: a formal meta-analysis of the Flynn effect (1909–2013). Perspect Psychol Sci 10:282–306.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615577701

Roelcke V. 2004. Nazi medicine and research on human beings. Lancet 364 (Suppl 1): s6–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736 (04)17619-8
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17619-8

Roser M, Ritchie H, Dadonaite B. 2013. Child and infant mortality. Our world in data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/child-mortality
View in Google Scholar

Rossiianov K. 2003. Beyond species: Il’ya Ivanov and his experiments on cross-breeding humans with anthropoid apes. Science in Context 15(2): 277–316. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0269889702000455
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0269889702000455

Ruff CB, Trinkaus E, Holliday TW. 1997. Body mass and encephalization in Pleistocene Homo. Nature 387:173–76. https://doi.org/10.1038/387173a0
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/387173a0

Sahakian B, Morein-Zamir S. 2007. Cognitive enhancement: professor’s little helper. Nature 450(7173):1157–59.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4501157a

Saniotis A. 2007a. ‘Recombinant nature’: transgenics and the emergence of hum-animals. E-LOGOS 1–20.
View in Google Scholar

Saniotis A. 2007b. Social and genomic constructions of chimera. J Futures Stud 11(3):47–60.
View in Google Scholar

Saniotis A. 2011. Analysing Gregory Bateson’s ‘ecological intelligence’: Where Bateson and Aristotle meet. Biocosmology – neo-Aristotelism 1(4):459– 66.
View in Google Scholar

Saniotis A, Henneberg M. 2011a. An evolutionary approach toward exploring altered states of consciousness, mind-body techniques, and non-local mind. World Futures 67(3): 182–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2011.555250
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2011.555250

Saniotis A, Henneberg M. 2011b. Medicine could be constructing human bodies in the future. Med Hypotheses 77(4):560–64.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2011.06.031

Saniotis A, Henneberg M. 2020. Anatomical variations and evolution: re-evaluating their Importance for surgeons. ANZ J Surg 91(5):837–40.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.16429

Saniotis A, Henneberg M, Kumaratilake J, Grantham JP. 2014. “Messing with the Mind”: evolutionary challenges to human brain augmentation. Front Syst Neurosci 8:152. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00152
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00152

Saniotis A, Henneberg M, Sawalma A-R. 2018. Integration of nanobots into neural circuits as a future therapy for treating neurodegenerative disorders. Front Neurosci 12:153. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00153
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00153

Saniotis A, Henneberg M, Mohammadi K. 2020. Genetic load and morphological changes to extant humans. J Biosoc Sci 53(4):639–42.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932020000413

Savulescu J. 2003. Human-animal transgenesis and chimeras might be an expression of our humanity. Am J Bioeth 3(3):22–25.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/15265160360706462

Shayer M, Ginsburg D, Coe R. 2007. 30 Years on–a large anti-‘Flynn effect’? The Piagetian test volume and heaviness norms 1975–2003. Br J Educ Psychol 77:25–41.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1348/000709906X96987

Sharma G, Friedenberg DA, Annetta N, Glenn B, Bockbrader M, et al. 2016. Using an artificial neural bypass to restore cortical control of rhythmic movements in a human with quadriplegia. Sci Rep 6:33807.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33807

Shih JJ, Krusienski DJ, Wolpaw JR. 2012. Brain-computer interfaces in medicine. Mayo Clin Proc 87:268279.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2011.12.008

Shugart YY, Wang Y, Samuels JF, Grados MA, Greenberg BD, Knowles JA, et al. 2009. A family-based association study of the glutamate transporter gene SLC1A1 in obsessive-compulsive disorder in 378 families. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiat Genet 150B: 886–892. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.30914
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.30914

Smith TE, Martel MM, DeSantis AD. 2017. Subjective report of side effects of prescribed and nonprescribed psychostimulant use in young adults. Subst Use Misuse 52(4):548–52.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2016.1240694

Teasdale TW, Owen DR. 2005. A long-term rise and recent decline in intelligence test performance: the Flynn effect in reverse. Personality and Individual Differences. Pers Individ Differ 39(4):837–43.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.01.029

Tobin MJ. 2022. Fiftieth anniversary of uncovering the Tuskegee syphilis study: The story and timeless lessons. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 205(10):1145–58. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202201-0136SO
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202201-0136SO

Tornay SC. 1938. Ockham: Studies and Selections. LaSalle, IL: Open Court.
View in Google Scholar

von Bertalanffy L. 1957. Allgemeine Systemtheorie. DUZ 1957;12:8–12.
View in Google Scholar

Wang Y, Adamczyk A, Shugart YY, Samuels JF, Grados MA, Greenberg BD, et al. 2010. A screen of SLC1A1 for OCD-related alleles. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiat Genet 153: 675–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.31001
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.31001

Wojtalik JA, Hogarty SS, Cornelius JR, Phillips ML, Keshavan MS, et al. 2016. Cognitive enhancement therapy improves frontolimbic regulation of emotion in alcohol and/or cannabis misusing schizophrenia: a preliminary study. Front Psychiatry 6:186.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00186

You W, Henneberg M. 2016. Type 1 diabetes prevalence increasing globally and regionally: the role of natural selection and life expectancy at birth. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care 4(1):e000161.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2015-000161

You W, Henneberg M. 2017. Cancer incidence increasing globally: the role of relaxed natural selection. Evol App 11(2):140–52.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12523

Zhejiang J. 2019. Experiments that led to the first gene-edited babies: the ethical failings and the urgent need for better governance. Univ Sci B 20(1):32–38.
View in Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1800624