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Originally posted by Luthien
radiation, temperature/climate changes and mutation. need i say more?
humans are always evolving. glitches in the dna code create various differences.. less visible now because there's more people now with different dna structures.. plus we dont marry our cousins anymore. but for example.. in the last few hundred years humans have grown almost a foot in height, and it is becoming more and more common that people are born without an appendix or wisdom teeth.
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Humans are always evolving, but at a very slow pace now that we have huge control over our environment.
The growth of humans is little do to with evolution but has alot to do with optimisation of our genes by eating better food, better healthcare and sanitation and generally more healthy lifestyles.
For example, a man who lived 300 years ago may well have genes which coded for growth to 6' but because his diet was poor and he lived in an unsanitary environment he may have only reached the height of 5'8''.
Future factors governing the direction that human evolution will take will be such things as the possession of the religious gene. Those with it are less likely to procreate than those without it. This is being demonstrated in Iraq right now where those with the religious gene are being killed by Allied troops whilst those without it (who just want to live a peaceful life rather than trying to create an Islamic dictatorship) are generally surviving.