Steve Jones – "human evolution is over"

Quoted from the Times Online on an interview with leading geneticist Professor Steve Jones, of University College London:

“Small populations which are isolated can evolve at random as genes are accidentally lost. World-wide, all populations are becoming connected and the opportunity for random change is dwindling. History is made in bed, but nowadays the beds are getting closer together. We are mixing into a global mass, and the future is brown.”

I wonder how long it will take before the world turns brown? Already, rebuttals are in.

From Gene Expression:

First, we’re nowhere close to panmixia. Second, there is going to be a large variance around the expectation. Even if you remove new mutations, there are a lot of variants out there for selection to pick up from the extant genetic background I would think. The future will not be brown for the same reason that people in an English village do not all have the same hair color despite there being a lot of intermarriage.

From Secondhand Smoke, who believe humans are the exceptional species:

The whole concern about stopping evolution is simply ridiculous. First, there is no way to ever prove or disprove it–at least not in our lifetimes or indeed, those of our great grandchildren. Second, if true, why is it bad? Species like the horseshoe crab that stop evolving do so because they are so successful. Third, what can we do about it even if it is bad?