American scientists have tried to make a portrait of a human in the distant future.
Artist and researcher Nicholas Lamm and Dr Alan Kwan, the geneticist at the University of Washington, have made portraits of our hypothetical descendants who will live in 100,000 years. In their opinion, evolution, genetic engineering and space exploration will thoroughly change human appearance.
According to the researchers, the evolution leads to the gradual increase of the brain, and thus the forehead will expand, too.
Genetic engineering, which today is becoming the norm, will also make a considerable contribution to the change in physical appearance in the future. For example, parents will be able to choose “the genetic composition” of their future children, including eye color, hair, etc.
According to the scientists, the appearance of people will largely depend on the tastes of the humankind. It is possible a person will become too symmetrical and monotonous.
But all this is nothing compared to what awaits the human when he colonizes the solar system and is out beyond it. The new environment will, in fact, turn him into “an alien.” Eyes will become huge as saucers because of the lack of sunlight. When people leave the Earth, the ozone layer will not protect them from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, the skin will become pigmented to protect people from ultraviolet radiation.
Dr. Kwan also predicts that people will have thick eyelids and more marked superciliary arches – this should help compensate for the effects of low gravity. And he also “awarded” the descendants with large nostrils, so they could breathe better in interplanetary space.
