A 300,000-Year History of Human Evolution - Robin May

Video Description

00:00 // Introduction: The Blink of an Eye in Evolution 02:00 // The Foundations of Human Evolution 05:30 // Evolution and Reproduction: The Key Drivers 10:45 // The Role of Offspring in Evolutionary Success 14:20 // Infectious Diseases and Their Impact on Human Evolution 18:50 // The Evolution of Homo Sapiens and Early Migration 24:15 // Interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans 30:00 // How Ancient DNA Shaped Modern Humans 35:45 // Neanderthal DNA: The Good, the Bad, and the Useful 40:30 // The Evolutionary Advantage of Immune System Genes 46:15 // Agriculture and Its Profound Impact on Human Evolution 52:30 // The Rise of Cities and New Evolutionary Pressures 57:45 // Lactose Tolerance: A Modern Evolutionary Trait The species we recognise as our own - anatomically modern humans - has existed for only 300,000 years, a blink of an eye in evolutionary terms. And yet during that time our species has been shaped by strong evolutionary forces, often unwittingly as an indirect result of human activities. In this lecture, we’ll find out how disease outbreaks, the rise of civilisation and even the invention of agriculture have left their traces in our DNA. This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 7th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic. He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/human-evolution Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege