Modern humans  is still evolving. Although many believe that natural selection has stopped, now that almost every person alive long enough to have children, a new study from Massachusetts on population prove that evolution is still ongoing.

A team led by evolutionary biologist at Yale University, Stephen Stearns, found that natural selection is no longer driven survival skills, but depends on the difference in female fertility. “Variation of reproductive success are still there between us so that some properties associated with fertility continue to be formed by natural selection,” said Stearns. That is, women with more children would be easier to reduce certain traits in offspring.

Tim Stearns 2238 statistical review of post-menopausal women who participated in Framingheart Heart Study, which recorded the medical history of 14,000 people in Framingham since 1948. The researchers find connection between the physical characteristics of women-including height, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and the number of their descendants.

They found that obese women (not obese) tend to have many children. “Women with a little fat, not ovulating,” says Stearns. The same occurs in women with blood pressure and cholesterol levels low.

Using sophisticated statistical analysis that included social factors and culture that can affect birth rates, the researchers found that these characteristics are derived from mother to daughter and granddaughter.

If these trends continue without change until the next generation 10, the average woman in 2409 Framingham will be shorter than 2 cm, 1 kg more weight, have a healthier heart, having the first child 5 months earlier, and entered menopause 10 months more slowly than women now.

“The changes that we foresee in 2409 could be erased by simple things, like, say, a lunch program at school. However, whatever happens, the year 2409, the Framingham women tend to be shorter than 2 cm and 1 kg heavier than those who do not experience natural selection. “Evolution is a slow process. We do not see it on our grandparents, but the selection there. ”

Meanwhile, Steve Jones, evolutionary biologist at University College London, who once said that human evolution near the end, consider the Framingham study is an important example of how natural selection is still going through different reproduction capabilities. However, Jones considers that the variation of female fertility as measured in the Framingham study is less important in influencing the evolution of man, than male fertility variation. According to him, the sperm has more possibilities than ovarian mutations, especially among older men.

“When the formerly prevalent if a man has many children in old age than a few wives, men tend to now have only one wife and few children at a young age. Decreasing the number of evening-old father has an effect on mutation rate and reduce the appearance of new diversity. In fact, this is which became the main material of evolution, “said Jones. “But (even though the evolution of matter less and less) machines Darwinian evolution does not stop. He just became very slow.”