Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens?
Echoing scientific and industrial progress, the Twentieth century was an unprecedented period of improvement for human capabilities and performances, with a significant increase in lifespan, adult height, and maximal physiological performance. Analyses of historical data show a major slow down occur...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2017-10-01
|
Series: | Frontiers in Physiology |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2017.00812/full |
id |
doaj-b5792bf41cf940c9bf84ac5f08237f97 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-b5792bf41cf940c9bf84ac5f08237f972020-11-24T22:36:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2017-10-01810.3389/fphys.2017.00812288679Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens?Adrien Marck0Adrien Marck1Juliana Antero2Geoffroy Berthelot3Geoffroy Berthelot4Geoffroy Berthelot5Guillaume Saulière6Jean-Marc Jancovici7Valérie Masson-Delmotte8Gilles Boeuf9Michael Spedding10Éric Le Bourg11Jean-François Toussaint12Jean-François Toussaint13Jean-François Toussaint14Institut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, FranceLaboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057 Université Paris Diderot, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, FranceInstitut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, FranceInstitut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, FranceGroup Adaptation and Prospective, High Council of Public Health, Paris, FranceResearch Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Studies, Paris, FranceInstitut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, FranceCarbone 4, Paris, FranceLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et l'Environnement, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceMuséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, FranceIUPHAR and Spedding Research Solutions SAS, Le Vésinet, FranceCentre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, FranceInstitut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, FranceGroup Adaptation and Prospective, High Council of Public Health, Paris, France0Centre d'Investigations en Médecine du Sport (CIMS), Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, FranceEchoing scientific and industrial progress, the Twentieth century was an unprecedented period of improvement for human capabilities and performances, with a significant increase in lifespan, adult height, and maximal physiological performance. Analyses of historical data show a major slow down occurring in the most recent years. This triggered large and passionate debates in the academic scene within multiple disciplines; as such an observation could be interpreted as our upper biological limits. Such a new phase of human history may be related to structural and functional limits determined by long term evolutionary constraints, and the interaction between complex systems and their environment. In this interdisciplinary approach, we call into question the validity of subsequent forecasts and projections through innovative and related biomarkers such as sport, lifespan, and height indicators. We set a theoretical framework based on biological and environmental relevance rather than using a typical single-variable forecasting approach. As demonstrated within the article, these new views will have major social, economical, and political implications.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2017.00812/fullanthropocenehuman upper limitsperformancelongevitylife spanbiometry |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Adrien Marck Adrien Marck Juliana Antero Geoffroy Berthelot Geoffroy Berthelot Geoffroy Berthelot Guillaume Saulière Jean-Marc Jancovici Valérie Masson-Delmotte Gilles Boeuf Michael Spedding Éric Le Bourg Jean-François Toussaint Jean-François Toussaint Jean-François Toussaint |
spellingShingle |
Adrien Marck Adrien Marck Juliana Antero Geoffroy Berthelot Geoffroy Berthelot Geoffroy Berthelot Guillaume Saulière Jean-Marc Jancovici Valérie Masson-Delmotte Gilles Boeuf Michael Spedding Éric Le Bourg Jean-François Toussaint Jean-François Toussaint Jean-François Toussaint Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? Frontiers in Physiology anthropocene human upper limits performance longevity life span biometry |
author_facet |
Adrien Marck Adrien Marck Juliana Antero Geoffroy Berthelot Geoffroy Berthelot Geoffroy Berthelot Guillaume Saulière Jean-Marc Jancovici Valérie Masson-Delmotte Gilles Boeuf Michael Spedding Éric Le Bourg Jean-François Toussaint Jean-François Toussaint Jean-François Toussaint |
author_sort |
Adrien Marck |
title |
Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? |
title_short |
Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? |
title_full |
Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? |
title_fullStr |
Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? |
title_sort |
are we reaching the limits of homo sapiens? |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Physiology |
issn |
1664-042X |
publishDate |
2017-10-01 |
description |
Echoing scientific and industrial progress, the Twentieth century was an unprecedented period of improvement for human capabilities and performances, with a significant increase in lifespan, adult height, and maximal physiological performance. Analyses of historical data show a major slow down occurring in the most recent years. This triggered large and passionate debates in the academic scene within multiple disciplines; as such an observation could be interpreted as our upper biological limits. Such a new phase of human history may be related to structural and functional limits determined by long term evolutionary constraints, and the interaction between complex systems and their environment. In this interdisciplinary approach, we call into question the validity of subsequent forecasts and projections through innovative and related biomarkers such as sport, lifespan, and height indicators. We set a theoretical framework based on biological and environmental relevance rather than using a typical single-variable forecasting approach. As demonstrated within the article, these new views will have major social, economical, and political implications. |
topic |
anthropocene human upper limits performance longevity life span biometry |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2017.00812/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT adrienmarck arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT adrienmarck arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT julianaantero arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT geoffroyberthelot arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT geoffroyberthelot arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT geoffroyberthelot arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT guillaumesauliere arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT jeanmarcjancovici arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT valeriemassondelmotte arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT gillesboeuf arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT michaelspedding arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT ericlebourg arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT jeanfrancoistoussaint arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT jeanfrancoistoussaint arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens AT jeanfrancoistoussaint arewereachingthelimitsofhomosapiens |
_version_ |
1725719169313275904 |