Overview

• The peer-reviewed study by University of Maine researchers Timothy M. Waring and Zachary T. Wood in BioScience contends that cultural inheritance now dominates human adaptation.
• The authors say cultural solutions often preempt genetic selection, citing eyeglasses, surgery, cesarean deliveries and fertility treatments as examples.
• They frame the shift as a possible major evolutionary transition toward greater group dependence, with societies acting as units of adaptation rather than isolated individuals.
• The team describes a research program to test the idea, including mathematical and computer models plus a forthcoming long-term data collection effort.
• The paper cautions that cultural dominance does not equate to moral progress or superiority of wealthier or more technological societies.