Humans Are Still Evolving

A survey of the human genetic code has shown that our resistance to malaria, diabetes and other diseases is changing in response to our environment.

We already know that in the past, people developed lighter skins when living in parts of the world with less sunlight.

We now also know that several traits are sometimes linked to a single gene. For instance, when people in the Far East evolved a different version of the EDAR gene to sweat differently, the same gene gave them much denser hair and changed their teeth too; the effect has been called "hitchhiking".

Genes that protect against disease are also evolving. The CR1 gene helps cut the severity of malaria attacks and is now present in 8 out of 10 Africans, but is absent elsewhere.

Several genes, such as ENPP1, are involved in the regulation of insulin and in metabolic syndrome (a combination of diabetes and obesity). These genes are present in 9 out of 10 non-Africans but fewer in Africans (suggesting they have not yet adapted to an American lifestyle), which might explain why African Americans are especially at risk of obesity and high blood pressure.

Source: Roger Highfield: Humans are evolving to resist disease. The Telegraph 5 Feb. 2008

Tax Avoidance

All types of people try to avoid paying tax or to pay less tax, but the public judges them differently.

• The British public assume around one third of taxpayers have exploited a tax loophole.
• Just under half (48%) thought tax avoidance was "usually or always wrong".
• But more than 60% believe it is "usually or always wrong" for poorer people to use legal loopholes to obtain more benefits.

So people are far more concerned by the idea of low-income groups exploiting the system than about high-income groups doing the same. This discrepancy is reflected in government priorities - speedy changes to welfare legislation and little done to address widespread tax avoidance by the wealthy.

Why? People are bad at dealing with numbers in the millions and billions. Simply listing the vast sums of money going offshore that could be spent on public services in the UK means little emotionally to people.

We need to link the numbers to their consequences.

• The money lost because someone does not pay tax on their private jet means thousands more visits to food banks.
• Fewer people might have killed themselves after a work-capability assessment if big companies had not registered their offices in offshore tax havens, and the pressure to reduce benefits payments was not so intense.

Source: Robert de Vries and Aaron Reeves: Why do people care more about benefit 'scroungers' than billions lost to the rich? in The Guardian, 15 Nov. 2017

Perception Versus Fact

People's perception of facts is often wrong. News media focus on the bad news, with the result that we think things are worse than they really are. And if we allow the gloom to bring us down, it can affect our health. Remember that 5 positive, encouraging remarks are needed to offset the negative impact of just one piece of bad news.

In the UK

Murder: people think that the murder rate is getting higher or staying the same - wrong. In reality the murder rate is plunging and dropped by almost a third since 2000.

Terrorism: we think deaths from terrorism has got worse in the last 15 years - wrong. In fact they are significantly lower, down from over 300 to just 62.

Prisoners: people guess that 34% of prisoners are foreign born - wrong. The actual figure is 11.8% (much the same as the proportion of the overall population.)

Teenage pregnancy: people guess that 20% (or 1 in 5) babies are born to teenage mums - wrong. The real teenage pregnancy rate is 1.4% (just 1 in 70).

Diabetes: people think that about a quarter (25%) of British adults have diabetes - wrong. In fact the actual number is just 5% (5 in 100).

Vaccines: more than half of Britons are unsure or believe there is a link between vaccines and autism - wrong. The claim is widely discredited but only 45% of people know that it is false.

Health: people guess that only just over half of us are in good health - wrong. Actually the majority (75%) of Britons say their health is good or very good.

Technology: we estimate Facebook membership guessing that 74% of Britons aged 13+ have a Facebook account - wrong. In fact 58% are members.

Source: IPSO MORI Perils of Perception 2017 report