7 Ways Humans Might Evolve In The Future

6. Hairlessness

Humans have already lost most of their body hair for one reason or another. Theories as to why we shed our fur vary. Some think that it has something to do with staying cool whilst out on the African plains, allowing us to sweat and lose heat quickly whilst running long distances. A slightly more disturbing theory is that humans went through a semi-aquatic phase, pointing to the slight webbing on our hands and feet as further evidence.

This is not quite so crazy as it sounds, as many of the other "hairless" mammals such as whales and walruses (of course, mammals are never actually hairless), tend to live in the water. Some think that it was a way of freeing us from parasites such as lice. This could be the key to why modern humans consider hairlessness to be more attractive. If hairlessness was an indicator that you were less likely to pick up parasites from a person, and therefore made you more likely to have sex with them, and so evolution would favour the hairless genes.

We still seem to find and almost creepy level of hairlessness more attractive, mostly in women, but increasingly in men too. If sexual selection continues to favour the smooth-skinned amongst us, then we could all be bald as a coot from the neck down in future.