Data from: What have humans done for evolutionary biology? Contributions from genes to populations

Many fundamental concepts in evolutionary biology were discovered using non-human study systems. Humans are poorly suited to key study designs used to advance this field, and are subject to cultural, technological, and medical influences often considered to restrict the pertinence of human studies to other species and general contexts. Whether studies using current and recent human populations provide insights that have broader biological relevance in evolutionary biology is, therefore, frequently questioned. We first surveyed researchers in evolutionary biology and related fields on their opinions regarding whether studies on contemporary humans can advance evolutionary biology. Almost all 442 participants agreed that humans still evolve, but fewer agreed that this occurs through natural selection. Most agreed that human studies made valuable contributions to evolutionary biology, although those less exposed to human studies expressed more negative views. With a series of examples, we discuss strengths and limitations of evolutionary studies on contemporary humans. These show that human studies provide fundamental insights into evolutionary processes, improve understanding of the biology of many other species, and will make valuable contributions to evolutionary biology in the future.进化生物学（evolutionary biology）的诸多核心概念，均依托非人类研究体系得以发现。人类并不适配该领域发展所需的核心研究设计，且易受文化、技术与医学因素影响——这些因素常被认为会限制人类研究对其他物种及一般研究场景的适用性。因此，利用当代及近期人群开展的研究能否为进化生物学提供具有更广泛生物学相关性的见解，时常受到学界质疑。我们首先针对进化生物学及相关领域的研究者开展调研，征询其对当代人类研究能否推动进化生物学发展的看法。在442名受访者中，几乎所有人均认可人类仍在演化，但认可演化通过自然选择（natural selection）发生的受访者占比更低。多数受访者认可人类研究对进化生物学具有重要价值，不过那些较少接触人类研究的研究者持更负面的态度。我们结合一系列实例，探讨了当代人类演化研究的优势与局限。这些案例表明，人类研究可为演化过程提供基础性见解，增进学界对诸多其他物种生物学特征的理解，并将在未来为进化生物学作出重要贡献。