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Humans did not evolve from either of the living species of chimpanzees (common chimpanzees and bonobos) or any other living species of apes. [173] Humans and chimpanzees did, however, evolve from a common ancestor. [174] [175] This most recent common ancestor of living humans and chimpanzees would have lived between 5 and 8 million years ago. [176]
A global catastrophic risk or a doomsday scenario is a hypothetical event that could damage human well-being on a global scale, [2] even endangering or destroying modern civilization. [3] An event that could cause human extinction or permanently and drastically curtail humanity's existence or potential is known as an " existential risk ".
The report warned that the pollution crisis was exceeding "the envelope on the amount of pollution the Earth can carry" and "threatens the continuing survival of human societies". [34] Carl Sagan and others have raised the prospect of extreme runaway global warming turning Earth into an uninhabitable Venus-like planet.
The human ear cannot hear phase distortion, except that it may affect the stereo imaging. In most fields, distortion is characterized as unwanted change to a signal. Distortion in music is often intentionally used as an effect when applied to an electric guitar signal in styles of rock music such as heavy metal and punk rock .
Studies have been performed on the use of shortwave radiation for cancer therapy and promoting wound healing, with some success. However, at a sufficiently high energy level, shortwave energy can be harmful to human health, potentially causing damage to biological tissues, for example by overheating or inducing electrical currents. [28]
Human biologists could possibly learn about extraterrestrial biochemistry and observe how it differs from that found on Earth. [119] This knowledge could help human civilization to learn which aspects of life are common throughout the universe and which are possibly specific to Earth. [119]
Planetary boundaries are a framework to describe limits to the impacts of human activities on the Earth system. Beyond these limits, the environment may not be able to self-regulate anymore. This would mean the Earth system would leave the period of stability of the Holocene, in which human society developed.
Earth has been subject to extensive human settlement, and humans have developed diverse societies and cultures. Most of Earth's land has been territorially claimed since the 19th century by sovereign states (countries) separated by political borders , and 205 such states exist today, [ 261 ] with only parts of Antarctica and a few small regions ...