Category: Evolution

We celebrate Charles Darwin for his incredible contributions to science and also the practical ways in which his evolution theory improves life today. Evolution theory has been used in various ways. Below are some of the reasons why evolution is important.

Emerging Diseases

The outbreak of diseases such as the swine flu reminds us of how vulnerable we are to emerging diseases. The abrupt appearance of diseases like swine flu emphasizes the fact that viruses evolve hence producing new and potentially pandemic-causing contagions. In today’s highly mobile world, new viruses can jump continents in a matter of hours via planes. Rapid evolution combined with rapid travel implies that emerging diseases threaten human health. Understanding how the diseases evolve is therefore vital like never before.

HIV

One of the reasons why no vaccine against HIV has been found is that it is one of the fastest evolving entities known to science. Its rapid adaptability implies that the key to defeating it may lie in better understanding of how the viruses evolve. Evolution helps in understanding the origin of HIV.

The technique of applying drug cocktails to people infected with HIV has proven remarkably successful. The evolutionary idea with these drugs is that since HIV evolves so quickly, a single drug will leave some surviving viruses. A multi-drug approach, therefore, has better results. Besides, periodically switching the cocktail’s components helps in eliminating viruses that have evolved resistance. All these techniques are based on scientific understanding of evolution.

Vaccines

Apart from clean drinking …