Looked at from this point of view, the concept of the survival of the fittest could be used to justify socialism rather than laissez-faire capitalism. While the human gene pool is paltry overall, our immune system genes retain the most functional variation. The immune system: can you improve your immune age?

It hasn’t surpassed malaria’s yearly 400,000 yet, nor AIDS’ yearly 770,000, but it’s on track to do so. Germs have shaped our evolution and made us who we are. But to complete its task, natural selection needs to act when your future still potentially involves parenthood. The story of our species, in fact the story of multicellular life on Earth, has been first and foremost one of battle against infectious disease. A beautifully written tribute. But still, there’s a reasonable chance that this won’t even be the worst pandemic of your lifetime. In any case, what happens in nature does not justify people behaving in the same way. Aron Ralston became famous when he escaped certain death by cutting off his arm after becoming trapped by a boulder in… Most people are willingly taking on huge inconveniences just to block a disease that isn’t even a major risk to them personally. Even if COVID-19 itself hasn’t been a selective agent, mutations that previously thwarted other microbes may be useful again. Nature doesn’t have to call all of the shots anymore. And finally, evolution already has, almost certainly, provided us with adaptive genetic diversity to resist COVID-19. In a cold region, only those with thick, downy plumage survive and reproduce.

Is killing your brother or sister fine because nestlings of many bird species do it? Grief over the loss of loved ones. However, there’s no reason to think that Chinese culture or cuisine is particularly germy or prone to these transmissions. Given the looming bloodbath, you might suppose that this is another epic round of natural selection, like the Black Death was. It turns out that it’s not so easy to be a human virus. Privacy Policy and For another thing, we don’t actually want natural selection to be making gross adjustments to our genomes. A perfect viral niche. Again, we don’t have many treatments for this particular disease, but new developments are underway. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. potentially anyone at this point) and washing your hands frequently, especially after touching surfaces that others regularly touch. It remains to be seen if this resistance is innate, or if some can’t even transmit the virus. Some people think that insects have evolved resistance to DDT and other poisons, and that this somehow proves that everything evolved.

My grandma was a fearless pilot and world traveler, a puzzle-hungry gamer, a master in the kitchen, and a loving matriarch to twenty-five descendants so far. My condolences to you and your family. Read all the myths in our Evolution Special, It is bad science to say covid-19 infections will create herd immunity, Microwaving plastic waste can generate clean hydrogen, We’ve built a fourth dimension of space and we’re about to look inside, Bacteria were the real killers in 1918 flu pandemic, Every 50 cigarettes smoked cause one DNA mutation per lung cell, Covid-19 news: Wales to enter a 17-day national lockdown from Friday, Plastic baby bottles shed millions of microplastics when shaken, Facebook AI can translate directly between any of 100 languages. The path to victory is simply to test extensively for infection, open and close institutions strategically based on those results, and continue to work toward vaccines and medical therapies. But the larger lesson from the past couple of months is that we are mostly a species of heroes. Such notions still have a powerful grip in some circles. So yes, we are witnessing survival of the fittest in real time. But really, this is a lucky scenario. If the next outbreak is actually a real nightmare, the kind that kills kids, how will we respond? ( Log Out /  Survival of the fittest is not evolution. This war is ours to win. Kids are almost universally immune, while teens and young adults are nearly so. Is paedophilia fine because bonobo adults have sex with juveniles?

And when we fail to take sensible precautions and people die, those battles are our losses. That’s good news. We shed tears alone in empty rooms. Our second-best defense against viruses is vaccination. Science with Sam, Don’t Miss: The Wonder Book of Geometry is full of pretty surprises.

This specific coronavirus causes a disease called COVID-19 which can feature severe symptoms including fatal lung failure. I am sorry about your grandmother’s death. Cooperation is an incredibly successful survival strategy. Just like my grandma, many of us will sacrifice our time and sweat with minimal complaint to provide the best possible life for those around us.

Until we know more about this virus and have more tools to fight it, we all need to close our doors and stay isolated. All over the world, humans are penetrating wild spaces and wild microbiomes and collecting unwanted souvenirs. The fittest survive. If we don’t keep it under control, it could easily kill more people globally in 2020 than all other infectious diseases combined. As this virus conquers the globe, my experience is far from unique. This ‘natural selection’ can thus result in a thin-feathered type in hot regions, and a thick-feathered type in colder regions. We’re still a globally-interconnected mass of human flesh, heavier than the Great Wall of China, encroaching upon wildlife on all sides.

When cooperation breaks down, the results can be disastrous. Yet even though such examples expose the utter absurdity of appealing to what is “natural” to judge right from wrong – the naturalistic fallacy – we seem to have a strange blind spot when it comes to evolution. By itself, survival of the fittest is a dead end. But loss is always sad. You can also sign up for our free print newsletter (US only). That makes COVID-19 different from the various scourges that have shaped our DNA. This video is unavailable. Including my grandmother. The modern world is getting a taste of the red and toothy side of nature. So yes, we are witnessing survival of the fittest in real time. Like all viral diseases such as the flu, measles, rabies, or AIDS, the best thing you can do to stay safe is to avoid direct exposure to the virus. Malaria alone has driven several of the most pronounced adaptive differences among human populations. Should we plan for regular 'circuit-breaker' coronavirus lockdowns? You're almost done! No matter how bad it gets, the pandemic isn’t the end of the world. A pandemic not just an inevitable natural disaster, but a human-generated one. Furthermore, I think we will all draw hope from the way so many have risen to the challenge of SARS-CoV-2. Viruses are not technically alive and can’t be killed by antibiotics or other drugs.

It might feel scary to think that evolution can’t provide us with any weapons against this new threat. That makes COVID-19 different from the various scourges that have shaped our DNA.

This isn’t like the plagues of the past in terms of evolution. Guilty relief when a good friend survives, even while you know others are perishing. SARS-CoV-2 is descended from viruses that naturally infect other species like bats.



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