Why are evolutionary biologists bringing back extinct deadly viruses
November 27th, 2007I just finished reading the wonderful New Yorker article Darwin’s Surprise by Michael Specter. This is some of the most interesting reading around (at least in my opinion).
I should have been a biologist.
Nothing provides more convincing evidence for the “theory” of evolution than the viruses contained within our DNA. Until recently, the earliest available information about the history and the course of human diseases, like smallpox and typhus, came from mummies no more than four thousand years old. Evolution cannot be measured in a time span that short. Endogenous retroviruses provide a trail of molecular bread crumbs leading millions of years into the past.
And that trail appears to lead to the very roots of human existence and possibly to a cure for HIV/AIDS.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I’d like to see what kind of pseudoscience explanation for this from the ID crowd. I doubt they’ll even bother coming up with one.
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I agree with you–Spector’s New Yorker piece is indeed some of the most interesting reading around. It raised many questions and it gave me many ideas! (But I’m not a scientist; I’m a writer and idea person.) By the way, what field are you in?
I’m about to blog about the article on my sketchgrrl blog.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I’m in New Media; I am a designer. Right now I’m working for Split5 Media as a contractor.