Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
Evolution in action? |
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EdwinSm,
Moderator Joined: April 03 2013 Status: Offline Points: 24065 |
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Posted: February 05 2021 at 1:44am |
We know the virus is mutating/evolving. From our view point many of these (eg Kent-UK, Brazil, South Africa) are moving in the wrong way. At some stage an equilibrium will be reached between the virus and us the hosts. We hope that is because the virus mutates to a less deadly form (similar to the common cold). But how much will it be down to changes in us humans, ie by killing off those of us less able to fight off the bug? At present,with so many deaths in the older age range there is little selective pressure on human evolution (as most of those dying are beyond "breeding age"). I suppose I am wondering how many deaths need to occur in younger age ranges for this virus to push 'natural selection' in humans to being better able to tolerate this bug. I suppose this is like how the Europeans developed tolerance to illnesses, that killed off say the Incas who had not developed that tolerance. I sure hope the death rate is not like the above example. |
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WitchMisspelled
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Interesting thought that humans need to develop a tolerance rather than the virus acclimating to failing to kill its human hosts. |
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carbon20
Moderator Joined: April 08 2006 Location: West Australia Status: Offline Points: 65816 |
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Not evolution.... More natural selection..... Speaking purely pragmatically...... The planet cannot sustain all the hangers on ........ It can't sustain the masses either....... I'm sorry to say....... Take care all 😷😉 |
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Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖
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Kilt5
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the stupid will become extinct |
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EdwinSm,
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At times like this I am reminded of my biologist trained daughter correcting me when I talked about "survival of the fittest', She said that what Darwin was on about was "The non-survival of the least fit." The trouble is as I age I see myself sliding down the stages of 'fitness'. |
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Hazelpad
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Ooophs...Post deleted |
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AndyPOW
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Sickle cell anemia is a mutation that confers some advantage early enough in life to spread in the population. In its current forms Covid is not going to be a selection pressure since not enough people die, and those that do die are beyond breeding age. Also, there are simple and inexpensive treatments that strengthen the immune system that decrease Covid's effects substantially. FYI: natural selection is how evolution proceeds. Evolution is the spread of a genetic change through a population. A genotype that confers more fitness to individuals will spread through a population over many, many generations. For humans that is thousands of years. Now, that being said, we are just beginning to understand how viruses, bacteria and protists support gene transfer amongst populations and species. Then there is micro-rna, epigenetics, and effects that we aren't aware of yet all doing their thing in the background. |
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"Every thing looks great, until you think." Dr. Al Bartlett
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ViQueen24
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I don't know about that, Andy, for the simple reason that more younger people are getting sick now, a significant amount of sick people are becoming long-haulers, and I cannot imagine that long-haulers are doing as much of what makes babies, when so many of them can't drag themselves off to work. |
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carbon20
Moderator Joined: April 08 2006 Location: West Australia Status: Offline Points: 65816 |
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Evolution and natural selection go hand in hand methinks..... We all evolved to this point in time ,now natural selection starts..... I.e. those who choose not to wear a MASK are selected..... by nature?....lol |
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Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖
Marcus Aurelius |
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