A Theory Evolves
How evolution really works, and why it matters more than ever
A quick survey of the human condition reveals any number of desirable improvements--surely evolution could take care of hernias and osteoporosis and the appendix, which serves no greater purpose than to become inflamed? But those annoyances usually don't keep the annoyed from passing on their genes. And with precious little geographic isolation--one of the main drivers of speciation--left in our global village, we'll probably have to wait until a space colony gets cut off for several thousand generations before a new human species evolves.
Of course, it's the idea that human beings themselves are products of evolution that provokes most of the attacks on evolution. Such rejections leave most scientists mystified. "The scientific narrative of the history of life is as exciting and imbued with mystery as any other telling of that story," says Knoll. The evidence against evolution amounts to little more than "I can't imagine it," Ewald adds. "That's not evidence. That's just giving up."
Many researchers simply ignore the debates and press on with their work. But as evolution becomes an applied science, others say it's more urgent than ever to defend its place in the schools. "HIV is one of the world's most aggressively evolving organisms," says Palumbi. If it weren't for the virus's adaptability, which helps it foil the body's defenses and many drugs, "we would have kicked HIV in the teeth 15 years ago." But doctors don't learn about evolution in medical school, he says, leaving them about as well prepared to combat HIV as a flat-Earth astronomer would be to plan a moon shot.
"Somewhere in high school in this country is a student who's going to cure AIDS," Palumbi says. "That student is going to have to understand evolution."
With Jessica Ruvinsky, Dan Gilgoff and Rachel K. Sobel
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