what is evolution why it is so important
Answers
Answer:
Hey there
Explanation:
Evolution refers to the theory of slow change which occurred in living organisms since the formation of the earth.
It has various contributions to the world today as we know it
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1. H1N1 & Emerging Diseases
The outbreak of the H1N1 "swine flu" in 2009 reminds us of our vulnerability to emerging diseases. Like SARS in 2002, H1N1's abrupt appearance emphasizes the fact that viruses evolve, producing new and potentially pandemic-causing contagions. In our highly mobile world, new viruses can jump continents in mere hours via planes. Rapid evolution combined with rapid travel mean that emerging diseases threaten human health as never before--and therefore, understanding how these diseases evolve is vital as never before.
2. HIV
One reason no vaccine against HIV has yet been found is that HIV is one of the fastest evolving entities known to science. HIV's rapid, "Borg"-like adaptability means that the key to defeating this scourge may lie in better understanding of how viruses evolve.
Evolution helps us understand HIV's origins. Because we know that HIV and SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) share a common viral ancestor, this opens other avenues of research into ultimately defeating HIV.
The technique of applying drug cocktails to HIV-infected patients has proven remarkably successful. The evolutionary idea with drug cocktails is that because HIV evolves so quickly, one single drug will usually leave some surviving viruses; a multi-drug approach has better success. Moreover, periodically switching the cocktail's components helps eliminate viruses which have evolved resistance. All of these techniques rest upon a scientific understanding of evolution.
3. Vaccines
With the exception of clean drinking water, few technologies have improved human health more than vaccines. While misinformed celebrities may peddle long-discredited superstitions about links between childhood vaccines and autism, the truth is that untold millions of adults are alive and healthy today because as children they received vaccines. Vaccines work so well, in fact, that today the horrors of smallpox and polio epidemics are fading memories.
Vaccines exploit the efficiency of our own immune system to recognize and eliminate microbial threats that have been previously introduced into our bodies. Because these threats evolve, vaccines must change too. The flu shot you received this year will not protect you against next year's bug because flu viruses evolve quickly. Evolution makes sense of the need for a new vaccine every year, and point the way toward developing it.
4. Antibiotic Resistance
Penicillin was once a "miracle" drug, but today medical professionals find a host of diseases--from staph infections to tuberculosis--evolving resistance to antibiotics.
The origin of antibiotic-resistant organisms is a textbook example of natural selection. Patients infected with a diverse population of bacteria are given an antibiotic that wipes out almost all the bacteria. If they start to feel better and do not finish the full course of antibiotics, what is left behind are those bacteria most resistant to the drug. Those survivors then become the nucleus of a new, resistant population. Understanding this evolutionary process is an important part of modern public health.