The United States is currently experiencing a 25-year peak in measles occurrences, with 78 new infections reported in the most recent week. Demonstrating the contemporary impact of such outbreaks, a cruise vessel carrying numerous Scientologists aboard was placed under quarantine in St. Lucia following a passenger’s diagnosis with the illness.
This situation is a predictable outcome when parents opt against vaccinating their offspring. Such decisions gained traction from the 1990s onward, fueled by a apprehension that scientific interventions posed greater hazards than the diseases they aimed to prevent.
As contemporary society has progressively embraced convenience, stringent hygiene, and a perceived protective cocoon, many nostalgically recall the purportedly simpler and more salubrious lifestyles of our pre-industrial forebears.
Beyond vaccine hesitancy, a burgeoning segment of the population places its trust in the organic movement, the anti-genetic modification advocacy, and New Age spiritualism. These groups have increasingly eschewed the notion that scientific advancements can enhance human well-being, instead exhibiting a quasi-religious faith in the inherent goodness of the natural world.
This perspective is accompanied by an optimistic interpretation of evolution. It is frequently viewed as a benevolent and nurturing force that has sculpted both humanity and the entirety of the natural realm. An emerging belief appears to be that if natural evolutionary processes were allowed to unfold unimpeded, optimal outcomes would naturally manifest.
However, this perception of evolution as a benign entity is profoundly inaccurate. Evolution operates as a ruthless and apathetic force, an almost grotesque adversary that the medical community perpetually strives to counteract and surmount.
Perhaps owing to the profound genius of Charles Darwin’s foundational theories, evolution has been afforded an undue degree of leniency for an extended period. It is imperative that we confront the stark realities of its implications before it inflicts further harm upon future generations.
Evolution Unveiled
Evolution originates from the inherent imperfection in an organism’s transmission of its DNA to subsequent generations. Contributing factors to this include the fallibility of the biological machinery responsible for DNA replication, and the inherent instability of DNA when subjected to specific chemical agents or radiation prevalent in our environment.
Consequently, no individual inherits an exact replica of their parents’ genetic material. In fact, the presence of two parents serves as a safeguard, providing a redundant genetic copy to compensate for any deviations in one parental contribution.
When our DNA undergoes alteration, natural selection intervenes, initiating a process that can be characterized as decidedly harsh.
Natural selection is the mechanism by which those mutations best adapted to a species’ environment are perpetuated, while less advantageous ones are eliminated. This evolutionary principle has shaped every facet of the observable world, from the elongated necks of giraffes to the fin structure of sharks.
Historically, our ancestors were exposed to the unmitigated, pure, and unadulterated force of natural selection. Young children, in particular, bore the brunt of evolution’s relentless pressure.
Individuals possessing less beneficial mutations faced dire fates, succumbing to starvation, predation, cannibalism, infectious diseases, drought, sudden inundation, and a host of other environmental adversities.
Over an average human lifespan of 30 to 40 years, maternal figures would typically give birth to eight to ten children, with approximately half of them perishing before reaching reproductive age.
This was an overt manifestation of evolution: the relentless and brutal culling of the vast majority of individuals with a given set of genes, in favor of a fortunate few possessing the genetic resilience to survive and propagate this unforgiving cycle.
By exhibiting even marginal advantages, such as slightly superior speed, the genetically successful individuals evaded fatal encounters with predators like packs of wolves. During periods of scarcity or illness, survivors of these genetic contests would witness the demise of their less fortunate kin.
Evidence from human genetic diversity suggests that our species was once reduced to a mere population of approximately 600 individuals over 100,000 years ago. This stark reality underscores our origins and the manner in which “Mother Nature” sculpted us as individuals.
Regrettably, human evolution continues unabated. Individuals still succumb to disease and suffer from deprivation resulting from societal inequalities and inadequate access to sustenance and medical care.
We remain beholden to the capricious nature of natural selection, a process that represents the least ethical mechanism for species development. For those of us who abhor cruelty and feel profound empathy for our fellow human beings, this situation imposes a moral imperative: to actively and urgently halt the evolutionary trajectory of the human species.
Achieving this objective necessitates the wholehearted embrace of scientific inquiry. Our species’ most significant triumph lies in its liberation from the raw ferocity of evolutionary pressures. This implies the necessity of genetically modified foods to avert widespread famine.
Furthermore, we require food additives to ensure the safety and longevity of our food supply, a critical consideration for a growing global population. Most crucially, vaccines are indispensable for disease prevention.
We must resolutely refrain from exposing future generations to the unvarnished, primal, and often brutal forces of nature. Let us champion science and reject the unchecked progression of evolution. This sentiment, I hope, will soon resonate on prominent public platforms.
Alasdair Mackenzie, Reader in Molecular Genetics at the University of Aberdeen.
