“The Brain defects caused by Zika virus ‘could set evolution back 2 million years’ scientists claim” was the leading story in the UK’s Daily Mirror in February. Since then, the global spread of the Zika virus, previously known as a rare virus, continues as a leading headline story – for good reasons. As CNN reports, “This is the first time a mosquito has been found to cause congenital birth defects.”
The New England Journal of Medicine published the article entitled “Zika virus and Birth Defects — Reviewing the Evidence for Causality” on April 13, written by a team headed by Sonja Rasmussen at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to Rasmussen, “sufficient evidence has accumulated to infer a causal relationship between prenatal Zika virus infection and microcephaly and other severe brain anomalies.” Since Zika infections are associated with congenital defects, the Zika virus species is set to test the holy grail of evolution – natural selection.
Starting with his infamous book, The Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin legitimized racism based on the theory of evolution, at one time. The complete title contains the essential phrase “preservation of favoured races” –
“On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life”
How his concept of “races” applies to humans was clarified in The Descent of Man(1871). Darwin explains –
“The sole objective of this work is to consider… the value of the differences between the so-called races of man.”
The latest attempt to remove racism from evolution was published this month in the journal of Science by the geneticist and leading author Michael Yudell (pictured right) of Drexel University, Philadelphia, in the paper entitled –
Natural selection, sometimes known as the opium of evolutionary biologists, has long been envisioned as the driving mechanism of biological evolution. “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” by Charles Darwin was the first publication to popularize natural selection. In the words of twentieth-century evolutionary biologist Niles Eldredge, “A century and a half ago, Charles Darwin offered the world a single, simple scientific explanation for the diversity of life on Earth: evolution by natural selection.”
Scientific evidence, however, continues to challenge the importance of natural selection in evolution. Eugenie Scott, recipient of the 2012 Richard Dawkins Award, in Evolution vs Creation (2013) hedges on the “single, simple” role of natural selection:
“The main—but not the only—mechanism of biological evolution is natural selection”
New evidence discovered in a human genetics study underscores why, in the end, natural selection unfriends Darwin.
The genetic mutation plus natural selection equation emerged as the most popular theory of biological evolution during the twentieth century. With advances in biotechnology, however, the credibility of this theory – popularly known as neo-Darwinism or the Modern Synthesis theory – has since been increasingly challenged by evolutionary scientists.
In an experimental evolution model using the yeast microbe Saccharomyces cerevisiaespecies, a recent study published in the journal Science by a Harvard research group undermines the theory of genetic mutations plus natural selection equals evolution. The model demonstrates stasis – not evolution.
With a $320,000 National Institute of Health grant, working from his fourth-floor lab at Harvard University, assistant professor Michael Desai in Organismic & Evolutionary Biology discovered that the introduction of a wide variety of genetic mutations over time produces the same result.
The war over natural selection continues. Not only did Charles Darwin (1812-1882) plagiarize Patrick Matthew’s (1790-1874) (pictured left) work, but evolutionary scientists are increasingly critical of the theory.
Mike Sutton, a criminology expert at Nottingham Trent University, spent years cross-referencing the works of Darwin alongside those of Matthew. According to Sutton,
“I have no doubt, based on the weight of new evidence, that Darwin did read Matthew’s book and then went on to replicate his discovery and key themes.”
Science correspondent Sarah Knapton in the article, “Did Charles Darwin ‘borrow’ the theory of natural selection?” published by The Telegraph (UK) reported on Sutton’s findings concluding
“Darwin must not only have been aware of Matthew’s work but borrowed from it heavily” proving that “the naturalist [Darwin] lied.”
Darwin, Then and Now, the Most Amazing Story in the History of Science, is a chronicle of who Darwin was, how he developed his theory, specifically what he said, and what scientists have discovered since the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.
The book traces the rise and fall of evolution's popularity as a scientifically valid theory. With over 1,000 references from Darwin and scientists, Darwin Then and Now retraces developments in the most amazing story in the history of science. DarwinThenandNow.com focuses on understanding the intersection of biological evolution and science.
“The Brain defects caused by Zika virus ‘could set evolution back 2 million years’ scientists claim” was the leading story in the UK’s Daily Mirror in February. Since then, the global spread of the Zika virus, previously known as a rare virus, continues as a leading headline story – for good reasons. As CNN reports, “This is the first time a mosquito has been found to cause congenital birth defects.”
Starting with his infamous book, 
