An international team has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts.
Oldest ever human genetic evidence clarifies dispute over our ancestors
Genetic information from an 800,000-year-old human fossil has been retrieved for the first time. The results shed light on one of the branching points in the human family tree, reaching much further back in time than previously possible.
Source: Oldest ever human genetic evidence clarifies dispute over our ancestors — ScienceDaily
Did COVID-19 Virus Evolve by Natural Selection? | Evolution News
Natural selection, if understood as undirected variation and differential reproductive success, is a destructive process.
Source: Did COVID-19 Virus Evolve by Natural Selection? | Evolution News
Face Off: the Problem With Social Distancing –
Where the kids routinely outscored the apes was in tasks that involved reading social cues. When the children were given a hint about where to find a reward – someone pointing to or looking at the right container – they took it. The apes either didn’t understand that they were being offered help or couldn’t More
Source: Face Off: the Problem With Social Distancing – CounterPunch.org
Coronavirus, Intelligent Design, and Evolution s
The measures being taken against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic owe nothing to evolutionary theory.
Source: Coronavirus, Intelligent Design, and Evolution | Evolution News
Coronavirus, Intelligent Design, and Evolution | Evolution News
Could SARS-CoV-2 have evolved from another coronavirus by mutation and natural selection? I don’t see why not, though there is only indirect evidence (from DNA sequences) to support the idea. If it had happened, however, it would not provide support for Darwinian evolution. First, viruses are not living organisms: They are just pieces of DNA or RNA enclosed in a protein coat. They do not carry out metabolism (the chemical processes that are essential for life), and they do not reproduce themselves (only living cells — or skilled genetic engineers — can make copies of them). Second, even if viruses were considered living things, the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 from another coronavirus would be akin to microevolution — minor changes within existing biological species. (“Species” are not even defined the same way in viruses as they are in living organisms.)But Darwin did not write a book titled How Existing Species Change Over Time. He wrote a book titled The Origin of Species. In other words, Darwin attempted to explain macroevolution — the origin of new species, organs, and body plans.
Source: Coronavirus, Intelligent Design, and Evolution | Evolution News
‘We need to be alert’: Scientists fear second coronavirus wave as China’s lockdowns ease
Other countries on lockdown will be watching for a resurgence of infections in Hubei province now that travel restrictions are lifting.
Source: ‘We need to be alert’: Scientists fear second coronavirus wave as China’s lockdowns ease
