Will a virus cause the Extinction of the human species?

Question

Many viruses mutate (HIV, AIDS, H5N1,Ebola) faster than expected... Giving medical care workers and doctors little time to ever develop medication to help fight or prevent these virus' from mutating then jumping from species to species, or eventually, human to human... Many Evolutionists and Scientists believe that virus are the next big step in evolution, and that the **** sapiens species is coming to an end.

An article I found today supports the idea of virus change, or evolution. It concerns H5N1, the Bird Flu, and how it has already began to mutate (http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/Outbreaks+Show+Bird+Flu+Virus+Is+Changing/News/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=185623046&feedname=CP-HEALTHSCOUT&show=True&number=5&showbyline=False&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc).

Your thoughts....

Answer 1

It's highly unlikely, for the simple reason that it's not in the interests of a parasite to kill its host. It's far more beneficial to make the host sick instead, and even better if the host shows no outward signs of infection but continues cranking out parasites.

The most deadly virus of all time, the 1918 H1N1 flu, is in common circulation today -- in fact, you have probably been infected by it! However, its virulence and deadliness have dropped dramatically so it's no longer an exceptionally lethal virus. This is precisely what is expected.

Answer 2

We've evolve through deserts and ice ages and you think deforestation or a water shortage will kill the species? 3 is currently only really an issue in the West and already genome avenues are being explored which may leave us less dependent on drugs. As for 4 consider that the last century had the wars with the greatest loss of life historically, but we still ended with the greatest world population number ever. I agree that 1-4 may well decrease the population greatly, but 5 is the only real contender for total annihilation.

Answer 3

A lab in Vietnam says it has developed a vaccine for bird flu: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/061123/health/health_flu_vietnam

What scientists say that the **** sapien species is coming to an end? Sure, viruses pose a major threat, but it's highly unlikely that one would ever be able to wipe out our species. And although they mutate quickly, look how quickly we can develope a vaccine today (if this does turn out to be a vaccine for bird flu).

Answer 4

Maybe.... if only therapeutic stem cell research was allowed....that would solve a lot many problems....
But first, I think research should be done to find out what is causing viruses to get mutated so fast....radioactive wastes...it could be anything........if viruses were so powerful then nothing would have evolved.......it's funny that the theory which involves 'Prebiotic Soup" didn't say anything about how and when viruses evolved? But if we assumed that viruses being the simplest life forms were the first to evolve, then nothing else would have evolved, not even bateria.....so I'd say that the cause for mutations should be identified first...not the medication!

Answer 5

There is a lot of variation on the cell surface. Blood groups and tissue types are not there to prevent transfusion and transplantation. We have the variation so that it is improbable that one virus can lethally infect the entire population. If a virus wiped out a major chunk of the world's population, it might disrupt society, but the children of the survivors would be more resistant to that virus.

Answer 6

It would be exceptionally rare or even unheard of for a virus to wipe out a species. For the virus to do so would - in evolutionary terms - be spectacularly bad news, as it would have eliminated its host and hence would become extinct itself.

Answer 7

It could but is unlikely. Even aids has run into people who are immune. Where there is great diversity, the risks are lower..

Answer 8

No!!! We will polute ourselves to death first.

Take a flight over china someday. The ocean around it is black. Scary.