Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More?
Duke University Medical Center. "Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More." ScienceDaily, 21 August 2009.
Writing in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Duke scientists and collaborators from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University conclude that Charles Darwin was wrong: The appendix is a whole lot more than an evolutionary remnant.
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The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.
Darwin was not aware that appendicitis, or inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather due to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation. "Those changes left our immune systems with too little work and too much time their hands – a recipe for trouble."
Now that we understand the normal function of the appendix, a critical question to ask is whether we can do anything to prevent appendicitis. Parker[SUP]1[/SUP] thinks the answer may lie in devising ways to challenge our immune systems today in much the same manner that they were challenged back in the Stone Age.
"If modern medicine could figure out a way to do that, we would see far fewer cases of allergies, autoimmune disease, and appendicitis."
([SUP]1[/SUP]William Parker, assistant professor of surgical sciences at Duke University Medical Center)
But the jury is still out
Randolph Nesse, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is impressed by a follow up study. "I salute the authors for creating an extraordinary database," he says. "....I do find their argument for the positive correlation of appendix and cecum sizes to be a convincing refutation of Darwin’s hypothesis, (however)....it is possible we still haven’t completely cracked the mystery of the appendix" [a pretty safe statement, imo
]
Duke University Medical Center. "Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More." ScienceDaily, 21 August 2009.
Writing in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Duke scientists and collaborators from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University conclude that Charles Darwin was wrong: The appendix is a whole lot more than an evolutionary remnant.
Full Article
Selected paragraphs:
The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.
Darwin was not aware that appendicitis, or inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather due to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation. "Those changes left our immune systems with too little work and too much time their hands – a recipe for trouble."
Now that we understand the normal function of the appendix, a critical question to ask is whether we can do anything to prevent appendicitis. Parker[SUP]1[/SUP] thinks the answer may lie in devising ways to challenge our immune systems today in much the same manner that they were challenged back in the Stone Age.
"If modern medicine could figure out a way to do that, we would see far fewer cases of allergies, autoimmune disease, and appendicitis."
([SUP]1[/SUP]William Parker, assistant professor of surgical sciences at Duke University Medical Center)
But the jury is still out
Randolph Nesse, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is impressed by a follow up study. "I salute the authors for creating an extraordinary database," he says. "....I do find their argument for the positive correlation of appendix and cecum sizes to be a convincing refutation of Darwin’s hypothesis, (however)....it is possible we still haven’t completely cracked the mystery of the appendix" [a pretty safe statement, imo
]
