After learning about evolution in ninth grade biology, I found myself becoming more and more interested in the ways nature affects us and in return how we affect nature. From Darwin's observations of finches, I learned about survival of the fittest and natural selection, but granted, his conclusions was made from one line of species--finches. Although it does apply to many species in the wild, I've noticed that this theory doesn't apply to humans as perfectly. (Now, I'm not here to try to prove Darwin wrong, but to inquire more about this idea and do a little digging.) As humans, we separate ourselves from other species with our intellect and ability to empathize. And as we have evolved, we've used our skills to build civilizations to increase our standard of living and also help those in need. Because of my love of science and going with the theme of biology, I've decided to focus on how advances in medical technology gave us the upper hand over Mother Nature.
For years, Mother Nature decided the direction of our lives by throwing diseases and natural disasters at us, and all we could do was hope for the best. Take the Black Death for instance. Europeans living in the 14th century wouldn't even know what hit them. Their friends, families, and neighbors would be falling sick to this illness within a few days they contracted it. The Black Death is estimated to have killed almost 60% of Europe's population. This was natural selection wreaking its most infamous havoc in world history. But fast forward to modern day, and the mortality rate of this disease has decreased to 11% because of better treatment and the invention of antibiotics. Although the Bubonic Plague does not yet have a vaccine, many other fatal diseases were brought under control with them: smallpox, diphtheria, tetanus, yellow fever, whooping cough, polio, and measles.
Imagine all of this improvement on a larger scale. With today's technology and research, scientists and doctors could save countless lives and end suffering. Right now, they've developed a gene-editing technique called CRISPR, which can cut out pieces that express harmful traits and replace them with good genes. And with cryonics, we can freeze sick or dying people until a future medical technology can cure or revive them. All of this sounds wonderful and brilliant. After all we are helping people, but this development of medical technology brings an onslaught of ethical questions that will redefine how we view life. At some point we have to draw the line somewhere and decide when it is our duty to save a life and when we are playing God. Furthermore, how will we view death in the future if we can use cryonics to bring people back to life again? Not everything appears to be as black and white as we wish.
