And 150 years later not only does it not cure belly ache, but it has not led to a single useful application. Instead, evolution keeps getting in the way of science instead of leading it to new discoveries.
And 150 years later not only does it not cure belly ache, but it has not led to a single useful application.
I have been waiting for you to open your big mouth on this. Of course, I didn't have to wait long.
From Constructing the Tree of Life:
Earlier versions of the ancestral chart, technically known as a phylogenetic tree, already have been used to diagnose and treat disease.
For example, researchers used this technique to swiftly identify the lethal hanta virus that was discovered in the Four Corners area of New Mexico in 1993. The virus's genetic makeup was unlike anything previously reported, but the phylogenetic tree of known viruses showed that its closest relatives were other hanta viruses from Asia. The degree of closeness was determined by counting the number of differences between the genes of the Four Corners virus and those of other viruses.
``This identification was possible only through phylogenetic analysis of the virus, which allowed very rapid identification,'' said David Hillis, a biologist at the University of Texas-Austin.
A better source of Taxol, the breast cancer drug, was discovered by tracing the genetic relationship between Taxol's original source, a rare yew tree, and a more common shrub.
Hillis uses phylogenetic techniques to research the origin and predict the course of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He also studies harmful invasions by alien species, such as Asian clams that are clogging the cooling systems of power plants throughout the United States.
``Almost all invasive species are now identified using phylogenetic techniques,'' Hillis said.
Phylogenetic evidence was used to convict a Louisiana physician of attempted murder after he injected his mistress with HIV-infected blood from one of his patients. The evidence showed that the virus in the victim's blood was closely related to the patient's virus.
This was ``the first use of phylogenetic analysis in a criminal court case in the United States,'' Michael Metzker, a geneticist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
I can guarantee you are going to ignore this post or call it a bunch of lies because your brain cannot comprehend you might actually be wrong about something.