http://theamericansc...-belated-birthday (via Sullivan, from 2/15):

In any event, Darwin’s idea was simple and explosive, with repercussions that we are still assimilating. The deepest of these is the very conservative conclusion that victory in biological war is impossible. We cannot defeat disease, for example, merely hold it at bay, because our most successful efforts are precisely those that put selection pressure on microorganisms that will result in new diseases able to thwart our countermeasures. It remains to be seen whether we will be able to defeat our own weedy nature or whether we will ultimately return to the Mathusian world from which we only recently emerged. We may know a negative answer any time, but a positive answer we will never know for sure – certainly not until many generations have been born and given birth in our world of medically-controllable fertility.

Yes, we cannot defeat all disease, but we certainly can effectively wipe out many horrible human illnesses (small pox, polio, etc.). But, since Nature never sleeps, something out there will always be lurking to make us sick and take our lives early.

Cheers,
Scott.