21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Are Humans Still Evolving?
Anybody who teaches human evolution is inevitably asked: Are we
still evolving? The examples of lactose tolerance and duplication of the
amylase gene show that selection has certainly acted within the last few
thousand years. But what about right now? It’s hard to give a good
answer. Certainly many types of selection that challenged our ancestors
no longer apply: improvements in nutrition, sanitation, and medical
care have done away with many diseases and conditions that killed our
ancestor...Culture has removed many of the selective pressures from human survival, allowing harmful mutations to build up in the genepool; meanwhile, people living in third-world countries continue to experience selective pressures from droughts, famines, and disease.
29 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
The Adverse Health Effects of Formula Feeding
More significantly, the breast—bottle controversy has moved far away from the question of what is best for babies. The decision for substitute milk is influenced by the pressures of corporations, their advertising, and their lobbies. The money game behind the production of formula has overpowered what might be best for babies here in first-world countries and for babies more at risk in third-world countries. It takes about $1,800 a year to feed an infant some kind of powdered or canned form...Formula feeding results in unnecessary expenses for poor people when a free alternative exists as well as having a deleterious effect on infant health that results in many deaths each year.