Has knowledge gained through Evolutionary theory advanced technology? Saved or healed lives? Brought peace and prosperity? Has the Theory of Evolutions "discovery" practically benefited, or advanced, humanity.
About every year or so someone poses a similar question on EvC. Since the question is relatively common, I don't see any reason not to pull out the (as yet un-refuted) examples I use each time. For your edification:
1. Research into host selection in
Striga hermonthica. The research has centered around geographic variability of
Striga populations in an effort to determine selection effects by variously resistant strains of
Sorghum asiatica with an eye toward developing long-term resistance stability.
Striga parasitism costs an estimated $8 billion annually in Africa (1986 dollars) through destruction of vital cereal crops. Pure evolutionary biology in action.
2. Research into the lifecycle and evolutionary adaptation of the cassava mealy bug (
Phenacoccus manihoti) lead to the discovery of a parasitic wasp (
Apoanagyrus lopezi) from South America that was able to save an estimated 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa from starvation. Cassava (
Manihot esculenta) is the staple food crop of a large portion of Africa: the mealy bug threatened total destruction of the crop, with up to 80% average losses in every field effected. Introduction of the wasp brought the scourge under control. Again, pure evolutionary biology in action.
3. Research into the lifecycle and evolutionary biology of the European green crab (
Carcinus maenas), a significant threat to US Pacific coast crab fisheries, determined that it was INAPPROPRIATE to introduce its natural parasite
Sacculina carcini as a method of biological control because of its ability to jump species and be nearly as lethal to native crabs as it is to
Carcinus. Once again, evolutionary biology triumphs: this time by preventing what could have been a serious error.
Of course, these are "macroevolutionary studies" (whatever those are). However, I fail to see how any of the above could have been accomplished without relying on evolutionary theory as an underpinning.
Now, if someone could postulate a nice, creationist/supernaturalist methodology to solve the above problems that was more, erm, elegant or parsimonious, then maybe the creos would have a case. Still waiting after all these years...
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