Im sorry of there is already a thread on this but i couldnt find it. If evolution is true, as so many people believe, then why is it such a worry that we have aids, and why are people questioning how we contracted it (theories of genetic engineering & bestiality). It is known that aids is naturally found in monkeys (who are only carriers and so no adverse effects come from it) so if we came from monkeys....... I would guess that it is only recent that AIDS/HIV has been found in humans since we have not previously had the technology and as such a huge panic has been caused. However it should be natural for us if we came from monkeys. Some might say that it shouldnt be natural for us because it does us harm but with immune systems ranging im sure a proportion of the population have what would be classified as 'HIV'. How about since science has come so far they have created a skirmish ie some scaremongering to make money? Who says you can catch HIV? (Someone was saying this to me last night. not the evolution bit. That was my idea Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ) Surely a weak immune system would be natural. In what way could you catch this?? Just some thoughts. Anybody got any answers/replies?
we didn't evolve from these particular monkeys with Aids...these monkeys and we evolved from a common ancestor. most pathogens are quite species specific, although there is some crossingover between species. A species that then has evolved to coexist with a pathogen can then transport the pathogen to another species which never had the pathogen. This second species therefore never acquired the adaptations to withstand this pathogen. In this case the Aids virus. We might evolve to coexist with the AIDS virus, but this could take a lot of time. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Some viruses can me found in a wide range of species, like the flu. Others can be found throughout an entire phylum, like rabies. Perhaps aids jumped from one type of ape to our ancestor type of ape partway in our development. Perhaps it is a mutated breed of a virus that we used to be carriers for but did not normally kill us. Its a moot point now anyway.
Not only among chimps, Allmost every tiger, puma, cheeta on this planet has FIV Feline HIV (yes!) At first researchers thought a CATastrophy would happen, but it turned cats and FIV virus adapted and peacefully co-exist for a long time. First there must have been a massive slaughter among the chimps (they have sex like rabbits) and only the few that developed tolerance, took care of refreshing a whole new generation of chimps that happily swings the trees carrying HIV
But HIV is just human immunodeficiency virus! In the same way that some people have weak eyesight there must be a proportion of the population who have a weak immune system! How is this a disease?
it will kill most people eventually...i would call that a disease...it is a deadly virus!!! the virus doesn't attack people with a 'weak' immune system.. the virus weakens the immune system... two different things
The origins of the HIV may never be explained. The most respected line of thought concerns the african green tree monkey (NOT APE!) the urine of which was injected into the groins of certain tribes during fertility rites. HIV is quite difficult to catch even if you do come into contact with it. A chain of events has to occur before it can invade a CD4 cell which is its favoured host. An infected individual will churn out up to 10,000,000,000 new virus particles every 24 hours. After a long period of time the balance between HIV and CD4 begins to shift. As CD4 is one of the main regulators of the immune system the individuals health will start to fail soon after. Eventually CD4 will be all but eradicated from the body and the person then has full blown HIV disease (Formerly known as AIDS) Viruses work in a very clever way and continue to adapt to what's on the menu. That's why we get a new flu every year. It's the same flu, it's just tweaked its own genetic code to adapt to the antibodies we all devloped over hot lemon drinks last year. Simian TLV (the original virus) probably just adapted to utilise the cells in human beings. No great mystery just mother nature on a PMT day!
