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Asked by jeromeswh to David, Helen, Ian, rhysphillips, Sarah on 24 Jun 2011.
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David Corne answered on 20 Jun 2011:
It’s possible. If the Sun goes nova now, we’re gone – but our understanding of stellar physics suggests that won’t happen. If we’re hit by a huge meteor, we’re toast – but if it’s big enough to wipe us out, the chances are we’ll see it coming long enough in advance to do something about it, such as nuke it. Everything else (evolution of viruses, global warming, etc…) is like a global game of chess. We have to keep making moves that will prepare us for things that might happen, but we can never be sure what the opponent is going to do, and when they’re going to do it. I think we’re clever enough to maintain the advantage in this game, but the opponent won’t give up.
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Helen Fletcher answered on 24 Jun 2011:
It’s also possible that a new disease or form of an existing disease will come about that could wipe us all out- we’re pretty clever about treating things through medicine, but pathogens are pretty clever too in terms of evolving to escape both the natural and artificial ways we try to deal with them. Diseases have wiped out entire species before- like some species of frogs and toads have been completely wiped out by a fungal disease. The pathogen would have to be really good at spreading from one person to another, and really good at evolving quickly to get around the obstacles we put up against it.
Comments
jeromeswh commented on :
thank you