how do you explain cystic fibrosis? There are multiple mutations that have lead to it and I can't see how it benefits the host. If you have heard of a proven way it does I would like know.
Well, that is not the point. The fact that multiple mutations can lead to it just shows how intricate and complex gene regulatory networks are. But the statistics actually illustrate my point:
Moreover, in the 1980s, people with cystic fibrosis had an average life expectancy of 14 years [source: Disabled World].With modern technology and treatment, however, people with this condition can live well into later adulthood [source: Mayo Clinic]. Some statistics, however, report a much more conservative life expectancy estimate of 35 years [source: Disabled World].In any event, the life expectancy of people with cystic fibrosis is gradually increasing. Approximately 90 percent of infants born with cystic fibrosis will live past a year.Currently, the forecasted life expectancy of babies born today is 40 years old [source: Disabled World]. Infants who have normal pancreas function, however, are expected to life past 50 years old.
It is getting better for those who get the hazardous dice roll during crossover, but it shows the basics of natural selection and illustrates my point.
About 1 in 25 people carries the gene for cystic fibrosis [source: Disabled World].
I am not trying to say that the chances are not high. I did not know the numbers until now and I was expecting less. But the fact that the gene is not much more spread must mean it is not beneficial.
RE: How can we link science to religion?