Our immune system. Are we dropping it?

[Alone Disciple]

Now, as healthcare is advancing, and we're getting used to living in a clean(er) environment

Which version or parallel Earth are you speaking of sir? Surely your not suggesting that China and Mexico are cleaning up the air, and India's and Venice's water ways have cleaned up over night. Or is it the fact we all drive emmission free SUV's today? And when did the health care systems on the African continent and teh middle east advance?

I must have been in the loo when this happened.

 

[Specter_]

(btw, the 2006-tsunami was such a low probability/high impact-event and yet nobody invested anything to create a warning-system)

Not just the warning system, but the billions of dollars of infrastructure investment it would have taken for the affected areas to be able to handle a full-scale evacuation on the time scale involved. Sadly, it took the tragedy of an actual tsunami for most people to think this was worth doing.

First of all, I doubt it would have been billions.
Secondly, not neccessarily: If I recall correctly, the Wave had been rolling for 3-4 hours before hitting shore (don't nail me on that, I'm doing this from memory. And my memory sucks), so a 1-2 hour warning time would have been enough to evacuate the beaches/areas directly at sea and move the people either land inwards or to higher ground.
You don't need elaborate infrastructure to evade a tsunami, all you need is a hill.

 

[Kadamon]

Caused by personal security from death AAAND bad genes being contributed into the genepool, it is true that we are essentially downgrading... for now. But what challenges will we face in our weakened state? I bet thats when we'll get to grow gills.

I've always wanted gills... Do you think people will stare?

Of course they will, but whenever we grow trees out of our arses we should really be worried.

 

[axia777]

Personally I am holding out for advances in genetic engineering to fix problems.

True that man!!! Hook me up with all the gene splicing available in the future! Hell, they even found the gene's that cause aging! Turn that one off and long life it is! w00t!!!

 

[slamm]

Interesting. I never thought about it. This is now another reason why genetic engineering could be a benifit in the future. I mean if humans could resist any disease, then more money could be spent on other needs instead of making the drugs needed to fight diseases. Interesting.

 

[BDNeon]

I dont really know about the dangers of relying on modern technology for your health in your lifetime, but I do think there's a significant risk to the human species as a whole over the course of several generations. Everyone knows about Darwin's idea of Natural Selection, but I rarely hear discussed the question of what happens when the entire driving principle behind Natural Selection, that being that only those most fit can survive to reproduce and thus pass on superior traits, is removed from the equation in a society that shelters and nurtures the weak. Those with negative traits, things such as asthma, allergies, and other disorders, are able to survive thanks to our modern society, and have the potential to pass on those traits to the next generation, mingling with positive traits and potentially overwhelming them

 

[Inverse Skies]

True that man!!! Hook me up with all the gene splicing available in the future! Hell, they even found the gene's that cause aging! Turn that one off and long life it is! w00t!!!

Ahh, what gene would that be? Last time I checked the theories of aging were many and varied and no-one had been able to come to a single consensus. (Ie, programmed aging, telomere shortening, free radical damage, glycated proteins, wear and tear theories etc). The most likely explanation is a multifactorial process of aging.

 

[Inverse Skies]

I dont really know about the dangers of relying on modern technology for your health in your lifetime, but I do think there's a significant risk to the human species as a whole over the course of several generations. Everyone knows about Darwin's idea of Natural Selection, but I rarely hear discussed the question of what happens when the entire driving principle behind Natural Selection, that being that only those most fit can survive to reproduce and thus pass on superior traits, is removed from the equation in a society that shelters and nurtures the weak. Those with negative traits, things such as asthma, allergies, and other disorders, are able to survive thanks to our modern society, and have the potential to pass on those traits to the next generation, mingling with positive traits and potentially overwhelming them

There is little chance of this happening, as most of the disorders you speak of are not purely due to a genetic basis and have environmental factors as well, hence they will never 'overwhelm' other genes. Also natural selection is most definately still occuring as there is many more driving forces behind it than those you just described, and even without modern medicine these traits would still exist within the population and not be removed.

 

[Dele]

I dont go to great lenghts in keeping my enviroment sterile. Maybe it's because of this that I dont get sick except a minor flu every two years.