28 January 2014
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection – a force of nature favouring those carrying advantageous traits and making those traits more common in the next generation – is the central paradigm of biology. Darwin developed this idea to explain the origins of the extraordinary diversity of species on the planet. But it turns out that exactly the same fundamental principle applies to many areas of health and disease, including antibiotic resistance, the emergence of new infectious diseases, the functioning of our immune systems and, not least, cancer.
Here, Professor Mel Greaves FRS talks to us about why The Institute of Cancer Research is launching The Centre for Evolution and Cancer.
Read the full story accompanying this video.