Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More

(Aug. 21, 2009) — The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.

Now, some of those same researchers are back, reporting on the first-ever study of the appendix through the ages. Writing in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Duke scientists and collaborators from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University conclude that Charles Darwin was wrong: The appendix is a whole lot more than an evolutionary remnant. Not only does it appear in nature much more frequently than previously acknowledged, but it has been around much longer than anyone had suspected.

"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks," says William Parker, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgical sciences at Duke and the senior author of the study. "Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a 'vestigial organ.'"

Science Daily Article

I really love stories like this, i always thought there was a little more to the appendix than was accepted. I have still got mine but i know a few people who have had theirs removed due to appendicitis. I wonder if there is any long term effects of having your appendix removed?

reply to post by refuse_orders

I had my appendix removed when I was 11y.o. My digestive system works fine thanks.
Charles Darwin; wouldn't be the first time his theory has been surpased. Chapter 6 in his rigin of the species, specifically deals with potential errors in his theory.
Biology?
As Erwin Chargaff (the biochemist that discovered the base pairing in DNA, opening the way for an understanding of gene structure); wrote so eloquently of Biology :" No other science deals in its very name with a subject that it cannot define".



[edit on 8/22/2009 by KRISKALI777]

Oh funny, I was going to make a topic about the appendix. Cept mine was leaning more towards the idea that the appendix has a usage from our reptilian ancestry, but your point is better, heheh...

reply to post by Bananarama


So what makes you think that any comment made does not relate to the OP?

reply to post by KRISKALI777

Good point. Oh such an exciting web of intrigue

reply to post by refuse_orders


hi there sorry to say, but this same story was reported already 2 years ago on ATS (5-10-2007)
Scientists: Appendix Protects Good Germs
www.abovetopsecret.com...