TEOTWAWKI 4, Supervirus Part I: Nature

Human beings have been facing apocalyptic circumstances for
thousands of years. Our competitors, our nemesis have been
pathogens like malaria, Yersinia Pestis, smallpox... every few
generations, a cataclysmic plague would tear through human
populations and leave entire towns uninhabited.

In the modern era, with modern medicines, we may feel that - at
least in the industrialized West - this horror is behind our
species now. But with evolving technology and behaviours come new
risks; and we have seen in pandemics like Zika and Ebola that
there may well be terrors yet to come for humanity.

What makes these pandemics so threatening? And what has natural
selection and evolution produced in the way of pandemics?

NOTE: This is part 1 of a two part series on pandemics; the
second part will deal with biotechnology-inspired viruses and
pandemics.


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