Steven NewtonWriting at the Huffington Post (February 12, 2010), NCSE's Steven Newton offered, in honor of Charles Darwin's 201st birthday, a list of five ways in which evolution is important to medical practice: improving the understanding of H1N1 and emerging diseases, HIV, vaccines, antibiotic resistance, and drug development. "There are a host of other applications of evolution — agriculture, forensics, bioengineering," he concluded. "But the importance of evolution extends beyond its practical side; evolution explains the diversity of life on this planet, shows us our connection to other living things, and reveals profound insights into the processes of nature. Today, on Darwin's 201st birthday, take a moment to reflect on the importance of evolution."