A recent op-ed in The Scientist insists on the importance of evolution in biological and biomedical education. In his essay, published in the November 2010 issue of the magazine, Leonid Moroz observes, "[e]volutionary principles integrate all the concepts underlying cell biology, genomics, and medicine." Thus, he writes, "Evolutionary theory, speciation, principles of biological classification, and biodiversity must be part of the required curricula not only for biologists but for medical students as well."
The op-ed concludes, "As Peter Medawar eloquently put it, 'The alternative to thinking in evolutionary terms is not to think at all.' The sooner evolution and biodiversity are inherent and required parts of every biomedical student’s curriculum, the greater progress we can expect from a new generation of scientists in the clinic and the laboratory. Whether we like it or not, biology simply means evolution." Moroz is a professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville and the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience.