This is a presentation I gave at Skepticamp Ohio 2009 on Virus Evolution. The goal was to give audience the scientific background to skeptically evaluate claims being made about the current Swine Flu Epidemic.

1. Epidemics & Viral Evolution Daniel Sprockett President Kent State Freethinkers www.MolecularFossils.com Skepticamp Ohio May 2, 2009 Is Ohio at risk?

4. Bacterial Structure

5. Viral Structure

6. Viral Infection

7. Viral Infection - Human

9. Are Viruses Alive? David M. Hillis, Derrick Zwickl, and Robin Gutell, University of Texas.

10. Are Viruses Alive?

16. From CDC as of May 1 st , 11am 1 death 141 cases Total (19) 2 Virginia 1 28 Texas 16 South Carolina 1 Ohio 50 New York 5 New Jersey 1 Nevada 1 Nebraska 1 Minnesota 2 Michigan 2 Massachusetts 1 Kentucky 2 Kansas 3 Indiana 3 Illinois 4 Delaware 2 Colorado 13 California 4 Arizona Deaths Confirmed Cases State

19. Are we at risk? Furthermore, as the infection spreads around the world, the search for an antidote is desperately sought, but the very fact that the virus is seen as something to be opposed actually supports the Biblical view of this world. It is always good and right to oppose sickness, but in evolutionary terms, why don’t humans simply resign themselves to it and allow the strong to survive? The evolutionary point of view would say the virus has a ‘right’ to live, so 'good luck' to it! From Ray Comfort:

20. Are we at risk? Even worse, some people are actually trying to blame God for the pandemic, yet it was Man’s original sin which brought disease and sickness into a perfect world. We have no one but ourselves to blame. God offers a cure, but Man refuses it because it does not come on Man’s terms. From Ray Comfort:

21. Are we at risk? The fact that living things, and viruses can mutate is part of their design. Change within a species gives organisms the ability to adapt if the environment changes, but mutations almost never adds new information to the DNA, and most mutations are harmful, and they usually subtract information. The trend is down, not up, which absolutely contradicts Darwin. From Ray Comfort:

24. The Swine Flu has human DNA!

25. Antigenic Shift

27. Swine Flu: A Liberal Conspiracy "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence." Michele Bachmann Minnesota (R)