The issue of Nature, one of the world’s most reputed science publications, on this day carried a small piece by Himadri Kumar Mookerjee, University College of Science and Technology, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata.
Titled ‘Evolution of the Occipital Condyle in the Vertebrata’, it talked about this particular feature in different kinds of vertebrata. The occipital condyle is the bony structure that links the skull and the vertebral column in humans. The piece talks about the evolution of this feature by observing amniota, amphibia and fish.
The previous item, written by S. Maulik from London, makes a more general observation, relevant for all times and a reminder of the limitations of human viewpoint. “Disease is a point of view,” it says. When one organism is living at the expense of another, the latter may be called diseased, but the former is healthy. By calling anything from nature diseased or healthy, one is projecting on to it the human point of view.