Scientists recently claimed they had solved one of the great mysteries of biology – and the answer is truly fascinating.

Researchers believe that they now know the purpose of the appendix; that small tube found in the lower intestine that has baffled and mystified physicians throughout history.

Dr. William Parker of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina has suggested that the structure acted as a reservoir for beneficial bacteria which could then repopulate the gut after an infection or other illness.

Certain bacteria are necessary for normal gut function, but a serious intestinal illness flushes all these away. Today in our more crowded world, repopulating our guts with “good” bacteria is relatively easy. We come into contact with the bugs all day every day.

However, hundreds of years ago when the population was sparse, such repopulation of the intestine was difficult if an entire community had been hit by, say, cholera. The appendix acted as a reservoir for the useful bacteria and therefore a primer after a gut illness to bring back a healthy digestive system.

An increasing population and our increasing mobility effectively made the appendix’s function redundant, but it was vital in a low-density world. This is just one small change that the rise and rise of the Homo sapien has created, but as the world’s population grows and grows, what other changes are we likely to see. The main question I am asking myself, I guess, is: are we in danger of become dangerously overpopulated?

Before I write any further I must confess that I owe everything to fop-haired monstrosity Boris Johnson. I always find his articles good for a giggle, but he is patently not the sharpest pin in the box. However, he wrote a piece on population in the Telegraph on Thursday which I found fascinating. It was not the words written by the fair Boris that were fascinating, but some of the comments posted by readers on the website in response.

Read the article here - Global Over-Population Is The Real Problem

The subject is clearly very contentious. Blundering Boris’ point was that global warming was not the real problem facing the world: the problem is overpopulation. We need to reengage with the population debate and find a way to slow down population growth, he argued.

Lies and damned lies

The argument was compelling, but there were many dissenters.

“You can fit all of the people in the world today in the city of Jacksonville, Florida” one cried. This proves that we are not overpopulated, right? They even managed to prove it. Apparently, the area required for 6.7 billion people at 5 people per square metres is 1340 square kilometre. The area of Jacksonville is 9,577 square kilometres, so they’ll be some shoulder room too.

According to another poster, every single person could also fit onto the Isle of Wight, therefore we could double, triple or quadruple the planets population and there would be enough space for all.

Patently these arguments are utter, utter nonsense.

You can prove anything with a statistic or two. Accurate statistics have always been used to bolster inaccurate arguments.

People often say that the UK is “overpopulated”, but that’s not strictly true either. Take a flight from Scotland to London and you will see mile after mile of green space. We are not being forced over the cliffs of Dover like a bunch of Britannic lemmings.

The truth of the matter is that we are not full to the brim with people because that is not something we want to be. British people like green spaces, country pubs and rolling hills. We do not want to be like The Netherlands which is just a sprawling mass of conurbations.

So, I would argue that we are “overpopulated,” despite the world’s population being able to fit in the Isle of Wight (imagine what would happen if all those people wanted to lie down.)

The Cambridge Dictionary says: If a country or city, etc. is overpopulated, it has too many people for the amount of food, materials and space available there.

Of course we could fit many more millions of people on this planet if we want to. But, if we did, it would reduce the quality of all our lives, it would starve the planet of resources and probably result in untold warfare. It is not something that is desirable at all. We are therefore, heading for a serious bout of overpopulation. One thing that all people need is space.

So, I have to admit that I am in total agreement with Boris the upper class twit. We need to urgently control population growth if we can, because a crowded life is a dirty and unpleasant life. I’m just not sure if it is possible, so it looks like we are stuck with environmental damage and major resource wars. It’s a shame, really, but that’s what is likely to happen. P.S. If you enjoyed this article then sign up for Smart Commodities UK. It’s dedicated to searching out the investment trends that could provide our biggest profit opportunities for the next decade…

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