# Pathogens Span the Entire Tree of Life by Richard Prum > “Despite a lot of empirical progress, the full implications of the concept of phylogeny have yet to been appreciated in evolutionary biology and the culture at large. For example, the concept of homology—similarity relation among organisms and their parts due to common ancestry—can only be understood in terms of phylogeny. Infectious diseases are caused by various species from different branches on the Tree of Life. Defending against them requires understanding how to slow them down without hurting ourselves, which is greatly facilitated by understanding where they and we fit in the historical network of phylogeny.” > **— Richard Prum**, *2017, Edge Annual Question, “What Scientific Term Or Concept Ought To Be More Widely Known?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Phylogeny](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27179) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2017 Annual Question collection, *WHAT SCIENTIFIC TERM OR CONCEPT OUGHT TO BE MORE WIDELY KNOWN?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2017 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2017 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] - [[wiki/Species|Species]] - [[wiki/Major Evolutionary Transitions|Major Evolutionary Transitions]] - [[wiki/Human Evolution|Human Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Despite a lot of empirical progress, the full implications of the concept of phylogeny have yet to been appreciated in evolutionary biology and the culture at large. For example, the concept of homology—similarity relation among organisms and their parts due to common ancestry—can only be understood in terms of phylogeny. Infectious diseases are caused by various species from different branches on the Tree of Life. Defending against them requires understanding how to slow them down without hurting ourselves, which is greatly facilitated by understanding where they and we fit in the historical network of phylogeny.” — Richard Prum, 2017, Edge Annual Question, “What Scientific Term Or Concept Ought To Be More Widely Known?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-richard-prum-pathogens-span-entire-tree-life ```