Continental drift Continental drift Continental drift is the theory that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The speculation that continents might have 'drifted' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596. The concept was independently and more fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected by many for lack of any motive mechanism. Arthur Holmes later proposed mantle convection for that mechanism. The idea of continental drift has since been subsumed by the theory of plate tectonics, which explains that the continents
Antigenic drift has been an important topic of study for over a decade. Antigenic drift has been responsible for heavier-than-normal flu seasons in the past, like the outbreak of influenza H3N2 variant A/Fujian/411/2002 in the 2003–2004 flu season. All influenza viruses experience some form of antigenic drift, but it is most pronounced in the influenza A virus. Antigenic drift should not be confused with antigenic shift, which refers to reassortment of the virus' gene segments. As well, it is different from random genetic drift, which is an important mechanism in population genetics. Antigenic drift Antigenic drift is a mechanism for variation in