Dr. Sharon Moalem And Jonathan Prince

Another reason that disease is needed was defined by Thomas Malthus. His concept is called the Malthusian Law, which states that the population will increase geometrically while the food supply will increase arithmetically. This, simply put, means that the population will grow enormously faster than the food supply will. Predictably, this leads to starvation and death. Disease, as a natural check, prevents this from happening. As the population is checked, the supply of food can keep up with the growth of population, keeping the ecosystem balanced. If disease was not a prevalent factor to check the growth of population, then the Malthusian Law certainly would be.

People of the Old World had domesticated pigs, horses, sheep, and cattle(1), which had acted as pathogens to infect the Europeans with diseases. In addition, diseases were constantly circulated with centuries of war, exploration, and city building. During the process of natural selection, disease-intolerant

“What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger” (p. 28). In the scientific novel Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem with Jonathan Prince, self-acclaimed “Medical Maverick” Dr. Moalem makes in-depth analyses of current human diseases that, ironically, may have led to the survival of mankind in the past. He presents a novel concept that greatly contradicts what have been universally accepted beliefs surrounding biology and the process of human evolution for a long time. With the use of myriad scientific studies and research, he formulates surprising theories about a positive correlation between disease and humanity. Moalem narrates the scientific world’s findings that strongly exemplify his assertions, however arbitrary they may seem at first. Three of the diseases that he examines, hemochromatosis, Type 1 diabetes, and favism, could have been particularly useful for resistance against other illnesses and survival in a historically harsh environment.

During the Age of Exploration there wasn’t a treatment for any of the disease like influenza , malaria , measles , and typhus. Now in 2016 the only disease that was brought into the New World has no treatment still which is

This is one area which contrasts greatly with the native cultures. The Indians of the Americas were far ahead of the Europeans of their time. Because of the closeness and respect for nature, many natural cures were used. The Aztecs had even gone as far as surgery to remove organs and even work on the brain. The Indians also took much better care of themselves pysically. This was done by a better diet and exercise. In some cultures a type of martial arts was taught beginning in adolesence, to keep in shape both mentally and pysically. Despite all of these advancements, they were powerless to the new and unfamilliar European diseases.

Over the last 100 years, the United States of America have experienced loss of human lives due to various causes. These deaths can be attributed to deficiencies in the medicines for curing the corresponding diseases. There have being changes over time as the main cause for a particular period of time does not persist forever. The most dangerous diseases during the year 1900 are not still dangerous today. This is because of the improvements that have

Although populations in ancient societies suffered attacks, invasions, starvation, and persecution, there was a more efficient killer that exterminated countless people. The most dreaded killers in the ancient world were disease, infections and epidemics. In many major wars the main peril was not gunfire, nor assault, but the easily communicable diseases that rapidly wiped out whole divisions of closely quartered soldiers. Until the time of Hippocrates, in the struggle between life and death, it was, more often than not, death that prevailed when a malady was involved. In the modern world, although illness is still a concern, advances in thought and technique have led to the highest birth rates in recorded history. No longer is a fever a

When you think of horrid diseases a couple will come to mind. One of the ones that comes to my mind is Polio. Even though this disease is virtually eradicated, it was once rampant. Paralyzing and killing children, there was no treatment or cure for this horrendous disease. As stated by Indiana Jen, “It wasn’t until the 1960s that the Salk vaccine was developed enough to provide immunity to 99% of recipients.” Nowadays, most adults and children never have been touched by the disease and fail to recall that it was once a killer of children.

Survival of the Sickest is a fascinating book that explores why we need disease and how different diseases have evolved from the beginning of time. Author, Dr. Sharon Moalem goes beyond the surface and answers many questions about evolution and disease for example, “Was diabetes evolution’s response to the last Ice Age?” and many others. Dr. Moalem shares how many of the diseases that we call harmful today have actually proven to be beneficial to survival for our ancestors. This book shows how every single thing that our ancestors have done in the past from the environment they lived in to the food they ate can be seen in our genetic code. Survival of the Sickest does not solely focus on the history of disease and evolution, it shows the reader

Like the world around us the medical field is always changing. It is always pushing forward, trying to understand mysteries of the human body that have boggled researchers for decades. What confuses scientists more, are the organisms or conditions that create these abnormalities that can send the human body into a downward spiral. Disease is something that has affected human civilization since the dawn of time. It can either be chronic or acute, but in either case it has the potential to bring havoc to the human body systems that can lead to devastating consequences. Generally there are two main types of diseases, ones caused by invading pathogens and those which are hereditary. One hereditary disease that can be particularly tragic is

In Survival of the Sickest, Dr. Sharon Moalem shares his perspective on “modern disease” and how exactly these disease came to be- through evolution. Revolving around the concept that “whatever let you live another day was evolutionarily desirable”, Dr. Moalem revealed that diseases found in humans were actually all just the result of the same process that distinguished the species from other life: natural selection. Moreover, the diseases that were killing us now- actually gave us (our predecessors) happier, longer lives tens, hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years ago. In a way, Dr. Moalem suggested that diseases were almost a defense mechanism- spurred by humankind’s desperate struggle to survive in times of crisis (e.g. plagues, Ice Ages, natural disaster).

The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.

The first disease that will be discussed is hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis mainly targets the liver, heart, pancreas, joints, testicles, thyroid, and skin organs. The symptoms of hemochromatosis include: “liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, infertility, psychiatric disorders, and cancer.” Hemochromatosis was first described by Armand Trousseau in 1865. Then, in 1889 Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen coined the term hemochromatosis. Afterwards, a group of California scientists isolated the gene that caused hemochromatosis in 1996. Hemochromatosis affects around one in every two hundred people that have Western European ancestry. Liver biopsies were commonly used to diagnose hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis was often treated with phlebotomy (bloodletting) to reduce the amount of iron in the bloodstream. As “the most common genetic variant in people of Western European descent”, hemochromatosis has impacted humanity in a profound way. Many more people might have died in the Bubonic Plague and in subsequent plagues if not for the evolutionary advantages provided by hemochromatosis. In the present day however, hemochromatosis is a dangerous disease if fully manifested in a person and left untreated. Hemochromatosis made Europeans more resistant to bacterial infections like the Bubonic Plague. This happens because hemochromatosis reduces the iron levels in macrophages. Macrophages are white blood cells help fight and contain diseases. Also, macrophages usually

Diseases never discriminate. Nearly every problem availing mankind concerns a specific social class, a specific religious sect, or a specific economic bracket. But diseases never discriminate. Diseases are unique in the sense that they can bring the richest, most powerful men to their knees. For example, the thirty-second President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, most famously suffered from poliomyelitis (more commonly known as “polio”) while in office,[1] and technological billionaire Steve Jobs tragically lost a seven-year battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.[2]

A century ago our ancestors feared infectious and communicable diseases such as smallpox -- diseases that claimed many children’s lives and limited the average life expectancy of adults. Today far fewer infectious diseases threaten us, thanks to medical science’s ability to identify disease-causing microorganisms and develop vaccines. In developed nations, purification of water prevents the spread of infections, and immunizations protect individuals. Most people live well into their later years, and today’s average life expectancy far exceeds that of our ancestors (Whitney pp.646).