How Has Human Disease Impacted Human Evolution

Another major contributing factor for poor health is changes in diet and food resources because with the European settlements their foods were either destroyed or being inaccessible. Since the introduction of tea, flour and sugar they have become the staples of the community which lead to more and more diseases. “Diabetes and kidney failure are in epidemic

In "Survival of the Sickest" by Dr. Sharon Moalem and Jonathan Prince, the authors prove that modern day diseases were actually vital survival traits for our ancestors. Traits of certain passed on diseases that we would now normally consider deadly or unhealthy helped humans adapt to other sicknesses and problems. Diabetes, favism, and hemochromatosis are three examples of how hereditary diseases have once helped humans survive in the past.

Repeatedly throughout human history disease, and illness epidemics have altered the timelines of many civilizations across our globe. Thousands of diseases have been progressively recorded over time, nonetheless many of them have been eradicated due to the evolution of medical advancements. In today’s modern history new diseases are continuously discovered, while a few remain persistent from the past. An extravagant amount of history surrounds epidemics, they can lead to the social explanations for human’s actions during a time.

During the course of human history, pandemic diseases have threatened the balance of civilization itself. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other infectious agents have

The Bubonic Plague, Ebola, and Zika have made many tragic stops in the world we live in. This may include the past present or future. The plague has changed the the life's of many people in Middle Ages with the decline of feudalism. This meant the lower classes could have control as well. Ebola has changed the life's of people in Africa and in other parts of the world when it spread. Then Zika that could possibly affect the Olympics in the future because of the location. Diseases have cause deaths of many but if only there could be a cure?

Darwinian medicine, unlike most medical research that is focused on the proximate causes of diseases, looks at diseases from an evolutionary perspective; it seeks the reasons behind why natural selection has favored certain characteristics that are involved in disease acquisition or prevention. It looks into several concepts of adaptation including which types of adaptations combat pathogens, adaptations that pathogens have developed to counter other organism’s adaptations, maladaptive costs of organism’s adaptations, and adaptations that are no longer useful in our present day environment. The goal of this new science is to support advancements in the medical field. The ideas presented by Darwinian medicine are highly theoretical and still at the beginning of the process of development. Although it is a new science and has been a neglected perspective in the medical field, it offers insight on why natural selection has not selected for a flawless organism, what kinds of adaptations organisms have developed to combat injury, and what kinds of adaptations organisms have developed that are viewed today as mental disorders,.

Humans have ventured a long way since the times of our early ancestors living in caves and fearing the cold and beast that would roam the darkness . As a species we have evolved from using primitive stone and copper tools to building space stations and creating new elements. With this abundance of knowledge we have created and retained has come the ability of discovering and understanding new sciences and medical techniques to further the survivability of our species , however with discoveries of new medical practices and drugs we must be wary of the unknown risk that comes from tampering with the unknown and natural processes. In the 21st century drug prescription and use is a frequent occurrence among the adult American population, before the industrial revolution almost if not all medicine was made of naturally occurring plants and herbs and were used sparingly. What are the biological and genetic consequences of fielding clinically untested drugs in pregnant women and what effect does it have on natural selection in humans?

Chapter 9 in Diseases and Human Evolution discusses tuberculosis in humans and cattle. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of tuberculosis is the visits to the veterinarian whenever we wanted to cross state lines with livestock from our farm. Though Arizona is considered a tuberculosis free state, New Mexico is not. Even though our livestock was coming out of a TB free state, we still were required to take our goats to the vet and have blood draws done. The chapter reminded me of the relevance of tuberculosis in society today, both in livestock and humans, and how it is still a disease we are struggling to control in some countries, even though it has been around for several thousand years.

“In the end the microbes will have the last laugh” Loius Pasteur. The dynamic equilibrium which is equal to disease ecology states that disease is the selective force for human evolution and humans are the selective

While many diseases and viruses are caused by outside sources, some diseases occur from within the human body. Regular ailments can be cured with medicine, or fought off overtime by getting a vaccine, but certain diseases and anomalies cannot be directly treated. This is because they are genetically inherited by certain parts of one’s DNA. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid, and is inherited from the parents of a person. These strands, found within the nucleus of all cells, determine the appearance and genetic structure of a person. Through one’s DNA, there may be diseases inherited from the parents, such as sickle cell anemia, Gaucher’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. In order to heal and fix patients, doctors needed to learn more about the Human Genome. In 1990 work began on the Human Genome Project, which would map the entirety of the genes in the human species. However, the participants would not have been able to work without the discoveries made by those before them.

For more than a century, the U.S. government has been telling people what to eat. In the beginning of the book, the author gives a history of American diets and health over the last 100 years. This is important for readers to understand how dietary advice has affected what and how people eat. In 1900, the leading causes of death were infectious diseases, nutrient deficiency, and malnutrition, especially among the poor. Government nutritionists urged people to eat more of a variety of foods in order to prevent nutritional deficiencies and related diseases. Throughout the 1900’s, housing, sanitation, and nutrition improved due to an expanding economy, which resulted in a decline in diseases caused from nutritional deficiencies. Today, the leading causes of death are chronic diseases associated with excessive or unbalanced intake of food and nutrients (p 31). Despite the tremendous advances in medicine over the years, conditions directly

In D.T. Max’s essay on “How Humans Are Shaping Our Own Evolution”, he states that we are,” taking matters into our own hands.” After saying this, he quickly starts to mention both the effects (both positive and negative) of both naturally occurring adaptations and the artificially occurring adaptations that often occur through the ever-advancing means of technology.

Overview of Issue While modern lifestyles and medical care have certainly improved the longevity of humans in the developed world, and contributed to a greater quality of life scenario, those same lifestyles have engendered a number of issues that contribute to disease. Lack of proper diet, fast food, high fat and carbohydrate diets without adequate fruits and vegetables, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol contribute to an epidemic of obesity which, in turn, contributes to a serious metabolic disorder called Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. We usually think of pandemics as serious diseases that have the potential to hurt thousands if not millions of people through disease. Ironically, a 21st century pandemic is that many in the developed world, through a combination of a sedentary lifestyle, a high-fat diet, and sugary drinks, become obese to the point in which it having a serious negative affect on their health. Medical doctors, scholars, researchers are all in agreement that there is a complete link between what we eat and drink, and the consequences to our overall health. One need only look in the newspaper, magazines, grocery store aisles, or pop-up ads to see thousands of ads for diet pills, diet aids, etc. to see how frenzied people are for something to help them lose weight (Fumento, 1998). Are

Disease has been a major issue since the dawn of human existence. For hundreds upon

Maintaining good health conditions in a healthy environment is a basic requirement for people in any country. It is a fact that there are few factors that do not support a healthy lifestyle. In current times, the one factor that is increasing the unhealthy lifestyle is environmental change where latest technologies are changing the lifestyle and transforming the living style of human beings. The other factor is a genetic predisposition, which is causing obesity. The nation of the United States is one of the most obese nations in the world. The United States is facing several diseases that are generated by the one of the most common and rapidly increasing problems, which is converted into the disease, and that is obesity.