Survival Of The Sickest

25.A: A team of scientists at Duke University conducted an experiment on two groups of agouti mice. One group was fed vitamin supplements while the other was fed a regular diet. The agouti gene gives the mice a distinctive pale coat and tendency towards obesity. However, the mice that were fed vitamin supplements produced thin brown babies. This proves that certain genes can be turned off when conditions are

Inarguably the greatest asset of all living organisms (including humans), life is a matter of extreme complexity that possesses both wondrous and hindering aspects to it. Such a concept is captured within “Survival of the Sickest,” in which Dr. Moalem, alongside Jonathan Prince, accompany us on an evolutionary journey to appreciate our longevity and grasp humanity’s relationship with various diseases. Of these, I specifically selected for diabetes, favism, or G6PD deficiency, and hemochromatosis. One may ask, “Why?” Well, the former innately sparked much interest within me due to the fact that my diabetic grandmother of 70 recently passed away, while the latter two forced me to embrace the idea that too much or too little of a helpful substance

Why do we treat diabetes? There are a number of downstream events associated with abnormal blood glucose levels. If glucose levels are managed properly, the complications associated diabetes can be controlled, and sometimes completely prevented. The main problem with having more than the normal amount of glucose circulating in the blood stream is the effect that excess glucose can have on both large and small blood vessels (DTC, 2004). Micro-vascular and macro-vascular problems associated with diabetes can be seen in the heart, eyes, kidney, legs and feet. Diabetic patients are twice as likely to suffer from a mycocardial infaraction, twenty-five times more likely to suffer blindness, and seventeen times more likely to suffer kidney failure compared to a non-diabetic (DTC, 2004). Because of great number of risks associated with abnormal blood glucose levels, diabetes is aggressively treated to improve the quality of life and prevent complications in patients.

Diabetes is a disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Diabetes, Diabetes Mellitus, is a chronic illness this means that it has no cure and the symptoms persist over a long period of time. This illness is a result of an imbalance of hormones, insulin, produced in the pancreas. Insulin plays an important role in how the body uses food. Insulin enables the cells in the bloodstream to absorb and use glucose for fuel. If the pancreas produces too little or no insulin or if the insulin doesn’t work properly the person may become diabetic. Therefore, diabetics are not able to properly convert food into fuels needed by the body to function, which can seriously lead to physical consequences.

The first disease Moalem discusses, hemochromatosis, is a hereditary disorder that he himself lives with. It causes excess iron buildup throughout the body, damaging “the joints, the major organs, and overall body chemistry” (p. 13). Hemochromatosis can lead to “liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, infertility, psychiatric disorders[, ...] cancer” (p. 13) and, in the end, death. Although it is more common in some communities than others, today the low-penetrance disease only manifests in 1 in 200 people.

Uncontrolled diabetes can affect nearly every organ of the body; of which, heart disease and kidney failure are most commonly impacted. Known as diabetes mellitus, a collective term for various blood abnormalities, the term diabetes refers to either a scarcity of insulin in the body or the body’s inability to accept insulin. Though the symptoms of diabetes are manageable, many are unaware as to having it. According to the CDC report “2011 Diabetes Fact Sheet,” approximately 6 million people in the United States have undiagnosed diabetes. Undetected, diabetes can become deadly. In a recent World Health Organization report “Diabetes Action Now: An Initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation,” it

In the book, “Survival of the Sickest”, Sharon Moalem forms the basis of how vaccine originated to become a way of combatting the most dangerous diseases in the world. It began with a discovery from a man named Edward Jenner, a doctor from Gloucestershire county in England, where he began to understand a strange pattern when people who were immune to cowpox were struggling with smallpox and vice-versa. He started to test his findings through a small experiment where he injected cow pox into a group of young children and he was surprised to see that their bodies built immunity towards smallpox and supported his findings on the bizarre immunity of people towards either the smallpox or the cowpox but not to both. The rest of the chapter explains complex concepts

Take hemochromatosis, a hereditary condition that causes iron to accumulate in a person's body. A person having hemochromatosis

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

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).

Long-term effects of diabetes can cause many serious complications: heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputations, and kidney disease and nerve damage. These complications are usually progressive and develop over time due to poor control of blood glucose levels. High blood glucose levels cause a narrowing of all the vessels, blockage, and high blood pressure.

Diabetes is a major problem in our society today. Many people have heard about the disease; however, they do not know too much about its complications. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive and lifelong condition that affects the body’s ability to use the energy found in food (WebMD, 2016). Many new cases are confirmed every year and unfortunately, many go undiagnosed for years. Diabetes is a serious disease and need to be taking seriously. The disease can lead to many other health problems such as blindness, nerve damage and kidney diseases. The more the community understand and made aware of the seriousness of the disease, the better it can be control and or prevented.

Diabetes has been out for thousands of years and still no cure. researchers and scientist have been searching and searching for ways to overcome this disease but nothing yet. Everyone goals are to either improve, prevent, or cure this disease. Diabetes became very known around the seventeenth century because of a high percentage of people was found with sugar in their urine and blood. Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases that affects our society worldwide. The average person in this world does not know anything about this disease. The diabetes association said “In 2013 the estimate of 328 million people had diabetes throughout the world”. Society today need to be aware of what we are up against with this disease.

Diabetes Mellitus is “a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. It is a disease which is caused by the insufficient insulin secretion or decrease in the peripheral effects of insulin. It is a serious problem in terms of morbidity and mortality. The hyperglycemia is associated with long term damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs especially the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels. It’s associated with many complications which includes blindness of the eyes and amputations of the extremities. It is also associated with neuropathy, retinopathy, and cardiovascular diseases which lead to mortalities.