Survival of the Sickest Chapter Summaries Essay

- The campers ask Gary & his friends about the place and what they have.

Diabetes is a complex disease which bonds together evolution and environmental factors and creates many health issues for humans. Diabetes (mellitus) is classified into three groups of metabolic diseases that involves high blood sugar (glucose) and it can occur in different ways depending on circumstances. Type 2 diabetes occurs when cells do not function correctly, and evidently the cells do not properly respond to insulin. Type 1 diabetes involves the body’s inadequate production of insulin, which is commonly referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes. What are the links between evolution, the environment and a staggering number of people diagnosed with diabetes?

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

In his book Survival of the Sickest, Dr. Sharon Moalem examines several modern diseases, and suggests that although they are harmful now, they may have once provided our ancestors with an evolutionary advantage that was selected for. The book puts the present day view of disease and medicine in a new light, providing the reader with an entirely new perspective on illness, inheritance, and natural selection. Some of the afflictions Dr. Moalem discusses are hemochromatosis, diabetes, and high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia). The author offers background knowledge about these conditions, their history, and goes on to explain the evolutionary advantages they may have bestowed upon our ancestors, changing the reader’s mindset and creating new

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

Dr. Sharon Moalem, the author of Survival of the Sickest, provides a fascinating glimpse into the idea that modern human diseases that afflict us actually have a significant role in the selection and the existence of our ancestors. Before reading this book, I was used to thinking of diseases as disorders that adversely affect a person. While this may be the case for most individuals, Moalem explained in his book that that there’s an underlying connection between various diseases and longevity of a species. He explained how these diseases helped fight against more life threatening situations such as the Bubonic Plague, malaria, and the ice age. Most importantly, I learned that evolution did not necessarily favor adaptations that make us better, but those that help us survive, even if these adaptations would kill us in the long run.

In a study conducted in 1985 observing primates, it was determined that the major effect of dietary cholesterol is its LDL raising effects. High intakes of cholesterol increase the number of circulating LDL’s and it can also change its size and composition. [12] It was during this time period that the mechanisms by which SFA are thought to increase blood cholesterol concentrations came about. One mechanism for the increase in LDL cholesterol levels is the suppression of LDL receptor activity. Studies in tissue cultures have shown that increasing the cholesterol content of a cell will down-regulate synthesis of LDL receptors. [13] This will lead to an increase in concentration of blood cholesterol. Another cause for an increase in blood cholesterol concentration through intake of dietary SFA is the composition of the newly secreted lipoproteins. With a high saturated fat intake, the LDL’s become rich in cholesterol esters, leaving the triglycerides in the blood. [14] The use of non-human primates in

Hemochromatosis is the over loading of Iron in the body which lead to damage to organs. Although Iron is thought to help bacteria grow more rapidly with this particular illness it blocks bacteria from growing due to iron-deficient macrophages. Macrophages are white blood cells that act as a blockage for bacteria and can help kill the bacteria off instead of feeding it since with done not have the iron the bacteria needs to thrive. The example used in the book is the Bubonic plague, it is thought that the people had this block were less susceptible to the plague and that was the majority of the people that survived. This is ultimately what has been allowing the mutation to live on in the gene

The answer is explicable. People who normally live in freezing temperatures develop something called brown fat cells which allow their bodies to convert any blood sugar that is delivered to them into heat. Therefore, our diabetic ancestors who lived through the Younger Dryas would have blood sugar levels high enough to be converted into heat that should help them sustain through the freezing temperatures. Some may ask how it can be taken for granted that people from nearly thirteen thousand years ago had high blood sugar levels given that there were numbers of people dying from starvation itself. However, in Survival of the Sickest, a seasonal blood test done on over a quarter million veterans evidently showed that naturally “blood sugar levels

The human body has evolved to what you are right now, a hopefully complex and amazing functional being. We are made of organ systems which are made up of organs, that which are made up of tissues, and tissues are made up of cells. It goes even more in depth, but that is the grasp of the human complexity, the fact that we are made up of so much and that is made up of things as well. Here's a riddle, what's extremely small and you can't see, but helps to keep you alive everyday? Well this is easy, your cells, but those aren't the only ones. Let's talk about viruses and diseases, being bedridden for a day and you feel like you're going to die, well apparently what can kill you, makes you stronger. In the explanatory book, "Survival of the Sickest", Dr Sharon Moalem allows us to grasp the knowledge that our cells are not the only ones that benefited our longevity of life, but the stuff that can kill us, has also done the trick. Hemochromatosis, Diabetes, and Glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD deficiency or favism), are all things that can kill is easily without the proper treatment. However, long ago, these are the same that would help us live longer. Basically evolution wanted you to live another 5 years, then another 5 days.

As the book mentions, sugar helps heat the body, but how? Brown fat, an important type of fat in our body coincides with our sugar to provide heat when it is cold. The human body has a brain of its own. When it senses that it is too cold it functions in unique to stay safe. In this scenario, humans pee more when they are cold. This leads to more sugar in their bodies. Brown fat then transforms this sugar into heat. Initially taking place during a rapid period of temperature drops known as the Younger Dryas, it is hypothesized that this is how people in Europe survived the extremities of the cold. People with diabetes have even more sugar in their bodies. This means that they feel even warmer during this time. There is evidence to prove this as studies show that a diabetics urine is much sweeter than normal humans. As mentioned before, those with diabetes contain more sugar in their water. Also, a study consisting of nearly 300,000 American veterans with diabetes did indeed notice differences in their blood sugar levels through the years. Evidently, the highest blood sugar levels were detected in the cooler months of the

Hemochromatosis, a deleterious allele, is a disease where lots of iron is accumulated in the blood. It can cause serious issues and can be fatal, but at the same time it has the capability to reduce the availability of iron content in macrophages and thus controls the spread of bacteria. Europe’s Black Plague wiped out many. However, those with hemochromatosis had a higher chance of survival. Hemochromatosis indicated a lower iron content in the macrophage, which in turn killed infectious diseases that contaminated the body. Since the bubonic plague conditions lasted until the 19th century, prolonged exposure increased the frequency of the allele for hemochromatosis. This is because hemochromatosis helped the first generation of carriers to

Cholesterol affects everyone at some point in time. Cholesterol is a lipid, a soft, fat-like substance that in a reasonable amount is crucial in maintaining good health. The liver produces a fat like a particle known as cholesterol. People ingest cholesterol daily in the food they eat call lipoproteins. The body needs Cholesterol to make Vitamin, hormones, and bile. A buildup of cholesterol in the walls causes plaque formation damaging and hardening the wall of the arteries. The hardened plaque narrow the blood flow through the artery known as Atherosclerosis. The consequence of elevated cholesterol can lead to several medical misfortunes such as heart attack, heart disease, stroke, menopause, and blood vessel disease. High cholesterol contributes

Cholesterol is made with steroid hormones.Our body uses cholesterol by helping blood sugar.From what I know is that candy and sweets have cholesterol and if someone has lbs they need to eat sweets to feel better.The body also helps vitamin D and energizes us.This is what I know about