Evolutionary medicine

Question 1

What was the thrift gene hypothesis an attempt of?

Answer 1

An attempt to explain why certain populations in the modern day are prone to type 2 diabetes and obesity: mahy have been historically advantageous

Question 2

What is antagonistic pleiotrophy?

Answer 2

genes that were beneficial in early life become harmful later in life

Question 3

Give examples of antagonistic pleiotrophy

Answer 3

high estrogen> high fecundity when young but increases chance of breast cancer
testosterone controls sex drive, sperm production but may one day cause prostate issues

Question 4

For whom would the thrifty genotype be useful and why?

Answer 4

For hunter-gather populations
it would allow them to fatten more quickly during times of abundance and would survive better during times of scarcity

Question 5

How does the thrift gene hypothesis impact us?

Answer 5

With a constant abundance of food, the genotype efficiently promotes individuals’ fat deposition in preparation for a famine that never comes

Question 6

What are systematic distortions of judgment?

Answer 6

Homo sapiens adaptations are today unfit causing them to make bad decisions under conditions of uncertainty

Question 7

What is a negative consequence of gene alleles favouring fat accumulation?

Answer 7

They are now turning their bad affects to modern subjects because of an unexpected caloric richness and sedentary environment

Question 8

What are 2 examples of human diseases due to evolutionary mismatch?

Answer 8

1. Women in cultures without contraception and with normal birth intervale have 100 menses per lifetime whereas postindustrial women have 400 menses: this leads to an increase in cell divisions leading to breast cancer
2. in the environment in which we evolved, we were frequently exposed to severe, persistent infections; now our environment is more antiseptic but autoimmune diseases are becoming more common