evolutionary medicine

Question 1

Why take an evolutionary approach?

Answer 1

Natural selection promotes survival and reproduction – not health

Natural selection has left us vulnerable

Question 2

limits to what selection & adaptation can achieve

Answer 2

Design constraints:
* Narrow birth canals
* Spinal cord designed for moving on all fours
* Wisdom teeth and appendix were not lost

Design compromises:
* Trade-offs mean that individual traits are not necessarily optimal

Question 3

WHY AND HOW DO PANDEMICS ARISE?

Answer 3

Virulence evolution
Host population dynamics
Super shedders/spreaders
Susceptible/Infectious/Resistant (SIR) models

The Spanish flu
Ebola
Influenza
SARS-CoV-19

Question 4

WHY DO WE SUFFER DEGENERATIVE DISEASES?

Answer 4

Ageing is an evolutionary process
Cancer is an evolutionary process Mismatches to modern diets, antibiotics use, etc.

Question 5

Traits that were once advantageous became maladaptive due to

Answer 5

changing environments

Question 6

WHY DO WE FACE MAJOR RESISTANCE CHALLENGES?

Answer 6

Antibiotics use matters
Resistance is an evolutionary process

Question 7

WHY ARE REPRODUCTIVE AND MENTAL DISEASES NOT REMOVED BY NATURAL SELECTION

Answer 7

• Genomic imprinting: Genes whose expression depend on whether they come from the father or mother
• Paternally expressed genes are predicted to be more selfish in resource allocation from mother to offspring
• Maternally expressed genes compensate for demands

Question 8

Having only sons increases risks of

Answer 8

-heart failure
-type-2 diabetes
-obesity

Question 8

Parental conflict over provisioning after birt

Answer 8

Badcock & Crespi risk- predictions:
x (autism/schizophrenia)