Evolutionary Theory and Disease Causation Flashcards
What is evolution in the context of anthropology?
The change in genetic traits of populations over generations, driven by mechanisms such as natural selection and genetic drift.
What is Darwin’s theory of natural selection?
The idea that organisms with traits best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits to the next generation.
What are the key differences between Lamarckian and Darwinian evolution?
Lamarck believed acquired traits could be passed down, while Darwin proposed that only heritable traits are selected through natural selection.
Who was Aristotle, and how did he view living forms?
Aristotle viewed organisms as fixed, each occupying a rung on the “scala naturae,” a hierarchical ladder of life.
What are the drivers of evolutionary change?
- Mutation
- gene flow
- genetic drift
- natural selection
What is the evolutionary significance of Darwin’s finches?
They are an example of how environmental changes led to natural selection of different beak shapes, showcasing evolution in action.
What are the necessary conditions for evolution to occur by natural selection?
Variation in traits, differential reproduction, and heredity.
What is evolutionary medicine?
A field that explores how evolutionary history influences modern human health and disease.
What are the five categories of disease vulnerability?
- Mismatch between modern and
ancestral environments - Pathogen evolution
- Constraints on natural selection
- Trade-offs in physiology
- Reproductive success vs. individual health
What is adaptation?
A trait that increases an organism’s chance of survival and reproduction in a specific environment.
What is a proximate cause?
The immediate cause (genetic mutation, diet, viral infection).
These are biomedical causes
What is an ultimate cause?
The why. Biocultural approach (social, economic, cultural)
Novel environments
An explanation for disease
Humans lived as hunter gatherers for millions of years, and much of our current physiology evolved in these novel environments and not in present time
To cope with novel environments, diseases develop (related to high fat diet and low activity)
What is required for evolution?
Organisms that have different traits that allow them to live and reproduce over other organisms because of a specific factor in their environment (selects for specific traits)
Example of novel coping mechanism
Heart attack: blood supply to heart is cut off, muscle starts to die
