Darwinian Medicine

George C Williams, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA

Published online: May 2008

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001726.pub2

Modern concepts of evolutionary biology can provide important insights into human vulnerability to disease and suggest ways of reducing that vulnerability and treating the diseases. They also suggest some urgently needed research.

Keywords: adaptation; conflict; Darwinian; evolution

Figure 1. The reason for maternal–fetal conflict. The curve represents fetal fitness as a function of resources delivered via the placenta. Its highest point (at Of) is the fetal optimum. The maternal optimum is at the point of maximum fetal benefit per unit of maternal expenditure (Om).
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 References
    Eaton SB, Konnor M and Shostak M (1988) Stone agers in the fast lane: chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective. American Journal of Medicine 84: 739–749.
    Ewald PW (1993) The evolution of virulence. Scientific American 268(4): 86–93.
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    book Medawar PB (1952) An Unsolved Problem in Biology. London: HK Lewis. (Reprinted in Medawar, PB (1957) The Uniqueness of the Individual. New York: Basic Books.)
    book Nesse RM and Williams GC (1994) Why We Get Sick. New York: Times Books. (Also published 1995 as Evolution and Healing. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.)
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 Further Reading
    Billing J and Sherman PW (1998) Antimicrobial functions of spices: why some like it hot. Quarterly Review of Biology 73: 3–49.
    Gerber LM, Williams GC and Gray SJ (1999) The nutrient–toxin dosage continuum in human evolution and modern health. Quarterly Review of Biology 74: 273–289.
    Greaves M (2007) Darwinian medicine: a case for cancer. Nature Reviews Cancer 7: 213–221.
    Morell V (1997) How the malaria parasite manipulates its hosts. Science 278: 223.
    Nesse RM and Berridge KC (1997) Psychoactive drug use in evolutionary perspective. Science 278: 63–66.
    book Profet M (1992) "Pregnancy sickness as adaptation: a deterrent to maternal ingestion of teratogens". In: Barkow JH, Cosmides L and Tooby J (eds) The Adapted Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Shanks N and Pyles RA (2007) Evolution and medicine: the long reach of “Dr. Darwin”. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2: 4.
    book Stearns SC (ed.) (1999) Evolution in Health and Disease. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Strassman B (1996) The evolution of endometrial cycles and menstruation. Quarterly Review of Biology 71: 181–220.
    book Trevathan WR, McKenna JJ and Smith EO (eds) (1999) Evolutionary Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Williams GC (2000) The quest for medical normalcy: who needs it? American Journal of Human Biology 12: 10–16.

Related Sub-Topics:

Adaptive Evolution | Evolution: Theories and Ideas | Human Evolution | General Genetics and Disease
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Article Title: Darwinian Medicine
 
How to Cite close
Williams, George C(May 2008) Darwinian Medicine. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001726.pub2]