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Medicine, evolution, and natural selection: an historical overview
1Institut d'Histoire de la Médecine et de la Santé, Genève, Switzerland. FABIOZAMPIERI@HOTMAIL.COM
The Quarterly Review of Biology
|December 31, 2009
Summary
Darwinian medicine seeks evolutionary explanations for human disease vulnerability. This approach examines why natural selection leaves us susceptible to illness, building on historical research into disease and natural selection.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Medicine
- Darwinian Medicine
Background:
- Historical attempts (1880-1940) explored evolutionary theories of disease, focusing on traits escaping natural selection.
- Contemporary Darwinian medicine expands this by considering all evolutionary reasons for disease vulnerability.
Observation:
- Human bodies possess vulnerabilities to disease.
- Natural selection has shaped these vulnerabilities.
Findings:
- Darwinian medicine provides a framework for understanding disease through an evolutionary lens.
- It investigates the evolutionary pressures that contribute to human susceptibility to illness.
Implications:
- Understanding evolutionary medicine can inform disease prevention and treatment strategies.
- This field offers novel insights into the origins and persistence of diseases in human populations.
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