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In this fully revised and updated edition, the editors have integrated a completely new set of contributions from the leading researchers in the field to describe the latest research in evolutionary medicine, providing a fresh summary of this rapidly expanding field 10 years after its predecessor was first compiled. It continues to adopt a broad approach to the subject, drawing on medically relevant research from evolutionary genetics, human behavioural ecology, evolutionary microbiology (especially experimental evolution of virulence and resistance), the evolution of aging and degenerative disease, and other aspects of biology or medicine where evolutionary approaches make important contributions.
Evolution in Health and Disease describes how evolutionary thinking gives valuable insights and fresh perspectives into human health and disease, establishing evolutionary biology as an essential complementary science for medicine. Integrating evolutionary thought into medical research and practice helps to explain the origins of many medical conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, allergies, other autoimmune diseases, and aging. It also provides life-saving insights into the evolutionary responses of pathogens to antibiotics, vaccinations, and other human interventions. Why do we grow old? How can we stay healthy as we age? The book discusses these and many other fascinating questions, as well as suggesting exciting possibilities for future treatment and research.
PART I: INTRODUCTION; 1. Introducing evolutionary thinking; 2. Research Designs that Address Evolutionary Questions about Medical Disorders; PART II: HUMAN HISTORY AND HUMAN GENES; 3. The history and geography of human genetic diversity; 4. Medically relevant genetic variation of drug effects; 5. Genetic variation and human disease: The role of natural selection; 6. Human genetic variation and its impact on public health and medicine; PART III: NATURAL SELECTION, CONFLICTS, AND CONSTRAINTS; 7. Genetic conflicts of pregnancy and childhood; 8. Human evolution and disease: putting the stone age in perspective; 9. Pathogen-driven sexual selection and the evolution of health; 10. Evolutionary interpretations of the diversity of reproductive health and disease; PART IV: PATHOGENS, DRUGS AND VIRULENCE; 11. The population biology of anti-infective chemotherapy and the evolution of drug resistance: more questions than answers; 12. Development and use of vaccines against evolving pathogens: Vaccine design; 13. Evolution of infectious diseases: the impact of vaccines, drugs and social factors; 14. The evolution and expression of parasite virulence; 15. Molecular phylogenies and the genetic structure of viral populations; 16. The genetic population structure of pathogenic bacteria; 17. Whole-genome analyses of pathogens; 18. What can evolutionary biology contribute to understanding virulence?; PART V. NONINFECTIOUS AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASE; 20. An evolutionary perspective on the genetic architecture of susceptibility to cardiovascular disease; 21. The fetal origins of coronary heart disease and stroke: evolutionary implications; 22. The evolutionary context of chronic degenerative diseases; 23. Testing evolutionary hypotheses about mental disorders; 24. The evolution of non-infectious and degenerative disease
This book is a veritable treasure trove...The book is written in an extremely clear, mostly nontechnical style. Lab Times The book should be a welcome addition to the shelves of academics and students in the biological sciences, as well as medical practitioners for whom it was primarily intended. Jerzy M. Behnke Parasites & Vectors ...this book will stimulate fresh thinking and new approaches to traditional medical problems The New England Journal of Medicine The chapters are well-organized and refreshingly free of jargon, with good flow across the diverse range of topics. American Journal of Human Biology This splendid book, will not only delight biologists (both established and apprentice) but also help medical students to appreciate biological issues underlying their future craft. Biologist magazine This second edition is a welcome addition to the growing integration of the biomedical sciences. As an evolutionary biologist, I found myself grateful more than once that these well organized summary articles on so many disciplines connected to evolutionary biology and geomics could be found between only two covers! Lee F Greer, Doody's Notes The second edition of "Evolution in Health and Disease"(S.C. Stearns and J.C. Koella, editors) Provides a timely update that should help to further energize this interdisciplinary paradigm...[...] The coverage in "Evolution in health and disease" is broad, ranging from infectious to chronic disease and microbial genomics to life-history theory. "EVolution in health and disease"provides compelling evidence that and evolutionary perspective can lead to important and novel insights into issues relevant to human health. Trends in Ecology and Evolution
