Body by Darwin
Subtitle: how evolution shapes our health and transforms medicine
By: Jeremy Taylor
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 252
ISBN-13: 9780226059884
Subjects: Evolutionary genetics; Evolution (Biology); Human evolution
Description: "We think of medical science and doctors as focused on treating conditions--whether it's a cough or an aching back. But the sicknesses and complaints that cause us to seek medical attention actually have deeper origins than the superficial germs and behaviors we regularly fault ... Jeremy Taylor [argues that] we can trace the roots of many medical conditions through our evolutionary history, revealing what has made us susceptible to certain illnesses and ailments over time and how we can use that knowledge to help us treat or prevent problems in the future"--Dust jacket flap.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Absent friends : how the hygiene hypothesis explains allergies and autoimmune diseases; title: A fine romance : how evolutionary theory explains infertility and diseases of pregnancy; title: The downside of upright : the relationship between bipedalism and orthopedic illnesses; title: DIY eye : how developmental biology cures blindness and rebuts creationism; title: Hopeful monsters : why cancer is almost impossible to cure; title: A problem with the plumbing : why the evolution of coronary arteries makes us prone to heart attacks; title: Three score years; title: and then? : how evolution is breathing new life into Moribund Dementia research.