Biology 1001A Lecture Notes - Pleiotropy, Heterozygote Advantage, Autoimmune Disease
11 Sep 2013
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Lecture 23 evolutionary medicine lecture outcomes: examples of relevance of evolutionary principles to human health. Pathogens evolve: evolve resistance to drugs and vaccines, we can change ecology of pathogens to steer evolution in order to favour less harmful forms. Traces of evolutionary history affect our health: types of selection pressures we are historically adapted to are different from modern day/ what we are used to now. E. g. long tailed birds = more sexually attractive to females but have a. Symptoms may be defenses, not defects harder time escaping predators/ flying: unpleasant or uncomfortable but may have historically been defenses against disease, trends in incidence of infectious vs. autoimmune disorders with respect gdp. Infectious diseases have decreased in developed nations due to: better hygiene/sanitation, vaccines, better understanding about disease transmission. Autoimmune diseases have increased because: body"s immune system attacks itself or overreacts to mild stimulants, these disorders are happening at higher rates in wealthy countries (with high.
