Blog 9: Evolutionary Medicine

Blog 9: Evolutionary Medicine
Firstly, I would like to state that any and all knowledge whether it be concerning evolution or not, can aid in the diagnosis and treatment a physician prescribes. However, speaking strictly in the context of evolution I believe that it awards many advantages that can be seen as highly beneficial in treating patients. A greater understanding of the body as well as how it evolved over the years, can enhance a physician’s ability to understand the conditions of their patients. Seeing the advantageous traits that evolution confers on select individuals, can allow doctors to use this substantial information for health care applications.

The well-known evolutionary theory of kin selection states how cooperation can evolve and lead to altruistic behaviors geared towards closely related individuals versus non-relatives. An example of these cooperative efforts is present in colonies of bacteria residing in oral cavities. Different unrelated colonies live on human teeth and the act of brushing ones teeth can be used to “mix” unrelated adjacent colonies which results in a decreased rate of bacterial growth, as well as of lessening plaque, and indirectly decreasing the rate of tooth decay. By simply understanding the evolutionary theory of kin selection, doctors, dentists and scientists, can create more effective products and treatments that seek to exploit this evolutionary fact for beneficial purposes.

Within the field of medicine nothing is more important than understanding the complex mechanisms of viruses. This area is so fundamental to the purpose of medicine since viruses are non-discriminatory against humans and seek to exploit their hosts’ defenses as well their biological machinery for their own survival, at the cost of the hosts'. Understanding the diverse pathways in which viruses are formed can allow us to formulate better mechanisms and tactics that inhibit viral production. Doing so will encourage a greater survival rate of the infected individual as well as diminish the effects of the pathogen. The evolution of viruses is so crucial to the study and practice of medicine that the two should never be polarized.
Another point that should be made, is the importance of understanding Darwin’s statement, “I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection” By simply understanding that natural selection is a process that continuly seeks to perpetuate useful traits, then according to Darwin, in cases that may be perceived as potentially harmful toward and individual need to be further reexamined, as they may have been maintained throughout evolutionary time due to their unapparent advantages.. Such an example is morning sickness of pregnant women. The morning sickness serves a purpose, and that purpose is to protect the fetus from outside toxins consumed by the mother. Insuring that no toxins are ingested during this vulnerable time at this time will help ensure the safety of the fetus. Certain foods trigger nausea--the biological equivalent of a caution sign to the mother to not ingest certain foods so as to not harm her growing child. Many medications today are prescribed to relieve women of their morning sickness, however by doing so—rather than educating the women about certain diets that can diminish or completely rid them of their morning sickness all together---- may alleviate the mother’s symptoms but at the cost of harm to the fetus.

So it can be said that understanding evolution and its various mechanism can result in increased benefits when physicians treat their patients