Survival of the Sickest
The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity
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- €6.99
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- €6.99
Publisher Description
In this groundbreaking and absorbing book Dr. Sharon Moalem, delves back into the evolution of man to offer a radical perspective on survival, the human body, and our understanding of disease. Survival of the Sickest will change the way you think about your body.
Dr. Moalem investigates peculiar and puzzling features of human biology to reveal the answers to such provocative questions as:
Why do we need to pee when we’re cold?Can a person rust to death?Why are Greeks hairier than Africans?Can the tanning salon lower cholesterol?Why are leeches back in vogue?Can sunglasses cause sunburns?Who gets drunk faster – Europeans or Asians?
In considering the question of why diseases exist, Dr Moalem proposes that most common diseases came into existence for very good reasons. Diabetes, hemochromatosis, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia may all exist because, at some time in our past, they helped our ancestors survive some grand challenge to human existence. In turn, he also discovers that genetic and cultural differences have led to each race having different and unique ways of reacting to their environment and subsequently how they become susceptible to certain diseases.
Survival of the Sickest is a book about life – yours, ours and every little living thing under the sun. About how we all got here, where we're all going and what we can do about it. Revelatory and written in an utterly engaging fashion, Sharon Moalem's book will change the way you think about your body.
Reviews
'A tart, funny and fascinating confection about emerging evolutionary understanding of illness.' The Guardian
'Groundbreaking and absorbing.' Closer
'…an entertaining journey through evolutionary medicine.' New Scientist
'This is a revolutionary and engaging exploration of our evolutionary history'. The Herald
'Insightful and accessible.' The Good Book Guide
'Smart, entertaining and informative.' Lifescape
‘This excellent book deserves a place in every lending library in the land.’ The Oldie
About the author
Sharon Moalem has a Ph.D. in the emerging fields of neurogenetics and evolutionary medicine. His research has discovered a new genetic association for familial Alzheimer disease. He has also published on the adaptive advantages of the genetic mutations that cause Hemochromatosis. He continues to work as a researcher while finishing his medical training at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moalem, a medical student with a Ph.D. in neurogenetics, asks a number of provocative questions, such as why debilitating hereditary diseases persist in humans and why we suffer from the consequences of aging. His approach to these questions is solidly rooted in evolutionary theory, and he capably demonstrates that each disease confers a selective advantage to individuals who carry either one or two alleles for inherited diseases. But very little is new; the principles, if not every particular, that Moalem addresses have been covered in Randolph Nesse and George Williams's Why We Get Sick, among others. Whether he is discussing hemochromatosis (a disorder that causes massive amounts of iron to accumulate in individuals), diabetes or sickle cell anemia, his conclusion is always the same: each condition offers enough positive evolutionary advantages to offset the negative consequences, and this message is repeated over and over. Additionally, Moalem's endless puns and simple jokes wear thin, but his light style makes for easy reading for readers new to this subject.
