Question

Give examples where knowledge of evolution has informed modern medicine, or other fields of biology such as
anatomy, embryology, or genetics. Be sure to thoroughly explain how evolution helped to inform this particular
disease/research/field.​

Answer 1

Answer:

An appreciation of the fundamental principles of evolutionary biology provides new insights into major diseases and enables an integrated understanding of human biology and medicine. However, there is a lack of awareness of their importance amongst physicians, medical researchers, and educators, all of whom tend to focus on the mechanistic (proximate) basis for disease, excluding consideration of evolutionary (ultimate) reasons. The key principles of evolutionary medicine are that selection acts on fitness, not health or longevity; that our evolutionary history does not cause disease, but rather impacts on our risk of disease in particular environments; and that we are now living in novel environments compared to those in which we evolved. We consider these evolutionary principles in conjunction with population genetics and describe several pathways by which evolutionary processes can affect disease risk. These perspectives provide a more cohesive framework for gaining insights into the determinants of health and disease. Coupled with complementary insights offered by advances in genomic, epigenetic, and developmental biology research, evolutionary perspectives offer an important addition to understanding disease. Further, there are a number of aspects of evolutionary medicine that can add considerably to studies in other domains of contemporary evolutionary studies.

Explanation:

Evolutionary medicine shifts the emphasis from dichotomous consideration of health and disease to a more contextual consideration. Ultimately, a new synthesis will be needed in which evolutionary biologists focused on contemporary evolution develop academic programmes jointly with scientists interested in medicine. The extraordinary potential of human medicine to determine the phenotype, genotype, and epigenotype of individuals allows a dissection of the life course in a way that may not be possible in other species. In doing so, studies in human biology have much to offer to our understanding of contemporary evolution.