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Essay On Survival Of The Sickest

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The novel Survival of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem did a great job of exploring and explaining the history of the evolution of modern genetic diseases. The author research and explain the underlying evolutionary mechanisms of past human genetic history and adaptations that support why modern humans still have these heritable genetic diseases. There are many factors that play the role of how an individual or a population inherited a certain genetic disease. Some of these factors are relatively new and intriguing as scientists and biologists alike are continuing to learn more about the unknowns of the vast field of genetics. Factors that affect the inheritance as well as the prevalence of the mechanisms of the genetic diseases include hazardous chemical environmental factors, gene regulation …show more content…

The body is unable to recognize that the body has a sufficient amount of iron so the body continues to absorb iron from the food we as humans eat until it severely damages our body organs causing an imbalance in body chemistry which could ultimately lead to death if the hemochromatosis goes unchecked without any treatment. Iron is essential to the human’s survival but too much iron is proven to be deadly. Symptoms of Hemochromatosis includes having weak bone joints, fatigue, and general weakness. The Lymph nodes also swell up as the iron supply is heavily distributed in our bloodstream and our body. Iron levels are extremely high in all areas of the body except for the Macrophages. The Macrophages are cells that fight for us in the immune system to protect against foreign invaders. Since Macrophages need iron to function, it cannot effectively protect our body from certain bacteria and maintain certain internal problems. The progression of Hemochromatosis if left unnoticed or untreated could lead to many other health problems such as heart problems, liver diseases, diabetes, or even

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Leukocytosis; the blood contains to many white cells (infection causes an increase of white blood cells) 6. Sideropenia is when the body doesn’t have enough iron. 7. Hemothorax is when blood occurs in the pleural cavity. 8.

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578 Words | 3 Pages

Inheritance by Dr. Sharon Moalem is an exceptional book. Dr. Moalem’s goal for writing this book is to convey a new idea of genetics and inheritance to the reader. In middle school and high school we were taught that our genetics comes from our parents and that they are fixed throughout our lifetime, but Dr. Sharon Moalem brings the idea that the environment may alter them. He states that the food we eat and the trauma we endure during life can imprint onto our genes. Dr. Moalem works with rare genetic disorders where he accumulates his knowledge from research to help treat his patients with changing some environmental factors in their lives.

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Dr. Moalem’s unique view on disease and humanity’s complex relationship with it inspired many questions in the mind of the reader. He theorizes that diseases passed on genetically remained in the gene pool because they may have provided advantages to our ancestors, and this theory casts a new light and creates a new perspective on such diseases. The diseases discussed in the book, such as hemochromatosis, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, would ordinarily be considered harmful. However, the author explains that under different circumstance, these illnesses might have been viewed as beneficial instead, and that these benefits are worth

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919 Words | 4 Pages

Thrombocytopenia is a condition in which the body does not have a normal number of platelets in the blood. Blood is made up of three major cell types: red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body; white blood cells, which help fight infection; and, platelets, which stick together at the site of a cut or wound to form a clot to stop the bleeding. People who have thrombocytopenia don’t have enough platelets to form a blood clot, and so they may bleed excessively when they are cut. (nhlbi.nih.gov, 2013) Blood cells and platelets are made in the bone marrow, which is the spongy tissue inside the bones.

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945 Words | 4 Pages

With that being said extreme excess of these foods can cause iron toxicity which can leave to injury to your liver, shock, blood in your bowel, and acidosis. Foods such as enriched cereals also contain a good amount of iron so excess of cereal can also cause these issues. Many people most develop severe iron toxicity due to iron supplements rather than excess of iron enriched

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610 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout Survival of the sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem, a scientific story telling form of writing takes place. Dr. Moalem puts well thought out scientific phenomenons supported by a history of evolutionary evidence that we see in our world today. Perhaps its largely due to his background studies in the emerging fields of neurogenetics and evolutionary medicine. Dr.Moalem has a very distinct way of attracting his readers to change the fundamental understanding and development of diseases, he also has this uniqueness in keeping us curious and excited to know more about a particular topic. a selection what he discusses in Survival of the sickest is the importance of iron in our bodies, he began with a case study presenting an individual with a mysterious symptoms that attract the reader’s attention, then

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1736 Words | 7 Pages

Iron carries oxygen from our lungs through the bloodstream and releases it in the body where it’s needed. Iron is built into the enzymes that do most of the chemical heavy lifting in our bodies, where it helps us to detoxify poisons and to convert sugars into energy.” Despite being a vital mineral, too much of anything can be detrimental for the human body; therefore, introducing

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1339 Words | 6 Pages

To begin, the author discusses hemochromatosis, a disease that causes an excess of iron in a person’s body. It, in particular, targets the heart and the liver. Dr. Moalem uses the example of Aran Gordon to display the glaring symptoms of this illness, including an erratic heart beat, arthritis, and diabetes. The virus was first detailed in 1865 by a man named of Armand Trousseau before the distinct gene was isolated in a university in 1996. It is not specified how large the spread of hemochromatosis was during this time.

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927 Words | 4 Pages

Survival of the Sickest is an intriguing novel that explores why we need disease. Moalem asks and answers many questions throughout this book centering on the concept of evolution. His main objective in this book was to explain why natural selection designated certain diseases that are harmful to humans now. Throughout his questioning, he shows us that the reason so many diseases are still around today is because at some point in history, all of them helped our ancestors to survive and reproduce in their environment. Each chapter in his book focuses on a different aspect of his overall conclusion that modern diseases were beneficial in the past.

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In this article Evolution and the Origins of Disease, “The evolutionary explanations for the body's flaws fall into surprisingly few categories. First, some discomforting conditions, such as pain, fever, cough, vomiting, and anxiety, are actually neither diseases nor design defects but rather are evolved defenses. Second, conflicts with other organisms--Escherichia coli or crocodiles, for instance--are a fact of life. Third, some circumstances, such as the ready availability of dietary fats, are so recent that natural selection has not yet had a chance to deal with them. Fourth, the body may fall victim to trade-offs between a trait's benefits and its costs; a textbook example is the sickle cell gene, which also protects against malaria.

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Sickle cell has a lot of different complications. These make the disease itself harder. All the complications and symptoms just depends on the person and how their body chooses to react. Hand-Foot Syndrome is one complication that occurs with sickle cell. Due to the sickling of the cells blood vessels may be blocked which causes the hands and/or feet to painfully swell.

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In Frank Furedi’s reading, “Our Unhealthy Obsession with Sickness”, he concludes that the health care crisis which we are going through will not change nor get better. To some extent I agree with Mr. Furedi’s writing. He discusses how in recent times, people in society are normalizing having an illness and are willingly open to talking about them (471). Furedi also mentioned how people now embrace having an illness, rather than noticing their worth before they were sick. I too have noticed that it is becoming increasingly acceptable to the extent that people want something to be wrong with them, which I find extremely odd.

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It would be nice to be able to choose where we die, how we die, and why we die. Now we can with assisted suicide, but not all agree on the terms that come with this subject. Many agree that aid-in-dying should be available to those suffering from a terminal illness, but is this process of assisted suicide constitutional? Aid-in-Dying should not be practiced in hospitals because it has a negative effect on others and their families. Aid-in-dying should not be practiced in hospitals because it is unconstitutional.

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When it comes to end of life care, Colorado has limited options due to the fact that Death with Dignity is not legal. A patient that is terminally ill can choose between palliative care and hospice to finish out their final days. While there are options for end of life care in Colorado, they are costly, and do not take into account the patient’s will to live. Viewed through a quantitative and ethical lens, both major options not only hinder, but also are detrimental, to Colorado’s ability to provide end of life care. The passage of Death with Dignity legislation would provide an alternative, and could potentially alleviate some of undue financial and emotional stress put on terminally ill patients.

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Trauma Mizock 2008 Gender identity and sexual orientation are distinct aspects of identity; they are often confused in the literature relating to trauma in the transgender population. Transphobia in parents may be more accurately describe as attempts to enforce biological gender on a child or a fear that their child may be gay. Hateful attitudes towards transgender individuals are often part of a homophobic stance. Often this homophobic stance may be the origin of hateful treatment of transgender. (338) Health Care (344-345)

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