Principles of Evolutionary Medicine

by Gluckman, Peter; Beedle, Alan; Hanson, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780199236398
• ISBN10: 0199236399
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Evolutionary science is critical to an understanding of integrated human biology and is increasingly recognized as a core underpinning discipline by medical and public health professionals. Advances in the fields of genomics, epigenetics, developmental biology and epidemiology have led to the growing realization that incorporating evolutionary thinking is essential for medicine to achieve its full potential. This is the first integrated and comprehensive textbook to explain the principles of evolutionary biology from a medical perspective and to focus on how medicine and public health might utilize evolutionary biology. It is written in a style which is accessible to a broad range of readers, whether or not they have had formal exposure to evolutionary science. Principles of Evolutionary Medicine is divided into three sections: the first provides a systematic approach to the principles of evolutionary biology as they apply to human health and disease, using examples specifically relevant to medicine. It incorporates chapters on evolutionary processes, molecular evolution, the evolution of humans, life history theory, and evolutionary-developmental biology. The second part illustrates the application of these principles to our understanding of nutrition and metabolism, reproduction, combating infectious disease and stress, and human behavior. The final section provides a general framework to show in practical terms how the principles of evolutionary medicine can be applied in medical practice and public health. This novel textbook provides the necessary toolkit for doctors and other health professionals, medical students and biomedical scientists, as well as anthropologists interested in human health, to gain a better understanding of the evolutionary processes underlying human health and disease.

Author Biography

Prof Peter D Gluckman FRS is University Distinguished Professor, Professor of Paediatric and Perinatal Biology, Director of the Liggins Institute for Medical Research and Director of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research encompasses paediatric endocrinology, the developmental origins of health and disease, the evolutionary-developmental biology interface, and evolutionary medicine. He has published over 400 refereed papers, 150 reviews and edited several books and is inventor on over 25 families of patents. He has received New Zealand's highest scientific honour, the Rutherford Medal. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) in 2001, and is a foreign member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences UK. Prof Mark Hanson is BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Science and Director of the Institute of Developmental Sciences and the DOHaD Division at the University of Southampton School of Medicine. He is current President of the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. He has worked in developmental physiology and its applications to medicine for about 25 years. He has taught a range of undergraduate medical courses and supervised many postgraduate students, both basic and clinical scientists, and established collaborations with clinical colleagues across a range of disciplines. His current research interests extend from developmental epigenetics to epidemiology, public health and evolutionary biology. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed papers, authored or edited 9 books, two with Peter Gluckman aimed at a general scientific audience. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstericians and Gynaecologists for services to developmental physiology. Dr Alan S. Beedle is Research Fellow at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. He is a biochemist who became a professional science editor and writer. He has held senior positions in scientific and medical publishing in the UK, Europe and New Zealand, and has been editor of several high-impact journals in the biomedical sciences. Alan advises members of the Institute on publication strategy, and also has research interests in the application of evolutionary and developmental biology to human health and disease.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Evolutionary Theory

The Molecular Basis of Variation and Inheritance

Evolution and Development

Evolution of Life Histories

Human Evolution and the Origins of Human Diversity

Reproduction

Nutritional and Metabolic Adaptation

Defence

Social Organisation and Behaviour

Evolutionary Principles Applied to Medical Practice

Coda: Evolution, Medicine, and Society

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.