Evolutionary medicine or Darwinian medicine is the field of knowledge that integrates medicine with evolutionary biology, more specifically with the adaptationist program. medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Adaptationism is a set of methods in the evolutionary sciences for distinguishing the products of adaptation from traits that arise through other processes. ...

The theory of evolution suggests that all living beings are the result of a process known as evolution by natural selection. This process occurs whenever genetically influenced variation among a population affects reproductive success. For instance, a genetic mutation that causes greater vulnerability to disease will decrease in frequency compared to its alternative allele that causes greater resistance to disease. This article is about evolution in biology. ... Darwins illustrations of beak variation in the finches of the Galápagos Islands, which hold 13 closely related species that differ most markedly in the shape of their beaks. ... Reproductive success is defined as the passing of genes onto the next generation in a way that they too can pass those genes on. ... It has been suggested that mutant be merged into this article or section. ... The term disease refers to an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function. ... FreQuency is a music video game developed by Harmonix and published by SCEI. It was released in November 2001. ... For the hard rock band, see Allele (band). ...

It is thought that evolution by natural selection produced the functional design observed in living beings, known as adaptations, and therefore sickness and disease can be explained through a cost v. benefit analysis of physiological function. Understanding evolutionary design helps medicical researchers explain phenomena like: infections, injury, intoxication, genetic diseases, aging, allergy, problems during childbirth, cancer and mental disorders. A biological adaptation is an anatomical structure, physiological process or behavioral trait of an organism that has evolved over a period of time by the process of natural selection such that it increases the expected long-term reproductive success of the organism. ...

A well-known example of the application of evolutionary medicine is the study of the evolutionary arms race between the body's defenses and pathogens. Other examples include human populations that have certain disease susceptibilities that arose as comprises allowing their survival. These include, sickle cell anemia protecting against malaria and hemochromatosis protecting against the bubonic plague. An evolutionary arms race is an evolutionary struggle between a predator species and its prey (including parasitism) that is said to resemble an arms race. ... A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. ... Sickle-shaped red blood cells Sickle cell anemia (American English), sickle cell anaemia (British English) or sickle cell disease is a genetic disease in which red blood cells may change shape under certain circumstances. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. ... Haemochromatosis, also spelled hemochromatosis, is a hereditary disease characterized by improper processing by the body of dietary iron which causes iron to accumulate in a number of body tissues, eventually causing organ dysfunction. ... The bubonic plague or bubonic fever is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. ...

Among the researchers in this field who have received recent recognition are: Paul W. Ewald, Randolph M. Nesse and George C. Williams. Paul W. Ewald is an Evolutionary biologist, specializing in the evolution of infectious disease. ... Professor Randolph M. Nesse, M.D. (b. ... George Williams Professor George Christopher Williams (b. ...

Bibliography

• Childs, B.; Wiener, C.; Valle, D. (2005). "A science of the individual: Implications for a medical school curriculum". Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics 6: 313-330. ISSN 1527-8204. 
• Cosmides, L.; Tooby, J. (1999). "Toward an evolutionary taxonomy of treatable conditions". Journal of Abnormal Psychology 108 (3): 453-464. ISSN 0021-843X. 
• Ewald, P. W. (1996). Evolution of Infectious Disease. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511139-7. 
• LeGrand, E. K.; Brown C. C. (2002). "Darwinian medicine: applications of evolutionary biology for veterinarians". Canadian Veterinary Journal: 556-559. ISSN 0008-5286. PMID 12125190. 
• Nesse, R. M.; Williams, G. C.. Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine. ISBN 0-679-74674-9. 
• Stiehm, E. R. (2006). "Disease versus disease: how one disease may ameliorate another". Pediatrics (1): 184-191. DOI:10.1542/peds.2004-2773. ISSN 0031-4005. PMID 16396876. 
• Trevathan, W. R. (1999). Evolutionary Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-510356-4. 
• Williams, G. C.; Nesse, R. M. (1991). "The dawn of Darwinian medicine". Quarterly Review of Biology 66 (1): 1-22. ISSN 0033-5770. 

ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... Leda Cosmides Leda Cosmides, (born May 7, 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American psychologist, who, together with anthropologist husband John Tooby, helped pioneer the field of evolutionary psychology. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... Paul W. Ewald is an Evolutionary biologist, specializing in the evolution of infectious disease. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... Professor Randolph M. Nesse, M.D. (b. ... George Williams Professor George Christopher Williams (b. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... George Williams Professor George Christopher Williams (b. ... Professor Randolph M. Nesse, M.D. (b. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ...

See also

• Evolutionary physiology
• Evolutionary psychology

// As the name implies, evolutionary physiology represents the hybridization of two scientific disciplines that had previously witnessed relatively little interchange. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

External links

• "Evolution and Medicine" website
• http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/darwmed.html
• http://www.chester.ac.uk/~sjlewis/DM/