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An evolutionary perspective on human health and disease

2,086,033 views | Lara Durgavich • TEDxTufts

How does your genetic inheritance, culture and history influence your health? Biological anthropologist Lara Durgavich discusses the field of evolutionary medicine as a gateway to understanding the quirks of human biology -- including why a genetic mutation can sometimes have beneficial effects -- and emphasizes how unraveling your own evolutionary past could glean insights into your current and future health.

How does your genetic inheritance, culture and history influence your health? Biological anthropologist Lara Durgavich discusses the field of evolutionary medicine as a gateway to understanding the quirks of human biology -- including why a genetic mutation can sometimes have beneficial effects -- and emphasizes how unraveling your own evolutionary past could glean insights into your current and future health.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxTufts, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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About the speaker

Lara Durgavich

Biological anthropologist

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Lara Durgavich brings historical context to human biology, sharing the importance of evolutionary medicine in personal life and beyond.

Randolph M. Nesse and George C. Williams | Vintage, 1996 | Book

Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine

Written by two founders of the field of evolutionary medicine, this book provides a wide-ranging and easily digestible introduction to the titular question. Anyone who’s ever wondered about the origins or endurance of antibiotic resistance, allergies, cancer, diabetes or mental illness is sure to be fascinated and enlightened.

| Explore

The Evolution and Medicine Review

This site is an “information nexus” that scientists, educators, doctors and laypeople can use to stay up to date with the newest research and publications in the field of evolutionary medicine. It also offers teaching materials, op-eds written by experts and other relevant resources.

Daniel Lieberman | Vintage, 2014 | Book

The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease

Lieberman, the chair of the department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, writes clearly and cleverly about the evolutionary legacy of the human body. He explores not only the adaptations that have helped humans thrive, but also the constraints of our bodily inheritance, offering valuable insight into how our modern lifestyles have in many cases contributed to negative health outcomes.

David Quammen | Norton Trade Titles, 2013 | Book

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

Particularly relevant in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this book by David Quammen, one of the best science writers working today, examines the process by which infectious diseases can "jump" from non-human species to humans, and the devastating consequences that can result. It's an essential read for understanding how an evolutionary perspective applies to and can benefit infectious disease research.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxTufts, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Learn more about Tay-Sachs and related diseases and donate to support research.

Donate to support the International Society for Evolution, Medicine and Public Health, which promotes evolutionary medicine education and publishes an open access academic journal.