Ideas worth spreading

Una perspectiva evolutiva sobre la salud y las enfermedades humanas

2,093,120 views |

Lara Durgavich |

TEDxTufts

• March 2019

¿Cómo influye su herencia genética, cultura e historia en su salud? La antropóloga biológica Lara Durgavich nos habla del campo de la medicina evolutiva como una puerta de entrada para comprender las peculiaridades de la biología humana, incluido por qué una mutación genética a veces puede tener efectos beneficiosos, y enfatiza cómo desentrañar su propio pasado evolutivo podría obtener información sobre su presente y futuro salud.

¿Cómo influye su herencia genética, cultura e historia en su salud? La antropóloga biológica Lara Durgavich nos habla del campo de la medicina evolutiva como una puerta de entrada para comprender las peculiaridades de la biología humana, incluido por qué una mutación genética a veces puede tener efectos beneficiosos, y enfatiza cómo desentrañar su propio pasado evolutivo podría obtener información sobre su presente y futuro salud.

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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.

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

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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.