Survival Of The Sickest Summary

Erin Berry
Microbiology
T/Th

Survival of the Sickest

Survival of the Sickest is an interesting book that explores why we need disease in order to survive in this world. Dr. Moalem main focus is on evolution and how it has enabled the human race to survive. He explains why natural selection selected certain diseases that are harmful to humans nowadays were at one time beneficial. Throughout his writings, he gives reasons as to why so many diseases are still around today. That because at some point in history, all of the diseases he discusses have helped our ancestors to survive and reproduce. Each chapter in his book discusses a different aspect of his overall conclusion that modern diseases were beneficial in the past. Dr. Moalem started out his book by discussing hemochromatosis, which is the build up of iron in your blood. This relatively rare disease that can cause a person to die when left untreated. Dr. Moalem explains that the build up of iron in your blood can help fight off certain diseases, or plagues. Such as people with hemochromatosis were more resistant to the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages and thus stuck around because it’s carriers passed it on to their offspring. Though …show more content…
Moalem explains that the process of aging is possibly a planned process to help fight off cancer. It is proposed that each cell can only divide so many times and then the cell dies, which causes aging. This limit of division acts a defense against cancer which is a disease cause by uncontrolled cell division. Part of our cellular division limit is because of telomeres, which is extra material on our genes to keep genetic material safe. Division shaves off a bit of our telomeres each time, which is programmed to stop once it reaches the end of the telomere. Most cancer occurs when telomerase, which creates telomeres, is activated and erases that limit to division. With no limit to diviosion, cancer is inevitable, which is why we all age and

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