Why we get sick : the new science of Darwinian medicine

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Title:

Author:

Nesse, Randolph M.

ISBN:

9780679746744

Personal Author:

Nesse, Randolph M.

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

New York : Vintage Books, 1996, c1994.

Physical Description:

xi, 290 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

Contents:

The mystery of disease -- Evolution by natural selection -- Signs and symptoms of infectious disease -- An arms race without end -- Injury -- Toxins: new, old and everywhere -- Genes and diseases: defects, quirks and compromises -- Aging as the Fountain of Youth -- Legacies of evolutionary history -- Diseases of civilization -- Allergy -- Cancer -- Sex and reproduction -- Are mental disorders diseases? -- The evolution of medicine.

Subject Term:

Medicine -- Philosophy.

Human evolution.

Human biology.

Adaptation (Physiology)

Philosophy, Medical.

Evolution.

Biology.

Adaptation, Physiological.

Geneeskunde.

Darwinisme.

Added Author:

Williams, George C. (George Christopher), 1926-

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168023656271	610.1 N463W 1994	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The next time you get sick, consider this before picking up the aspirin: your body may be doing exactly what it's supposed to. In this ground-breaking book, two pioneers of the science of Darwinian medicine argue that illness as well as the factors that predispose us toward it are subject to the same laws of natural selection that otherwise make our bodies such miracles of design. Among the concerns they raise:

When may a fever be beneficial?
Why do pregnant women get morning sickness?
How do certain viruses "manipulate" their hosts into infecting others?
What evolutionary factors may be responsible for depression and panic disorder?

Deftly summarizing research on disorders ranging from allergies to Alzheimer's, and form cancer to Huntington's chorea, Why We Get Sick, answers these questions and more. The result is a book that will revolutionize our attitudes toward illness and will intrigue and instruct lay person and medical practitioners alike.