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This book starts from the premise that patterns of illness and disability in modern human populations have been influenced by the biological and cultural evolution of the human species over the last five million years. Developments as diverse as the transition to an upright posture, the farming of grains, close contact with domestic animals, the use of cooking, and the proliferation of urban settlements, industrial processes and international travel have all had profound effects on human health. The evolution of infectious, genetic and degenerative diseases are viewed through the interaction between human biology and human culture, which helps explain the variation in susceptibility to disease between individuals and populations. The authors are biologists who have written an introduction to human biology and evolution that is accessible to a general readership, but which aims to teach some fundamental biological principles, including DNA and the nature of genes, the structure and functions of cells, the evolution of infectious agents and the human immune system, and the interaction between human physiology and the physical environment. The potential for new biomedical and genetic technologies to offer partial solutions to a few major health problems is considered, alongside the ethical dilemmas they pose for health services and for individuals in the developed world. The book contains case-studies on genetic screening and gene therapy, lactose intolerance and dioxin pollution, and ends with the suggestion that the pace of cultural change is now seriously challenging human capacity to evolve genetic and social adaptations to maintain and improve health.
| ISBN | 0335208398 | | Pages | 400 | | ISBN13 | 9780335208395
(What's this?) | | Volumes | 1 | | Publisher | Open University Press | | Weight (grammes) | 1354 | | Imprint | Open University Press | | Published in | Milton Keynes | | Format | Paperback | | Series title | Health & Disease | | Publication date | 01 Jun 2001 | | Previous ISBN | 9780335192533 | | Non-book description | 398 p. : | | Height (mm) | 263 | | Library of Congress | RB152.H85 | | Width (mm) | 210 | | DEWEY | 599.938 | | Spine width (mm) | 25 | | DEWEY edition | DC21 | | Academic level | General |
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| | | A note for the general reader | | 6 | | | | Study guide for OU students | | 8 | | 1 | | Why 'an evolutionary approach'? by Basiro Davey | | 10 | | 2 | | The human biological heritage by Caroline Pond | | 17 | | 3 | | The story of life in a few pages by Basiro Davey and Tim Halliday | | 51 | | 4 | | Inheritance and variation by Mark Hirst and Judith Metcalfe | | 101 | | 5 | | Living with other species by Tim Halliday and Basiro Davey | | 151 | | 6 | | Surviving infectious disease by Basiro Davey | | 191 | | 7 | | Digestion and dietary change by Caroline Pond | | 225 | | 8 | | On living longer by Heather McLannahan | | 261 | | 9 | | Tinkering with nature by Mark Hirst and Judith Metcalfe | | 285 | | 10 | | Living with the chemical industrial environment by Helen Dolk | | 329 | | 11 | | The impact of modern culture by Helen Dolk | | 351 | | | | References and further sources | | 363 | | | | Answers to questions | | 372 | | | | Acknowledgements | | 385 | | | | Index | | 387 |
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