Implications of Anthropogeny for Medicine and Health
All living things are the product of evolutionary processes. Since the goals of the health sciences are to prevent disease, maintain health and treat illnesses, it follows that understanding of evolutionary mechanisms and processes in the context of human origins is of vital importance. New applications of evolutionary biology to medicine and health are developing fast, with special opportunities for contributions from anthropogeny. Exploring the constraints and trade-offs involved in the evolutionary transition to humans is crucial for understanding diseases of our species.
This symposium brings together experts who discuss these advances as they apply to the prevention and treatment of various illnesses such as obesity and other metabolic diseases, sleep disorders, problems associated with reproductive health, and disorders resulting from inappropriate immune responses, viewed in the context of human origins.
(from carta.anthropogeny.org)
Shining Evolutionary Light on Human Sleep and Health. Charles Nunn (Duke Univ) identifies selective pressures in this talk that may play a role in favoring shorter sleep in humans, and considers the consequences of these evolutionary changes for understanding human sleep disorders, health across the lifespan, and health disparities.
| 9. Shining Evolutionary Light on Human Sleep and Health |
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