Survival Of The Sickest Summary

Three diseases discussed in Survival of the Sickest are hemochromatosis, diabetes, and favism. Hemochromatosis is an intriguing, rare disease, and was a cause of Dr. Sharon Moalem’s pursuit in becoming a scientist and a physician in the first place. It was both interesting and important to learn about hemochromatosis, since it was a disease about iron; which so many people believe that more is better. However, in Survival of the Sickest, it’s proven that like everything else, too much of something is never good for you, despite what it might seem like at first. Diabetes is a more well-known disease, and I selected this one because I couldn’t comprehend why such a troublesome disease hadn’t been eliminated through evolutionary line. As I continued to read, I began to understand more indepthly how although it’s unnecessary for people of today to have the extra blood in their circulation, it certainly gave their …show more content…
Dr. Moalem thoroughly and carefully explains illnesses, where they originated from, and how during rough times, they contributed to the survival of our ancestors, and eventually why they still exist today. She shows that although they are considered problems of today, they were actually the crucial conditions that got our ancestors through yesterday, and hence our existence. I learned that it truly is ‘survival of the sickest’; and how today’s ‘healthy’ might not have made it back then during times of crisis. A possible future research potential is cryopreservation. The wood frogs mentioned in the book describes how they have a mind-blowing ability to completely freeze themselves, and then thaw out back to life when the temperature was warm again. Further research could soon allow us to not only efficiently freeze human organs, but also to search for more ways to revive people back similar to how the frogs do to