14 DAY TRIAL // Biologists believe that the accelerating pace of evolution humans are currently undergoing is taking its toll on our bodies, primarily through promoting the appearance of conditions such as autism and autoimmune disorders.
Instances of people suffering from these once-rare conditions have gone through the roof over the past few decades, and a large number of experts believes that adaptations our bodies are undergoing may in fact be helping these conditions persist, rather than eradicate them.
According to experts, the math behind this theory is quite scary. In order to understand it, we must remember that evolution has always favored reproduction over general health. With this in light, everything will make more sense.
Due to this preference that evolution has towards reproduction, biological development always lags behind cultural development, at least in our species. On the other hand, pathogens evolve more rapidly than humans, simply because they have shorter life spans, and can therefore adapt quicker.
At this point, our species is experiencing tremendous pressure to evolved, due to all the external factors, processes and phenomena we willingly subject ourselves to, including modern technology.
In the past, we had some adaptations to the environment that made us very fit to survive, but some of those adaptations – now rendered obsolete – may in fact be hindering us now, and making us more prone to developing autism, autoimmune disorders or reproductive cancers.
Paternally- or maternally-derived genes and influences may today be over-expressed in many of us, says Harvard University John Cowles professor of anthropology, Peter Ellison. This phenomenon, proposed Simon Fraser University expert Bernard Crespi, may be linked to autism and schizophrenia.
The Harvard George Putnam professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, David Haig, suggests that competition between these maternal and paternal genes may now be hindering kids' development.
Johns Hopkins University researchers Kathleen Barnes proposes that the growing incidence of asthma, allergies and autoimmune disorders our species displays today may be a result of increased hygiene, where our immune systems are no longer trained by fighting intestinal worms and parasites.
“We’re trying to design ways to educate physicians who will have a broader perspective and not think of the human body as a perfectly designed machine,” Ellison said at a recent conference.
“Our biology is the result of many evolutionary trade-offs, and understanding these histories and conflicts can really help the physician understand why we get sick and what we might do to stay healthy,” the expert added, quoted by Daily Galaxy.
“I think that the main take-home point is that evolution and medicine really do have things to say to each other, and some of these insights actually reduce suffering and save lives,” Stearns concluded.