The Evolution Of the Smallpox Virus May Tell Us About The Future of COVID-19

Viking Age Smallpox Complicates Story Of Viral Evolution by James Gorman.  The New York Times.  July 23, 2020.

Evolutionary Mutations to Fend Off Deadly Infections Makes Us More Prone to Inflammatory/Autoimmune Diseases

Humans Co-evolved With Immune-Related Diseases--And It's Still Happening.  Radboud Institute For Molecular Life Science/Science Daily. November 27, 2019.

Why Do Some Have A Spiky Growth On The Back Of The Skull? Why Are Our Elbows Getting Narrower?

How Modern Life Is Transforming The Human Skeleton by Zaria Gorvett.  BBC.  June 13, 2019. 

Gene Mutation That Evolved After The Advent Of Cooking May Help Some Clear Blood Sugar

Ancient Gene Mutation Could Protect Against Diabetes, Study Finds by Ian Sample.  The Guardian.  June 4, 2019. 

Study Of Cancers Across A Range Of Animals Offers Clues To Uniquely Human Cancer

Some Human Cancers Are 'Evolutionary Accidents'.  University of Liverpool/Science Daily.  April 17, 2018. 

Dominance Plays A More Important Role In Bonobos; Helping More Important In Humans

Unlike People, Bonobos Don't 'Look For The Helpers'.  Cell Press/Science Daily.  January 4, 2017.

Insomnia As A Evolutionary Survival Mechanism

Revealed:  Why We Lose Sleep As We Grow Older by Sarah Knapton.  The Telegraph.  July 12, 2017. 

Diet Modifies Genes: Implications For Nutritional Genomics

Healthy Diet?  That Depends On Your Genes.  Cornell University/Science Daily.  June 12, 2017.

Evolving Antibiotic Resistance Is Making Gonorrhea Increasingly Untreatable

Gonorrhea Is Becoming Untreatable, U.N. Health Officials Warn by Rebecca Hersher.  NPR.  August 30, 2016

The Necessities Of Life Contain The Seeds Of Death

What Can A 1.7 Million Year Old Hominid Fossil Teach Us About Cancer?    The Conversation.  August 10, 2016

Schizophrenia May Be A Byproduct Of Acquisition Of Language And Cognitive Skills; Early Hominids Did Not Have It

Schizophrenia Emerged After Humans Diverged From Neanderthals.  Elsevier/Science Daily.  August 15, 2016

The Plague Bacterium Over The Ages Illustrates Genetic Evolution As Well As Social, Political, And Economic Impacts

The Plague's Deadly Pedigree Goes Back 3,000 Years Earlier Than Thought by Amina Khan.  The Lost Angeles Times.  October 22, 2015. 

Evolution Of Disease And "Leaky" Vaccines

Vaccines That Alter Evolution by Faye Flam.  Forbes.  July 28, 2015. 

Evolutionary Genetic Diversity Seems To Produce Smarter And Taller People; No Impact Found On Blood Pressure Or Cholesterol

Humans Evolved To Be Taller And Faster-Thinking, Study Suggests.  University of Edinburgh/Science Daily.  July 1, 2015. 

Untreated Mismatches between Culture and Evolution Are Causing Much Modern Disease

From Diabetes To Athlete's Foot Our Bodies Are Maladapted For Modern Life by Jeff Wheelwright.  Discover.  May 2015.  This article is not available online without a subscription.  Available in the print edition.  

Acquired Genes From Microorganisms May Have Shaped And May Continue To Shape Evolution Even For Primates

Some Genes "Foreign" In Origin And Not From Our Ancestors.  BioMed Central/Science Daily.  March 12, 2015. 

Under Pressure From Antiretrovirals, HIV May Be Evolving To Cause AIDS Less Frequently

HIV May Evolve To Cause AIDS Less Frequently, Researchers Find by Oliver Staley.  Bloomberg Businessweek.  December 1, 2014.

HIV's Ability To Cause AIDS is Weakening Over Time, Study Finds by Kate Kelland.  Reuters.  December 1, 2014.

Neanderthal Genes The Source Of High Diabetes Risk Among Latin Americans

Neanderthals Gave Latin Americans Diabetes Risk by Cheri Cheng.  Counsel & Heal.  December 26, 2013.

(1)  The specific gene, _________, is extremely rare in people of _______________ descent, while roughly ___________ percent of people from ______________ have the gene.

(2)  Researchers reasoned that they gene could have developed due to _____________ Neanderthals and modern humans.

(3)  This kind of evolutionary genetic study could illuminate  new _____________ with drugs.

Evolutionary Response To Cholera And Arsenic Shapes Human Genome

Gene Sleuths Find How Some Naturally Resist Cholera by Nicholas Wade.  The New York Times.  July 3, 2013.

Read the article and test your recall with a quiz.

(1)  Identifying the genes that provide natural resistance to cholera will help the ______________________________.

(2)  The immunity  of people living in the Ganges Delta to cholera is provided by variations in _____________ genes.

(3)  Why can researchers draw the conclusion that evolution has continued to mold human populations in the recent past?

(4)  How does diarrhea benefit cholera?

(5)  How can the selected genes provide a road map to the body's defense against cholera?

(6)  From the evolutionary point of view how is immunity to cholera related to immunity against arsenic?

(7)  The case of immunity to cholera and arsenic may provide support for the impression that the human genome has been shaped by _____________________.

Gut Microbes May Be Key To New Approaches To Obesity

Bacteria In The Intestines May Help Tip The Bathroom Scale, Studies Show by Denise Grady.  The New York Times.  March 27, 2013.

Results of the Massachusetts General Hospital study indicated a possible important role of microbe levels in the success of gastric bypass surgeries which in turns points to potential obesity therapies without surgery, using microbes only.   A fascinating section discusses an evolutionary lag between the external environment and the human internal environment as a cause of obesity.