Blog Post: Module 13

    For my blog post this week, I decided to write about the evolutionary perspective on human health and disease. I found a Ted Talk given by Lara Durgavich where she investigates a genetic disorder known as Tay-Sachs disease. She explains how Tay-Sachs disease is when one of the two copies of chromosome 15 has a genetic mutation. Even though Lara herself still has one normal copy of this gene, she states how she is still a carrier, meaning she can pass the mutation onto her children. Luckily, her husband does not carry this mutation and her children turned out healthy. 

Lara shows how the perspective of evolutionary medicine examines the how and why of a human’s evolutionary past. She states that our past can leave our bodies vulnerable to different diseases. One central idea that I learned through Lara’s Ted Talk was that you must understand that your health is not only affected by what your body is going through now, but also because of your genetic inheritance, history and culture. Once you begin to understand the concept of the evolutionary perspective, you ultimately will be able to make more informed decisions about the risks and treatment types your body needs. 


https://www.ted.com/talks/lara_durgavich_an_evolutionary_perspective_on_human_health_and_disease/details?language=en

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