Emergency Physician, Educator, Researcher, interested in the microbiome, evolution, and medicine
Welcome UNM SOM students to the University of New Mexico Evolutionary Medicine Elective (CLNS 835). Readings and assignments will be posted here twice weekly. For the first session we will focus on the evolution of aging and evolutionary considerations of menopause. Evolution informs nearly all aspects of human life history. […]
Students delivered many thoughtful and creative presentations today. These included consideration of co-evolutionary arms races in lymphatic filariasis, antagonistic pleiotropy in Alzheimer’s, adaptive vs. maladaptive hypotheses regarding OCD symptoms, ADHD and schizophrenia-risk alleles, and polycystic ovary disease. Also the interaction of anemia and malaria in Africa was discussed, as well […]
gluten-free diet and celiac disease inter-pathogen interactions in a single host evolution of obsessive-compulsive disorder co-evolution of viruses with our bodies evolution of schizophrenia psychosis allocation of resources during pregnancy MHC and mate choice Epilepsy genetics of mental illness, bipolar diseases evolution of HIV cancer: acute vs. chronic and metastasis […]
Here are the links that Dr. Cooper mentioned today in class regarding artemisinin: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/10/176807016/a-new-way-to-make-the-most-powerful-malaria-drug http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/06/15/155103946/know-the-enemy-scientists-use-genetics-to-get-ahead-of-malaria
Roland Cooper PhD will be lecturing next week on the topic of evolution of artimisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum. Title: Emergence of artemisinin resistant malaria Readings: Klein Sibley
Wooly bear caterpillars seek out foods with plant toxins when they are parasitized. Is this self-medication behavior? Are we, like the caterpillars, predisposed to take medication when we don’t feel well. Read:Self-Medication as Adaptive Plasticity: Increased Ingestion of Plant Toxins by Parasitized Caterpillars And:Leaf-swallowing in Nigerian chimpanzees: evidence for assumed […]
On November 12th the topic will be microbial manipulation of host behavior. Can this be an important feature of human health and behavior? For an introduction, read this Berkeley Science Review. And: How Pernicious Parasites Turn Victims into Zombies. Readings: 1) Ponton Virulence Manipulation 2) Lyte 2013_Microbes diet and appetite […]
This New York Times piece has a good explanation of the analytic-rumination hypothesis of depression. A variant of this hypothesis is called the social navigation hypothesis, which is espoused by the UNM’s own Paul Watson.
We will explore adaptive and non-adaptive hypotheses for depression, fear, and anxiety during next week’s lecture. There will be a total of 4 required readings, three of which focus on links between microbiota and depressive symtpoms The first reading is by Leif Kennair, who gave a lecture at the UNM Department […]
EvolutionMedicine 