Emergency Physician, Educator, Researcher, interested in the microbiome, evolution, and medicine
In 2013 Eisai, a Japanese firm performed a phase 3 clinical trial of Eritoran, a drug that was supposed to make the company millions. It did not work out that way. Just another failed pharma R&D venture? Or was this predictable with a little knowledge of evolutionary medicine and a […]
Today in class we discussed the optimal regulation of threat detection – the smoke detector principle – a concept introduced by Randy Nesse MD to explain apparent maladaptive behavioral responses, such as panic disorder. We also discussed evidence for a linkage between pathogen defense and depression/anxiety, the PATHOS D hypothesis, […]
There will be two final readings: 1)The first is aimed at students planning to go into emergency medicine: Is it possible that some common things we do in the emergency room are ill-advised because they interfere with host defenses? The reading below includes a couple of short articles on the […]
Turns out human infants are the fattest of any mammal, even more than marine seal pups! Click on the image to read Chris Kuzawa’s “Adipose Tissue in Human Infancy and Childhood: An Evolutionary Perspective” Here is a video lecture by Chris Kuzawa that he delivered at Yale in 2008. I […]
Inflammation is a major source of aging. You may read the Time piece by clicking above. Even better is the following article on the Ecuadoran Shuar: Chronic Inflammation in the Shuar For Friday we will talk more about resource partitioning and longevity. These evolutionary considerations may help explain diabetes. Please […]
Please read the following references on aging. I have also attached a couple of optional readings which I will describe below: Aging references: 1. Age-old-question Flatt T and Promislow EL. 2007. Science (318) 1255-1256. 2. Why do we age? Kirkwood Austad Nature 2000 3. Evolution of the human menopause Shanley […]
Welcome students to the University of New Mexico Evolutionary Medicine Elective (CLNS 835). Readings and assignments will be posted here twice weekly. Next week we will focus on the evolution of aging and evolutionary considerations of menopause. Evolution informs nearly all aspects of human life history. Frequencies of nearly all […]
Students all did a great job with their final presentations yesterday. I look forward to the next bunch next Tuesday. I found this NY Times article on immortal jellyfish this morning. If you remember, we discussed immortal organisms during our discussion of the evolution of aging.
See you at 5:30pm tonight for the first round of final presentations. Remember that I am grading the audience too. If you are naturally a quiet person, please think about questions that you might want to ask. Write questions down during the talk and speak up afterwards! Presenters, read the […]
NPR had a feature on the risk of over-diagnosing cancer. It turns out that mammography is great at diagnosing small cancers, but it has not affected the overall diagnosis of dangerous cancers. Read here
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