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  • Essay / Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem: Research Paper

    Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem explores how certain genetic diseases and illnesses present in our gene pool can actually have a positive impact on human survival. Moalem uses examples such as diabetes and supertaste as evidence to support her claims that adaptations that might have been helpful long ago are now detrimental, for various reasons that she explains. Most of what Moalem says turns out to be accurate, with one error regarding the types of diabetes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayMoalem makes two claims about Neanderthals that she doesn't support with enough evidence. One of them claims that prehumans and Neanderthals interbred, stating in Chapter 3: "It is also possible that humans evolved in multiple places, and that different groups of prehumans and Neanderthals even interbred." » (Moalem p. 71) This statement is true, humans who migrated out of Africa first interbred with Neanderthals in the Middle East and continued to do so throughout most of Eurasia, since t there is evidence that all Eurasians have Neanderthal ancestry (approximately 1.8 to 2.5). % of it). In 2017, a second Neanderthal genome was sequenced, from a 52,000-year-old bone fragment from a female called Vindija, which proved that humans interbred with Neanderthals ages ago. 130,000 to 140,000 years ago. “Thus, unlike previous analyzes of chromosomes 21 given for European Neanderthals (13), analyzes of the complete genomes suggest that the putative flow of early modern human genes to Neanderthals occurred before the divergence of Ancestral Neanderthal populations of Vindija and Altai ~ 130 to 145 ka. (Prüfer) The Vindija study and the older study of Altai Neanderthals both found evidence of significant gene flow between Eurasian prehumans and Neanderthals throughout their contact, but researchers also found links between this mixture and certain genes present in some Eurasians, including melanin production and diabetes, which Moalem uses as examples in his book. “Using a large clinical cohort, we discovered functional associations between Neanderthal alleles and AMH traits, influencing skin, immune system, depression, addiction and metabolism.” (Simonti) These traits that were advantages for early humans and allowed for a better chance of survival in the harsh environment of the Ice Age are now detrimental to our modern environment, proving Moalem right. A SNP in SLC35F3, which reduced thiamine carriers, may have helped early humans who left Africa cope with changes in their diet regarding carbohydrate metabolism. However, nowadays this adaptation is detrimental to our health because the modern diet includes simpler carbohydrates and less thiamine in foods. . This means that although we now demand more thiamine, carriers of this gene have less. (Simonti) Moalem's other claim regarding Neanderthals is their use of plants for healing 60,000 years ago in Chapter 4. This claim can also be proven by a recent 2017 study of two Belgian Neanderthals, including one, a sick teenager. boy, there was a very interesting plaque. It appears he had an infected mouth and there is evidence.