Evolutionary Medicine and Anthropology.

Catalog description

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ANTH 210 , BIOL 101 or BIOL 151 . Explores how modern human health and disease have been shaped by evolutionary processes. Particular emphasis is placed on examining health-related traits that are adaptive in one context but maladaptive in others, and why attempts to eliminate some of these traits can have deleterious effects on other aspects of our health. Specific diseases to be addressed include hypertension, diabetes, clinical depression, reproductive disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and drug addiction, among many others.