Why We Get Sick-轻识

Nesse and Williams have written a lively discourse on the application of the principles of evolutionary biology to the dilemmas of modern medicine. Nesse, a physician and an associate professor of psychiatry, and Williams, a professor of ecology and evolution, provide a primer on Darwin's theory of natural selection. They explain that the functional design of organisms-e.g., our bodies-may suggest new ways of addressing illness. The book begins with a look at the causes of disease and their evolutionary influences. But the book mainly assesses the concept of adaptation by natural selection, and illustrates the ways Darwinian thinking can be applied to medical problems. As one example, the authors examine the use of penicillin over the past 60 years against bacterial infections. The book's quirky information may speak to a broad audience: researchers, for instance, have found that relatives of schizophrenics have an unusually high frequency of inclusion in Who's Who-which may counterbalance drawbacks of the disorder in evolutionary terms. The tendency toward child abuse, too, may be influenced, the authors say, by evolution and the passing on of genes. And there may well be an evolutionary reason to welcome morning sickness, they argue: nausea and food aversions during pregnancy apparently evolved to impose dietary restrictions on the mother so as to correspond with fetal vulnerability and, thereby, minimize fetal exposure to food toxins.

乔治·C. 威廉姆斯：美国演化生物学家。生前是纽约州立大学石溪分校的生物学教授。由于其对演化生物学的卓越贡献，与E.迈尔、Ｊ.M.史密斯荣膺1999年“克拉福德奖”。道金斯称他为“美国最受尊敬的演化生物学家之一”。

伦道夫·M. 尼斯：医生、演化生物学家。美国亚利桑那州立大学演化与医学中心主任。

译者简介

易凡：1946年入湘雅医学院学习，现已退休，原湖南医科大学（中南大学）学报副编审。

禹宽平：大学教师，遗传学专业。

校者简介

傅贺：伊利诺伊大学微生物学博士，现在佐治亚大学海洋科学系从事微观生物海洋学研究。之前译有《消失的微生物》。

叶凯雄：康奈尔大学营养学博士，现在康奈尔大学生物统计和计算生物学系从事博士后研究。研究方向包括人类演化、饮食适应和个性化营养。