The TED talk addressed the issue of infectious disease and the ways in which disease is spread using the examples of cholera and malaria. The speaker Paul Ewald discussed the ways in which humans may have the ability to reduce their exposure and spread of infectious disease through applying the theory of evolution by natural selection. This spread of disease poses a threat to humans as the bacteria that cause the disease evolves with humans and become resistant to the medical interventions. The speaker addressed some key issues and posed some important solutions towards the betterment of human lives. The field of biological science studies when it comes to human’s works towards understanding the evolution of humans and the threats to the survival of our species. Understanding the evolution of disease is important in creating ways to protect humans against these diseases and properly treating those infected. The 21st century has been seen some successful cases in which science has been successful in the irradiated disease through the use of research and development of antibiotics but there are still diseases that plague countries especially in the developing world. Lack of information in regards to diseases and the effects of disease on humans can be critical to human survival if diseases evolve beyond our control which can lead to a pandemic.
The issue presented in the topic is finding the right way to tackle the spread and threat of disease, one side handles the issue through looking at the human point of view while the other looks at the issue from the point of view of the organism. Paul Ewald tackles the issue from the side that is taking the organism’s point of view and developing ways to fight the organisms. In the talk ...
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.... Just like with the case of AIDs reduction happens after those exposed are provided with information of reducing their exposure. Reducing transmission is as easy as teaching children to wash their hands and where to use the bathroom which cost way less than an antibiotic treatment (Esrey et al. 1985) . The end goal of research on infectious disease is to find a way to protect humans against the harmful effects so providing people with ways to reduce their exposure is crucial. One of the challenges for humans in the 21st century is fighting infectious diseases as our knowledge of medical treatments increase there is an increase in drug resistant diseases evolving. Research in the department of biological sciences involving germ domestication may be one solution on control the evolution of germs to our advantage improving the lives and survival of the human race.
3.Stevenson, J. (2004, Sept.). Impact of Infectious Diseases on Development of Human Societies. MBI. July 18, 2005:
Dr. Sharon Moalem and Jonathan Prince’s book, Survival of the Sickest, points out the fact that diseases do not always need to be cured infact beneficial mutations is how we evolve. Although the book mainly discusses how diseases evolve humans, Moalem and Prince do discuss how we, humans shape diseases. By the simple acts of getting and giving mosquito netting, one forces the malaria virus to find a new perhaps less malicious path to survival and reproduction one that may not cure the malaria virus but may make not fatal, similar to the common
During the industrial revolution household rubbish was frequently thrown into narrow streets and the air was filled with black smoke from the factory’s chimney. Dirty streets and cramped living were a perfect breeding space for diseases. More than 31,000 people died during an outbreak of cholera in 1832 and families were inflicted with typhus, smallpox, and dysentery. Most Families were living in houses in unsanitary terrible built homes. Meaning more ‘better’ homes had to be built. In the rush to build homes, many were constructed too quickly in terraced rows. Some of these houses had small yards at the rear were most toilets was placed. Others had ‘back to back’ communal toilets. The more people that were living in these states, it quickly
Beneson, Abram. Control of Communicable Diseases in Man. New York: The American Public Health Association, 1970.
In her book, Dorothy Crawford gives biographies of the history of microbes which have brought humans diseases on a large scale. These include epidemics like yellow fever, tuberculosis, smallpox, acute respiratory syndrome, bubonic plague, syphilis HIV, the Black Death, malaria and cholera. It is worth to point out that her work is up to date because most of these microbes are still with us in this era. Crawford uses the historical bibliography of humans experience with microbes to show a fact that microbes shaped our culture through infection, disease, and pandemic. At the same time, the ever changing human culture has also largely influenced the evolutionary nature of microbes.
Others include defenses, genes, and design compromises. Some health practitioners treat symptoms without consideration of evolution. This is dangerous both to the individual and to society as a whole. If a fever is viewed as a highly evolved bodily defense, then the decision to treat that fever takes on a new level of consideration. If iron deficiency is a defense to chronic infection, should a supplement be prescribed? If the defense threatens the well being of the patient, then treatment is necessary. If the defense presents discomfort, but is fighting the pathogen, treatment may present the greater danger. On a societal scale, failure to consider evolution combined with over prescription of antibiotics to treat bodily defenses has lead to “superbugs” resistant to
Malaria is a common infectious disease found mainly in the tropics but in rare circumstances can be found in temperate areas. Depending on the circumstances malaria can be either life threatening cause serious illness.
Throughout history there have been very dangerous diseases that have been able to single handedly wipe out entire civilizations because there was nothing that we could do about it. Most of the time was because we did not quite understand what was actually happening. But thanks to all of the scientific advancements humans are able to live many more times than previous years. But that doesn’t meant that every human is healthy enough. This means that although we are less prone to die from some infectious diseases, we now have other risk for example not keeping up with a healthy diet is one of the many reasons why there are so many premature deaths. Now if you don’t get treated right away it can get worst the longer you get and sometimes it can also be fatal. One of those is Meningitis which is something very serious that if it doesn’t get treated it can lead to very serious complications in the long run or even death depending on the case. The reason why I chose this one was because when I was in high school I suffered from some...
our everyday lives bacteria is constantly surrounding us, some of the bacterium that we encounter are beneficial to us but then there are the ones that are severely detrimental to our health. The way that they effect a persons body can differ from person to person. Many of the “microscopic foes” are very resilient and have a very fast reproduction rate. Not only do they reproduce quickly they sometimes seem to outsmart our immune system and not allow our bodies to fight the infection making it almost impossible to stop them. One thing that a lot if people rely on is the assistance of prescription drugs to get them better but even the drugs are not being effective and we can’t stop the pathogens from invading our personal places such as work, home, school, or anywhere. Even though modern medicine is advancing the pathogens could still get the get the best of us. The scary thing is we never know when the next pandemic or epidemic is going to arise. All it needs is some ordinary microbe to swap genes with a deadly germ to produce a “super pathogen” and it could happen to anyone, anywhere, as it did to Jeannie Brown who is from “our neck of the woods”.
The human population has a high susceptibility to the contraction of new diseases and outbreaks of these diseases are of high risk. Diseases in recent times that have broken out into the human population are the H7N9 flu strain and SARS. Despite the risk, outbreaks like H7N9 and SARS have been controlled due to epidemiology and other disease control methods. Outbreaks of disease are not uncommon to the human population as they move to new areas around the world with foreign diseases that the native residents would have developed a resistance to.
When looking back on history, it is evident to see that humans by nature are warriors. Humans often find themselves fighting mysterious battles against disguised enemies. Throughout history the earth has been afflicted with mysterious diseases, which tend to invisibly cause the preponderance of civilizations to perish. The evolution of infectious diseases has and always will provide challenges for humankind (Hoff, Smith, and Calisher 6-7). Over the course of time, humans gradually developed a preference to live in large urban settings. Urbanization and the cross-cultural interaction of civilizations have both strongly provoked widespread illness, which is known as an epidemic or pandemic based upon size. An epidemic is when a common disease affects a large number of people within a particular region (Lamb). A pandemic is similar to an epidemic but is even more widespread than an epidemic, and spreads throughout entire continents or even the world. Despite the slight variation in meaning, most pandemics are interchangeably denoted as epidemics (Friendlander 13-14). Epidemics and pandemics have formed the course of human history by inflicting lifestyle alterations and abruptly killing large masses of people. When one thinks of widespread disease it is easy to think that pandemics and epidemics are things of the past. Unfortunately, epidemics are commonly found today in poorer countries and major pandemics are still on the rise, such as the modern disease AIDS (Lampton 12-15). Nonetheless, epidemics and pandemics affect large portions of the world’s population; thus, these ongoing diseases will always influence the history of mankind because they force transformation amongst even the strongest civilizations.
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.
Throughout human history disease has been linked to many facets of life and even the rise and fall of entire civilizations. Biological, social, political and economic forces have all influenced how the outbreak of disease is handled. Epidemics have altered history in how they have developed and the impact that they have had. In turn, epidemic management has been influenced by history and governments as humans have learned to cope with outbreaks and the social and political implications that result from them. Today, biomedical engineers, politicians, historians and social scientists are leading the battle in an attempt to understand and combat infectious diseases. This report will explore epidemic management and its historical relationship with the international political system. Issues will be investigated that range from the societal effects of epidemics, to observing today’s public policy debates regarding outbreaks to the possible reduction or even dissolution of conflict in exchange for food and medical technology between nations. Research has made it abundantly clear that humans must be vigilant in combating epidemics. By drawing on multiple disciplines, it is possible to implement a sound disease management plan that will control and reduce the spreading and mortality of infectious agents across the globe, as well as reduce tension and conflict between the developed and developing worlds.
The disease, cholera, is an infection of the intestines, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. As stated in Microbes and Infections of the Gut, the bacterium is “a Gram-negative, comma- shaped, highly motile organism with a single terminal flagellum” (105). Cholera is characterized by the most significant symptom that presents with the disease, diarrhea, and victims can lose up to twenty liters of body fluids in a day. Cholera can be a serious disease, due to the serious dehydration that can occur, but it is only fatal if treatment is not administered as soon as possible. This research paper includes information on the causes of cholera, symptoms, ways of treatment, studies of treatments, complications that may occur, the tests and diagnosis for cholera, and finally, the ways the cholera bacterium may be transmitted.
The scientific field will be defined here as all the components within the practise of biological control as well as the sub-disciplines that may affect the practise although these sub-disciplines (eg. Legislation) will not be focused on to the same degree. Components of the scientific discipline such as general differences, successes and failures, biological techniques and innovations, agent selection, host specificity testing,...