No other theme in animal biology seems to be more central than the concept of employing strategies to survive and successfully reproduce. In nature, controlling or avoiding pathogens and parasites is an essential fitness strategy because of the ever-present disease-causing organisms. The disease-control strategies discussed here are: physical avoidance and removal of pathogens and parasites; quarantine or peripheralization of conspecifics that could be carrying potential pathogens; herbal medicine, animal style, to prevent or treat an infection; potentiation of the immune system; and care of sick or injured group members. These strategies are seen as also encompassing the pillars of human medicine: (i) quarantine; (ii) immune-boosting vaccinations; (iii) use of medicinal products; and (iv) caring or nursing. In contrast to animals, in humans, the disease-control strategies have been consolidated into a consistent and extensive medical system. A hypothesis that explains some of this difference between animals and humans is that humans are sick more often than animals. This increase in sickness in humans leading to an extensive, cognitively driven medical system is attributed to an evolutionary dietary transition from mostly natural vegetation to a meat-based diet, with an increase in health-eroding free radicals and a dietary reduction of free-radical-scavenging antioxidants.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3189355 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0092 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Tubulin detyrosination shapes cytoskeletal architecture and virulence.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Maladies infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier 34095, France.
Tubulin detyrosination has been implicated in various human disorders and is important for regulating microtubule dynamics. While in most organisms this modification is restricted to α-tubulin, in trypanosomatid parasites, it occurs on both α- and β-tubulin. Here, we show that in , a single vasohibin (LmVASH) enzyme is responsible for differential kinetics of α- and β-tubulin detyrosination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVariable surface antigen expression, virulence, and persistent infection by malaria parasites.
Microbiol Mol Biol Rev
January 2025
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA.
SUMMARYThe human malaria parasite is known for its ability to maintain lengthy infections that can extend for over a year. This property is derived from the parasite's capacity to continuously alter the antigens expressed on the surface of the infected red blood cell, thereby avoiding antibody recognition and immune destruction. The primary target of the immune system is an antigen called PfEMP1 that serves as a cell surface receptor and enables infected cells to adhere to the vascular endothelium and thus avoid filtration by the spleen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTowards a unified approach in managing resistance to vaccines, drugs, and pesticides.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc
January 2025
Biology Department, Queens College, City University of New York, 149th St, Flushing, 11367, New York, USA.
Everywhere, pests and pathogens evolve resistance to our control efforts, impairing human health and welfare. Developing sustainable solutions to this problem requires working with evolved immune and ecological systems, rather than against these evolutionary forces. We advocate a transdisciplinary approach to resistance based on an evolutionary foundation informed by the concepts of integrated pest management and One Health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvironmental Exposures Associated with Enteropathogen Infection in Six-Month-Old Children Enrolled in the ECoMiD Cohort along a Rural-Urban Gradient in Northern Ecuador†.
Environ Sci Technol
January 2025
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Enteropathogens are major contributors to mortality and morbidity, particularly in settings with limited access to water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure. To assess transmission pathways associated with enteropathogen infection, we measured household environmental conditions and assayed 22 enteropathogens using TaqMan Array Cards in stool samples from 276 six-month-old children living in communities along a rural-urban gradient in Northern Ecuador. We utilized multivariable models, risk factor importance, and distance-based statistical methods to test factors associated with infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mutational landscape of Staphylococcus aureus during colonisation.
Nat Commun
January 2025
Parasites & Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK.
Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen and a commensal of the human nose and skin. Survival and persistence during colonisation are likely major drivers of S. aureus evolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!