''Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity'' is a 2007 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Bestselling science book by Sharon Moalem, an evolutionary biologist and neurogeneticist, and Jonathan Prince, senior advisor and speechwriter for the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

. It was originally titled, ''Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease.''

Overview

The book is a collection of case studies, which use scientific and historical data to support the individual proposed hypotheses, and the overall argument for a connection between some illnesses and increased longevity. Or, how many of the medical conditions that are diseases were the result of evolutionary changes that gave our ancestors a "leg up in the survival sweepstakes." It contains 266 pages all leading up to part 3. *Chapter 1: Hemochromatosis, bloodletting, and human iron consumption *Chapter 2: Diabetes, climate change, and brown fat *Chapter 3: Sunlight, vitamin D, cholesterol, and the physiological makeup of race *Chapter 4: Vegetables, fava beans, and the spread of malaria *Chapter 5: The virulence of bacteria,

Guinea worm ''Dracunculus medinensis'', or Guinea worm, is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis, also known as guinea worm disease. The disease is caused by the female which, at up to in length, is among the longest nematodes infecting humans. In contra ...

s, and parasitic diseases *Chapter 6: Mutating DNA and “jumping” genes *Chapter 7: Genetic suppression and

childhood obesity Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of ...

*Chapter 8: Cancer cells and childbirth Moalem includes an introduction in which he describes how and why he became interested in the medical sciences. The 2008 paperback edition contains a section entitled "P.S. Insights, Interviews, & More...". Moalem includes recommendations of related books.

Reception

Survival of the Sickest debuted on the ''New York Times'' bestselling book list and was featured on NBC's Today Show, Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and NPR's The Diane Rehm Show.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Harpercollins website listing

Amazon.com listing with Publishers Weekly review
2007 non-fiction books Popular science books Medical books HarperCollins books