Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity

Dive into the evolutionary history of human disease with “Survival of the Sickest” by Dr. Sharon Moalem — essential reading for anyone interested in genetics, evolutionary biology, medical history, and the unexpected ways in which diseases that seem purely harmful have often persisted in human populations because they once helped our ancestors survive.

Dr. Sharon Moalem is a physician and researcher whose intellectual curiosity spans genetics, evolutionary biology, and medical history, and in this book he asks a question that most people never think to ask: if natural selection eliminates harmful traits over generations, why are so many common diseases — haemochromatosis, sickle cell anaemia, diabetes, favism, cystic fibrosis — so prevalent? His answers are genuinely surprising and consistently fascinating. Haemochromatosis, which causes dangerous iron overload, may have helped ancestors survive the Black Death. Sickle cell disease provides partial protection against malaria. Certain mutations that now cause disease were once adaptations to specific environmental pressures that no longer exist, or remain beneficial in carriers while being harmful in those who inherit two copies. Each chapter explores a different disease through this evolutionary lens, weaving together genetics, history, and medicine in a way that is both scientifically rigorous and genuinely engaging.

Whether you are a geneticist, an evolutionary biologist, a medical student, or simply someone who loves popular science that makes familiar things strange and strange things suddenly obvious, this book is one of the most original and rewarding reads in popular medicine.