The impact of disease on human evolution | Dr. Jorge Domínguez Andrés | TEDxHotelschoolTheHague

Описание: We are in danger. We have always been in danger and we will always be in danger. Around us, on us, in us, there are uncountable pathogens looking for a minor breach in our defenses in order to invade us and benefit from us.

The whole history of humanity has been shaped by infectious diseases. Since the very dawn of humanity, there has been a constant competition between humans and pathogens that is the engine of our evolution. This is good for us, for our descendants and for the survival of our species. This talk reviews the influence of diseases in the evolution of humans, reviewing the past, present, and future history of humanity through the lens of migrations, adaptations and disease.
Our immune system is essential to combat pathogens, but the immune response can become dysregulated, and cause health problems. Some genetic mutations can help people fight off infections, but those same beneficial mutations may also make people more likely to have other diseases. Our ancestry can influence the likelihood to develop disease, depending on our environment.
These mechanisms described here acquire special importance in the current scenario of world globalization, in which the migration fluxes and the admixture of different populations are reaching unprecedented levels, allowing faster expansion of advantageous alleles. However, these processes may also accelerate the spread of new epidemics, as seen in the cases of HIV infection, Ebola, chikungunya, or more recently, the new coronavirus SARS-CoV2. After studying the effects of the environmental stress in the plasticity of the brain, and the interplay between the immune system and fungi in the context of fungal infections in Spain, Dr. Domínguez moved to Nijmegen, where he studies the interactions between pathogens and the human host. His lines of research focus on the metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms behind the induction of immunity and the application of this knowledge to create a new generation of vaccines. He also studies the historic influence of pathogens on human evolution, the mechanisms by which immunity is transmitted to our progeny, and the consequences that space travel will have for the interactions between pathogens and humans. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx