Evolutionary Medicine

Abstract Evolutionary medicine covers all areas of medical research and practice in which evolutionary insights provide added value. Core concepts include mismatch, trade-offs, and the systems perspective. Important insights include the nature of sick persons and of diseases. Major themes are the evolution of aging; pathogen emergence and evolution, including resistance and virulence; the roles of the microbiota in health and disease; cancer, both the evolutionary history that makes us vulnerable to it and the independent evolution of every cancer; the evolution of reproduction, including placental invasion and the risk of metastasis; quality control of gametes and zygotes, childbirth, menstruation, and menopause; evolutionary hypotheses for mental disorders; and applications in the clinic and in public health, including phage therapy, adaptive therapy for solid tumours, and evolutionary aspects of vaccine development and use.