Survival of the sickest

Sharon Moalem states that Survival of the Sickest is about medical mysteries, and he shares a personal anecdote of one such mystery: when Moalem was 15, his beloved grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. His grandfather also loved to donate blood because it inexplicably relieved his aches and pains. Distraught by his grandfather’s memory loss and confused by this strange healing effect of blood donation, young Moalem decides to do some research at a medical library. Through reading about iron, he discovers that his grandfather has hemochromatosis, a hereditary disease in which excess iron builds up in the body and can cause major organ damage. One of the most effective way of treating this condition is through donating blood to reduce iron levels, which explains the relief his grandfather feels after doing so. Despite others’ doubts, Moalem intuits that hemochromatosis and Alzheimer’s are somehow related, since the former condition must have a negative effect on the brain. He pursues biology in college and dedicates the early part of his medical education and research to proving that this is, in fact, the case. Moalem reveals that he, along with 30 percent of people with Western European ancestry, also have hemochromatosis. This is what motivated him to write Survival of the Sickest: he wants to answer the question of why seemingly harmful inherited diseases like his persist in the gene pool. The book will also delve into the interconnectedness of all life and all evolution on Earth, and it will show that genetics is much more nuanced and fluid than people tend to assume. In doing so, Moalem hopes to instill a sense of curiosity in the reader and to help them better understand and take control of their own health.