Environmental &Evolutionary HealthSpring 2020 George
M. Diggs, Jr. |
Environmental & Evolutionary Health Class Schedule Spring 2020
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Day |
Date |
Class Topic |
Reading Assignment |
Feb |
3 |
Class Introduction (Procedures; Schedule; Textbook; Readings; Discussions; Research Paper & Presentation); Science as a Way of Knowing; Overview/Big Picture of Envirionmental & Evolutionary Health including concepts of Novel Environments, Evolutionary Mismatch, & Epigenetics |
|
|
5 |
Introduction to Environmental Health |
See Moodle - Environmental Health 1 |
|
7 |
Introduction to Evolution |
Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution - See Moodle; |
10 | Human Evolution | Text Chapters 2 and 3; Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter |
|
12 | Why We Get Sick, Introduction to Evolutionary Health/Medicine | Text Appendix 2 (4 pages); Evolution and the Origins of Disease; Text Chapters 4, 5, & 6 | |
14 | Why We Get Sick, Continued |
The Hygiene Hypothesis (Old viewpoint; 1page); Cleaning up the Hygiene Hypothesis (now the Old Friends Hypothesis; Changing dietary trends and the obesity epidemic - See Moodle; Origins of Dental Crowding and Malocclusions: An Anthropological Perspective |
|
|
17 |
Class Discussion on Why We Get Sick |
|
|
19 |
Video & Discussion: Ghost in Your Genes |
|
|
21 |
Genes, Epigenetics, and Health |
Epigenetics in Action 1- See Moodle; Epigenetics in Action 2 - See Moodle; Epigenetics in Action 3 - See Moodle |
|
24 |
Genes, Epigenetics, and Health continued |
|
24 | Toxicology and Health | See Library - Environmental Health 6; Text Chapter 11; Estrogen in the Environment (Historical); Women, Disease & Environmental Estrogens; Sperm Count in Western Men Has Dropped; Code Breaker - See Moodle | |
26 | Toxicology and Health | ||
28 | Coronavius updates, etc. | ||
Mar | 2 | Review | |
|
4 |
EXAM 1 |
|
|
6 |
NO CLASS - work on RESEARCH SUMMARY topics |
|
9-20 | SPRING BREAK & Coronavirus extension | ||
23 | Getting up to speed on Zoom; Daily update on coronoavirus (as will happen every class session); Question/answer; begin Pesticides material | ||
25 |
Pesticides, Biocides, Pest Control, and Health (cont.) |
See Moodle - Environmental Health Chapter 18; Article on chlorpyriphos (dangerous pesticide) (also available on Moodle) |
|
27 |
Water and Health |
See Moodle - Environmental Health 16 |
|
30 | Air Pollution (including indoor) and Health | In India, Air So Dirty Your Head Hurts (also available on Moodle); see Moodle -Environmental Health 13 | |
Apr |
1 |
Climate Change and Health; RESEARCH SUMMARY Title, Etc. Due |
See Moodle - Environmental Health 12 |
|
3 |
Occupational Health |
See Moodle -Environmental Health 4 |
|
6 |
Occupational Health, real world examples |
See Moodle -Environmental Health 8 |
|
8 |
Occupational Health, continued |
See Moodle -Environmental Health 21 |
|
10 |
Other environmental health challenges; discussion |
|
|
13 |
Food in the Evolutionary Context (this material will be covered on the final exam) |
The Celiac Surge - See Moodle; Running on Empty - See Moodle; George Diggs TEDx Talk (13 minutes); George Diggs YouTube video (~45 minutes) |
15 | EXAM 2 | ||
|
17 |
Detailed look at the modern diet ("SAD" - Standard American Diet) and the "Natural Human Diet" |
Text Chapter 10; Is Sugar Killing Us? - See Moodle; Sugar Industry Long Downplayed Potential Harms; Sugar and Cancer |
|
20 |
Video & Discussion: "The Perfect Human Diet" (if technically possible) |
|
|
22 |
"Diets"/Discussion |
Text Chapter 8 |
|
24 |
“World’s Worst Foods”; "Myths"; RESEARCH SUMMARY DUE |
A spoonful of sugar; The Science of Fat-Loss: Why a Calorie Isn’t Always a Calorie |
27 | "Why Science Sometimes Gets It Wrong"; Discussion | Text Appendix 1 | |
|
29 |
Hunger & Its Controls/Discussion |
Text Chapter 7, 9; Sarah Hallberg TED YouTube; A reversal on carbs....; Carbs against Cardio....; Why Fat People Don't Lose Weight(1 page) |
May |
1 |
Movie: "Cereal Killers" (if technically possilbe); Native peoples & human variation; RESEARCH PRESENTATION POWERPOINT DUE (Note: student presentations will be sent to me in PowerPoint format, including audio, rather than presented in class---I'll be giving detailed instructions) |
Chapter 12; Text Appendix 3; You Can Prevent Alzheimer's; Interview of author of Wheat Belly |
|
4 |
"Diet: Summary of “Recommendations" or Science Based Natural Eating"; "Sugar -- The elephant in the kitchen"; Wheat Belly and Grain Brain; Robert Lustig Ted Talk Video; Discussion |
Text Chapter 14 & Appendix 5; Paleolithic diet is so easy, cavemen actually did it; Are We Getting Nutrition All Wrong? (1 page); Need for Protein Makes Monkeys and Human Overeat. (1 page) |
6 |
Environment, Evolution & Human Health --- "Non-Diet" Basic Recommendations (sleep, exercise, stress, vitamins, etc.)/Discussion |
Exercise May Enhance the Effects of Brain Training; How Exercise May Help the Brain Grow Stronger; Exercise and bus drivers in London --- Moodle | |
|
8 |
Final thoughts; Review |
|
|
14 |
Final Exam Thursday, May 14, 12:00 - 2:00 pm |
|
For further information about this course, please
contact:
Dr. George Diggs, Professor Department of Biology Austin College 900 N. Grand Ave. Sherman, TX 75090 903-813-2246 Fax: 903-813-3199 gdiggs@austincollege.edu |
All text and images on this page copyright 2020, George M. Diggs, Jr.