Greenland

Environmental &

Evolutionary Health

Fall 2020

George M. Diggs, Jr.
Co-Director, Program in Public Health
Austin College, Sherman, Texas
& Research Associate, Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT)


Environmental & Evolutionary Health Class Schedule Fall 2020
___________________________________________________________________________________________

8 2

Day

Date

Class Topic

Reading Assignment

Aug

26

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

 

 

28

Introduction to Environmental Health

See Moodle - Environmental Health 1

  31 COVID-19: Environmental Health Implications; Discussion  

Sept

2

Introduction to Evolution

Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution - See Moodle;
Introduction to the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin) (1page); Text (Hunter-Gatherer Within) Chapter 1

  4 Introduction to Evolution (continued)  
  7 Human Evolution Text Chapters 2 and 3;
Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter
  9 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
  11

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

 

14

Why We Get Sick; conitnued; discussion

 

 

16

Video & Discussion: Ghost in Your Genes

Super brief explanation of Epigenetics; Epigenetics 101;

 

18

Genes, Epigenetics, and Health

Epigenetics in Action 1- See Moodle; Epigenetics in Action 2 - See Moodle; Epigenetics in Action 3 - See Moodle

 

21

Genes, Epigenetics, and Health continued; discussion; review


  23 EXAM 1  
  25 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
  28 Toxicology and Health (continued)  
  30 Coronavius updates; Review; etc.  

Oct

2

NO CLASS - work on RESEARCH SUMMARY topics

 

 

5

Pesticides, Biocides, Pest Control, and Health (cont.)

See Moodle - Environmental Health Chapter 18; Article on chlorpyriphos (dangerous pesticide) (also available on Moodle)

 

7

Water and Health

See Moodle - Environmental Health 16

  9 NO CLASS - Fall Break  
  12 Air Pollution (including indoor) and Health In India, Air So Dirty Your Head Hurts (also available on Moodle); see Moodle -Environmental Health 13

 

14

Climate Change and Health; RESEARCH SUMMARY Title, Etc. Due

See Moodle - Environmental Health 12

 

16

Occupational Health

See Moodle -Environmental Health 4

 

19

Occupational Health, real world examples

See Moodle -Environmental Health 8

 

21

Occupational Health, continued; discussion

See Moodle -Environmental Health 21

 

23

Discussion and REVIEW

 

 

26

Food in the Evolutionary Contex (this material will be on Exam 3)

The Celiac Surge - See Moodle; Running on Empty - See Moodle; George Diggs TEDx Talk (13 minutes); George Diggs YouTube video (~45 minutes)

  28 EXAM 2  

 

30

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

Nov

2

Video & Discussion: "The Perfect Human Diet" (if technically possible) or "My Big Fat Diett"

 

 

4

"Diets"/Discussion

Text Chapter 8

 

6

“World’s Worst Foods”; "Myths"

A spoonful of sugar; The Science of Fat-Loss: Why a Calorie Isn’t Always a Calorie
Text Chapter 13 & Text Appendix 4

  9 "Why Science Sometimes Gets It Wrong"; Discussion Text Appendix 1

 

11

Hunger & Its Controls/Discussion; RESEARCH SUMMARY DUE

Text Chapter 7, 9; Sarah Hallberg TED YouTube; A reversal on carbs....; Carbs against Cardio....; Why Fat People Don't Lose Weight(1 page)

  13 NO CLASS  

 

16

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

 

18

"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)

 

20

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
  23 - 27 Thanksgiving Break  
  30 Student presentations  
Dec 2 Student presentations  
  4 Final thoughts; Review  

 

8

Final Exam Tuesday, Dec 8, 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.