Homo imperfectus

Why do we get sick? Why do we age? Why does a species that presumes to be adapted live with suffering on a daily basis? Why hasn't natural selection eliminated disease? Is evolution a botch? In this book, María Martinón-Torres invites the reader to delve into the darkest corners of our biology to discover that what we had cataloged as imperfections hides key aspects of the adaptive success of Homo sapiens. In the light of evolutionary theory, the great evils of human beings -cancer, infections, immune system disorders, anxiety, cardiovascular accidents, neurodegenerative conditions, old age or the fear of death- relate the chronicle of our species' struggle to survive in a changing world. The reader will understand that, far from portraying us as weak beings, diseases and their scars are the crooked lines on which the story of human solidarity and resilience is read.