As a Kinesiology and Human Biology double major, I have had a lot of introduction to the study of evolution, as well as reflection on how it has interacted with my courses. Having two different science majors, it’s interesting the varying effects I believe evolution has on those disciplines, so I will divide my blog post accordingly.
Kinesiology, for those who don’t already know, is the study of movement. A lot of my coursework focuses on physiology, physical activity, injury prevention, and biomechanical interventions. In terms of the evolution of physical activity, health initiatives have come a long way. There’s been a ten-fold development in proper inclusion of healthy living at all age levels, due to research, legislation, and increased knowledge of the topic. Understanding these trends in health and what is needed to approve the population is a large area of study in kinesiology that I see every day. Not only affecting the general population, but Kinesiology also studies the athletic performance of athletes at all levels. This subfield utilizes the notion of human variability across different ages, geographic region, physiological abilities, and medical history to advance performance. Studying genetic variability based on region down to sport down to the individual can have a massive effect of the outcome of performance. As well as the development of athletic ability, as records continue to be broken as science prevails. Lastly, through the study of Kinesiology I have been able to be involved in research of rehabilitation after an ACL injury. This type of work is based on stratifying the elements that are unfit for natural movement, resulting in injury, similar to the effect of natural selection. Though my connections may not be on the molecular level, I have seen a lot of influence of evolution in my major.
My Human Biology major is a lot more obvious in the ways I see the importance of evolution and human variation. Not only am I exposed to the topic in almost every course, I have gained an understanding of real-world applications and how this affects me. In my microbiology course, the last exam focused on clinical immunology, or the study of disease on populations. As a specific example of genetics, some antibiotics we use to cure infection and sickness are unable to effectively cure disease due to resistance. As we increase our use of some medicine, the body will adapt and eventually be useless until a new strain is created. This was a super interesting topic to me because I enjoyed learning difference diseases, possible cures, preventative intervention, as well as issues that may arise within this field. Knowledge of genetics and has already helped in my path to medical school, as it is so applicable to topics covered on the MCAT, neighboring fields, and even into my job working at Sparrow in the Emergency Department. Understanding patient medical and family history and the likeliness of reoccurrence is powerful information that I have witnessed save lives every day.
Hi! I really enjoyed how you addressed both majors and noted how each related to evolution in different ways. I liked how you talked about the more surface level in regards to your kinesiology major because the way rehabilitation has changed over time is dramatic and changes as we learn more about the body. I also think that overall the field of kinesiology has evolved due to the more recent importance that has been put on physical therapy. As for the human biology aspect, I am more familiar with that because of my genetics major, but I appreciated your comment on how antibiotic resistance occurs. I find this topic to be so intriguing, but under appreciated by the general population when they visit the doctor or are looking for a cure to something. One interesting fact that I have learned in my major is that geneticists are now saying that nine percent of our genes are currently changing and evolving. It truly is amazing how our bodies work to adapt over time.
I like how you were able to relate the process of evolution to your Kinesiology major. I similarly related it to my major in my blog post. I talked about how global politics have evolved over time like how you talked about how kinesiology and rehabilitation have evolved. With your second major being Human Biology, you must have came into this course with a lot of information and a heavy understanding of the topic. I was wondering if you had thought that this class has changed or enhanced your understanding of evolution or human variability? Another question I was considering is that if you, being a double major in the science field, agreed with the Alters and Alters chapter on the importance of evolution being taught in school? Even though I am a Global Politics major I agreed with the article’s idea.
Hi Tess!
I think its super cool that you got to see how evolution effects and correlates to your two majors. I have had 2 knee reconstruction surgeries myself so it is interesting to hear how rehabilitation has evolved over time, as well as how it can relate to the effects of natural selection. Since I am not a KIN major, I had never really thought about how the rehabilitation process works or realized how it can be connected to other things like evolution and anthropology. Im curious what kind of work you do at Sparrow? You highlighted how understanding patient medical/ family history and the likeliness of reoccurrence is powerful information, which is definitely true. Looking at a patients medical history and having the knowledge to know how its going to affect them in certain cases is extremely important and can be useful in many different jobs in the medical field.
Hello, I really enjoyed reading your post and feel that you made a lot of great points! I think it’s great that you’re completing a double major and can see that both definitely have connections with evolution. I like how you defined kinesiology and connected it with the athletic performance of athletes. I didn’t realize how studying the genetic variability based on the region may affect the outcome of the individual’s performance. For your human biology major, I think that it’s great that you connected one of your recent exams. Knowledge of genetics has definitely helped in human biology and is useful to know medical and family history to learn of the recurrence of the issue. Human biology uses evolution and human variation in real-world applications which will definitely benefit you in the long haul.