Theory of Asynchronous Evolution

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The Evolutionary Theory of Sex: Sexual Dimorphism in Pathology

The theory can be applied to pathology, if we will consider an organism reaction to the harmful factor of environment as an attribute. Any initially lethal for the organism factor of environment, as a result of selection and evolution, gradually becomes only harmful to it, then indifferent, useful, and after some time eventually becomes necessary. Such picture is observed during long influence of antibiotics on bacteria, insecticides on insects, and other similar situations.

According to the theory, an ecological sex (male), being evolutionary avant guarde of a population, should precede a female one then going on the sequence of adaptation steps: lethal → harmful → indifferent useful → necessary. So, basically, the factor, which already became useful, or necessary for males, can still remain harmful, or lethal for females. Therefore the epidemiological sex ratio (ESR)—a ratio of sick men and women, should be maximal at the beginning of the adaptation process and decrease to a minimum at the end (in a stage of necessity).

If any illness strikes male sex more frequently (ESR » 1) (“man’s” diseases: gout, cancer of a throat, tong, esophagus, lungs, rectum etc.), it means, that the new lethal factor of the environment has appeared and male sex conducts “vanguard fights”, and is in a search of a new ways of evolutionary development. (For example, throat, or lungs cancer in some countries have ESR = 25–30!).

If men and women get sick in an equal proportion (ESR ≈ 1), it means that for a population the factor of environment became indifferent or neutral. The population as a whole is adapted. The adaptation of a male sex is genotypic, because after the appropriate selection it has acquired a new distribution of genotypes, while the female adaptation is phenotypic, modificational. It is achieved due to a wider reaction norm compare to males.

If women get sick more often than men (ESR « 1) (“feminine” (but not gynecological! illnesses): cholecystitis, obesity with a diabetes, tumors of a thyroid gland etc.), it means, that the factor of environment became already useful or necessary for a males, but still continues to remain pernicious or harmful for females. For example, the man’s liver, “has learned” to safely utilize calories of alcohol, because it already acquired the appropriate enzymes. Contrary, female’s liver doesn’t have them yet and as a result gets poisoned, and have cirrhosis 10 times more frequently. These are “rear guard” fights conducted mostly by the female sex when old evolutionary positions are abandoned.

Analizing ESR values, it is possible to make some, very interesting, epidemiological conclusions. For example, theory can link ESR values on AIDS in different countries with the duration of “exposure” to this infection. If for Asia ESR ≈ 15, with the minimal number of patients, for America and Europe ESR ≈ 10, and for Africa ESR ≈ 1, with a maximum infected, the theory predicts that African AIDS “is more old” then American and European, and Asian AIDS is the “youngest”.

Teratological Rule of Sexual Dimorphism

On species-specific attributes (multicellularity, homeothermy, the number of organs, the plan and a basic structure of a body etc.) sexual dimorphism in norm is absent. It is observed only in the field of pathology and expressed in different frequency of occurrence of congenital developmental anomalies at man’s and a female sex. The idea of classification of congenital anomalies on “atavistic” (returns or stops of development) and “futuristic” (search of new ways) allows recognizing in some cases of sexual dimorphism the abovementioned common tendencies predicted by the theory. For example, among 2000 newborns with one kidney there were twice as much boys, while among 4000 newborns with three kidneys there were 2.5-fold more girls. Is it accidental? Or is it a reflection of a well-known evolutionary trend of oligomerization of multiple organs? We shall remind, that lancelets and sea worms (old predecessors of mammals) have a pair of the specialized secretory organs—metanephridia in each segment of a body. So, it is possible, in the certain sense to consider the occurrence of the three kidneys as an “atavistic” tendency, and one kidney—as “futuristic” one. The same picture is observed among newborns with above norm number of ribs, vertebra, teeth and other organs that underwent reduction during evolution (oligomerization)—among them there are more girls. Contrary, there are more boys among newborns that have less than normal amount of such organs.

Another pathology—congenital dislocation of a hip occurs at girls in 4-5 times more often, than at boys. We shall note, that children with this defect can crawl and climb on trees better, than normal children. Anencephaly can be two times more often is found at girls (WHO reports, 1966). Darwin mentioned vestigial muscles, which in 1.5 times more often are found out in corpses of men, than women. He also listed the data on frequency of occurrence newborns with 6-th finger. Here also the number of boys exceeds the number of girls 2 times (Darwin, 1953).

With reference to anomalies of development it is possible to formulate a “Teratological rule of sexual dimorphism”: if for any attribute at the given stage of evolution sexual dimorphism is absent, but it existed previously, at earlier stages of evolution, it can be found out as a “relict” in an “asymmetric” sex ratio in pathology. Thus deviations from norm in an “atavistic” direction will appear more often at females, and in “futuristic” one—at males.

Teratological Rule of Sexual Dimorphism

FEMALES SHOULD HAVE THE ANOMALIES OF DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE OF “ATAVISTIC” NATURE MORE OFTEN, WHILE MALES SHOULD PREDOMINANTLY HAVE THE ANOMALIES OF “FUTURISTIC” NATURE (SEARCH).

The rule can be verified by comparing sex ratio of persons with congenital anomalies with various stages of phylo- and ontogenetic development.

Epidemiological Rule of Sex Ratio

Also it would be interesting to compare age distribution of the illnesses unequally damaging male and female sexs. On a basis of “Ontogenetic rule of sexual dimorphism” can be expected, that among the first (male) there should be more illnesses, characteristic for the adult, mature Ontogeny stage, and among the second (female), on the contrary there should be more juvenile age illnesses—the “Epidemiological Rule of Sex Ratio”.

Such prediction of the theory also is traced: many “children’s” illnesses are also “female’s” diseases. For example, rheumatism, pertussis and pyelonephritis. Contrary, illnesses of the old age: tumors, arteriosclerosis etc., as a rule, have men as a target. The same law can be looked after inside illnesses of one system. For example, dental caries—illness of the earlier stages of Ontogeny affects women more frequently, but parodontosis—illness of teeth more characteristic for the final stages strikes men more often.

Evolutionary role of cancer

Application of “Teratological rule of sexual dimorphism” to the congenital anomalies of the heart

 

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