UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is widely known as one of the most important aspects of biology among scientists and researchers. The relationship between evolution and medicine is a critical phenomenon which can lead to the innovation of newly implemented models and techniques, in hopes of suppressing life-threatening diseases in humans such as cancer. This paper aims to discover and understand how evolution can predict and prevent cancer inhumans. A major topic that this paper delves deep into is understanding the connection between evolution and medicine. Additionally, it looks to gain insight on how cancer has evolved and what scientists have learned from its progression over past generations. Lastly, this paper identifies and explains the various models that exist to aid in the prediction of cancer. Evolutionary medicine is a modern tool that can be used to further develop today’s medicine. Predicting evolution can allow scientists to implement advanced technological tools in the field of medicine, such as antibiotics and vaccines, which can prevent and treatdiseases including cancer before the onset of severe outcomes. Evolution is a fundamental principle that has the potential to improve the field of medicine.