Ironing it Out..

CHAPTER 1
By Jared, Kieran, Dillan, Owen

Why would you take a pill that was

guaranteed to kill you in forty years?
Survival Of The Sickest
by Sharon Moalem
Page 14
Paragraph 1

Iron and Life

Iron carries oxygen from lungs through the bloodstream and
releases where needed
Iron is in enzymes which detoxify poisons and convert sugar
into energy
Iron deficiencies are the main cause anemia (lack of red
blood cells)
Without iron our immune system functions poorly, skin gets
pale, can be confused, dizzy, cold, extremely fatigued
Iron sparks phytoplankton communities to grow which leads
to great biomass in the oceans food chain

Given these points, it sounds like the more iron you have in
your body, the better. However, iron acts as a booster for
bacteria and if not properly stored, they can be used to take
over the body.

Secure the Iron!

The more iron in your body, the more susceptible you are
to diseases
Luckily, our body has an iron-locking system that
prevents bacterial invaders from taking the iron and using
it to infect the body
The way the body does this is through macrophages

Macrophages
They are white blood cells that are sent out to subdue
viruses and transport them back to the lymph nodes
However, since these microphages are filled with iron,
the bacteria can take over and use the iron to multiply

Hemochromatosis
Some peoples bodies always think they need to absorb
more iron, even when they have too much
This disease is known as hemochromatosis
Since they accumulate so much excess iron in their
bodies, it would seem likely that they were prone to
disease, right?

WRONG!!

 Those with this disease have excess iron in all cells

except one; the macrophages
Since the macrophages have minimal iron, they cant be
taken over by the bacteria and are more successful at
combatting illness than macrophages that arent
hemochromatic
That is why they are called the Bruce Lees of the
immune system

H
o
w
e
v

The question is, why does a disease that will

eventually kill you keep getting naturally
selected in the gene pool?

Back in Time
Caused by genetic mutation
May have originated with the
Vikings and spread through
Europe as they colonized the
coast
Since small populations of Vikings lived in secluded
areas, there was inbreeding for generations, which meant
that the hemochromatosis gene was passed down and
kept in large portions of the population

Surviving Black Death

Starting in 1347, the Bubonic Plague (more commonly
known as Black Death) started its reign of terror over
Europe
It killed over 25 million people (1/3 of Europes
population)
It swelled the lymph nodes and when they burst, it spread
the infection
However, those with hemochromatosis were more likely
to survive the plague because of their unique
macrophages, which combatted the virus better than those
without

 Even though they would be more likely to die later,

hemochromatosis gave them the chance to survive to
middle-age and reproduce, passing the gene on
This is how the gene for hemochromatosis was naturally
selected and is way more common now than before
Black Death

ARAN GORDON
Aran is an example of a modern-day hemochromatosis
patient
He has been a competitive swimmer, since the age of 6,
and a natural long distance runner
When training for The Marathon des Sables (150 mile
running race across the Sahara Desert) he became sick,
and after 3 years was diagnosed with hemochromatosis

His doctors only gave him 5 years to live, but the

resurfacing of one of the oldest medical practices ever
allowed him to combat his disease:

BLOODLETTING

BLOODLETTING
Bloodletting is one of the oldest medical practices in
history
First recorded 3000 years ago in Egypt, it reached its peak
in 19th century
Syrian doctors used leeches for bloodletting 2000 years
ago
Doctors and shamans from Asia, Europe, and the
America's used instruments such as sharpened sticks,
shark teeth, and miniature bows and arrows to cause
bleeding

 In western practices the process was devised by the

Greek physician Galen and he practiced the theory of 4
hormones (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm) and all
illnesses resulted from an imbalance of the 4 hormones
It was the doctors job to balance
these 4 fluids through bloodletting
In the western world the place to
go for bloodletting was the
barbers shop
This is because they owned all the
sharp tools

Barbers Pole
This is where the barber pole symbol came from
The brass bowl at the top was where the leeches were
kept
The bowl at the bottom was to collect the blood
The red stripes represented the drying bandages laid out
to dry

ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS BARBARIC TO

MANY, IN HEMOCHROMATOSIS
PATIENTS IT IS THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

 In the case of Aran Gordon, bloodletting allowed him to

keep training and completed the Marathon des Sables a
second time, 3 months after he was supposed to have died

Conclusions:
Iron: Although iron is good too much of it can be very
bad for the body. In other words, moderation is key
Hemochromatosis: Although untreated it would
eventually kill you, its iron-locking procedures make
those infected better equipped to survive other diseases,
which is why it keeps getting naturally selected in our
gene pools

Which brings us back to our original question

Why would you take a pill that was

guaranteed to kill you in forty years?

Because it will save you tomorrow

Questions?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.classhelp.info/Biology/Survival%20of%20the%20Sickest.jpg
http://image.motortrend.com/f/wot/ford-police-interceptor-fastest-cop-car-in-michigan-state
-police-testing-418191/55486451/ford-police-interceptorsedan.jpg
http://img.medicalxpress.com/newman/csz/news/800/2015/monocytesand.jpg
http://www.bruceleeactionmuseum.org/blam/image/Take%20Action/Conscience%
20copy.jpg
http://www.grantonline.com/grant-family-genealogy/Normans-in-Ireland/photos-norman/
Bubonic_plague_map.jpg
http://www.philippegatta.fr/running/mds/pg_mds.jpg
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/bloodletting-16th-centurygranger.jpg
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2013/02/vikings_tv_review_a_l.jpg
http://www.effortlessgent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tools-660x434.jpg
https://melbournebarbershop.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/barber_pole-27373407_stdjpg.png
http://dreamchaserevents.com/lisasmithbatchen/images/testimonials_coaching/gordon.jpg

THE END!!!