[originaltext]M: You talked about evolution. You talked about genes. And there’

M: You talked about evolution. You talked about genes. And there’s an interesting point you make in the book. If a disease is a disadvantage to survival, in other words, it promotes premature death, then these people live shorter amount of time, they are less likely to reproduce. Why wouldn’t the gene disappear over time?
W: Right. Because it has to be protective. It protected the people in the past from the plague and it still fights to protect people today.
M: How about this one? Wearing sunglasses increases the chance of sunburn. And this is true?
W: Right, this is fascinating. So, our eyes sense sunlight and once they do, they produce a hormone that gets the skin kick started to start the tanning process. And by putting on sunglasses, you are short-circuiting in that process. So you shouldn’t go out into the sun, and of course without eyewear, eye protection, but take it off for 10 minutes.
M: So just in 10 minutes, you can promote the production of that hormone and protect yourself from burning.
W: Right, you’ll start tanning.
M: And by the way, we have had researchers: there are medical studies that back all these things up. Organic vegetables are always safer. True or false?
W: False.
M: Why?
W: Plants can’t run away when someone comes to eat them. So they’re great at chemicals and they make poisons. And an example of this is organic celery. Now if an insect comes and starts chewing on it, it’s because it’s not sprayed with pesticides.
M: Right.
W: It will produce its own chemical. As an example of what can go wrong, a woman in Germany juiced a lot of celery and then went tanning, and suffered a second-degree burns.
M: Alright. And finally, now, this sounds like a stereotype that many Asians can’t tolerate alcohol.
W: So this turns out to be true. 50% of Asians lack a gene that allows them to break down alcohol efficiently. And what happens is that in an allergic reaction, they appear drunk, their face gets red and flushed, but it’s great, ’cause it actually protects them from becoming an alcoholic.
M: If you’re kind of a person who likes to look at medicine and medical mysteries and then kinda turn everything upside down, this is a great book for you. It’s called Survival of the Sickest. Sharon Molaem, thanks very much.
W: Thank you for appreciating it.
6. Why didn’t the gene of people with premature death disappear?
7. According to Sharon, when should we wear sunglasses?
8. Why aren’t organic vegetables always safer?
9. In general, why can’t Asians tolerate alcohol?
10. What’s the main content of the book Survival of the Sickest?