How did fire shape human evolution? 🔥🧬

For more than a million years, humans have lived alongside fire, using it for cooking, warmth, protection and technological progress. But this uniquely human relationship may also have shaped how our bodies respond to injury.

Research led by Honorary Clinical Research Fellow Dr Josh Cuddihy from the Department of Surgery & Cancer - Faculty of Medicine, published in BioEssays, explores the idea that exposure to burn injuries acted as an evolutionary pressure throughout human history.

The study suggests that repeated, survivable burns may have influenced the evolution of genes involved in wound healing, inflammation and infection response.

By combining expertise in burn medicine, evolutionary biology and genetics, the researchers propose a new perspective on why humans heal the way they do today, and why severe burns can trigger responses that are both protective and harmful.

Find out more:

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/articles/medicine/department-of-surgery-and-cancer-news-articles/2026/exposure-to-burn-injuries-played-key-role-in-shaping-human-evolution-study-suggests/