With BPA in baby bottles, mercury in fish, and lead in computer monitors, the world has become a toxic place. But as Emily Monosson demonstrates in her groundbreaking new book, it has always been toxic. When oxygen first developed in Earth s atmosphere, it threatened the very existence of life: now we literally can t live without it. According to Monosson, examining how life adapted to such early threats can teach us a great deal about today s (and tomorrow s) most dangerous contaminants. While the study of evolution has advanced many other sciences, from conservation biology to medicine, the field of toxicology has yet to embrace this critical approach. In Evolution in a Toxic World, Monosson seeks to change that. She traces the development of life s defence systems - the mechanisms that transform, excrete, and stow away potentially harmful chemicals - from over three billion years ago to today. Beginning with our earliest ancestors response to ultraviolet radiation, Monosson explores the evolution of chemical defences such as antioxidants, metal binding proteins, detoxification, and cell death. As we alter the world s chemistry, these defences often become overwhelmed faster than our bodies can adapt. But studying how our complex internal defence network currently operates, and how it came to be that way, may allow us to predict how it will react to novel and existing chemicals. This understanding could not only lead to better management and preventative measures, but possibly treatment of current diseases. Development of that knowledge starts with this pioneering book.
Evolution in a Toxic World
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"This 222-page book is a thought-provoking summary of an important but often ignored subject matter, evnironmental toxicology."
--Barney Lipscomb ""Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas" "
--Barney Lipscomb ""Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas" "
About the Author
Emily Monosson is an environmental toxicologist, writer, and consultant. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Associate Editor of the Encyclopedia of Earth, and the author of Motherhood the Elephant in the Laboratory: Women Scientists Speak Out. She lives in Montague, Massachusetts.
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Filled with new information, but a bit too full of jargon for the non-scientist
3 Jun 2012
By A. McNeil
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Monosson attempts to explain both current and possible future impacts of chemical pollutants on humans by examining how life responded to toxic threats in the past.
Allow me to preface my review by saying that although I am not a scientist, my profession is that of a medical librarian, so scientific jargon is not new to me. I would therefore say my understanding of science is somewhere above average American but below actual scientist. I had the impression from the description that this book is written by a scientist for public consumption aka the average American. It misses the mark.
The content is great and informative, but it is couched in such an overload of scientific jargon and an assumption of an above average understanding of how the human body works that it was incredibly difficult to get through in order to glean out the interesting information. That said, I did learn quite a bit from this book. It was just difficult to get to these understandable tidbits given the writing style and structure.
Ultimately though, although I learned a lot, the reading experience itself was a bit daunting for the average American. I believe this book would best be enjoyed by a scientist for whom evolution is not their normal research area. They thus would have an easier time with the jargon, but also not already know what Monosson is talking about.
Allow me to preface my review by saying that although I am not a scientist, my profession is that of a medical librarian, so scientific jargon is not new to me. I would therefore say my understanding of science is somewhere above average American but below actual scientist. I had the impression from the description that this book is written by a scientist for public consumption aka the average American. It misses the mark.
The content is great and informative, but it is couched in such an overload of scientific jargon and an assumption of an above average understanding of how the human body works that it was incredibly difficult to get through in order to glean out the interesting information. That said, I did learn quite a bit from this book. It was just difficult to get to these understandable tidbits given the writing style and structure.
Ultimately though, although I learned a lot, the reading experience itself was a bit daunting for the average American. I believe this book would best be enjoyed by a scientist for whom evolution is not their normal research area. They thus would have an easier time with the jargon, but also not already know what Monosson is talking about.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Evolved beyond me.
6 Aug 2012
By Douglas T. Hawes
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I saw an early review that made the book sound like something I would like to read. But when checking reviews at Amazon.com I came across one that gave me second thoughts. Toxicology is a subject of much interest to me so I bought and read the book inspite of the second review. But, my chemistry and physiology background were either too old and out of date or this book was written only for advanced students of the subject of toxicology. It was a difficult read for me, a retired agronomist with minors in organic chemistry and botany. The author appeared to know the subject but did not make it easy for others to understand the subject.
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