Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves

The astonishing story of how animals use medicine and what it can teach us about healing ourselves Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature's pharmacy to heal themselves. Doctors by Nature reveals what researchers are now learning about the medical wonders of the animal world. In this visionary book, Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long and shows how the study of self-medicating animals could impact the practice of human medicine. Drawing on illuminating interviews with leading scientists from around the globe as well as his own pioneering research on monarch butterflies, de Roode demonstrates how animals of all kinds from ants to apes, from bees to bears, and from cats to caterpillars use various forms of medicine to treat their own ailments and those of their relatives. We meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms, sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites, and bees that incorporate sticky resin into their hives to combat pathogens. De Roode asks whether these astonishing behaviours are learned or innate and explains why, now more than ever, we need to apply the lessons from medicating animals it can pave the way for healthier livestock, more sustainable habitats for wild pollinators, and a host of other benefits. Doctors by Nature takes readers into a realm often thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, exploring how scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs.

About the Author :
Jaap de Roode is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Biology at Emory University, where he is director of the Infectious Diseases across Scales Training Program, which trains graduate students in interdisciplinary science to study and control infectious disease.

Review :
"As Jaap de Roode reveals in [Doctors by Nature] many animals seek out substances to relieve illnesses or battle parasites that drag their health down. . . . They could even teach us a thing or two about medicine."---Sam Kean, Wall Street Journal "The book invites deeper reflection on what it means to medicate, how landscapes shape access to medicine, and whether we humans are as discerning in our self-medicating choices as our nonhuman counterparts. . . . It raises new questions about the relationship between medicine, behavior, and environment."---John M. Drake, Science "A fascinating look at the medical knowledge of animals; this would be a worthy addition to any life sciences collection." "Jaap de Roode takes the reader through a breezy and fun exploration into the complex world of animal medication."---Ed Cara, Gizmodo "There's so many cool stories in [this] book."---Cara Santa Maria, Talk Nerdy "A fantastic read. I devoured [this book] in a day."---Cassandra Quave, Foodie Pharmacology "[A] highly readable, and fun book."---Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today "A fantastic book."---Ashley Frasca, Green and Growing with Ashley Frasca "[An] extraordinary new book."---Andrea Jones-Rooy, Behind the Data "[A] pioneering study . . . brilliantly written."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer "[A] treatise on how ill animals actually make choices about when, what, and even how much to consume of medicinal plants for both therapeutic and even preventive purposes. . . . Highly recommended."---M. Gochfeld, Choice "[An] exceptional book investigating the myriad ways in which diverse animals across taxa self-medicate. . . . The book is written in a very readable style and is about story telling as much as intellectual enlightenment."---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds "This book is well written so as to be widely accessible to the non-fiction enthusiast and yet has enough meat on its bones to also be of interest to biologists of all flavors — including those that treat sick humans. The message is so very clear: we have much to learn from non-human animals and how they treat illnesses using nature’s pharmacy. . . . I find something else extraordinary about this book: it invites the reader to think like a scientist . . . In other words, this book teaches us to think about evidence."---Rebecca Jo Safran, Current Biology