Evolution in a Toxic World: How Life Responds to Chemical Threats

This book is a history of how life has responded to toxic chemicals, from cells’ response to UV radiation more than 3 billion years ago to people’s response to the chemicals in plastics today. Emily Monosson argues that in an age when we are constantly bombarded by new synthetic chemicals, it is critical to understand the 'defense mechanisms' humans have developed over millennium to deal with toxics. She writes, 'by considering the evolution of a body’s response to harmful amounts and combinations of chemicals, toxicologists might better predict, and possibly prevent harm caused by today’s novel challenges.'

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.

Review :
"Evolution in a Toxic World addresses the challenges posed to life on earth by a plethora of toxic threats. There are chapters dedicated to ozone, oxygen, metals, assorted chemical agents, cancer, etc. ... The book serves as an excellent introduction to the topic of toxicology and evolution for the college student or general reader."
-- "Science Books and Films" "Evolution in a Toxic World describes how biological defenses have evolved over time, responding to challenges of an ever-changing environment. Monosson draws on 'lessons learned' to address the key question of whether we can defend ourselves against the myriad agents that we introduce into the environment. In this engaging and sweeping book, she looks for the answer."
--Jonathan M. Samet "Director, Institute for Global Health, University of Southern California" "this book really made me love evolutionary biology"
-- "Toxicology Student Association blog" "A toxicologist traces how life evolved to deal with toxic substances and how this plays into chemical exposures today."
-- "Science News" "An intriguing and thought-provoking synthesis of how environmental stressors have shaped life on the planet. The book challenges us to consider that genomic diversity not only tells us about the past, it helps us predict the future: how different groups of organisms will respond to new environmental stressors, including those of human origin."
--L. Earl Gray "Research Biologist " "Monosson posits that the field of toxicology should look to evolution to understand biological responses to today's chemical threats."
-- "Conservation" "This book is utterly fascinating, covering all sorts of toxins from the beginning of life on Earth, and continuing through modern times and predicting what the future may hold."
-- "The Guardian GrrlScientist blog" "Well written, very readable, thought-provoking. Highly recommended reading for environmental scientists and non-scientists."
--Peter M. Chapman "principal, Golder Associates Ltd" "...it does provide detailed information about how life evolved to survive everything that our planet, other organisms and its own cells can throw at it through some fascinating examples."
-- "Science Illustrated" "Dr. Monosson has provided an original synthesis of this intriguing and often neglected topic. She uses fascinating examples to illustrate how an evolutionary perspective enriches our understanding of chemicals and their myriad interactions with living systems."
--Mark E. Hahn "Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution" "The book is written in an accessible style and is aimed at the general public, as well as at scientists. The third-person scientific writing is interspersed with personal anecdotes and thoughts, which should help to make the book more appealing."
-- "Bioscience" "The book should appeal to a broad audience and will spur future interest in the fields of evolutionary toxicology....well-written"
-- "Ecology" "This 222-page book is a thought-provoking summary of an important but often ignored subject matter, environmental toxicology."
--Barney Lipscomb "Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas"