Unnatural Selection How We Are Changing Life, Gene by Gene
Gonorrhea. Bed bugs. Weeds. Salamanders. People. All are evolving, some surprisingly rapidly, in response to our chemical age. In Unnatural Selection, Emily Monosson shows how our drugs, pesticides, and pollution are exerting intense selection pressure on
- PDF / 1,131,833 Bytes
- 202 Pages / 439.497 x 666.284 pts Page_size
- 111 Downloads / 268 Views
Unnatural Selection HOW WE ARE CHANGING LIFE, GENE BY GENE
Emily Monosson
Washington | Covelo | London
Copyright © 2015 Emily Monosson All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036. ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of the Center for Resource Economics.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014939900 Printed on recycled, acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Keywords: rapid evolution, antibiotic resistance, vaccines, pesticide resistance, Roundup, cancer treatment, bedbugs, toxics, epigenetics
Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Life-Changing Chemicals
1
Part I: Unnatural Selection in a Natural World 7 Chapter 1: Discovery: Antibiotics and the Rise of the Superbug 9 Chapter 2: Prevention: Searching for a Universal Vaccine Chapter 3: Treatment: Beyond Chemotherapy 55 Chapter 4: Defiance: Rounding Up Resistance 77 Chapter 5: Resurgence: Bedbugs Bite Back 95 Part II: Natural Selection in an Unnatural World 107 Chapter 6: Release: Toxics in the Wild
109
Chapter 7: Evolution: It’s Humanly Possible Part III: Beyond Selection
127
141
Chapter 8: Epigenetics: Epilogue or Prologue? 143 Notes 155 Index 179
33
Acknowledgments Most of these chapters touch upon toxic chemicals in one way or another; all of them refer to evolution—a topic that I have just begun to explore. For providing me with the opportunity to think about toxic chemicals and evolution in our lifetime, or rapid evolution, I would first like to thank Island Press and my editor Emily Davis. Emily has helped me rein in my tendency to head off along some marginally related tangent, or cram each paragraph with all sorts of fascinating but not exactly relevant scientific tidbits. Throughout this process I have relied upon the contributions of many scientists, using their published research and, beyond that, calling upon them to be interviewed, or to review chapters, portions of chapters, or answer questions from, in most cases, a complete stranger. Many offered further suggestions, corrections, and encouragement though an exchange of e-mails. Despite their best efforts I am sure many omissions, mistakes, or inaccuracies remain, for which I am fully responsible. The list of those scientists who kindly contributed to this book includes but is not limited to: Josh Akey, Claude Boyd, Steven Brady, Adria Eiskus, Suzanne Epstein, Amir Fathi, Marco Gerlinger, Greg Jaffe, Norman Johnson, Paul Klerks, Katia Koelle, Ben Letcher, Emmanuel Milot, Mike Owen, Colin Parrish, Rick Pilsner, Andrew ix
x
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Read, Christina Richards, Alvaro Romero, Arjun Srinivasan, Penny Shockett, Judith Weis, Andrew Whiteley, and Issac Wirgin. Heather Goldstone, Robert Scherzer, Banu Subramanian, Brent Ranalli, Michelle Wick, Sofia Echegaray, John Saul, Penny Shockett, and Ben Letcher read through early chapters, he
Data Loading...
