Zoobiquity
What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Engaging science writing that bravely approaches a new frontier in medical science and offers a whole new way of looking at the deep kinship between animals and human beings.
Zoobiquity: a species-spanning approach to medicine bringing doctors and veterinarians together to improve the health of all species and their habitats. In the tradition of Temple Grandin, Oliver Sacks, and Neil Shubin, this is a remarkable narrative science book arguing that animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and ultimately heal human patients. Through case studies of various species--human and animal kind alike--the authors reveal that a cross-species approach to medicine makes us not only better able to treat psychological and medical conditions but helps us understand our deep connection to other species with whom we share much more than just a planet.
This revelatory book reaches across many disciplines--evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, cutting-edge medicine and zoology--providing fascinating insights into the connection between animals and humans and what animals can teach us about the human body and mind.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The fossil record indicates that dinosaurs developed cancer. Chlamydia is rampant in wild koala bear populations. Wallabies in Tasmania are hooked on opium. In this intriguing book, cardiologist and psychiatrist Natterson-Horowitz, along with science journalist Bowers, explore some of humanity's most pressing health problems (cancer, obesity) through the eyes of the animal kingdom. The authors argue in favor of the "One Health" worldview, which brings doctors and veterinarians into close collaboration to discuss causation and treatment of diseases. For example, since stress-induced heart attacks affect both humans and animals, who's to say that human doctors can't learn from the research of veterinarians, and vice versa? The book features countless intriguing anecdotes of cross-species health problems, such as the cocker spaniel who became addicted to licking a toad or the stallion with mating problems, as well as some unforgettable one-liners: "all male mammals descend from a shared ancestral ejaculator." But the memorable examples are intended to serve the greater purpose of emphatically demonstrating that doctors and veterinarians would benefit from working together. Despite the remarkable content, the book's formulaic structure means that it is best consumed in small bites. Still, after finishing, you're guaranteed to never look at your dog, cat, or any other animal the same way again.
Customer Reviews
Eat the meat, spit out the bones
An interesting and timely summary of the importance of a return to an integrative approach to human and veterinary medicine as advocated and taught by William Osler over 100 years ago. Some underlying presuppositions will irritate some readers as associations do not qualify as causal connections, so eat the meat and spit out the bones.