Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins--From Spices to Vices
| AUTHOR | Whiteman, Noah |
| PUBLISHER | Little, Brown Spark (10/24/2023) |
| PRODUCT TYPE | Hardcover (Hardcover) |
Description
An evolutionary biologist tells the story of nature's toxins and why we are attracted--and addicted--to them, in this "magisterial, fascinating, and gripping tour de force" (Neil Shubin).
A deadly secret lurks within our spice racks, medicine cabinets, backyard gardens, and private stashes. Scratch beneath the surface of a coffee bean, a red pepper flake, a poppy seed, a mold spore, a foxglove leaf, a magic-mushroom cap, a marijuana bud, or an apple seed, and we find a bevy of strange chemicals. We use these to greet our days (caffeine), titillate our tongues (capsaicin), recover from surgery (opioids), cure infections (penicillin), mend our hearts (digoxin), bend our minds (psilocybin), calm our nerves (CBD), and even kill our enemies (cyanide). But why do plants and fungi produce such chemicals? And how did we come to use and abuse some of them? Based on cutting-edge science in the fields of evolution, chemistry, and neuroscience, Most Delicious Poison reveals:- The origins of toxins produced by plants, mushrooms, microbes, and even some animals
- The mechanisms that animals evolved to overcome them
- How a co-evolutionary arms race made its way into the human experience
- And much more
This perpetual chemical war not only drove the diversification of life on Earth, but also is intimately tied to our own successes and failures. You will never look at a houseplant, mushroom, fruit, vegetable, or even the past five hundred years of human history the same way again.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9780316386579
ISBN-10:
031638657X
Binding:
Hardback or Cased Book (Sewn)
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
304
Carton Quantity:
20
Product Dimensions:
6.20 x 1.20 x 9.50 inches
Weight:
1.00 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Index,
Price on Product,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Science | Life Sciences - Evolution
Science | Chemistry - Toxicology
Science | Toxicology
Dewey Decimal:
615.95
Library of Congress Control Number:
2023935281
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
An evolutionary biologist tells the story of nature's toxins and why we are attracted--and addicted--to them, in this "magisterial, fascinating, and gripping tour de force" (Neil Shubin).
A deadly secret lurks within our spice racks, medicine cabinets, backyard gardens, and private stashes. Scratch beneath the surface of a coffee bean, a red pepper flake, a poppy seed, a mold spore, a foxglove leaf, a magic-mushroom cap, a marijuana bud, or an apple seed, and we find a bevy of strange chemicals. We use these to greet our days (caffeine), titillate our tongues (capsaicin), recover from surgery (opioids), cure infections (penicillin), mend our hearts (digoxin), bend our minds (psilocybin), calm our nerves (CBD), and even kill our enemies (cyanide). But why do plants and fungi produce such chemicals? And how did we come to use and abuse some of them? Based on cutting-edge science in the fields of evolution, chemistry, and neuroscience, Most Delicious Poison reveals:- The origins of toxins produced by plants, mushrooms, microbes, and even some animals
- The mechanisms that animals evolved to overcome them
- How a co-evolutionary arms race made its way into the human experience
- And much more
This perpetual chemical war not only drove the diversification of life on Earth, but also is intimately tied to our own successes and failures. You will never look at a houseplant, mushroom, fruit, vegetable, or even the past five hundred years of human history the same way again.
Show More
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