Zoobiquity

April 23, 2012
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. Agent: Tina Bennett, Janklow & Nesbit.

May 1, 2012
Natterson-Horowitz (Cardiology/UCLA School of Medicine) and former Atlantic Monthly editor Bowers investigate the correlation between human and animal health issues. Cancer, heart attacks, obesity and STDs are afflictions most people associate with humans. However, the authors demonstrate that these are also common ailments in the animal world. Fascinated with the health connection between animals and humans, the authors coin the term "zoobiquity," which means the "connecting, species-spanning approach to the diagnostic and therapeutic puzzles of clinical medicine." By accepting our common genetic backgrounds, the authors propose an increase in the exchange of medical information between doctors and veterinarians, as human behavior parallels that of animals in many different arenas. Masturbation, homosexuality and rape are common in the animal world. The "feather-picking disorder" of birds plucking feathers until they bleed is similar to the "cutting" teenage girls administer to themselves. Anorexia can be linked to the nervous behaviors of our "animal forebears," who lived with the constant fear of not having enough to eat, or of being eaten. The wild behavior of some adolescent males mimics the impulsive antics of still-maturing rats and primates. Sudden noises or traumatic accidents and natural disasters cause an uptick in cardiomyopathy in humans and animals, even if there is no evidence of heart disease in either species. Whether discussing koala bears with chlamydia, stallions with performance dysfunction, or Tasmanian wallabies intoxicated on poppy sap, the authors provide solid evidence that humans are not as far removed from the rest of the natural world as we might have thought. Engaging, useful account of the similarities between humans and other animals.

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January 1, 2012

A cardiology professor at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, Natterson-Horowitz was called in as a consultant when a monkey at the Los Angeles Zoo had heart failure. Subsequently, she launched an interdisciplinary study (here dubbed zoobiquity) of what animals and humans have in common in sickness and healing. Health care and animal-human bonding, it's bound to attract attention.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2012
Our ancestors knew that animals suffer the same diseases as humans, but as modern medicine developed, a great schism grew between physicians and veterinarians. Cardiologist and psychiatrist Natterson-Horowitz now calls for a new species-spanning approach to medicine and health. She and science writer Bowers coined the term zoobiquity for this emerging field, and they present their case with winning enthusiasm and expertise. Natterson-Horowitz, astute and funny, recounts her mind-expanding zoobiquitous expeditions involving a remarkable array of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and insects and explicates the genetic and evolutionary roots of her revelatory discoveries. Not only do animals faint but fainting can be essential to survival, leading Natterson-Horowitz to modify a classic phrase to Fight, flight, or faint. Even more arresting are her revelations about animals, intoxication, and addiction (including a Texan cocker spaniel who loved to lick cane toads for the hallucinogenic toxin in their skin). Her investigation into animal sex redefines natural acts, and her coverage of animal adolescence and eating disorders is fascinating and instructive. Clearly, we have much to learn from animals and from this profoundly illuminating new fusion of veterinary, human, and evolutionary medicine. Zoobiquity is as clarion and perception-altering as works by Oliver Sacks, Michael Pollan, and E. O. Wilson.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)