Brain Beat: A Scientific and Evolutionary Perspective of Brain Health examines the origins of the pillars of brain health, expounding the current scientific basis for recommending physical exercise, cognitive exercises, sleep hygiene, socialization and brain-foods. However in addition to the "how" question, the more important "why" question is addressed from a neuro-archeological and evolutionary standpoint. The clinical and laboratory brain sciences are replete with ever increasing number...

According to the National Institutes of Health, there are sixty to seventy million people affected by digestive diseases in the United States. The old proverb tells us “you are what you eat,” and the latest science shows that this may be truer than we even thought. Diet has a profound effect on both physical and mental health. Most of the body’s immune system is in the gut, so pathology and dysfunction in the gut and imbalanced gut flora can cause neuroinflammation and possibly even neurod...

The first book to address nutrition's complex role in biologyNutrition has long been considered more the domain of medicine and agriculture than of the biological sciences, yet it touches and shapes all aspects of the natural world. The need for nutrients determines whether wild animals thrive, how populations evolve and decline, and how ecological communities are structured. The Nature of Nutrition is the first book to address nutrition's enormously compl...

The parents of children with autism know that learning about treatments is a full-time job. For parents with limited time, ability, or resources, Ken Siri and Tony Lyons have compiled the latest in autism research and treatment. Exploring the possible causes of autism and presenting novel therapies, medications, and interventions, Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism contains contributions from more than ninety experts on a wide variety of research findings, therapies, models, and mu...

Parasites that manipulate the behaviour of their hosts represent striking examples of adaptation by natural selection. This field of study is now moving beyond its descriptive phase and into more exciting areas where the processes and patterns of such dramatic adaptations can be better understood. This innovative text provides an up-to-date, authoritative, and challenging review of host manipulation by parasites that assesses the current state of developments in the field and lays out a fr...

Today, one out of every six children suffers from some form of neurodevelopmental abnormality. The causes are mostly unknown. Some environmental chemicals are known to cause brain damage and many more are suspected of it, but few have been tested for such effects. Philippe Grandjean provides an authoritative and engaging analysis of how environmental hazards can damage brain development and what we can do about it. The brain's development is uniquely sensitive to toxic chemicals, and even ...

In ACSM’s Exercise for Older Adults world-renowned researchers and practitioners make a compelling case for older adults to engage in physical activity. Over the course of ten chapters, the text highlights the physiological, psychological, and social benefits of a physically active lifestyle. Students and professionals will benefit from implementation strategies including motivation to initiate and maintain exercise; options for healthy older adults; options for older adults with special n...

This is the first and only book, so far, to deal with the causal basis of evolution from an epigenetic view. By revealing the epigenetic "user" of the "genetic toolkit", this book demonstrates the primacy of epigenetic mechanisms and epigenetic information in generating evolutionary novelties. The author convincingly supports his theory with a host of examples from the most varied fields of biology, by emphasizing changes in developmental pathways as the basic source of evolutionary change...

Animal life, now and over the past half billion years, is incredibly diverse. Describing and understanding the evolution of this diversity of body plans - from vertebrates such as humans and fish to the numerous invertebrate groups including sponges, insects, molluscs, and the many groups of worms - is a major goal of evolutionary biology. In this book, a group of leading researchers adopt a modern, integrated approach to describe how current molecular genetic techniques and disciplines as...

The most up-to-date resource on nutritional supplements for the prevention and improved management of concussive injury, TBI, and PTSD• Provides an easy-to-follow program of supplements to optimize the benefits of treatment programs and offer a method of prevention beyond the use of helmets• Shows how standard treatments do not address the oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and high glutamate levels that promote brain injury progression• Explains how single mic...

Safety of Meat and Processed Meat provides the reader with the recent developments in the safety of meat and processed meat, from the abattoir along the processing chain to the final product. To achieve this goal, the editor uses five approaches. The first part deals with the main biological contaminants like pathogen microorganisms, specially E. coli and L. monocytogenes, toxins and biogenic amines that can be present either in meat or its derived products. The second part focuses on main...

In this book the author puts forward an agenda to enhance intelligence and longevity in humans, select animal species (including dogs, dolphins and elephants), and machines. This effort would extend over 1,000 years or 40 human generations. Enhancements of IQ and longevity in humans would involve both environmental and genetic improvements in membership IQ and longevity. The goal would be a mean IQ of 145 and an average longevity of 100 years in human Uplift Project members by the end of t...