After Eden Author:Michael Sargent How to avoid disease, how to breed successfully, and how to live to a reasonable age, are questions that have perplexed mankind throughout history. This book explores our progress in understanding these challenges, and the risks and rewards of our attempts to find solutions. From as early as our existence in the womb, nutrition and exposure to m... more »icrobes and chemicals have consequences that are etched into our genomes and cells. This has a crucial impact on development in utero and in childhood, and later for the way we age, respond to infection, or the liklihood of developing chronic diseases, including cancer. A range of issues are covered, from the powerful influence of infectious disease on human society to the burden of our genetic legacy and the lottery of procreation. The author discusses how prospects for human life continually improve as biomedicine addresses these problems and debates the ethical checkpoints encountered.« less