I, Mammal: The Story of What Makes Us Mammals

by Liam Drew

Overview

Humans are mammals. Most of us appreciate that at some level. But what does it mean for us to have more in common with a horse and an elephant than we do with a parrot, snake or frog?

After a misdirected football left new father Liam Drew clutching a uniquely mammalian part of his anatomy, he decided to find out more. Considering himself as a mammal first and a human second, Liam delves into ancient biological history to understand what it means to be mammalian.

In his humorous and engaging style, Liam explores the different characteristics that distinguish mammals from other types of animals. He charts the evolution of milk, warm blood and burgeoning brains, and examines the emergence of sophisticated teeth, exquisite ears, and elaborate reproductive biology, plus a host of other mammalian innovations. Entwined are tales of zoological peculiarities and reflections on how being a mammal has shaped the author's life.

I, Mammal is a history of mammals and their ancestors and of how science came to grasp mammalian evolution. And in celebrating our mammalian-ness, Liam Drew binds us a little more tightly to the five and a half thousand other species of mammal on this planet and reveals the deep roots of many traits humans hold dear.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472922892
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	01/16/2018
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Liam Drew is a writer, former neurobiologist, and mammal. He has a Ph.D. in sensory biology from University College London, and spent twelve years researching the neural and genetic basis of schizophrenia, the biology of pain and the birth of new neurons in the adult mammalian brain at Columbia University, New York and at UCL. His writing has appeared in Nature, New Scientist, Slate, and the Guardian. He is director of NeuWrite London, a London subsidiary of 'NeuWrite: a collaborative working group for scientists, writers, and those in between'. He lives in Kent with his wife and two daughters.

Table of Contents

Introduction: My Family and Other Mammals 9

Chapter 1 The Descent of Man('s Gonads) 27

Chapter 2 Life on the Edge of Mammaldom 43

Chapter 3 Y, I'm Male 63

Chapter 4 The Mammalian Birds and Bees 83

Chapter 5 The Next Generation 107

Chapter 6 Afterbirth Before Birth 125

Chapter 7 The Milky Way 149

Chapter 8 Kids, Behave! 175

Chapter 9 Bones, Teeth, Genes and Trees 195

Chapter 10 It's Getting Hot in Here, Put Your Coat On 227

Chapter 11 Scents and Sensibility 251

Chapter 12 A Multilayered Brain Teaser 275

Chapter 13 This Mammalian Life 307

Afterword: Mammals 2018 325

Selected Reading 337

Acknowledgements 345

Index 347

Editorial Reviews

11/06/2017
With wit and passion, Drew, a freelance writer and former neurobiologist, explores what it means to be a mammal by taking an evolutionary look at how and where mammals arose. He discusses such topics as the origin of lactation, the nature of the placenta, the evolution of warm-bloodedness, and the characteristics of the mammalian brain. He makes clear that none of these traits arose in isolation: “Individual traits can be meaningfully defined and studied in isolation, but such an approach should never blind us to the fact that every trait is a part of a greater whole.” Throughout, Drew describes organismal evolution as a multifaceted process that is difficult but not impossible to study. He presents the results of current research and offers competing hypotheses to explain many of the developmental and behavioral patterns observed. Drew vividly conveys the excitement of scientific discovery, reminding readers that there is much yet to be uncovered. He combines detailed technical information with interesting natural-history tidbits, such as that “marsupials have three vaginas—two for letting sperm in, and one for letting their joeys out.” He also niftily connects his personal experiences of fatherhood to the broader issue of animal reproduction. There’s much here to be savored by scientists and nonscientists alike. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

2017-10-30
A tale of scrotality and other pressing mammalian concerns.A neurobiologist by training, science writer Drew relates that some time ago, he got it in his head that readers might enjoy "a lengthy discussion of the natural history of scrotums," and all that remained was to find an editor who agreed with him. After some rejections, he did, first for a magazine and then for this book, which indeed includes, among other things, a lengthy discussion of the natural history of scrotums—perhaps too lengthy. The author explores other mammalian matters, of course, among them the fact that there are not so many kinds of mammals in the world once one discounts bats and rodents: by his reckoning, 1,687 species. As Drew writes, "rats, mice, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, gerbils, guinea pigs and their kin accout for just over 40 percent of all mammals." And, the subject being mammals, mammaries naturally enter into the narrative, and the author connects their evolution to the triad of apocrine gland, sebaceous gland, and hair follicle. Readers may be delighted to learn, finally, that the egg indeed preceded the chicken, although "biologists are at a bit of a loss as to why the egg evolved." Drew's account is doggedly Darwinian, allowing for modern interpretations of things like clades and radiative adaptations, and his argument often proceeds from technical fine points. "Might the evolution of a key trait," he asks, "have given therapsids, say, an edge over pelycosaurs? Did a uniquely mammalian character allow mammals to succeed cynodonts?" The answer is an elusive yes and no, but the ability to entertain contending possibilities is another thing that makes us human—i.e., mammalian with a few more folds of the cortex, descended testicles, a constant body temperature, and such.A solid and demanding account, one best read after some grounding in current evolutionary and biological theories.

Kirkus Reviews

A splendid evolutionary study ... Drew is a wry guide to wonders such as the evolution of the scrotum and the epic journey of marsupial newborns.” —Nature

“An excellent combination of scientific principle and comedic wit that will appeal to biology fans and non-scientists alike. An excellent read.” —How It Works

“A witty romp through evolution ... I, Mammal is just the sort of book that can spark a love of nature and an appreciation for the ever-changing, eternally correcting march of science.” —Science

“Quotable, heartfelt and frequently fun.” —The Biologist

“Drew's immersion makes one proud to be a mammal.” —Booklist

“Drew vividly conveys the excitement of scientific discovery [and] combines detailed technical information with interesting natural-history tidbits. There's much to be savoured by scientists and nonscientists alike.” —Publishers Weekly

“From ice-sliding bison and tail-biting platypuses to cats and bats, hedgehogs and hooded seals, I, Mammal will change the way you think about hairy, milk-making, warm-blooded animals (yourself included). This carnival of mammals is science writing at its most funny, companionable and smart.” —Helen Scales, marine biologist, broadcaster and author of Spirals in Time

“Not only fun and instructive but also wonderfully written, I, Mammal takes us on an erudite journey through mammalian evolution. Liam Drew effortlessly weaves science together with all manner of often very funny anecdotes. Reading it will be a pleasure for scientists and non-specialists alike.” —René Hen, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Columbia University

“I not only highly recommend reading I, Mammal, I also recommend doing so – as I did – with a notebook and pencil ready at hand so as to be ready to record the many interesting points...It is a book that not only brings new information to light, it helps to make connections between facts that might have already been known by the reader but not yet placed in a relationship to one another.” —Johannes E. Riutta, The Well-Read Naturalist

From the Publisher