Iron, Nature's Universal Element: Why People Need Iron And Animals Make Magnets

Readers could be excused for expecting a book entitled Iron, Nature's Universal Element: Why People Need Iron & Animals Make Magnets to be little more than a 200-page filmstrip. But biological physicist Eugenie Vorburger Mielczarek and science writer Sharon Bertsch McGrayne infuse their subject with a surprising vitality, exploring the history of life on earth and the breadth of physiological processes in which iron is essential. Following the scientists who research deep-sea vents, animal migration, and genetic and dietary deficiency diseases, they craft stories of great drama--the image of the growing army of blue-green algae dumping poisonous oxygen into the atmosphere and turning the ocean's iron to rust is powerful and lasting. How this highly stable metallic nutrient, vital in small doses but lethal when set free, is regulated and absorbed by our bodies (we have no means of excreting it except good old-fashioned bloodletting) makes for compelling reading, especially as the authors tie it to increasingly common health problems. With nearly 25 percent of the world's children suffering from iron deficiency anemia, the problem is strikingly crucial to public health. Will we apply our knowledge for the benefit of all people? Iron, Nature's Universal Element makes the case for further research and, more importantly, faster action. --Rob Lightner