Emily Monosson

Emily Monosson

Emily Monosson is a toxicologist and author, a member of the Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship, and holds an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In recent years, her focus has turned toward the impact of industrial age chemicals and technology on food and medicine. Her most recent books are Natural Defense: Enlisting Bugs and Germs to Save Our Food and Medicine, Unnatural Selection: How We Are Changing Life Gene by Gene, and Evolution in a Toxic World: How Life Responds to Chemical Threats. She has published in The Scientist, Aeon, LA Times, American Scientist, and Whole Terrain in addition to academic journals and blogs somewhat regularly at toxicevolution.wordpress.com.


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Changing the World Gene by Gene

By Emily Monosson / On March 12th, 2014
Here’s the skinny: evolution is happening all the time, all around us. Living things are like one roiling mass of DNA. OK, so that’s a little over the top.
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Unnatural Selection

By Emily Monosson / On November 16th, 2012
Salamanders, fish and perhaps even humans are evolving fast in response to toxic chemicals. Is that bad? In the hemlock and oak forests of northeastern Connecticut, Steve Brady stood thigh deep in black muck and scooped up a handful of spotted salamander eggs. A Yale PhD student, he had once fancied himself zipping across tropical waters in a Zodiac boat or scanning rainforest canopies in search of exotic birds.
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5 Surprising Lessons from Evolution in a Toxic World

By Emily Monosson / On May 17th, 2012
1. Chemicals that were once lethal can become essential for life The human body can repair DNA, defuse toxic substances, and metabolize plant-based pharmaceuticals because our earliest ancestors—in some cases, single-celled organisms—developed defense systems to protect themselves against dangerous chemicals. Some chemicals that were once lethal to living things are no longer harmful, and some (like oxygen) have actually become essential. But this relationship developed over hundreds of millions of years.
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The Toxification of Words

By Emily Monosson / On April 26th, 2012
Disclaimer: Some words may have been harmed in the process of writing this blog As a scientist who fled from college course offerings beginning with ENG I fully regret this decision, particularly when sheepishly resorting to the synonym key, followed by a quick dash to Wikipedia for further advice on how to use words.  Words matter, particularly if one decides to go public with them. And so, it was with some chagrin that I read a recent email, taking me to task for my use of the word “toxics,” which I’ve pasted verbatim - for lack of better words: Let's start by noting