Home Bio Contact Books:   Prometheans in the Lab Nobel Prize Women in Science Iron, Nature's Universal Element Iron, Nature's Universal Element: Why People Need Iron & Animals Make Magnets By Eugenie Vorburger Mielczarek and Sharon Bertsch McGrayne Rutgers U. Press, 2000 ISBN 0-8135-2831-3 $30.00 (204 pp.) Four billion years ago, iron was more precious than gold. It was so important for the development of early life that even today virtually every life form on Earth requires iron. The story of iron on Earth begins with the role of iron atoms in the formation of our planet and moves through the world of evolving life, primitive microorganisms, and progressively more complicated iron-managing molecules to global systems for migrating animals, fertilizing the surface of the Earth, and feeding its human population. From the simple to the complex, from the microscopic to the planetary scale, from the thoroughly understood to current research frontiers, this book follows iron through the biological world. We inherited our dependence on iron from Earth's iron-rich beginnings. This is the story of our legacy of iron and the scientists who are uncovering it. Reviews "Very readable... The book is entertaining, amusing, and challenging. How iron is used by living systems is described simply and correctly. Stories enliven the scientific accounts. I recommend this book without reservation." - Physics Today "The story of iron is told from the beginning of the earth's history ... through to contemporary human health concerns... My undergraduate inorganic students were fascinated by many examples... The text could complement an environmental science course, serve as an example for writing about science to a lay audience, supplement biochemistry or bioinorganic chemistry classes, or just entertain you on your next travel segment." - Journal of Chemical Education. "A compulsive read for a wide audience, beginning with school students." - Education in Chemistry. Back to top Back to top	Buy this book on: Amazon.com Powells.com BarnesandNoble.com Table of Contents for Iron, Nature's Universal Element Introduction: A Legacy of Iron 1. What Was Iron Doing At Life's Birth? Life without Oxygen 2. Catastrophe: The Arrival of Oxygen 3. Grabbing and Storing: Controlling Iron 4. The Smallest Living Magnets: Avoiding Oxygen 5. Hemoglobin and Myoglobin: Harnessing Oxygen 6. Migrating Animals: Magnetic Travel 7. Iron and the Planet's Ecosystem: Seas and Soils 8.Feeding the World's Poor: Iron Deficiency Glossary