Biologist Madlen Ziege writes about her own experience with the stress she experienced while working on her Ph.D. The book is a mixture of a personal account and a popular science account of the biological and medical factors that can accompany stress. The central message of the book is that stress does not only have negative effects, as is commonly assumed. Although it can be harmful, stressful, and endanger health, from a biological point of view, the stress reaction of animals, plants, and also us humans makes sense at first. In nature, it is essential for survival because it helps all living things adapt to changes in their environment.
So stress can also be explained as a driving force for evolution. Biologist Madeline Zig describes this as an “incredible force of nature” that can help an organism with ecological and social environmental problems. So these are not just difficulties that we feel at work or in personal life. It is also about stress in nature that affects organisms when the living conditions of the environment change. Our psychological reactions to stressful situations also depend on biological processes. Although the term “stress” was coined by physician Hans Selye in the 1930s, there is still no unified definition for it. There have been various attempts to explain stress biologically, and Madeline Zieig illustrates this with a brief history of stress research.
Due to the many investigations and research findings over the past decades, we now have a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of stress. The author briefly summarizes key scientific findings and describes the reactions of animals and humans to stressful environmental conditions. We learn interesting facts about the life of city hares and about the adaptation of tardigrades, beavers and flies to a changing environment. Curiosity is also described: in case of danger, some sea slugs discard their heads as a response to stress, which is subsequently renewed. Plants also suffer from stress. For example, they respond to pests by producing toxins as a defense. All these examples demonstrate the amazing and vital ability of biological organisms to adapt to their environment. This helps animals, plants and also us humans deal with the constant changes in the environment. This makes stress a positive and driving force for development.
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