Milk : the biology of lactation / Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Power, Michael L., author.

Schulkin, Jay, author.

Contributor:

EBSCOhost.

Murray Galt Motter Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lactation.

Breast milk.

Milk--Composition.

Milk.

Milk--History.

Mammary glands.

History.

Medical Subjects:

Lactation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 285 pages.)

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Everything you ever wanted to know about the substance that binds all mammals together. -- After drawing its first breath, every newborn mammal turns his or her complete attention to obtaining milk. This primal act was once thought to stem from a basic fact: milk provides the initial source of calories and nutrients for all mammalian young. But it turns out that milk is a much more complicated biochemical cocktail and provides benefits beyond nutrition. In this fascinating book, biologists Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin reveal this liquid's evolutionary history and show how its ingredients have changed over many millions of years to become a potent elixir. Power and Schulkin walk readers through the early origins of the mammary gland and describe the incredible diversification of milk among the various mammalian lineages. After revealing the roots of lactation, the authors describe the substances that naturally occur in milk and discuss their biological functions. They reveal that mothers pass along numerous biochemical signals to their babies through milk. The authors explain how milk boosts an infant's immune system, affects an infant's metabolism and physiology, and helps inoculate and feed the baby's gut microbiome. Throughout the book, the authors weave in stories from studies of other species, explaining how comparative research sheds light on human lactation. The authors then turn their attention to the fascinating topic of cross-species milk consumption--something only practiced by certain humans who evolved an ability to retain lactase synthesis into adulthood. The first book to discuss milk from a comparative and evolutionary perspective, Power and Schulkin's masterpiece reveals the rich biological story of the common thread that connects all mammals.

Contents:

Part I The Birth of Milk 9

Chapter 1 Feeding Offspring 13

Chapter 2 Origins 31

Chapter 3 The Molecules of Milk 49

Chapter 4 Prolactin and Oxytocin 73

Part II Milk as a Food 93

Chapter 5 Not Quite Perfection 97

Chapter 6 The Milk Spectrum 111

Chapter 7 Lactation Strategies 133

Part III More Than Food 155

Chapter 8 Milk Protects 159

Chapter 9 Milk Guides 175

Chapter 10 Milk Regulates 186

Chapter 11 Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 195

Part IV Our Mother's Milk 203

Chapter 12 Milk and Human Evolution 207

Chapter 13 Breastfeeding, History, and Health 232.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Ipswich, MA Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Murray Galt Motter Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9781421420431

1421420430

Publisher Number:

99968675754

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.