Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves

Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves

Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature’s pharmacy to heal themselves. In Doctors by Nature (Princeton UP, 2025), Dr. Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long and shows how the study of self-medicating animals could impact the practice of human medicine. Drawing on illuminating interviews with leading scientists from around the globe as well as his own pioneering research on monarch butterflies, Dr. de Roode demonstrates how animals of all kinds—from ants to apes, from bees to bears, and from cats to caterpillars—use various forms of medicine to treat their own ailments and those of their relatives. We meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms, sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites, and bees that incorporate sticky resin into their hives to combat pathogens. Dr. De Roode asks whether these astonishing behaviors are learned or innate and explains why, now more than ever, we need to apply the lessons from medicating animals—it can pave the way for healthier livestock, more sustainable habitats for wild pollinators, and a host of other benefits. Doctors by Nature takes readers into a realm often thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, exploring how scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs. Our guest is: Dr. Jaap de Roode, who is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Biology at Emory University, where he is director of the Infectious Diseases across Scales Training Program, which trains graduate students in interdisciplinary science to study and control infectious disease. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who works as a developmental editor for scholars, and is the producer of the Academic Life podcast. Playlist for listeners: At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of Changing Oceans The Killer Whale Journals Just Like Family: How Companion Animals Joined the Household Bugs: A Day in the Life Endless Forms: The Surprising World of Wasps The Well-Gardened Mind and The Science Showing Why Time in Nature is Good For You Women in Shark Sciences Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! You can support the show by downloading and sharing episodes. Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 250+ Academic Life episodes? Find them here. And thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Episoder(321)

Empathy Takes Action: An Autistic Therapist on the Radical Work of Connection

Empathy Takes Action: An Autistic Therapist on the Radical Work of Connection

Mainstream psychology has long accepted that some people (like those with autism) are naturally more logical and unemotional, while others (like so-called empaths) intuitively experience the feelings ...

30 Apr 48min

Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King

Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King

Caroline Bicks became the first scholar granted extended access by Stephen King to his private archives, a treasure trove of manuscripts that document the legendary writerʼs creative process—most of t...

23 Apr 55min

The Case for Career Services

The Case for Career Services

What exactly is career services? If you don’t know, you aren’t alone. Most of us operate from a limited or outdated idea of what career services offers, why it’s necessary, and how soon you should sta...

16 Apr 47min

The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence

The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence

Each year, police officers kill over 1,000 people they’ve sworn to protect and serve. While some cases, like George Floyd’s and Sandra Bland’s, capture national attention, most victims remain nameles...

9 Apr 57min

 The Club: Where American Artists Found Refuge in Belle Epoque Paris

The Club: Where American Artists Found Refuge in Belle Epoque Paris

In Belle Époque Paris, the Eiffel Tower was newly built, France was experiencing remarkable political stability, and American women were painting the town and gathering at a female-only Residence know...

2 Apr 51min

The Criminal Record Complex: Risk, Race, and the Struggle for Work in America

The Criminal Record Complex: Risk, Race, and the Struggle for Work in America

Most employers in the United States routinely conduct criminal background checks on job applicants, weeding out those with criminal convictions—and thus denying opportunities to those who need them m...

26 Mar 54min

 ⁠The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health⁠

 ⁠The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health⁠

A powerful blend of deeply human stories and rigorous research, The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health (Beacon Press, 2026) reveals how social and structural factors like ...

19 Mar 54min

What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life

What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life

Mothers and fathers use their time differently, with women spending roughly twice as many hours on family labor as men. But what about the gendered differences in the ways women and men think? What’s ...

12 Mar 50min

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