Read more
Humans are diurnal organisms whose biological clock and temporal organization depend on natural light/dark cycles. Changes in the photoperiod are a signal for seasonal acclimatization of physiological and immune systems as well as behavioral patterns. The invention of electrical light bulbs created more opportunities for work and leisure. However, exposure to artificial light at night (LAN) affects our biological clock, and suppresses pineal melatonin (MLT) production. Among its other properties, MLT is an antioncogenic agent, and therefore its suppression increases the risks of developing breast and prostate cancers (BC&PC). To the best of our knowledge, this book is the first to address the linkage between light pollution and BC&PC in humans. It explains several state-of-the-art theories, linking light pollution with BC&PC. It also illustrates research hypotheses about health effects of light pollution using the results of animal models and population-based studies.
List of contents
Preface.- Introduction.- PART 1: ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AND HUMAN TEMPORAL ORGANIZATION.- Artificial light and its physicochemical properties (by Fabio Falchi).- Light and dark cycles as a basis of temporal organization.- The biological clock and its entrainment by photoperiod.- LAN exposure and its potential effects on daily rhythms and seasonal disruptions.- Melatonin (MLT) -"hormone of darkness" and a "jack of all traits".- PART II: LIGHT POLLUTION, ITS KNOWN HEALTH EFFECTS AND IMPACT ON ENERGY CONSERVATION.- Introduction and spread of artificial illumination - a human history retrospective.- Biological definition of light pollution.- Light pollution as a general stressor.- The effects of light pollution on animal rhythms and ecology.- Light pollution and hormone-dependent cancers: summary of accumulated empirical evidence.- PART III: LIGHT POLLUTION AND ITS POTENTIAL LINKS TO BREAST AND PROSTATE CANCERS.- Geographic patterns of breast and prostate cancers (BC&PC) worldwide.- Light pollution and its association with breast and prostate cancers (BC&PC) in population-level studies.- Selected methodological issues of Light-at-Night (LAN) - Breast and Prostate Cancers (BC&PC) research.- Dark-less world - what is next? (Conclusions and prospects for future research).- BIBLIOGRAPHY.- ADDITIONAL READING.
Summary
Humans are diurnal organisms whose biological clock and temporal organization depend on natural light/dark cycles. Changes in the photoperiod are a signal for seasonal acclimatization of physiological and immune systems as well as behavioral patterns. The invention of electrical light bulbs created more opportunities for work and leisure. However, exposure to artificial light at night (LAN) affects our biological clock, and suppresses pineal melatonin (MLT) production. Among its other properties, MLT is an antioncogenic agent, and therefore its suppression increases the risks of developing breast and prostate cancers (BC&PC). To the best of our knowledge, this book is the first to address the linkage between light pollution and BC&PC in humans. It explains several state-of-the-art theories, linking light pollution with BC&PC. It also illustrates research hypotheses about health effects of light pollution using the results of animal models and population-based studies.
Additional text
This novel, important, clearly written book brings together several familiar subjects whose connections had not been appreciated. We are grateful for widespread electric lighting (a relatively new phenomenon in human history), and we fear widespread breast cancer and prostate cancer. Many of us have also heard of biological clocks and the hormone melatonin. The authors assemble evidence that the blessings of electric lighting are a risk factor for the curses of breast cancer and prostate cancer, mediated by effects on our biological clocks and our melatonin production. Hence this book will interest not only scholars but also the broad public.
Jared Diamond
Professor of Physiology, Environmental Health Sciences, and Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles
Report
This novel, important, clearly written book brings together several familiar subjects whose connections had not been appreciated. We are grateful for widespread electric lighting (a relatively new phenomenon in human history), and we fear widespread breast cancer and prostate cancer. Many of us have also heard of biological clocks and the hormone melatonin. The authors assemble evidence that the blessings of electric lighting are a risk factor for the curses of breast cancer and prostate cancer, mediated by effects on our biological clocks and our melatonin production. Hence this book will interest not only scholars but also the broad public.
Jared Diamond
Professor of Physiology, Environmental Health Sciences, and Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles
