Forged by natural selection and honed by evolution, humans are perfectly adapted machines. . . for a world that no longer exists.

In Unfit for Purpose, biologist and broadcaster Professor Adam Hart explores the mismatch between our fundamental biology and the modern world we have created. In each chapter, Adam explores how many biological adaptations that evolved to help us survive and thrive in a very different world are now working against us. For example, humans are superbly adapted famine survivors. Obesity might be a disease in the modern world, but it's really just a troublesome side-effect of some effective evolutionary brilliance. And in today's society, one of the biggest killers is stress. What started out as a life-saving "fight or flight" response in the face of bear attack might now cause headaches, loss of sex drive, depression and heart problems as we panic about missing deadlines or making sense of our work-life balance. And deep evolutionary relationships with microbes built up through an outdoor life have rapidly derailed leading to all kinds of gut and other auto-immune problems.

Throughout the book, Adam meets the scientists unraveling early human and primate evolution, the archaeologists exploring the very early stages of human society, and the clinicians and sociologists studying "modern day" diseases and conditions. In a world of our making, we find ourselves unfit for purpose. But all is not lost--by unpicking the evolutionary causes underpinning many of our current woes, Adam finds and tests an array of evolutionarily-informed treatments, from the straightforward to the downright weird.

“This book is a gripping and sobering reminder of how much we are all governed by our genetic inheritance. So much for free will.” —The Mail on Sunday, 5 stars

“Adam Hart's thought-provoking, if pessimistic, book asks: how do our primate origins relate to existence in today's technological jungle? The stress response that once saved us from predators is now killing us, as we pack into our lives microstressors ranging from unsuitable foods to social media - becoming worriers rather than warriors.” —Nature

“Like countless others I've found the stresses of modern life a little overwhelming at times. Unfit For Purpose lifts the lid on the myriad of evolutionary and environmental wrong turns that now conspire to undermine our mental and physical health. A must read for those who want to understand where we're going wrong and whether we can ever hope to put things right again.” —Matthew Wright, broadcaster

Adam Hart is an entomologist and Professor of Science Communication at the University of Gloucestershire. He is a regular broadcaster for both Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, including documentaries such as Inside the Killing Jar, Big Game Theory, Raising Allosaurus, and On the Trail of the American Honeybee. He has also presented Science in Action for the BBC World Service. On television, Adam has co-presented several documentary series, most notably BBC4's Planet Ant: Life Inside the Colony, BBC2's Life on Planet Ant and BBC2's Hive Alive.

Adam is the author of more than eighty scientific research papers. His previous popular science book was The Life of Poo (2015, Octopus Books).