The Fetal Matrix: Evolution, Development and Disease

In 2004, Dr Peter Gluckman was named 'New Zealander of the Year' by the New Zealand Herald. The newspaper recognized him for 'a long career of achievement that has brought life-saving developments in medicine and demonstrated an ability to produce world-leading scientific research in New Zealand.

'Gluckman and Hanson argue that the interaction between mammals and their environment while in the womb irreversibly affects their future development, what they call a 'predictive adaptive response'. It also has huge health implications for the rest of their lives. The authors are persuasive, and their findings have relevance for health policy everywhere. If maternal well-being affects the lifelong health of the offspring, it makes good sense to ensure that mothers are always well cared for.' New Scientist

• 1. Shaping our destiny: genes, environment and their interactions; 2. Mother and fetus; 3. Fetal choices; 4. Predictive adaptive responses and human diseases; 5. Obesity, diabetes and other diseases; 6. The biology of predictive adaptive responses; 7. Predictive adaptive responses - critical processes in evolution; 8. Evolutionary echoes and the human camel; 9. Improving human health; 10. Fetal futures.