Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origin


Robert M. Hazen - 2005
    Though the process obeyed all the rules of chemistry and physics, the details of that original event pose as deep a mystery as any facing science. How did non-living chemicals become alive? While the question is (deceivingly) simple, the answers are unquestionably complex. Science inevitably plays a key role in any discussion of life's origins, dealing less with the question of why life appeared on Earth than with where, when, and how it emerged on the blasted, barren face of our primitive planet. Astrobiologist Robert Hazen has spent many years dealing with the fundamental questions of life's genesis. As an active research scientist, he is down deep in all the messy details that science has to offer on the subject, tracing the inexorable sequence of events that led to the complicated interactions of carbonbased molecules. As he takes us through the astounding process of emergence, we are witness to the first tentative steps toward life?from the unfathomable abundance of carbon biomolecules synthesized in the black vacuum of space to the surface of the Earth to deep within our planet's restless crust. We are privy to the breathtaking drama that rapidly unfolds as life prevails. The theory of emergence is poised to answer a multitude of questions?even as it raises the possibility that natural processes exist beyond what we now know, perhaps beyond what we even comprehend. Genesis tells the tale of transforming scientific advances in our quest for life's origins. Written with grace, beauty, and authority, it goes directly to the heart of who we are and why we are here.

The Seeds of Life: From Aristotle to da Vinci, from Sharks' Teeth to Frogs' Pants, the Long and Strange Quest to Discover Where Babies Come From


Edward Dolnick - 2017
    People knew the basics: men and women had sex, and sometimes babies followed. But beyond that the origins of life were a colossal mystery. The Seeds of Life is the remarkable and rollicking story of how a series of blundering geniuses and brilliant amateurs struggled for two centuries to discover where, exactly, babies come from. Taking a page from investigative thrillers, acclaimed science writer Edward Dolnick looks to these early scientists as if they were detectives hot on the trail of a bedeviling and urgent mystery. These strange searchers included an Italian surgeon using shark teeth to prove that female reproductive organs were not 'failed' male genitalia, and a Catholic priest who designed ingenious miniature pants to prove that frogs required semen to fertilize their eggs. A witty and rousing history of science, The Seeds of Life presents our greatest scientists struggling-against their perceptions, their religious beliefs, and their deep-seated prejudices-to uncover how and where we come from.

Animal Viruses and Humans, a Narrow Divide: How Lethal Zoonotic Viruses Spill Over and Threaten Us


Warren A. Andiman - 2018
    Warren Andiman, an HIV/AIDS researcher who has been on the front lines battling infectious diseases for over forty years. In Animal Viruses and Humans: A Narrow Divide, Andiman traces the history of eight zoonotic viruses —deadly microbes that have made the leap directly from animals to human populations: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Swine influenza, Hantavirus, Monkeypox, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Rabies, Ebola, and Henipaviruses (Nipah and Hendra). He also illustrates the labor intensive and fascinating detective work that infectious disease specialists must do to uncover the source of an outbreak.Andiman also looks to the future, envisioning the effects on zoonoses (diseases caused by zoonotic viruses) of climate change, microenvironmental damage, population shifts, and globalization. He reveals the steps that we can, and must, take to stem the spread of animal viruses, explaining, “The zoonoses I've chosen to write about . . . are meant to describe only a small sample of what is already out there but, more menacingly, what is inevitably on its way, in forms we can only imagine.” Warren Andiman, MD is professor emeritus of pediatrics and epidemiology at the Yale Schools of Medicine and Public Health.

SUMMARY The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson


OneHour Reads - 2018
    His ultimate proposition is that people need to start caring less about everything. Instead, the key to living a good life is in individuals knowing what matters to them and not wasting energy stressing over every little thing. He then proceeds to educate us on how to move forward by going backwards. Manson strongly believes that the endless pursuit of a flawless life, fueled by today's picture-perfect social media standards, is responsible for many of the psychological illnesses that have become rampant. The book culminates in a conclusion that we need to look beyond ourselves, drop the entitled airs, and embrace the ugliness and uncertainties before we can live better lives. This book contains a comprehensive, well detailed summary and key takeaways of the original book by Mark Manson. It summarizes the book in detail, to help people effectively understand, articulate and imbibe the original work by Mark. This book is not meant to replace the original book but to serve as a companion to it Contained is anExecutive Summary of the original book Key Points of each chapter and Brief chapter-by-chapter summaries To get this book, Scroll Up Now and Click on the "Buy now with 1-Click" Button to Download your Copy Right Away! Enjoy this edition instantly on your Kindle device! Now available in paperback and digital editions. Audio book coming soon!! Disclaimer: This is a summary, review of the book "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" and not the original book.

Galápagos: The Islands That Changed the World


Paul D. Stewart - 2006
    Its geology, its unique flora and fauna, and its striking role in human history intersect in surprising and dynamic ways. This book is the most wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated book available on the famous islands. Not since Darwin’s Naturalist’s Voyage has a book combined so much scientific and historic information with firsthand accounts that bring the Galápagos to life.Galápagos: The Islands That Changed the World describes how tragedy and murderous pirates curtailed settlement of the islands and how the islands’ pristine nature, spectacular geology, and defining isolation inspired Darwin’s ideas about evolution. The book explores the diverse land and marine habitats that shelter Galápagos species and considers the islands’ importance today as a frontier for science and a refuge for true wilderness. The book’s extensive gazetteer provides details about endemic plants and animals as well as travel advice about visitors’ sites, diving, photography, when to go, and what to take. Vividly illustrated throughout, this guide is an indispensable reference for natural history enthusiasts, armchair travelers, and island visitors alike.

Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human


Chip Walter - 2006
    Countless behaviors separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom, but all of them can be traced one way or another to six traits that are unique to the human race—our big toe, our opposable thumb, our oddly shaped pharynx, and our ability to laugh, kiss, and cry. At first glance these may not seem to be connected but they are. Each marks a fork in the evolutionary road where we went one way and the rest of the animal kingdom went another. Each opens small passageways on the peculiar geography of the human heart and mind.Walter weaves together fascinating insights from complexity theory, the latest brain scanning techniques, anthropology, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and robotics to explore how the smallest of changes over the past six million years – all shaped by the forces of evolution -- have enabled a primate once on the brink of extinction to evolve into a creature that would one day create all of the grand and exuberant edifices of human culture.As the story of each trait unfolds, Walter explains why our brains grew so large and complex, why we find one another sexually attractive, how toolmaking laid the mental groundwork for language, why we care about what others think, and how we became the creature that laughs and cries and falls in love. Thumbs, Toes and Tears is original, informative, and delightfully thought-provoking.

The Forgotten Exodus: The Into Africa Theory of Human Evolution


Bruce R. Fenton - 2017
    Each clique of scientists has a part of the story correct, but new evidence shows they are all fundamentally wrong.On the one side, we have academics highlighting the astonishing fossil record of China with multiple sites now producing modern human fossils aged between 80 - 120 thousand years, or older. Several extremely ancient fossil finds in China, including Dali, Maba and Jinniushan, place archaic Homo sapiens in this region up to 260,000 years ago.On the other side, we have scientists pointing to Africa's impressive fossil record with its evidence of potential ancestors going back around 6 million years. The evidence of extreme genetic diversity among Africans and the discovery of 300,000-year-old archaic Homo sapiens fossils in Morocco tends to further support the idea that humans came out from Africa. We can understand why both sides are so sure of their positions, and why the debate continues. While leading academics focussed on their own agendas, they overlooked significant evidence. Between the two poles of Out of Africa and Out of Asia Theory, exists a 'Middle Way'. The Forgotten Exodus: The Into Africa Theory of Human Evolution, reveals that within the known fossil record, the current genetic studies and recent paleoclimate models there is compelling evidence for a superior theory of human origins, representing a paradigm displacement.The Into Africa Theory does not dispute the evidence placing the earliest hominins in Africa.However, it does not agree with the consensus view that Homo sapiens emerged there first and later migrated to Eurasia.The Into Africa Theory recognises the extraordinary evidence for critical stages in our development occurring in East and Southeast Asia. It is abundantly clear that as a new concerted effort to gather and evaluate fossil evidence begins in earnest we see astonishing new discoveries. The Into Africa Theorydisputes the claims of Out of Africa and Out of Asia(or Europe) adherents over the starting point for the migration which populated Eurasia approximately 60,000 years ago and identifies the actual location.Amazing facts that you will encounter:-Homo heidelbergensis was not ancestral to modern humans -Denisovan fossils in Siberia carried DNAfrom Australian Aboriginals-An Indonesian supervolcano brought about the end for multiple hominin species-Climate catastrophe locked humans in Africa from 73,000 to 59,000 years ago-There is no African fossil DNA over 10,000 years in age-While supposedly isolated, Aboriginal Australians interbred with Denisovans 44,000 years agoYou will gain access to a long-forgotten conversation involving the famous evolutionary scientists Allan Wilson and Rebecca Cann, in which they admitted that their data suggested Aboriginal Australians were ancestral to all modern humans.Learn why the appearance of the haplogroups foundational to Eurasians, L3 and CT, had to come from a population incursion rather than an in-situ mutation.Explore the cutting-edge scientific findings of 2016 and 2017 alongside a broad range of anomalies long suppressed or ignored in academic circles.The Forgotten Exodus' author Bruce R. Fenton began his journey towards a new understanding of human origins after an expedition to a mysterious megalithic complex in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Information Systems professional and lifelong scholar of ancient cultures, found himself tracing the threads of the human story across six continents and through 6,000,000 years of history. You will come away with a unique view of humanity and a sense of excitement for revelations still set to arrive. This book reminds all of us that we have a collective ability to overcome enormous obstacles.

The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity


Paola Cavalieri - 1993
    A compelling and revolutionary work that calls for the immediate extension of our human rights to the great apes.The Great Ape Project looks forward to a new stage in the development of the community of equals, whereby the great apes-chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans-will actually receive many of the same protections and rights that are already accorded to humans.This profound collection of thirty-one essays by the world's most distinguished observers of free-living apes make up a uniquely satisfying whole, blending observation and interpretation in a highly persuasive case for a complete reassessment of the moral status of our closest kin.

The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History


David Beerling - 2007
    Will temperatures rise by 2�C or 8�C over the next hundred years? Will sea levels rise by 2 or 30 feet? The only way that we can accurately answer questions like these is by looking into the distant past, for a comparison with the world long before the rise of mankind.We may currently believe that atmospheric shifts, like global warming, result from our impact on the planet, but the earth's atmosphere has been dramatically shifting since its creation. This book reveals the crucial role that plants have played in determining atmospheric change - and hence the conditions on the planet we know today. Along the way a number of fascinating puzzles arise: Why did plants evolve leaves? When and how did forests once grow on Antarctica? How did prehistoric insects manage to grow so large? The answers show the extraordinary amount plants can tell us about the history of the planet -- something that has often been overlooked amongst the preoccuputations with dinosaur bones and animal fossils.David Beerling's surprising conclusions are teased out from various lines of scientific enquiry, with evidence being brought to bear from fossil plants and animals, computer models of the atmosphere, and experimental studies. Intimately bound up with the narrative describing the dynamic evolution of climate and life through Earth's history, we find Victorian fossil hunters, intrepid polar explorers and pioneering chemists, alongside wallowing hippos, belching volcanoes, and restless landmasses.

A Many-Colored Glass (Page-Barbour Lectures)


Freeman Dyson - 2007
    The emphasis is, instead, on the myriad ways in which the universe presents itself to us--and how, as observers and participants in its processes, we respond to it. "Life, like a dome of many-colored glass," wrote Percy Bysshe Shelley, "stains the white radiance of eternity." The author seeks here to explore the variety that gives life its beauty.Taken from Dyson's recent public lectures--delivered to audiences with no specialized knowledge in hard sciences--the book begins with a consideration of the practical and political questions surrounding biotechnology. As he seeks how best to explain the place of life in the universe, Dyson then moves from the ethical to the purely scientific. The book concludes with an attempt to understand the implications of biology for philosophy and religion.The pieces in this collection touch on numerous disciplines, from astronomy and ecology to neurology and theology, speaking to the lay reader as well as to the scientist. As always, Dyson's view of human nature and behavior is balanced, and his predictions of a world to come serve primarily as a means for thinking about the world as it is today.

Rethinking Immortality


Robert Lanza - 2013
    Contemplation of time and the discoveries of modern science lead to the assertion that the mind is paramount and limitless.

Bioethics: An Anthology


Helga Kuhse - 1999
    In its structure and content, the Anthology is intended to complement the Companion to Bioethics, edited by the same scholars. The Anthology is independent of any particular approach to bioethics. Can be used as a source book to complement the Companion to Bioethics. Probes more deeply than the standard anthologies into the foundations of bioethics. More global in approach than competition.

Flying Dinosaurs: How Fearsome Reptiles Became Birds


John Pickrell - 2014
    Get ready to unthink what you thought you knew and journey into the deep, dark depths of the Jurassic.The discovery of the first feathered dinosaur in China in 1996 sent shockwaves through the palaeontological world. Were the feathers part of a complex mating ritual, or a stepping stone in the evolution of flight? And just how closely related is T. rex to a chicken? Award-winning journalist John Pickrell reveals how dinosaurs developed flight and became the birds in our backyards. He delves into the latest discoveries in China, the US, Europe and uncovers a thriving black market in fossils and infighting between dinosaur hunters, plus the controversial plan to use a chicken to bring dinosaurs back from the dead.

The Best American Science Writing 2000


James Gleick - 2000
    The first volume in this annual series of the best writing by Americans, meticulously selected by bestselling author James Gleick, one of the foremost chronicles of scientific social history, debuts with a stellar collection of writers and thinkers.  Many of these cutting-edge essays offer glimpses of new realms of discovery and thought, exploring territory that is unfamiliar to most of us, or finding the unexpected in the midst of the familiar.  Nobel Laureate physicist Steven Weinberg challenges the idea of whether the universe has a designer; Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Angier reassesses caveman (and-woman) couture; bestselling author and Darwinian theorist Stephen Jay Gould makes a claim for the man whose ideas Darwin discredited; Timothy Ferris proposes a realistic alternative to wrap-speed interseller travel; neurologist and bestselling author Oliver Sacks reminisces about his first loves-chemistry and math.  This diverse, stimulating and accessible collection is required reading for anyone who wants to travel to the frontier of knowledge.

Freedom: The End of the Human Condition


Jeremy Griffith - 2016
    Indeed, the great fear is we are entering endgame where we appear to have lost the race between self-destruction and self-discovery the race to find the psychologically relieving understanding of our good and evil-afflicted human condition. WELL, ASTONISHING AS IT IS, THIS BOOK BY AUSTRALIAN BIOLOGIST JEREMY GRIFFITH PRESENTS THE 11TH HOUR BREAKTHROUGH BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF THE HUMAN CONDITION NECESSARY FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF OUR SPECIES!The culmination of 40 years of studying and writing about our species psychosis, 'FREEDOM' delivers nothing less than the holy grail of insight we have needed to free ourselves from the human condition. It is, in short, as Professor Harry Prosen, a former president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, asserts in his Introduction, THE BOOK THAT SAVES THE WORLD! Griffith has been able to venture right to the bottom of the dark depths of what it is to be human and return with the fully accountable, true explanation of our seemingly imperfect lives. At long last we have the redeeming and thus transforming understanding of human behaviour! And with that explanation found all the other great outstanding scientific mysteries about our existence are now also able to be truthfully explained of the meaning of our existence, of the origin of our unconditionally selfless moral instincts, and of why we humans became conscious when other animals haven't. Yes, the full story of life on Earth can finally be told and all of these incredible breakthroughs and insights are presented here in this greatest of all books.