Book picks similar to
Genomes by Terence A. Brown
science
biology
nonfiction
biotechnology
Yurts: Living in the Round
Becky Kemery - 2006
One of the oldest forms of indigenous shelter still in use today, yurts have exploded into the twenty-first century as a multi-faceted, thoroughly modern, utterly versatile, and immensely popular modern structure whose possibilities are still being explored. Kemery introduces the innovators who redesigned the yurt and took it from back country trekking and campground uses to modern permanent homes and offices.
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
Richard Dawkins - 2009
Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke but he would surely have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later. Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity.In The Greatest Show on Earth Richard Dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of ‘Intelligent Design’ and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. Like a detective arriving on the scene of a crime, he sifts through fascinating layers of scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case: from the living examples of natural selection in birds and insects; the ‘time clocks’ of trees and radioactive dating that calibrate a timescale for evolution; the fossil record and the traces of our earliest ancestors; to confirmation from molecular biology and genetics. All of this, and much more, bears witness to the truth of evolution.The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is now flourishing as never before, especially in America. In Britain and elsewhere in the world, teachers witness insidious attempts to undermine the status of science in their classrooms. Richard Dawkins provides unequivocal evidence that boldly and comprehensively rebuts such nonsense. At the same time he shares with us his palpable love of the natural world and the essential role that science plays in its interpretation. Written with elegance, wit and passion, it is hard-hitting, absorbing and totally convincing.
The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision
Fritjof Capra - 2014
New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management, and our global ecological and economic crises are also discussed. Written primarily for undergraduates, it is also essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for a broad range of professions - from economics and politics to medicine, psychology and law.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
Merlin Sheldrake - 2020
It can be microscopic, yet also accounts for the largest organisms ever recorded, living for millennia and weighing tens of thousands of tonnes. Its ability to digest rock enabled the first life on land, it can survive unprotected in space, and thrives amidst nuclear radiation.In this captivating adventure, Merlin Sheldrake explores the spectacular and neglected world of fungi: endlessly surprising organisms that sustain nearly all living systems. They can solve problems without a brain, stretching traditional definitions of ‘intelligence’, and can manipulate animal behaviour with devastating precision. In giving us bread, alcohol and life-saving medicines, fungi have shaped human history, and their psychedelic properties, which have influenced societies since antiquity, have recently been shown to alleviate a number of mental illnesses. The ability of fungi to digest plastic, explosives, pesticides and crude oil is being harnessed in break-through technologies, and the discovery that they connect plants in underground networks, the ‘Wood Wide Web’, is transforming the way we understand ecosystems. Yet they live their lives largely out of sight, and over ninety percent of their species remain undocumented.Entangled Life is a mind-altering journey into this hidden kingdom of life, and shows that fungi are key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel and behave. The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them.
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin - 1859
Yet The Origin of Species (1859) is also a humane and inspirational vision of ecological interrelatedness, revealing the complex mutual interdependencies between animal and plant life, climate and physical environment, and—by implication—within the human world. Written for the general reader, in a style which combines the rigour of science with the subtlety of literature, The Origin of Species remains one of the founding documents of the modern age.
Stay Away from my ER and other fun bits of wisdom: Wobbling between humor and heartbreak
Rada Jones - 2020
You can’t fathom the weirdness– unless you’re one of the ER aliens. If you are, buy a dozen copies to give away: to your family, your neighbors, and the PTA. They’ll learn things you never had the heart to tell them, but they should know, like how it's like to work in the ER, the deviousness of shampoo bottles and the dangers of frying bacon naked.
Barron's AP Psychology
Allyson J. Weseley - 2007
All test questions are answered and explained. It also provides extensive subject review covering all test topics. Topics reviewed include research methods, the biological basis of behavior, sensation and perception, states of consciousness, learning, cognition, personality, abnormal psychology, and treatment of disorders. This manual also presents an overview of the test, extra multiple-choice practice questions, test-taking tips, and an analysis of the test’s essay question with a sample essay.
Organic Chemistry II as a Second Language
David R. Klein - 2005
It explores the critical concepts while also examining why they are relevant. The core content is presented within the framework of predicting products, proposing mechanisms, and solving synthesis problems. Readers will fine-tune the key skills involved in solving those types of problems with the help of interactive, step-by-step instructions and problems.
A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey
Jonathan Meiburg - 2021
Darwin wondered why these birds were confined to remote islands at the tip of South America, sensing a larger story, but he set this mystery aside and never returned to it. Almost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. He takes us through South America, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of Guyana, in search of these birds: striated caracaras, which still exist, though they're very rare. He reveals the wild, fascinating story of their history, origins, and possible futures. And along the way, he draws us into the life and work of William Henry Hudson, the Victorian writer and naturalist who championed caracaras as an unsung wonder of the natural world, and to falconry parks in the English countryside, where captive caracaras perform incredible feats of memory and problem-solving. A Most Remarkable Creature is a hybrid of science writing, travelogue, and biography, as generous and accessible as it is sophisticated, and absolutely riveting.
Introductory Plant Biology
Kingsley R. Stern - 1979
Suitable for students who have little prior scientific knowledge, this book presents basic botanical principles and includes sufficient information for some shorter introductory botany courses open to both majors and nonmajors.
What's Eating You?: People and Parasites
Eugene H. Kaplan - 2010
Here, he leads readers on an unforgettable journey into the bizarre yet oddly beautiful world of parasites. In a narrative that is by turns frightening, disgusting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Kaplan describes how drinking contaminated water can cause a three-foot-long worm to burst from your arm; how he gave birth to a parasite the size and thickness of a pencil while working in Israel; why you should never wave a dead snake in front of your privates; and why fleas are attracted to his wife. Kaplan tells stories about leeches feasting on soldiers in Vietnam; sea cucumbers with teeth in their anuses that seem to encourage the entry of symbiotic fish; the habits of parasites that cause dysentery, river blindness, and other horrifying diseases--and much, much more. Along the way, he explains the underlying science, including parasite evolution and host-parasite physiology.
First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CS
Tao Le - 2006
The top-selling CS review book written by students and IMGs who recently passed 100+ high-yield minicases by chief complaint 30 complete cases simulate the exam experience Contains new Patient Encounters, including telephone interviews Perfect for group or solo study YOUR COMPLETE CS SURVIVAL GUIDE FROM THE AUTHORS OF FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE STEP 1 INSIDER ADVICE FOR STEP 2 CS SUCCESS New miniguide shows US students and IMGs how best to use this book Revised by test veterans to reflect the 2005--2006 exam experience Each complete case features standardized patient checklists and a recommended clinical approach Minicases represent the major chief complaints and diagnoses seen on the Step 2 CS Proven strategies for the patient encounter and patient note High-yield, must-know facts on patient diagnosis and workup.
At the Bench: A Laboratory Navigator, Updated Edition: A Laboratory Navigator
Kathy Barker - 1998
In this newly revised edition, chapters have been rewritten to accommodate the impact of computer technology and the Internet, not only on the acquisition and analysis of data, but also on its organization and presentation. Alternatives to the use of radiation have been expanded, and figures and illustrations have been redrawn to reflect changes in laboratory equipment and procedures.
Principles of Biochemistry
Albert L. Lehninger - 1970
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, Fourth Edition brings clarity and coherence to an often unwieldy discipline, while incorporating the field's most important recent developments and applications.