Using meticulous multidisciplinary science, as well as reviewing the history of our understanding about evolution, this book makes the case that aging is not something that “just happens,” nor is it the result of wear and tear or a genetic inevitability. Rather, aging has a fascinating evolutionary purpose: to stabilize populations and ecosystems, which are ever-threatened by cyclic swings that can lead to extinction.When a population grows too fast it can put itself at risk of a wholesale wipeout. Aging has evolved to help us adjust our growth in a sustainable fashion as well as prevent an ecological crisis from starvation, predation, pollution, or infection.This dynamic new understanding of aging is provocative, entertaining, and pioneering, and will challenge the way we understand aging, death, and just what makes us human.

    With living proof that such advancements are no longer the stuff of science fiction, a whole new world of possibilities--and dangers--presented itself. Jeremy Rifkin is more concerned with the dangers of this technology, and in The Biotech Century , he presents numerous compelling reasons why we should be, too. Many of these dangers revolve around the seemingly inevitable commercialization of genetically engineered life forms that would come if corporations battled for the rights to patents on new or modified species of plants, animals, or even human beings. Rifkin warns that "designer" babies and genetically perfect humans, along with any other artificial creations, would wreak havoc with the gene pool and the natural environment. While he concedes that there are benefits to biotechnology, he makes it clear that the risks far outweigh the rewards at this time, urging for greater restraint and responsibility before opening what could be a Pandora's box.

    That all changed in less than a generation with the discovery and development of a new category of medicine known as antibiotics. By 1955, the age-old evolutionary relationship between humans and microbes had been transformed, trivializing once-deadly infections. William Rosen captures this revolution with all its false starts, lucky surprises, and eccentric characters. He explains why, given the complex nature of bacteria—and their ability to rapidly evolve into new forms—the only way to locate and test potential antibiotic strains is by large-scale, systematic, trial-and-error experimentation. Organizing that research needs large, well-funded organizations and businesses, and so our entire scientific-industrial complex, built around the pharmaceutical company, was born. Timely, engrossing, and eye-opening, Miracle Cure is a must-read science narrative—a drama of enormous range, combining science, technology, politics, and economics to illuminate the reasons behind one of the most dramatic changes in humanity’s relationship with nature since the invention of agriculture ten thousand years ago.

    Once you understand medical prefixes, suffixes, and root words, you'll approach even unfamiliar medical terms with confidence. This plain-English guide to language that can be just plain confusing clears up the meanings of the Greek and Latin sources of medical terms. You'll get a handle on how these mouthfuls are constructed, and discover how to decipher any medical term, no matter how complex or unusual. You'll also get plenty of help in pronouncing and remembering medical words, and you'll find out how and why the terminology changes from hospital to laboratory to pharmacy. You'll discover how to:Understand word foundations and origins Grasp the essential meanings of unfamiliar terms Define common prefixes and suffixes Identify and pronounce medical terms Deconstruct words to grasp definitions Use plurals and multiples with ease Describe medical conditions accurately Bone up on terms that describe the anatomy Use mnemonic devices to remember medical terms Know when words refer to diseases, injuries, treatments, and more Use medical terminology in the real world Complete with a list of essential references on medical terminology as well as helpful word-building activities Medical Terminology For Dummies puts you in the know in no time.

    It’s so bound up with our deepest feelings that emotional trauma causes it to change shape.Practising cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar beautifully weaves his own experiences with the defining discoveries of the past to tell the story of our most vital organ. He looks at some of the pioneers who risked their careers and their patients’ lives to better understand the heart. People like Daniel Hale Williams, who performed the world’s first documented heart surgery, and Wilson Greatbatch, who accidentally invented the pacemaker.Amid gripping scenes from the operating theatre, Jauhar interweaves stories about the patients he’s treated with the moving tale of his family’s own history of heart problems, from his grandfather’s sudden death in India – an event that sparked his life-long obsession – to the ominous signs of how he himself might die.He also confronts the limits of medical technology and argues that future progress will be determined more by how we choose to live rather than by any device we invent.

    When an epidemic hits, the EIS will be there to crack the case, however mysterious or deadly, saving countless lives in the process. Over the years they have successfully battled polio, cholera, and smallpox, to name a few, and in recent years have turned to the epidemics killing us now--smoking, obesity, and gun violence among them.The successful EIS model has spread internationally: former EIS officers on the staff of the Centers for Disease Control have helped to establish nearly thirty similar programs around the world. EIS veterans have gone on to become leaders in the world of public health in organizations such as the World Health Organization."Inside the Outbreaks" takes readers on a riveting journey through the history of this remarkable organization, following Epidemic Intelligence Service officers on their globetrotting quest to eliminate the most lethal and widespread threats to the world's health.

    In a  remarkably short period of time, Bill Moyers's  Healing And The Mind has become a  touchstone, shaping the debate over alternative medical  treatments and the role of the mind in illness and  recovery in a way that few books have in recent  memory. With almost half a million copies in print,  it is already a classic -- the most widely read  and influential book of its kind. In a series of  fascinating interviews with world-renowned experts  and laypeople alike, Bill Moyers explores the new  mind/body medicine. Healing And The  Mind shows how it is being practiced in the  treatment of stress, chronic disease, and neonatal  problems in several American hospitals; examines the  chemical basis of emotions, and their potential  for making us sick (and making us well); explores  the fusion of traditional Chinese medicine with  modern Western practices in contemporary China; and  takes an up-close, personal look at alternative  healing therapies, including a Massachusetts center  that combines Eastern meditation and Western group  therapy, and a California retreat for cancer  patients who help each other even when a cure is  impossible. Topics include:The Healing Roles of Doctor and PatientThe Healing EnvironmentHealing and the CommunitySelf-Regulation and ConditioningChanging Life HabitsMeditationStress ReductionTherapeutic Support GroupsThe Chemical CommunicatorsEmotions and the Immune SystemConditioned ResponsesMedicine in a Mind/Body CultureAnother Way of SeeingHealing and WholenessCombining the incisive yet personal interview  approach that made A World Of Ideas  a feast for the mind and the provocative interplay  of text and art that made The Power Of  Myth a feast for the imagination,  Healing And The Mind is a landmark work.

    This was life—but whose?  In his most mind-bending book yet, Ball makes that disconcerting question the focus of a tour through what scientists can now do in cell biology and tissue culture. He shows how these technologies could lead to tailor-made replacement organs for when ours fail, to new medical advances for repairing damage and assisting conception, and to new ways of “growing a human.” For example, it might prove possible to turn skin cells not into neurons but into eggs and sperm, or even to turn oneself into the constituent cells of embryos. Such methods would also create new options for gene editing, with all the attendant moral dilemmas. Ball argues that such advances can therefore never be about “just the science,” because they come already surrounded by a host of social narratives, preconceptions, and prejudices. But beyond even that, these developments raise questions about identity and self, birth and death, and force us to ask how mutable the human body really is—and what forms it might take in years to come.

    From biblical plagues, to the AIDS crisis, to supergerms of the future, this updated and revised edition of the original covers the whole gamut of diseases that have threatened humanity since its origins.It also includes a new chapter on the history of bioterrorism and the deplorable role it has played and is likely to play in the phenomenal diversity of diseases.

    However, the right level of challenge and stress can help people flourish and achieve more than they ever thought possible.In THE STRESS TEST, clinical psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist Ian Robertson, armed with over four decades of research, reveals how we can shape our brain's response to pressure and how stress actually can be a good thing. THE STRESS TEST is a revelatory study of how and why we react to pressure as we do, and how we can change our response to stress to our benefit.

    But for most of human history, practically no one slept this way. Tracing sleep's transformation since the dawn of the industrial age, Reiss weaves together insights from literature, social and medical history, and cutting-edge science to show how and why we have tried and failed to tame sleep. In lyrical prose, he leads readers from bedrooms and laboratories to factories and battlefields to Henry David Thoreau's famous cabin at Walden Pond, telling the stories of troubled sleepers, hibernating peasants, sleepwalking preachers, cave-dwelling sleep researchers, slaves who led nighttime uprisings, rebellious workers, spectacularly frazzled parents, and utopian dreamers. We are hardly the first people, Reiss makes clear, to chafe against our modern rules for sleeping.A stirring testament to sleep's diversity, Wild Nights offers a profound reminder that in the vulnerability of slumber we can find our shared humanity. By peeling back the covers of history, Reiss recaptures sleep's mystery and grandeur and offers hope to weary readers: as sleep was transformed once before, so too can it change today.

    Our genetic makeup determines so much about who we are, and what we pass on to our children—from eye color, to height, to health, and even our longevity. Genetics 101 breaks down the science of how genes are inherited and passed from parents to offspring, what DNA is and how it works, how your DNA affects your health, and how you can use your personal genomics to find out more about who you are and where you come from. Whether you’re looking for a better scientific understanding of genetics, or looking into your own DNA, Genetics 101 is your go-to source to discover more about both yourself and your ancestry.

    Larry Dossey called “a valuable guide for anyone wishing to find greater exuberance and fulfillment in their life,” The Chemistry of Joy offers a unique blend of Western science and Eastern philosophy to show you how to treat depression more naturally and effectively, and what you can do TODAY to create a happier, more fulfilling life for yourself.The Chemistry of Joy presents Dr. Emmons’s natural approach to depression—supplemented with medication if necessary—combining the best of Western medicine and Eastern teaching to create your body’s own biochemistry of joy. Integrating Western brain chemistry, natural and Ayurvedic medicine, Buddhist psychology, and his own joyful heart techniques, Dr. Emmons creates a practical program for each of the three types of depression: anxious depression, agitated depression, and sluggish depression. The Chemistry of Joy helps you to identify which type of depression you are experiencing and provides a specific diet and exercise plan to address it, as well as nutritional supplements and “psychology of mindfulness” exercises that can restore your body’s natural balance and energy. This flexible approach creates newfound joy for those whose lives have been touched by depression—and pathways for all who seek to actively improve their emotional lives.

    Learn the Alphabet and pronunciation as well as useful phrases in 8 categories, such as greetings, travel and directions, making friends to business and emergencies. Download, read and enjoy your vacation like never before.

    Whereas Caesar Triumphant covers Caesar's invasion of the Isle of Wa, now known as Japan, Caesar Ascending is set in 44 BC and tells the story of his planned invasion of Parthia, and includes the characters of the internationally bestselling Marching With Caesar series, featuring Titus Pullus. Determined not to repeat the mistakes made by Caesar's friend and fellow Triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus, the Dictator has trained his Legions in tactics specifically designed to thwart the famed Parthian cataphracts and horse archers, but as Caesar and his army learns, the Parthians have been working on their own surprises, all in an attempt to destroy another Roman army and send a message to Rome that they are not the only world power.