The Untold Story of Milk
Ron Schmid - 2009
Revised and updated with the latest scientific studies documenting the safety and health benefits of raw milk.Raw milk is a movement whose time has come. This book will serve as a catalyst for that movement, providing consumers with the facts and inspiration they need to embrace Nature's perfect food.
iGenetics: A Molecular Approach
Peter J. Russell - 2001
Although molecular topics are presented first, instructors can assign the chapters in any sequence. Pedagogical features such as chapter-opening “Key Questions” and strategically placed “Keynotes” help readers to efficiently master genetic concepts. The Genetics Place Companion Website contains interactive iActivities and narrated animations that help readers visualize and understand processes and concepts that are illustrated in the book. Genetics: An Introduction, DNA: The Genetic Material, DNA Replication, Gene Control of Proteins, Gene Expression: Transcription,Gene Expression: Translation, DNA Mutation, DNA Repair, and Transposable Elements, Structural Genomics, Functional and Comparative Genomics, Recombinant DNA Technology, Mendelian Genetics, Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance, Extensions of and Deviations from Mendelian Genetic Principles, Genetic Mapping in Eukaryotes, Genetics of Bacteria and Bacteriophages, Variations in Chromosome Structure and Number, Regulation of Gene Expression in Bacteria and Bacteriophages, Regulation of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes, Genetic Analysis of Development, Genetics of Cancer, Quantitative Genetics, Population Genetics, Molecular Evolution Intended for those interested in learning the basics of genetics
Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries
Meyer Friedman - 1998
Leeuwenhoek proceeded to examine the microscopic activity of his spittle, teeth plaque, and feces, and as the result of his findings the field of bacteriology was born. Some two hundred years later, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Wurzburg, invited his wife to his laboratory, asked her to place her hand on an unexposed photographic plate, turned on an electric current, and showed this terrified woman a picture of the bones of her hand. And so came the discovery of the X-ray.This absorbing book is the first to describe these and eight other monumental medical discoveries throughout history, bringing to life the scientific pioneers responsible for them and the excitement, frustrations, and jealousies that surrounded the final achievements. Two distinguished physicians, Meyer Friedman and Gerald W. Friedland, have drawn on their many years of experience as well as on that of world-renowned antiquarian book dealers, physician collectors of old and new medical publications, and medical school professors to single out these medical breakthroughs from thousands of candidates, and, in several cases, to provide information never before available. Their engrossing stories of the ten most significant discoveries will be read with enjoyment by anyone fascinated by the mysteries of medicine.
Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience
S. Marc Breedlove - 2010
It encompasses lucid descriptions of behaviour, evolutionary history, development, proximate mechanisms and applications.
Venomous: How Earth's Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry
Christie Wilcox - 2016
Humans have feared them for centuries, long considering them the assassins and pariahs of the natural world.Now, in Venomous, the biologist Christie Wilcox investigates and illuminates the animals of our nightmares, arguing that they hold the keys to a deeper understanding of evolution, adaptation, and immunity. She reveals just how venoms function and what they do to the human body. With Wilcox as our guide, we encounter a jellyfish with tentacles covered in stinging cells that can kill humans in minutes; a two-inch caterpillar with toxic bristles that trigger hemorrhaging; and a stunning blue-ringed octopus capable of inducing total paralysis. How do these animals go about their deadly work? How did they develop such intricate, potent toxins? Wilcox takes us around the world and down to the cellular level to find out.Throughout her journey, Wilcox meets the intrepid scientists who risk their lives studying these lethal beasts, as well as “self-immunizers” who deliberately expose themselves to snakebites. Along the way, she puts her own life on the line, narrowly avoiding being envenomated herself. Drawing on her own research, Wilcox explains how venom scientists are untangling the mechanisms of some of our most devastating diseases, and reports on pharmacologists who are already exploiting venoms to produce lifesaving drugs. We discover that venomous creatures are in fact keystone species that play crucial roles in their ecosystems and ours—and for this alone, they ought to be protected and appreciated.Thrilling and surprising at every turn, Venomous will change everything you thought you knew about the planet’s most dangerous animals.
The Mysteries Within: A Surgeon Explores Myth, Medicine, and the Human Body
Sherwin B. Nuland - 2000
Sherwin Nuland, “a gifted and deeply intelligent writer” (San Francisco Chronicle), combines knowledge, compassion, and elegance of expression to shed light on the workings of our bodies from the perspective of a surgeon. Dr. Nuland recounts age-old legends about the functions and "personalities" of the body's organs and, in riveting vignettes of the surgery he has performed, he describes the connections between myth and reality. A brilliant blend of science and folklore, The Mysteries Within reveals the enigmas not only of the body but also of the human imagination.
The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses
Jamie Ward - 2008
Edgar, like many other people, has synesthesia - a fascinating condition in which music can have color, words can have taste, and time and numbers float through space.Everyone will be closely acquainted with at least 6 or 7 people who have synesthesia but you may not yet know who they are because, until very recently, synesthesia was largely hidden and unknown. Now science is uncovering its secrets and the findings are leading to a radical rethink about how our senses are organized. In this timely and thought-provoking book, Jamie Ward argues that sensory mixing is the norm even though only a few of us cross the barrier into the realms of synesthesia.How is it possible to experience color when no color is there? Why do some people experience touch when they see someone else being touched? Can blind people be made to see again by using their other senses? Why do scientists no longer believe that there are five senses? How does the food industry exploit the links that exist between our senses? Does synesthesia have a function? The Frog Who Croaked Blue explores all these questions in a lucid and entertaining way, making it fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the intriguing workings of the mind.
A Path Revealed: How Hope, Love and Joy Found Us Deep in a Maze Called Alzheimer's
Carlen Maddux - 2016
She and her husban, Carlen, feel as though they've been shoved out of a plane 10,000 feet up, with nothing to grab but themselves. But A Path Revealed is not about the fallout from an insidious disease that extended nearly seventeen years. It is in Carlen's words, "The story of a path emerging during our darkest hours, a path that we neither planned, nor foresaw." Carlen traveled with Martha to the backwoods of Kentucky, where the quiet presence of a Catholic nun revealed a hidden path. He was forced to slow down as he traced this path halfway around the world to Australia, retreated weekends to a monastery, embraced meditation, and landed all alone in Thomas Merton's cabin. A Path Revealed echoes accents heard in Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies, Richard Rohr's Falling Upward, and John Bunyan's 17th-century classic, The Pilgrim's Progress.
Her-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer
Robert Bazell - 1998
The outlook was grim. Then she took part in Genentech's clinical trials for a new drug. Five years later she remains cancer-free.Her-2 is the biography of Herceptin, the drug that provoked dramatic responses in Barbara Bradfield and other women in the trials and that offers promise for hundreds of thousands of breast cancer patients. Unlike chemotherapy or radiation, Herceptin has no disabling side effects. It works by inactivating Her-2/neu--a protein that makes cancer cells grow especially quickly-- produced by a gene found in 25 to 30 percent of all breast tumors. Herceptin caused some patients' cancers to disappear completely; in others, it slowed the progression of the disease and gave the women months or years they wouldn't otherwise have had. Herceptin is the first treatment targeted at a gene defect that gives rise to cancer. It marks the beginning of a new era of treatment for all kinds of cancers.Robert Bazell presents a riveting account of how Herceptin was born. Her-2 is a story of dramatic discoveries and strong personalities, showing the combination of scientific investigation, money, politics, ego, corporate decisions, patient activism, and luck involved in moving this groundbreaking drug from the lab to a patient's bedside. Bazell's deft portraits introduce us to the remarkable people instrumental in Herceptin's history, including Dr. Dennis Slamon, the driven UCLA oncologist who played the primary role in developing the treatment; Lily Tartikoff, wife of television executive Brandon Tartikoff, who tapped into Hollywood money and glamour to help fund Slamon's research; and Marti Nelson, who inspired the activists who lobbied for a "compassionate use" program that would allow women outside the clinical trials to have access to the limited supplies of Herceptin prior to FDA approval of the drug. And throughout there are the stories of the heroic women with advanced breast cancer who volunteered for the trials, risking what time they had left on an unproven treatment. Meticulously researched, written with clarity and compassion, Her-2 is masterly reporting on cutting-edge science.
Cell Biology,Genetics, Molecular Biology: Evolution And Ecology
P.S. Verma - 2004
Ecosystem: Structure and Function Biogeochemical Cycles, Aquatic Ecosystems: Freshwater Communities, Estuaries and Marine Communities Terrestrial Ecosystems Pollution Ecology and Human Welfare Wild Life Management Biogeography, Adaptations Indices
The Three-Pound Enigma: The Human Brain and the Quest to Unlock Its Mysteries
Shannon Moffett - 2006
But how the mind works remains one of humankind's greatest mysteries. With boundless curiosity and enthusiasm, Shannon Moffett, a Stanford medical student, takes us down the halls of neuroscience to the front lines of cutting-edge research and medicine to meet some of today's most extraordinary scientists and thinkers, all grappling with provocative questions: Why do we dream? How does memory work? How do we see? What happens when we think? Each chapter delves into a different aspect of the brain, following the experts as they chart new ground. Moffett takes us to a lab where fMRI scans reveal the multitude of stimuli that our brains unconsciously take in; inside an operating room where a neurosurgeon removes a bullet from a patient's skull; to the lab of Christof Koch, a neuroscientist tracking individual neurons in order to crack the code of consciousness; and to a research lab where scientists are investigating the relationship between dreams and waking life. She also takes us beyond the scientific world—to a Zen monk's zendo, where she explores the effects of meditation on the brain; inside the home of a woman suffering from dissociative identity disorder; to a conference with the philosopher Daniel Dennett, who uses illusions, magic, tricks, and logic to challenge our assumptions about the mind; and to the home of the late Nobel Laureate Francis Crick, co-discoverer with James Watson of DNA's double-helix structure. Filled with fascinating case studies and featuring a timeline that tracks the development of the brain from conception to death, The Three Pound Enigma is a remarkable exploration of what it means to be human.
Birders: Tales of a Tribe
Mark Cocker - 2001
There is the record-holding husband and wife who cross continents to "twitch" (spot rare birds); the disgraced "stringer" who takes desperate measures to falsify a spotting of the coveted black lark, leading hundreds on a fruitless search; and a group of friends who go birding in America only to be plagued by car trouble, drunk drivers, robbery, and an encounter with the border police.Birders is also an inspiring and heartwarming account of the author's lifelong love for his hobby, and the way it transforms him -- from his fetishistic love affair with his notebook and "bins" (binoculars) to his deep mourning for a friend who went missing when he followed the call of an elusive pheasant in the Himalayan mountains. Informative, touching, and astoundingly funny, here is the layman's invitation to share in an unlikely obsession.
The Grazing Revolution: A Radical Plan to Save the Earth (TED Books Book 39)
Allan Savory - 2013
Once-lush grasslands, the source of precious food and water, are growing dry and bare. Rivers that used to flow year-round now run dry after the rains. Grazing animals want for food. What is causing this “desertification” of the earth, and how can we stop it? In The Grazing Revolution, biologist Allan Savory presents a solution that’s as radical as it is simple: huge herds of livestock, managed to mimic the behavior of the natural herds that once roamed grasslands centuries ago. Tracing his own story of discovery, Savory debunks common misconceptions and provides a vivid chronicle of the process by which he has seen scrubby wasteland revert to robust ecosystems. Our age-old agricultural practices are contributing greatly to the global climate change underway; Savory argues that by re-imagining these practices, we can reverse desertification and save the planet.
Tall Blondes: A Book about Giraffes
Lynn Sherr - 1997
Dozens about lions and tigers and bears. But how many non-scholarly books have been written about giraffes-one of nature's most intriguing and unique animals? None. Until now.You know Lynn Sherr as a veteran journalist and as a leading correspondent for the ABC news magazine 20/20, but you probably didn't know that she has been an avid giraffophile since a visit to the African wilderness nearly twenty-five years ago.The days of the giraffe being overlooked and under-appreciated are over with the publishing of Tall Blondes,a one-of-a-kind book about a one-of-a-kind animal. The giraffe's unusually long neck and legs make it one of the most recognizable creatures on our planet. But it also possesses a wide range of other fascinating and endearing traits and features. And while most giraffes are blondes, they come in beautiful arrays of red, brown, and even white.Sherr traces the cultural history of the giraffe, from it's first appearance in Europe in 46 B.C. (thanks to Julius Caesar) through medieval bestiaries and up to the modern giraffe star of a TV movie. The book is not just about giraffes in the wild: it's about how they have impacted on humans (and visa versa), stirring the imaginations of artists, writers and thinkers. Taking a whimsical approach to her very serious subject, Sherr has filled it with little-known tidbits, awe-inspiring photographs and drawings, and intriguing tales about the world's tallest land animal.Read it, and you'll not only learn about why Sherr (a tall blond herself) has fallen head over heals for this gawky but graceful animal-you'll fall in love too.
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Bruce Alberts - 1983
By extracting the fundamental concepts from this enormous and ever-growing field, the authors tell the story of cell biology, and create a coherent framework through which non-expert readers may approach the subject. Written in clear and concise language, and beautifully illustrated, the book is enjoyable to read, and it provides a clear sense of the excitement of modern biology. Molecular Biology of the Cell sets forth the current understanding of cell biology (completely updated as of Autumn 2001), and it explores the intriguing implications and possibilities of the great deal that remains unknown. The hallmark features of previous editions continue in the Fourth Edition. The book is designed with a clean and open, single-column layout. The art program maintains a completely consistent format and style, and includes over 1,600 photographs, electron micrographs, and original drawings by the authors. Clear and concise concept headings introduce each section. Every chapter contains extensive references. Most important, every chapter has been subjected to a rigorous, collaborative revision process where, in addition to incorporating comments from expert reviewers, each co-author reads and reviews the other authors' prose. The result is a truly integrated work with a single authorial voice. Features : - Places the latest hot topics sensibly in context - including genomics, protein structure, array technology, stem cells and genetics diseases. - Incorporates and emphasises new genomic data. - All of molecular biology is brought together into one section (chapters 4-7) covering classically defined molecular biology and molecular genetics. - Two chapters deal exclusively with methods and contain information on the latest tools and techniques. - New chapters on "Pathogens, Infection, and Innate Immunity". - Cell Biology Interactive CD-ROM is packaged with every copy of the book. - Contains over 1,600 illustrations, electron micrographs and photographs, of which over 1,000 are originally conceived by the authors.