The Best American Science Writing 2004


Dava Sobel - 2004
    K. C. Cole's "Fun with Physics" is a profile of astrophysicist Janet Conrad that blends her personal life with professional activity. In "Desperate Measures," the doctor and writer Atul Gawande profiles the surgeon Francis Daniels Moore, whose experiments in the 1940s and '50s pushed medicine harder and farther than almost anyone had contemplated. Also included is a poem by the legendary John Updike, "Mars as Bright as Venus." The collection ends with Diane Ackerman's "ebullient" essay "We Are All a Part of Nature."Together these twenty-three articles on a wide range of today's most current topics in science -- from biology, physics, biotechnology, and astronomy, to anthropology, genetics, evolutionary theory, and cognition‚ represent the full spectrum of scientific writing from America's most prominent science authors, proving once again that "good science writing is evidently plentiful" (Scientific American).

Heart Intelligence: Connecting with the Intuitive Guidance of the Heart


Doc Childre - 2016
    Through its extensive communication with the brain and body, the heart is intimately involved in how we think, feel, and respond to the world. Expanding on their breakthrough book, The HeartMath Solution, the authors offer heart-based techniques and guidelines for living from the heart, which connects the puzzle pieces of our purpose and fulfillment. The book provides information and simple practices for accessing our heart’s intuitive guidance to connect with our highest choices for better outcomes. Our choices are especially important through these changing times because they constantly create or disrupt our peace, happiness and self-security. Our thoughts and feelings influence the chemistry that regulates much of our health — how we feel, for better or worse. Our thoughts, feelings, emotions and attitudes are just frequencies that we can learn to change — once we put our heart into our intention. Heart Intelligence provides practices to replace fear with the attitude of intelligent concern (managed concern) which leaves us in charge and more attuned to intuitive direction. We learn the benefits of practicing simple coherence techniques a few times a day for boosting resilience and emotional balance; making appropriate choices; and clearing our mind from anxiety or overwhelm when needed. It is through deepening our heart intelligence, coherence and connection that humanity will be able to shift from separation to cooperation resulting in higher solutions to our personal and global problems.

Autism and Asperger Syndrome


Simon Baron-Cohen - 2008
    Written first and foremost as a guide for parents, but what is also certain to become requiredreading for interested professionals, the book covers what we have learnt to date about the brain, genetics, and interventions for autism spectrum disorders. The book also provides an overview of diagnosis of these conditions, their biological and physiological causes, and the various treatments andeducational techniques available. In the book Professor Baron-Cohen also presents a new unified psychological theory of the autistic spectrum.

Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Night Shift at the Psych E.R.


Julie Holland - 2009
    Recounts stories from her vast case files that are alternately terrifying, tragically comic, and profoundly moving, all while she deals with her best friend and fellow doctor's fight with cancer.

Who Says You're Dead? Medical & Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious & Concerned


Jacob M. Appel - 2019
    A few (identities disguised) come from the author’s own clinical encounters.  Every scenario is followed by a brief reflection of how various modern thought leaders (ethicists, philosophers, courts, political commentators, research scientists, and medical professionals) have addressed the underlying issues.

Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds


George W. Hudler - 1998
    Fuzzy brown molds mischievously turn forgotten peaches to slime in the kitchen fruit bowl. And in thousands of other ways, members of the kingdom Fungi do their part to make life on Earth the miracle that it is. In this lively book, George Hudler leads us on a tour of an often-overlooked group of organisms, which differ radically from both animals and plants. Along the way the author stops to ponder the marvels of nature and the impact of mere microbes on the evolution of civilization. Nature's ultimate recyclers not only save us from drowning in a sea of organic waste, but also provide us with food, drink, and a wide array of valuable medicines and industrial chemicals.Some fungi make deadly poisons and psychedelic drugs that have interesting histories in and of themselves, and Hudler weaves tales of those into his scientific account of the nature of the fungi. The role of fungi in the Irish potato famine, in the Salem Witch Trials, in the philosophical writings of Greek scholars, and in the creation of ginger snaps are just a few of the many great moments in history to grace these pages.Hudler moves so easily from discussing human history to exploring scientific knowledge, all with a sense of humor and enthusiasm, that one can well understand why he is an award-winning teacher both at Cornell University as well as nationally. Few, for instance, who read his invitation to get out of your chair and take a short walk will ever again look without curiosity and admiration at the rotten part of the world around them. Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds is full of information that will satisfy history buffs, science enthusiasts, and anyone interested in nature's miracles. Everyone in Hudler's audience will develop a new appreciation of the debt they owe to the molds for such common products as penicillin, wine, and bread.

The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars: A Neuropsychologist's Odyssey Through Consciousness


Paul Broks - 2018
    The result of that journey is a gorgeous, evocative meditation on fate, death, consciousness, and what it means to be human.The Darker the Night, The Brighter the Stars weaves a scientist's understanding of the mind - its logic, its nuance, how we think about what makes a person - with a poet's approach to humanity, that crucial and ever-elusive why. It's a story that unfolds through the centuries, along the path of humankind's constant quest to discover what makes us human, and the answers that consistently slip out of our grasp. It's modern medicine and psychology and ancient tales; history and myth combined; fiction and the stranger truth.

Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose


Deirdre Barrett - 2010
    Our instincts—for food, sex, or territorial protection— evolved for life on the savannahs 10,000 years ago, not in today’s world of densely populated cities, technological innovations, and pollution. We now have access to a glut of larger-than-life objects, from candy to pornography to atomic weapons—that gratify these gut instincts with often-dangerous results. Animal biologists coined the term “supernormal stimuli” to describe imitations that appeal to primitive instincts and exert a stronger pull than real things, such as soccer balls that geese prefer over eggs. Evolutionary psychologist Deirdre Barrett applies this concept to the alarming disconnect between human instinct and our created environment, demonstrating how supernormal stimuli are a major cause of today’s most pressing problems, including obesity and war. However, Barrett does more than show how unfettered instincts fuel dangerous excesses. She also reminds us that by exercising self-control we can rein them in, potentially saving ourselves and civilization. 55 illustrations.

The Genie in Your Genes


Dawson Church - 2007
    This book summarises the science behind the infant fields of Energy Psychology and Energy Medicine, both of which offer promising epigenetic medical therapies, and describes a few of the thousands of powerful personal breakthroughs that are being achieved by therapists and doctors.

Human Behavioral Biology


Robert M. Sapolsky - 2010
    How to approach complex normal and abnormal behaviors through biology. How to integrate disciplines including sociobiology, ethology, neuroscience, and endocrinology to examine behaviors such as aggression, sexual behavior, language use, and mental illness.36 hours lectures

Master Dealing with Psychopaths, Sociopaths, Narcissists - A Handbook for the Empath


Transcendence - 2015
     This handbook was compiled by a once-naïve empath who encountered psychopaths in various avenues of the author's life: heart broken, illusions stripped away, career path shattered, and a radical transformation undergone. Somewhere in an abyss of self-searching darkness, the author was finally able to put the puzzle together with the help of an inkling of spiritual insight and wisdom, as well as our common human will to rebound, rebuild, regenerate and re-strategize. This instinct led to an obsessive quest to devour information through forums, books, resources, consultations. The author read over almost all available resources – from the scientific, to the practical, to the spiritual and esoteric. Thousands of hours spent in understanding the subject matter – all with the goal to provide you with a handy guide that is practical, simple and extremely useful. Cheat Sheet: Master Dealing with Psychopaths, Sociopaths, Narcissists – A Handbook for the Empath … is meant as a solid guide for empathetic individuals that you can reference over and over again. It is written with the aim to help empaths navigate this hidden terrain with practicality and total clarity. The goal for the guide is to: 1. Have an effective reminder to reference and read, again and again, especially at moments when at risk of a fall into the internal battle of controlling our “niceness” to the undeserving. 2. Thoroughly analyze and summarize the modus operandi of this type of being, giving the empath a counter-method of operation; to review again and again as a lifetime reminder. Learn: ✓ A critical list of points to read when feeling irresolute on the NCEA rule. ✓ The Psychopath pattern and method of operation at work, romance and other domains. ✓ How to repel, defend against, and ensure they can never impact you again. ✓ How to change your own mental conditioning so you are immune to their tactics. ✓ The underlying principles to influence the psychopath in the short-term and in unavoidable situations. ✓ How to maneuver yourself out of their webs. ✓ A concise but thorough summary to identify them - from experts such as Hare, Sheridan, Stout, and more. ✓ 4 strategies to get over them in real life. And much much more… The author plans to research additional topics that are important to the empath, and include them in constant future updates. For existing buyers, however, the eBook is a one-time low cost, and new updates will be free to view. Get this now while you can! Tags: Sociopath, Psychopath, Psychopath free, Psychopathic, Manipulation, Narcissist, ASPD, Mental Health, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Psychopath vs Sociopath, Anti-social, Personality Disorder, Spot Lies

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.

I, Mammal: Why Your Brain Links Status and Happiness


Loretta Graziano Breuning - 2011
    An appetite for status develops as naturally as the appetite for food and sex. Status hierarchies emerge spontaneously as each individual strives to meet their needs and avoid harm. You would never think this way in words, but your mammal brain uses neurochemicals instead of words. When you understand the private lives of animals, your neurochemical ups and downs make sense. You have inherited the operating system that helped mammals thrive for millions of years. Nothing is wrong with us. We are mammals. You may say you're "against status." But if you filled a room with people who said they were anti-status, a hierarchy would soon form based on how anti-status they are. That's what mammals do. Our neurochemical ups and downs make sense when you look at the private lives of animals. The field notes of a primatologist are eerily similar to the lyrics of a country western song. A biology textbook resembles a soap opera script. The mammal brain cannot put its reactions into words, so the human cortex struggles to make sense of the limbic system it's attached to. We can finally make sense of our hybrid brain thanks to an accumulation of research in animal science and neuroscience. The frustrations of social hierarchies are not caused by "our society." We are simply heirs to the brain that helped mammals thrive for two hundred million years. It's not easy being human with a mammalian operating system. But when you understand the neurochemistry of mammals, you can stop focusing on our flaws and simply celebrate how well we do with the mental equipment we've got. Mammals live in groups for protection from predators, but group life can be frustrating. Some herd mates always seem to get the best mating opportunities and foraging spots. Fortunately, the mammal brain evolved to handle this. It releases stress chemicals when a mammal needs to hold back to avoid conflict. And it emits happy chemicals- serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins, when a mammal sees a way to forge ahead and meet its needs.

Medical Microbiology [with Student Consult Online Access]


Patrick R. Murray - 1990
    Murray's best-selling book "the most colorful and fun text to read in medical microbiology." Now it's back in an updated New Edition-and it's as succinct, user-friendly, and authoritative as ever. Readers will continue to enjoy its lucid discussions of how microbes cause disease in humans. Expert coverage of basic principles, the immune response, laboratory diagnosis, bacteriology, virology, mycology, and parasitology ensures they understand all the facts vital to the practice of medicine today. More than 550 brilliant full-color images make complex information easy to understand and illustrate the appearance of disease.The smart way to study!Elsevier titles with STUDENT CONSULT will help you master difficult concepts and study more efficiently in print and online! Perform rapid searches. Integrate bonus content from other disciplines. Download text to your handheld device. And a lot more. Each STUDENT CONSULT title comes with full text online, a unique image library, case studies, USMLE style questions, and online note-taking to enhance your learning experience.

The Little Book of Philosophy: An Introduction to the Key Thinkers and Theories You Need to Know


Rachel Poulton - 2019
    Including accessible primers on: • The early Ancient Greek philosophers and the ‘big three’: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle • Key schools of philosophy and their impact on modern life • Insights into the main questions philosophers have explored over the years: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Do I have free will? • Practical applications for the theories of Descartes, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Marx, Nietzsche and many more. This illuminating little book will introduce you to the key thinkers, themes and theories you need to know to understand how human ideas have sculpted the world we live in and the way we think today.