Welcome to the newest four-star restaurant for bugs. What's on the menu? Your body! From hair-raising lice to bloodthirsty bedbugs, creepy critters want to make a meal out of you. Although some of these guests are just pests, others are the culprits behind serious diseases. Learn about the scientists who study these creatures and discover the drugs that battle bugs.
Growing up in a New Jersey factory town in the 1980s, Daisy Hernández believed that her aunt had become deathly ill from eating an apple. No one in her family, in either the United States or Colombia, spoke of infectious diseases. Even into her thirties, she only knew that her aunt had died of Chagas, a rare and devastating illness that affects the heart and digestive system. But as Hernández dug deeper, she discovered that Chagas—or the kissing bug disease—is more prevalent in the United States than the Zika virus. After her aunt’s death, Hernández began searching for answers. Crisscrossing the country, she interviewed patients, doctors, epidemiologists, and even veterinarians with the Department of Defense. She learned that in the United States more than three hundred thousand people in the Latinx community have Chagas, and that outside of Latin America, this is the only country with the native insects—the “kissing bugs”—that carry the Chagas parasite. Through unsparing, gripping, and humane portraits, Hernández chronicles a story vast in scope and urgent in its implications, exposing how poverty, racism, and public policies have conspired to keep this disease hidden. A riveting and nuanced investigation into racial politics and for-profit healthcare in the United States, The Kissing Bug reveals the intimate history of a marginalized disease and connects us to the lives at the center of it all.
In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of six- and eight-legged creatures. With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. It’s an A to Z of insect enemies, interspersed with sections that explore bugs with kinky sex lives (“She’s Just Not That Into You”), creatures lurking in the cupboard (“Fear No Weevil”), insects eating your tomatoes (“Gardener’s Dirty Dozen”), and phobias that feed our (sometimes) irrational responses to bugs (“Have No Fear”). Intricate and strangely beautiful etchings and drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs capture diabolical bugs of all shapes and sizes in this mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard.
A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone. Yet, as we obsess over sterilizing our homes and separating our spaces from nature, we are unwittingly cultivating an entirely new playground for evolution. These changes are reshaping the organisms that live with us -- prompting some to become more dangerous, while undermining those species that benefit our bodies or help us keep more threatening organisms at bay. No one who reads this engrossing, revelatory book will look at their homes in the same way again.
Examines how insects have been used as weapons in wartime conflicts throughout history, presenting as examples how scorpions were used in Roman times and hornets nests were used during the MIddle Ages in siege warfare and how insects have been used in Vietnam, China, and Korea.
Human Body Detectives Merrin and Pearl are at it again. Their magical ability to jump into people's bodies and explore their systems (digestive, skeletal, nervous ( June 2014), circulatory, and immune) combines science with their fun adventures to help kids understand their anatomy and how their bodies work. In Battle with the Bugs, Merrin and Pearl enter their cousin, Max's, immune system to find out why he was sick. During their journey, they travel up Max's nose, ride on a white blood cell into battle against the bacteria that was making Max sick, and use their knowledge of nutrition to successfully end Max's fever. In the end, they not only learn about the different types of white blood cells and what they do to keep us healthy, they also get a firsthand lesson on the functions of the immune system. Battle with the Bugs is one of five stories featured in the Human Body Detectives series, along with, A Heart Pumping Adventure, Osteoblasts to the Rescue, The Lucky Escape, and Brainiacs, debuting in June 2014.
Now includes a “Year in Review” highlighting over 180 recent medical advances since the last edition! Doody's Core Titles for 2021! For 60 years, CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment—the flagship volume of the renowned Lange medical series—has been delivering the authoritative information students, residents, and clinicians need to build their medical knowledge, expertise, and confidence. Covering the latest clinical developments in all facets of medicine and fully focused on bedside clinical issues, this new edition provides completely the latest guidelines, reference, drug prices, approved drugs, and evidence-based coverage of more than 1,000 diseases and disorders—all formatted to enable you to find the answers you need quickly and effortlessly. This landmark guide covers inpatient and outpatient care, focusing on the diagnostic tools relevant to daily practice, and reviews all primary care topics, including gynecology/obstetrics, dermatology, ophthalmology, geriatrics, preventive medicine, psychiatry, and neurology. Now includes a “year in review” feature highlighting what’s new in CMDT! Includes essentials of diagnosis for most diseases/disorders Hundreds of quick-access drug treatment tables with indexed trade names Diagnostic and treatment algorithms present important information in an at-a-glance style Up-to-date references provide peer-reviewed, evidence-based information Seven bonus chapters available online to all book purchasers, featuring expanded content and annual review of advances in HIV treatment and critical information on emerging viral infections
