Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health
Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-07-02

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0309132975

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It's obvious why only men develop prostate cancer and why only women get ovarian cancer. But it is not obvious why women are more likely to recover language ability after a stroke than men or why women are more apt to develop autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Sex differences in health throughout the lifespan have been documented. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health begins to snap the pieces of the puzzle into place so that this knowledge can be used to improve health for both sexes. From behavior and cognition to metabolism and response to chemicals and infectious organisms, this book explores the health impact of sex (being male or female, according to reproductive organs and chromosomes) and gender (one's sense of self as male or female in society). Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health discusses basic biochemical differences in the cells of males and females and health variability between the sexes from conception throughout life. The book identifies key research needs and opportunities and addresses barriers to research. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health will be important to health policy makers, basic, applied, and clinical researchers, educators, providers, and journalists-while being very accessible to interested lay readers.

Music that works
Music that works

Author: Roland Haas

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-01-08

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 3211751211

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Many different disciplines are analyzing the impact of music today. How and why this ancient cultural asset molds, empowers and makes use of us can only become apparent in a synopsis and exchange involving scientific research. With this perspective as its foundation, the conference "Mozart and Science" extended invitations to the first interdisciplinary and international dialogue between the social and physical sciences about the effects of music. This book is based on the results of that congress. It contains contributions penned by leading scientists from around the world belonging to diverse music science disciplines and in particular covers psycho-physiological, neuro-developmental and cognitive aspects associated with the experience of music. Additional essays provide insights into research conducted about how music is applied in therapy and medicine.

A New Biology for the 21st Century
A New Biology for the 21st Century

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-11-20

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 0309147867

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Now more than ever, biology has the potential to contribute practical solutions to many of the major challenges confronting the United States and the world. A New Biology for the 21st Century recommends that a "New Biology" approach-one that depends on greater integration within biology, and closer collaboration with physical, computational, and earth scientists, mathematicians and engineers-be used to find solutions to four key societal needs: sustainable food production, ecosystem restoration, optimized biofuel production, and improvement in human health. The approach calls for a coordinated effort to leverage resources across the federal, private, and academic sectors to help meet challenges and improve the return on life science research in general.

What Makes Biology Unique?
What Makes Biology Unique?

Author: Ernst Mayr

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2007-04-16

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9780521700344

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This book, a collection of essays written by the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the twentieth century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Natural selection is a separate idea from common descent, and from geographic speciation, and so on. A number of the perennial Darwinian controversies may well have been caused by the confounding of the five separate theories into a single composite. Those interested in evolutionary theory, or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology.

Calculating the Secrets of Life
Calculating the Secrets of Life

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1995-04-06

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 0309048869

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As researchers have pursued biology's secrets to the molecular level, mathematical and computer sciences have played an increasingly important roleâ€"in genome mapping, population genetics, and even the controversial search for "Eve," hypothetical mother of the human race. In this first-ever survey of the partnership between the two fields, leading experts look at how mathematical research and methods have made possible important discoveries in biology. The volume explores how differential geometry, topology, and differential mechanics have allowed researchers to "wind" and "unwind" DNA's double helix to understand the phenomenon of supercoiling. It explains how mathematical tools are revealing the workings of enzymes and proteins. And it describes how mathematicians are detecting echoes from the origin of life by applying stochastic and statistical theory to the study of DNA sequences. This informative and motivational book will be of interest to researchers, research administrators, and educators and students in mathematics, computer sciences, and biology.

The Female in Aristotle's Biology
The Female in Aristotle's Biology

Author: Robert Mayhew

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2010-11-15

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 0226512029

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While Aristotle's writings on biology are considered to be among his best, the comments he makes about females in these works are widely regarded as the nadir of his philosophical oeuvre. Among many claims, Aristotle is said to have declared that females contribute nothing substantial to generation; that they have fewer teeth than males; that they are less spirited than males; and that woman are analogous to eunuchs. In The Female in Aristotle's Biology, Robert Mayhew aims not to defend Aristotle's ideas about females but to defend Aristotle against the common charge that his writings on female species were motivated by ideological bias. Mayhew points out that the tools of modern science and scientific experimentation were not available to the Greeks during Aristotle's time and that, consequently, Aristotle had relied not only on empirical observations when writing about living organisms but also on a fair amount of speculation. Further, he argues that Aristotle's remarks about females in his biological writings did not tend to promote the inferior status of ancient Greek women. Written with passion and precision, The Female in Aristotle's Biology will be of enormous value to students of philosophy, the history of science, and classical literature.