Luminous Pursuit: Jellyfish, Gfp, And The Unforeseen Path To The Nobel Prize
Luminous Pursuit: Jellyfish, Gfp, And The Unforeseen Path To The Nobel Prize

Author: Osamu Shimomura

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2017-05-23

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 9813202181

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This book narrates the uniquely intertwined life and scientific career of Nobel laureate Osamu Shimomura, with particular attention to his discovery of aequorin and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). It includes his early memories of Manchuria and wartime Japan featuring an eyewitness account of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, his postwar studies and his travels to collect and research more than fifteen bioluminescent species, in locations ranging from Japan to San Juan Island, Bermuda, New Zealand and Norway. Dr Shimomura describes the unique combination of serendipity and perseverance that led ultimately to his 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry. The book provides an engaging account of the life of a dedicated scientist, emphasizing the value of determination in the pursuit of pure scientific knowledge, and showing how a general understanding of science helped him open up new areas of research that have led to unforeseen applications in cell biology and medicine.

Nature's Wild Ideas
Nature's Wild Ideas

Author: Kristy Hamilton

Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd

Published: 2022-10-04

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1771648201

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A lively and endlessly fascinating deep-dive into nature and the many groundbreaking human inventions inspired by the wild. "Delightful."—The Guardian "Fans of Helen Scales won't want to miss this."—Publishers Weekly STARRED Review When astronomers wanted a telescope that could capture X-rays from celestial bodies, they looked to the lobster. When doctors wanted a medication that could stabilize Type II diabetic patients, they found their muse in a lizard. When scientists wanted to drastically reduce emissions in cement manufacturing, they observed how corals construct their skeletons in the sea. This is biomimicry in action: taking inspiration from nature to tackle human challenges. In Nature’s Wild Ideas, Kristy Hamilton goes behind the scenes of some of our most unexpected innovations. She traverses frozen waterfalls, treks through cloudy forests, discovers nests in the Mojave desert, scours intertidal zones and takes us to the deepest oceans and near volcanoes to introduce us to the animals and plants that have inspired everything from cargo routing systems to non-toxic glues, and the men and women who followed that first spark of “I wonder” all the way to its conclusion, sometimes against all odds. While the joy of scientific discovery is front and center, Nature’s Wild Ideas is also a love letter to nature—complete with a deep message of conservation: If we are to continue learning from the creatures around us, we must protect their untamed homelands.

The Secret Body
The Secret Body

Author: Daniel M. Davis

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2022-07-26

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0691242127

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“A perfect blend of cutting-edge science and compelling storytelling.”—Bill Bryson A revolutionary new vision of human biology and the scientific breakthroughs that will transform our lives Imagine knowing years in advance whether you are likely to get cancer or having a personalized understanding of your individual genes, organs, and cells. Imagine being able to monitor your body's well-being, or have a diet tailored to your microbiome. The Secret Body reveals how these and other stunning breakthroughs and technologies are transforming our understanding of how the human body works, what it is capable of, how to protect it from disease, and how we might manipulate it in the future. Taking readers to the cutting edge of research, Daniel Davis shows how radical new possibilities are becoming realities thanks to the visionary efforts of scientists who are revealing the invisible and secret universe within each of us. Focusing on six important frontiers, Davis describes what we are learning about cells, the development of the fetus, the body's immune system, the brain, the microbiome, and the genome—areas of human biology that are usually understood in isolation. Bringing them together here for the first time, Davis offers a new vision of the human body as a biological wonder of dizzying complexity and possibility. Written by an award-winning scientist at the forefront of this adventure, The Secret Body is a gripping drama of discovery and a landmark account of the dawning revolution in human health.

Bioluminescence: Chemical Principles And Methods (3rd Edition)
Bioluminescence: Chemical Principles And Methods (3rd Edition)

Author: Osamu Shimomura

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2019-06-06

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 9813277122

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This book is the bible of bioluminescence and a must-read not only for the students but for those who work in various fields relating to bioluminescence. It summarizes current structural information on all known bioluminescent systems in nature, from well-studied ones to those that have been seldom investigated.This book remains an important source of chemical knowledge on bioluminescence and, since the second edition's publication in 2012, has been revised to include major developments in two systems: earthworm Fridericia and higher fungi whose luciferins have been elucidated and synthesized. These two new luciferins represent an essential addition to seven previously known, with fully rewritten sections covering this new subject matter.

Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence

Author: Thérèse Wilson

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2013-03-04

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 0674071913

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Bioluminescence is everywhere on earth—most of all in the ocean, from angler fish in the depths to the flashing of dinoflagellates at the surface. Here, Thérèse Wilson and Woody Hastings explore the natural history, evolution, and biochemistry of the diverse array of organisms that emit light. While some bacteria, mushrooms, and invertebrates, as well as fish, are bioluminescent, other vertebrates and plants are not. The sporadic distribution and paucity of luminous forms calls for explanation, as does the fact that unrelated groups evolved completely different biochemical pathways to luminescence. The authors explore the hypothesis that many different luciferase systems arose in the early evolution of life because of their ability to remove oxygen, which was toxic to life when it first appeared on earth. As oxygen became abundant and bioluminescence was no longer adequate for oxygen removal, other antioxidant mechanisms evolved and most luminous species became extinct. Those light-emitting species that avoided extinction evolved uses with survival value for the light itself. Today’s luminous organisms use bioluminescence for defense from predators, for their own predatory purposes, or for communication in sexual courtship. Bioluminescence was earlier viewed as a fascinating feature of the living world, but one whose study seemed unlikely to contribute in any practical way. Today, bioluminescence is no longer an esoteric area of research. Applications are numerous, ranging from the rapid detection of microbial contamination in beef and water, to finding the location of cancer cells, to working out circuitry in the brain.

Tactical Biopolitics
Tactical Biopolitics

Author: Beatriz Da Costa

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2010-08-13

Total Pages: 535

ISBN-13: 0262514915

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Scientists, scholars, and artists consider the political significance of recent advances in the biological sciences. Popular culture in this “biological century” seems to feed on proliferating fears, anxieties, and hopes around the life sciences at a time when such basic concepts as scientific truth, race and gender identity, and the human itself are destabilized in the public eye. Tactical Biopolitics suggests that the political challenges at the intersection of life, science, and art are best addressed through a combination of artistic intervention, critical theorizing, and reflective practices. Transcending disciplinary boundaries, contributions to this volume focus on the political significance of recent advances in the biological sciences and explore the possibility of public participation in scientific discourse, drawing on research and practice in art, biology, critical theory, anthropology, and cultural studies. After framing the subject in terms of both biology and art, Tactical Biopolitics discusses such topics as race and genetics (with contributions from leading biologists Richard Lewontin and Richard Levins); feminist bioscience; the politics of scientific expertise; bioart and the public sphere (with an essay by artist Claire Pentecost); activism and public health (with an essay by Treatment Action Group co-founder Mark Harrington); biosecurity after 9/11 (with essays by artists' collective Critical Art Ensemble and anthropologist Paul Rabinow); and human-animal interaction (with a framing essay by cultural theorist Donna Haraway). Contributors Gaymon Bennett, Larry Carbone, Karen Cardozo, Gary Cass, Beatriz da Costa, Oron Catts, Gabriella Coleman, Critical Art Ensemble, Gwen D'Arcangelis, Troy Duster, Donna Haraway, Mark Harrington, Jens Hauser, Kathy High, Fatimah Jackson, Gwyneth Jones, Jonathan King, Richard Levins, Richard Lewontin, Rachel Mayeri, Sherie McDonald, Claire Pentecost, Kavita Philip, Paul Rabinow, Banu Subramanian, subRosa, Abha Sur, Samir Sur, Jacqueline Stevens, Eugene Thacker, Paul Vanouse, Ionat Zurr

Information Arts
Information Arts

Author: Stephen Wilson

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2003-02-28

Total Pages: 980

ISBN-13: 9780262731584

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An introduction to the work and ideas of artists who use—and even influence—science and technology. A new breed of contemporary artist engages science and technology—not just to adopt the vocabulary and gizmos, but to explore and comment on the content, agendas, and possibilities. Indeed, proposes Stephen Wilson, the role of the artist is not only to interpret and to spread scientific knowledge, but to be an active partner in determining the direction of research. Years ago, C. P. Snow wrote about the "two cultures" of science and the humanities; these developments may finally help to change the outlook of those who view science and technology as separate from the general culture. In this rich compendium, Wilson offers the first comprehensive survey of international artists who incorporate concepts and research from mathematics, the physical sciences, biology, kinetics, telecommunications, and experimental digital systems such as artificial intelligence and ubiquitous computing. In addition to visual documentation and statements by the artists, Wilson examines relevant art-theoretical writings and explores emerging scientific and technological research likely to be culturally significant in the future. He also provides lists of resources including organizations, publications, conferences, museums, research centers, and Web sites.

Nobel Prizes and Life Sciences
Nobel Prizes and Life Sciences

Author: Erling Norrby

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9814299367

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The Nobel Prizes m natural sciences have achieved the reputation of being the ultimate accolade for scientific achievements. This honk gives a unique insight into the selection of Nobel Prize recipients, in particular the life sciences. The evolving mechanisms of selection of prize recipients are illustrated by reference to archives, which have remained secret for 1) years. Many of the prizes subjected to particular evaluation concern awards given for discoveries in the field of infectious diseases and the interconnected field of genetics. The book illustrates the individuals and environments that are conducive to scientific creativity. Nowhere is this enigmatic activity'-- the mime mover in advancing the human condition highlighted as lucidly as by identification individuals worthy of Nobel Prizes. --Book Jacket.

Yokohama Street Life
Yokohama Street Life

Author: Tom Gill

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2015-03-06

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1498511996

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Yokohama Street Life: The Precarious Career of a Japanese Day Laborer is a one-man ethnography, tracing the career of a single Japanese day laborer called Kimitsu, from his wartime childhood in the southern island of Kyushu through a brief military career to a lifetime spent working on the docks and construction sites of Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. Kimitsu emerges as a unique voice from the Japanese ghetto, a self-educated philosopher whose thoughts on life in the slums, on post-war Japanese society and on more abstract intellectual concerns are conveyed in a series of conversations with British anthropologist Tom Gill, whose friendship with Kimitsu spans more than two decades. For Kimitsu, as for many of his fellow day laborers at the bottom of Japanese society, offers none of the comforting distractions of marriage, family life, or a long-term career in a settled workplace. It leads him through existential philosophy towards Buddhist mysticism as he fills the time between days of hard manual labor with visits to second-hand bookshops in search of enlightenment. The book also portrays Kimitsu’s living environment, a Yokohama slum district called Kotobuki. Kotobuki is a ‘doya-gai’—a slum inhabited mainly by men, somewhat similar to the skid row districts that used to be common in American cities. Traditionally these men have earned a basic living by working as day laborers, but the decline in employment opportunities has forced many of them into welfare dependence or homelessness. Kimitsu’s life and thought are framed by an account of the changing way of life in Kotobuki, a place that has gradually been transformed from a casual laboring market to a large, shambolical welfare center. In Kotobuki the national Japanese issues of an aging workforce and economic decline set in much earlier than elsewhere, leading to a dramatic illustration of the challenges facing the Japanese welfare state.

"I Am The Smartest Man I Know": A Nobel Laureate's Difficult Journey

Author: Ivar Giaever

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2016-11-04

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 9813109203

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'There is a plethora of anecdotes that provide fascinating insight into a person who has made the most of his life.'CERN CourierA unique individual with a fascinating life story, Ivar Giaever is a scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Experimental Physics in 1973. In his own words, Giaever relates an absorbing tale of how important luck and good fortune have been in shaping his life. He narrates the story of an ordinary childhood in Norway and an unremarkable undergraduate career at university. After finishing his engineering degree, he served in the Norwegian army and married his childhood sweetheart, Inger Skramstad. His desire to make a better life for his new family led Ivar to Canada and then to the United States. Even without an advanced degree in a scientific field, Ivar was given the opportunity to work with cutting-edge scientific researchers at General Electric R&D in Schenectady, New York. While there, he completed his PhD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — one of the United States' oldest technological universities. His work on superconductivity led to worldwide recognition and the Nobel Prize. This memoire is more than the story of an accomplished, world-renowned scientist: it is an engaging reminiscence of an independent, highly creative thinker and problem solver who loves games and puzzles, skiing and windsurfing, and time with friends and family. Dr Ivar Giaever's fascinating story intertwines his views on the nature of science, scientific processes, contemporary issues such as global warming, and the great benefits the Nobel Prize has afforded him. Written with humor and often tongue-in-cheek, 'I am the Smartest Man I know' is one man's meditation on science, intellectual inquiry, and life itself.