Remarkable Creatures
Remarkable Creatures

Author: Sean B. Carroll

Publisher: HMH

Published: 2014-10-16

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 0547526148

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National Book Award Finalist: A biologist’s “thoroughly enjoyable” account of the expeditions that unearthed the history of life on our planet (Publishers Weekly). Not so long ago, most of our world was an unexplored wilderness. Our sense of its age was vague and vastly off the mark, and much of the knowledge of our own species’ history was a set of fantastic myths and fairy tales. But scientists were about to embark on an amazing new era of understanding. From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Big Picture, this book leads us on a rousing voyage that recounts the most important discoveries in two centuries of natural history: from Darwin’s trip around the world to Charles Walcott’s discovery of pre-Cambrian life in the Grand Canyon; from Louis and Mary Leakey’s investigation of our deepest past in East Africa to the trailblazers in modern laboratories who have located a time clock in our DNA. Filled with the same sense of adventure that spurred on these extraordinary men and women, Remarkable Creatures is a “stirring introduction to the wonder of evolutionary biology” (Kirkus Reviews). “Charming and enlightening.” —San Francisco Chronicle “As fast-paced as a detective story.” —Nature

The Wizard and the Prophet
The Wizard and the Prophet

Author: Charles C. Mann

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2018-01-23

Total Pages: 641

ISBN-13: 0307961702

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From the bestselling, award-winning author of 1491 and 1493—an incisive portrait of the two little-known twentieth-century scientists, Norman Borlaug and William Vogt, whose diametrically opposed views shaped our ideas about the environment, laying the groundwork for how people in the twenty-first century will choose to live in tomorrow's world. In forty years, Earth's population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups--Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. Cut back! was his mantra. Otherwise everyone will lose! The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research, in effect, wrangled the world in service to our species to produce modern high-yield crops that then saved millions from starvation. Innovate! was Borlaug's cry. Only in that way can everyone win! Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces--food, water, energy, climate change--grounding each in historical context and weighing the options for the future. With our civilization on the line, the author's insightful analysis is an essential addition to the urgent conversation about how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.

The New York Public Library Amazing Scientists
The New York Public Library Amazing Scientists

Author: The New York Public Library

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2002-05-03

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0471236578

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The New York Public Library AMAZING scientists Discover the moons of Jupiter with Galileo. Uncover the science of radiation with Madame Curie. Travel forward in time with Einstein. Find out how scientists learned to cure diseases, how they discovered gravity, and how they determined the structure of the atom. Fact-filled and fun, this book's question-and-answer format lets you explore the discoveries of some of the world's greatest scientists. What is the Hippocratic Oath? See page 11. How did archimedes single-handedly hold off the entire Roman army? See page 13. Which famous physician learned about human anatomy in a gladiator ring? See page 19. What is natural selection? See page 36. What was the worst disease of all time? See page 40. Who discovered over 300 uses for peanuts? See page 48. Which founder of chemistry lost his head in the French Revolution? See page 65. What Nobel Prize-winning physicist escaped the Nazis in 1933? See page 109. Also in The New York Public Library Answer Books series: Amazing Explorers Amazing Native American History Amazing Hispanic American History Incredible Earth Amazing Space Amazing Mythology Amazing Women in American History Amazing African American History

Scientists of Faith
Scientists of Faith

Author: Dan Graves

Publisher: Kregel Publications

Published:

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9780825497704

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The personal stories of forty-eight historic scientists and an overview of their contributions to their field and faith.

The Vital Question
The Vital Question

Author: Nick Lane

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781781250372

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A game-changing book on the origins of life, called the most important scientific discovery 'since the Copernican revolution' in The Observer.

Life Script
Life Script

Author: Nicholas Wade

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2002-03-02

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 074321739X

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With the decoding of the human genome, researchers can now read the script in which evolution has written the program for the design and operation of the human body. A new generation of medical treatments is at hand. Researchers are developing therapies so powerful that there is now no evident obstacle to the ancient goal of conquering most major diseases. Nicholas Wade has covered the sequencing of the genome, as well as other health and science stories, for The New York Times, in the course of which he has interviewed many of the principal researchers in the field. In this book he describes what the genome means for the health of present and future generations. Someday soon physicians will have access to DNA chips that, from a drop of blood, will screen a person's genes for all the diseases to which he or she may be genetically vulnerable. From full knowledge of the instruction manual of the human body, provided by the genome, pharmaceutical companies hope to develop a new generation of sophisticated drugs; one of the first genome-derived drugs is already undergoing clinical trials. Another vital tool will be regenerative medicine, a new kind of therapy in which new organs and tissues will be grown from a patient's own cells to replace those that are old or diseased. With the help of DNA chips, medical researchers will soon be able to diagnose diseases such as cancer much more precisely and to tailor specific treatments for each patient. Individualized medicine will also become an important part of the pharmaceutical world. Many drugs will be prescribed based on information from DNA chips that identify which of a range of drugs is best for each patient, as well as which drugs are likely to cause side effects. The medicine of the post-genomic era will be customized for a patient's genetic make-up, providing treatments based on a precise understanding of the mechanism of disease. Life Script describes a future in which good health, even perfect health, may become the standard for everyone -- at every age.

The Extraordinary Biology of the Naked Mole-Rat
The Extraordinary Biology of the Naked Mole-Rat

Author: Rochelle Buffenstein

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-08-23

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 3030659437

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This volume focuses on the huge advances in the last 25 years on the use of this animal model for biomedical research (cancer, heart disease and neurodegeneration), fundamental neuroscience and basic subterranean biology. In 2013, Science magazine named the naked mole-rat as the Vertebrate of the Year. This was partly due to research carried out documenting its extreme longevity, negligible senescence, and prolonged maintenance of cancer free, good health well into old age as well as seminal work on mechanisms involved in these processes, pain and hypoxia resistance. In addition to this research focus on longevity and chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, the naked mole-rat has also made a substantial contribution to the fields of ecophysiology, neuroscience and behavior. With international contributions, this book provides a valuable text for zoological students, behavioral scientists and biomedical researchers.

Loon Lessons
Loon Lessons

Author: James D. Paruk

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2021-06-29

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1452963657

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The nature of the common loon, from biology to behavior, from one of the world’s foremost observers of the revered waterbird Even those who know the loon’s call might not recognize it as a tremolo, yodel, or wail, and may not understand what each call means, how it’s made, and why. And those who marvel at the loon’s diving prowess might wonder why this bird has such skill, or where loons go when they must leave northern lakes in winter. For these and so many other mysteries, Loon Lessons provides evolutionary and ecological explanations that are curious and compelling. Written by one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, the book is a compendium of knowledge about the common loon and an engaging record of scientific sleuthing, documenting more than twenty-five years of research into the great northern diver. James D. Paruk has observed and compared loons from Washington and Saskatchewan to the coasts of California and Louisiana, from high elevation deserts in Nevada to mountain lakes in Maine. Drawing on his extensive experience, a wealth of data, and well-established scientific principles, he considers every aspect of the loon, from its plumage and anatomy to its breeding, migration, and wintering strategies. Here, in the first detailed scientific account of the common loon in more than thirty years, Paruk describes its biology in an accessible and entertaining style that affords a deeper understanding of this beautiful and mysterious bird’s natural history and annual life cycle.