Sex, Drugs and DNA
Sex, Drugs and DNA

Author: Michael Stebbins

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2006-04-04

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0230552269

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In a frank, edgy and entertaining style that pulls no punches this book reveals the truth about modern biology and debunks the commonest myths surrounding some of the most controversial topics in science and health. It says what most scientists and politicians are afraid to say about what research can and, perhaps more importantly, cannot deliver on topics ranging from sexuality, race and genetic modification to stem cells, cloning, modern medicine, fertility treatment, creationism and bioterrorism. Having worked at the heart of government science, at the most prestigious science publishing company in the world, and in one of the world's leading biology institutions the author has a unique view of the politics, culture and reach of science. He illustrates how we are facing dangerous times where political agendas and public misunderstanding are hobbling truly novel work and hence calls for wide reaching changes in science education, funding, publishing and promulgation.

Darwin's Pharmacy
Darwin's Pharmacy

Author: Richard M. Doyle

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2011-10-01

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0295803002

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Are humans unwitting partners in evolution with psychedelic plants? Darwin’s Pharmacy shows they are by weaving the evolutionary theory of sexual selection and the study of rhetoric together with the science and literature of psychedelic drugs. Long suppressed as components of the human tool kit, psychedelic plants can be usefully modeled as “eloquence adjuncts” that intensify a crucial component of sexual selection in humans: discourse. Psychedelic plants seduce us to interact with them, building an ongoing interdependence: rhetoric as evolutionary mechanism. In doing so, they engage our awareness of the noosphere, or thinking stratum of the earth. The realization that the human organism is part of an interconnected ecosystem is an apprehension of immanence that could ultimately benefit the planet and its inhabitants. To explore the rhetoric of the psychedelic experience and its significance to evolution, Doyle takes his readers on an epic journey through the writings of William Burroughs and Kary Mullis, the work of ethnobotanists and anthropologists, and anonymous trip reports. The results offer surprising insights into evolutionary theory, the war on drugs, the internet, and the nature of human consciousness itself. Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xof-t2cAob4

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Musicals
Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Musicals

Author: Scott Miller

Publisher: UPNE

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1555537618

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An endlessly entertaining and informative look at how musicals have both reflected and adapted to America's changing mores

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.

Junk DNA
Junk DNA

Author: Nessa Carey

Publisher: Icon Books

Published: 2015-03-05

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 184831826X

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From the author of the acclaimed The Epigenetics Revolution (‘A book that would have had Darwin swooning’ – Guardian) comes another thrilling exploration of the cutting edge of human science. For decades after the structure of DNA was identified, scientists focused purely on genes, the regions of the genome that contain codes for the production of proteins. Other regions – 98% of the human genome – were dismissed as ‘junk’. But in recent years researchers have discovered that variations in this ‘junk’ DNA underlie many previously intractable diseases, and they can now generate new approaches to tackling them. Nessa Carey explores, for the first time for a general audience, the incredible story behind a controversy that has generated unusually vituperative public exchanges between scientists. She shows how junk DNA plays an important role in areas as diverse as genetic diseases, viral infections, sex determination in mammals, human biological complexity, disease treatments, even evolution itself – and reveals how we are only now truly unlocking its secrets, more than half a century after Crick and Watson won their Nobel prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1962.

Assessing Genetic Risks
Assessing Genetic Risks

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1994-01-01

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0309047986

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Raising hopes for disease treatment and prevention, but also the specter of discrimination and "designer genes," genetic testing is potentially one of the most socially explosive developments of our time. This book presents a current assessment of this rapidly evolving field, offering principles for actions and research and recommendations on key issues in genetic testing and screening. Advantages of early genetic knowledge are balanced with issues associated with such knowledge: availability of treatment, privacy and discrimination, personal decision-making, public health objectives, cost, and more. Among the important issues covered: Quality control in genetic testing. Appropriate roles for public agencies, private health practitioners, and laboratories. Value-neutral education and counseling for persons considering testing. Use of test results in insurance, employment, and other settings.

Sex, Gender, and Epigenetics
Sex, Gender, and Epigenetics

Author: Marianne Legato J

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2023-06

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 0128239379

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Sex, Gender, and Epigenetics: From Molecule to Bedside explores our expanding knowledge of the science of epigenetics in which gene expression is modified as a consequence of small chemical additions to various components of the genome. The book provides an overview of the field, describing the epigenetic phenomena that unite biological sex and environmental experience to create the unique phenome of each individual. The book also analyzes the impact of ancestors' environmental experience on subsequent generations through the sex-specific transmission of environmentally induced epigenetic modifications. Here, international leaders in the field discuss both sex-specific normal physiology and the experience of disease, with chapters dedicated to fetal programming, the microbiome, cancer, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, embryogenesis, and oocyte aging, among other topics.

DNA
DNA

Author: James D. Watson

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 2017-08-22

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 0385351208

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The definitive insider's history of the genetic revolution--significantly updated to reflect the discoveries of the last decade. James D. Watson, the Nobel laureate whose pioneering work helped unlock the mystery of DNA's structure, charts the greatest scientific journey of our time, from the discovery of the double helix to today's controversies to what the future may hold. Updated to include new findings in gene editing, epigenetics, agricultural chemistry, as well as two entirely new chapters on personal genomics and cancer research. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative exploration of DNA's impact--practical, social, and ethical--on our society and our world.

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll
Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll

Author: Zoe Cormier

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 2015-03-24

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0306823942

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What led scientists to have acrobats copulate inside an MRI machine? Why do wordless patterns of sound send shivers down our spines and tickle ancient parts of our brains? How did a chemist's quest to create a drug to ease the pain of childbirth result in the creation of LSD? And did it change our understanding of the brain forever? From tortoiseshell condoms to superstar athletes on hallucinogens, science writer Zoe Cormier dissects these and other burning questions, amplifying them with insights from some of the world's bravest, cleverest, and downright weirdest scientists. Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll explores science at the edge, where scientists ask big, strange questions -- and sometimes experiment on themselves to find answers. It shines a light into the lesser-known corners of scientific research to gain insight into the nature of consciousness, happiness, and humanity. Not to mention our parties. Here are stories of unconventional scientists, innovative inquiries, hedonistic impulses -- and how the renegades of science have illuminated the secrets of our baser impulses.