Books by Subject
Books by Subject
DNA/Genes
Notable quote: James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, when asked how we as a society are going to react to issues raised by genetics -- stem cells, bioengineering, and the like: "Just let all genetic decisions be made by women." Discover Magazine, July 2003, p. 19
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
From one of the great iconoclasts of modern biology, an original, accessible
work that sets out, for lay and scientific readers alike, a new theory of how
species begin.
In this groundbreaking book, Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan present an answer to one of the enduring mysteries of evolution--the source of inherited variation that gives rise to new species. Random genetic mutation, long believed to be the main source of variation, is only a marginal factor. As the authors demonstrate in this book, the more important source of speciation, by far, is the acquisition of new genomes by symbiotic merger.
The result of thirty years of delving into a vast, mostly
arcane literature, this is the first book to go beyond--and reveal the severe
limitations of--the "Modern Synthesis" that has dominated evolutionary
biology for almost three generations. Lynn Margulis, whom E. O. Wilson called
"one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology,"
and her co-author Dorion Sagan have written a comprehensive and scientifically
supported presentation of a theory that directly challenges the assumptions
we hold about the variety of the living world.
About the Author
Lynn Margulis, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geosciences,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is a member of the National Academy of
Sciences and a recipient of the 1999 Presidential Medal of Science. She lives
in Amherst, Massachusetts. Dorion Sagan is the author of Biospheres and,
with Dr. Eric Schneider, Into the Cool: The New Thermodynamics of Life.
He lives in New York City.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
"What is life?" asked physicist Edwin Schrödinger in an
influential essay by that title published half a century ago. In this book,
Franklin Harold ventures no definitive answers about what he calls "the
supreme marvel of the universe." Instead, with wit and learning, he
surveys the advances in scientific understanding about the nature of life
since Schrödinger's time.
Harold focuses closely on microorganisms, which, he observes, do not often figure in popular books of biology, perhaps because most general readers associate them only with disease and not with their many beneficial contributions to the world's workings. In fact, he suggests, the answer to Schrödinger's question is likely to be found at the microscopic level. Current evolutionary models derived from the study of ribosomal RNA from hundreds of species of plants and animals now point to the development of life from some cenancestor in a setting billions of years old, one in which "microorganisms rather than dinosaurs fill the horizon." The identity of that ancestor is not yet known, he writes; it may have resembled a bacterium, or it may have been a loosely organized assemblage of protocells "engaged in the promiscuous exchange of genetic information."
No matter what it looked like, Harold notes in this instructive survey of modern biological theory, life probably originated in an apparently inhospitable environment, as studies of deep-ocean thermal vents and the lithosphere now point to, rather than in the oceanic "chemical stew" of old. It's a fascinating story, and Harold tells it ably. --Gregory McNamee
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Editorial
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Can you create life with just a taser and a bowl of soup? Most likely
not, unless you give yourself a few hundred million years to experiment.
Biologist Christopher Wills and marine chemist Jeffrey Bada show off the fruits
of research looking for signs of life elsewhere and clues to the origin of
terrestrial organisms in The Spark of Life. The writing is clear and
every concept is explained well--Wills's reputation for translating scientific
understanding into plain English is well-deserved, and Bada's insider status
with NASA provides insight not found elsewhere. They examine the field of
theories, from extraterrestrial origin to life spilling out of hydrothermal
vents to deep-crust genesis, and find strengths and weaknesses in them all.
Their own partisan stance has it that life began on the surface of our planet
through Darwinian-like processes operating on primitive self-replicating
chemicals. Though their arguments are fairly compelling, the jury is still out,
and will probably remain out indefinitely; science often balks at providing
explanations for unique events, preferring to stick to general principles.
Still, we can see that the problem is valuable because the search for an answer
turns up all sorts of unexpected scientific finds: RNA-catalyzed reactions,
Martian environmental problems, and natural selection of nonliving chemicals all
showed up amid these debates. While it won't settle the issues, we can be glad
that The Spark of Life explains them so clearly and primes us for the
research still to come. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to the hardcover
edition of this title
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What makes science happen? The confluence of politics, commerce, and
the age-old quest for knowledge is nowhere better seen than in the ongoing Human
Genome Project. Kevin Davies, founding editor of Nature Genetics, picks
apart the personalities and technologies involved in the great sequence race in Cracking
the Genome: Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA. Written not long after
President Clinton's premature announcement in 2000 of the Project's completion,
it assesses the state of public and private genomic knowledge during what Davies
calls "halftime." He is in a unique observational position; as a
prominent scientific journalist, he has had unparalleled access to the
scientific figures involved. Through interviews with HGP director Francis
Collins, rogue scientist-entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, and many other scientists
and insiders, Davies illuminates the often-tortured processes that contributed
to the speedy sequencing of most--but not quite all--of our genes in just a few
short years. Shifting styles characterize the different storylines:
technological, political, and intensely personal tales unite under the author's
direction without ever alienating the reader. The book is a bit softer on Venter
than many scientists (who may perceive him as traitorous or, worse, too hasty to
publish) would like, taking the position that his shotgun approach and
competitive spirit improved the project without sacrificing quality. Conversely,
Davies sits out the gene-patenting controversy, offering all sides a fairly
equal voice, but never quite finding sympathy with any of them. Summing up his
subject, Davies reports:
If the double helix is the prevailing image of the twentieth century, just as the steam engine signified the nineteenth century, then the sequence--the vast expanse of 3 billion As, Cs, Gs, and Ts--is destined to define the century to come.... The childhood of the human race is about to come to an end.
These are strong words, but few other fields provide a stronger basis for
such hope. Cracking the Genome gives us the chance to catch up with the
present while the future races on. --Rob Lightner
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Editorial
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Amazon.com
We've been under the spell of DNA for too long. Science historian and
MacArthur Fellow Evelyn Fox Keller makes the case for radically new thinking
about the nature of heredity in The Century of the Gene. This short,
magisterial treatise examines 100 years of genetic thinking and finds outdated
elements of Victorian beliefs still permeating our scientific writing. Despite
compelling evidence that cytoplasmic and other nonchromosomal factors play
important roles in development and even in the inheritance of traits, most
discussion still relies on the master-slave (or manager-worker) relationship
between the nucleus and the cell. Keller wants to move on; her proximate goal is
to proceed from talking about genes to talking about genetic talk, the better to
understand our biases. Her excitement at developments such as the Human Genome
Project, despite her initial doubts, is only heightened by the prospect of vast
stretches of uncharted intellectual territory. Ultimately, of course, her
program matches that of the scientific enterprise--to more fully understand
ourselves and our world. What comes after The Century of the Gene? It's
an excellent question, and one that can only be answered once we leave behind
the baggage of the past. --Rob Lightner
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Genome: The Autobiography of a species
in 23 chapters
by Matt Ridley
Paperback - 352 pages (October
3, 2000)
Harpercollins; ISBN: 0060932902
Other Editions: Hardcover
Editorial
Reviews
Amazon.com
Science writer Matt Ridley has found a way to tell someone else's
story without being accused of plagiarism. Genome: The Autobiography of a
Species in 23 Chapters delves deep within your body (and, to be fair, Ridley's
too) looking for dirt dug up by the Human Genome Project. Each chapter pries
one gene out of its chromosome and focuses on its role in our development and
adult life, but also goes further, exploring the implications of genetic research
and our quickly changing social attitudes toward this information. Genome
shies away from the "tedious biochemical middle managers" that only
a nerd could love and instead goes for the A-material: genes associated with
cancer, intelligence, sex (of course), and more.
Readers unfamiliar with the jargon of genetic research needn't fear;
Ridley provides a quick, clear guide to the few words and concepts he must use
to translate hard science into English. His writing is informal, relaxed, and
playful, guiding the reader so effortlessly through our 23 chromosomes that by
the end we wish we had more. He believes that the Human Genome Project will be
as world-changing as the splitting of the atom; if so, he is helping us prepare
for exciting times--the hope of a cure for cancer contrasts starkly with the
horrors of newly empowered eugenicists. Anyone interested in the future of the
body should get a head start with the clever, engrossing Genome. --Rob
Lightner
Hardcover - 352 pages (February
2000)
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Book
Description
A fascinating investigation into the relationship between genes,
language, race, and culture.
Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza was
among the first to ask whether the genes of modern populations contain a
historical record of the human species. Cavalli-Sforza and others have answered
this question-anticipated by Darwin-with a decisive yes. Genes, Peoples, and
Languages is a summation of the author's work over several decades, the goal of
which has been nothing less than tracking the past 100,000 years of human
evolution. Cavalli-Sforza raises questions that have serious political, social,
and scientific import: When and where did we evolve? How have human societies
spread across the continents? How have cultural innovations affected the growth
and spread of populations? What is the connection between genes and languages?
Always provocative and often astonishing, Cavalli-Sforza explains why there is
no genetic basis for racial classification and proposes that a comparison of
blood types is a far better means of determining "genetic distance"
and explaining linguistic and cultural differences. A panoramic tour of the
major discoveries in genetic anthropology, Genes, Peoples, and Languages gives
us a rare firsthand account of some of the most significant scientific work of
recent years. Enthralling, profound, and lively, this is popular science writing
at its best.
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Nanomedicine, Volume 1: Basic Capabilities
by Robert A. Freitas Jr
Hardcover - 509 pages
1st edition Vol 1st (October 15, 1999)
Landes Bioscience; ISBN:
157059645X
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About
the Author
Richard Lewontin is a leading geneticist and the author of Biology as
Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA and The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change and
co-author of The Dialectical Biologist (with Richard Levins) and Not in Our
Genes (with Steven Rose and Leon Kamin). He is Professor of Population Sciences
and the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and Professor of Biology at
Harvard University.
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The Triple Helix : Gene, Organism,
and Environment
by Richard C. Lewontin
Hardcover - 192 pages (April 15,
2000)
Harvard Univ Pr; ISBN: 0674001591
; Dimensions (in inches): 0.64 x 7.83 x 5.25
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 1,820
Book
Description
One of our most brilliant evolutionary biologists, Richard Lewontin
has also been a leading critic of those-scientists and non-scientists alike-who
would misuse the science to which he has contributed so much. In The Triple
Helix, Lewontin the scientist and Lewontin the critic come together to provide
a concise, accessible account of what his work has taught him about biology
and about its relevance to human affairs. In the process, he exposes some of
the common and troubling misconceptions that misdirect and stall our understanding
of biology and evolution. The central message of this book is that we will never
fully understand living things if we continue to think of genes, organisms,
and environments as separate entities, each with its distinct role to play in
the history and operation of organic processes. Here Lewontin shows that an
organism is a unique consequence of both genes and environment, of both internal
and external features. Rejecting the notion that genes determine the organism,
which then adapts to the environment, he explains that organisms, influenced
in their development by their circumstances, in turn create, modify, and choose
the environment in which they live. The Triple Helix is vintage Lewontin: brilliant,
eloquent, passionate, and deeply critical. But it is neither a manifesto for
a radical new methodology nor a brief for a new theory. It is instead a primer
on the complexity of biological processes, a reminder to all of us that living
things are never as simple as they may seem.
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Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food:
Taming Our Primal Instincts
by Terry Burnham
Hardcover - 224 pages (August
2000)
Perseus Book Group; ISBN: 0738202304
; Dimensions (in inches): 0.90 x 8.44 x 5.63
Editorial
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"Don't trust your instincts." Hardly the standard self-help
fare, to be sure. Arguing that Darwin has a lot more to tell us about ourselves
than Freud, Mean Genes is high on evolution and low on inner child. Deemed
"brilliant" by none other than E.O. Wilson himself, the book is the
work of two young Wilson disciples: Terry Burnham, an economics professor at
Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Jay Phelan, a professor of biology
at UCLA.
Burnham and Phelan divide life issues into 10 categories (debt, fat, drugs, risk, greed, gender, beauty, infidelity, family, and friends and foes), and then offer up a two-step guide to better living: "Step 1 is to understand our animal nature, particularly those desires that get us into trouble and can lead to unhappiness. Step 2 is to harness this knowledge so that we can tame our primal instincts."
Needless to say, Nancy Reaganesque bromides don't fit into the Mean Genes scheme of things:
"Just say no" to drugs is the simplest way to kick a habit. Unfortunately, this obvious and low-cost approach is also the route most likely to fail. For example, only one person quits smoking for every twenty who attempt to just say no. Raw willpower seems like a great solution right up until weakness strikes and we light up a cigarette or mix a margarita.Instead of slogans, the Mean Genes approach to overcoming drug addiction is to first recognize that "every person has strong, instinctual cravings for destructive substances." This, coupled with a thorough scientific understanding of a given drug's pleasurable effects on the brain, offers a more realistic course of action, such as finding a less harmful substitute for achieving a similar buzz.
Be it talk of weight loss, saving for retirement, or resisting the neighbor's wife, such practical, tough-love suggestions for subduing the beast within are provided throughout the book. Phelan describes how he instantly smears mayonnaise all over tempting sweets served with airline meals to keep from eating them during long flights, and Burnham writes of giving away his Internet access cable in order to free himself of a serious day-trading fixation.
The authors also rely heavily on findings from the animal world in stating their case, which makes for fascinating reading, if not always for the most readily transferable lessons to daily life. Consider, for example, certain frog species that "continue individual bouts of mating for several months. If people mated for a similar percentage of our lives, a single round of intercourse would last almost ten years." And then there's the famed black widow spider. "Shunning the more traditional chastity belt, the male breaks off his sexual organ inside the female, preventing her from ever mating again. When the act is completed, the female kills and eats the male."
Put off by all the sex and violence? Don't worry. There's also a nod to family values in the form of the Australian social spider. "Soon after giving birth to about a hundred hungry spiderlings, Mom's body literally liquefies into a pile of mushy flesh. The babies then munch on the flesh so they can start their lives with full bellies."
Mean genes indeed. --Patrick Jennings
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Editorial ReviewsDespite its ubiquity, the malady was, until recently, considered a
"backwater disease" to which little research attention (and funding)
was paid. Advances in gene research, some spearheaded by neurologist Rudolph
Tanzi, have led to a new understanding of the causes of Alzheimer's disease, and
new possibilities for its cure. In this well-written account of that research,
Tanzi and journalist-co-author Ann Parson examine the role of amyloid neuritic
plaque, "mucked-up, misfolded protein that fibrilizes and forms rock-hard
aggregates that the body can't get rid of." This plaque occurs in humans
and certain other carnivorous species (including bears and dogs), and it appears
to play a role in neurologic disorders of several kinds. Tanzi reports on recent
studies in the use of cholesterol-reducing drugs in lessening levels of
"brain dirt," as well as on research that suggests that cardiovascular
exercise and a diet low in animal fats can benefit the brain as well as the
body. He even cautiously hints that the conquest of Alzheimer's may occur in the
very near future. For the time being, his book provides a thoughtful portrait of
the illness and of the scholars and scientists who have devoted their lives to
combating it. --Gregory McNamee
Amazon.com
"Science seldom proceeds in the straightforward logical manner
imagined by outsiders," writes James Watson in The Double Helix, his
account of his co-discovery (along with Francis Crick) of the structure of DNA.
Watson and Crick won Nobel Prizes for their work, and their names are memorized
by biology students around the world. But as in all of history, the real story
behind the deceptively simple outcome was messy, intense, and sometimes truly
hilarious. To preserve the "real" story for the world, James Watson
attempted to record his first impressions as soon after the events of 1951-1953
as possible, with all their unpleasant realities and "spirit of
adventure" intact.
Watson holds nothing back when revealing the petty sniping and backbiting
among his colleagues, while acknowledging that he himself was a willing
participant in the melodrama. In particular, Watson reveals his mixed feelings
about his famous colleague in discovery, Francis Crick, who many thought of as
an arrogant man who talked too much, and whose brilliance was appreciated by
few. This is the joy of The Double Helix--instead of a chronicle of
stainless-steel heroes toiling away in their sparkling labs, Watson's chronicle
gives readers an idea of what living science is like, warts and all. The
Double Helix is a startling window into the scientific method, full of
insight and wit, and packed with the kind of science anecdotes that are told and
retold in the halls of universities and laboratories everywhere. It's the stuff
of legends. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to the mass market
paperback edition of this title
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Book
Description
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN. Presentation of
the author's theories on the relationship between genetics and human behavior
for the layperson. Discusses the Human Genome Project, nature and nurture, and
the effects of recent advances in genetics on society.
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Narrow Roads of Gene Land : The
Collected Papers of W. D. Hamilton : Evolution of Social Behaviour
by W.D. Hamilton
Paperback Vol 1 (March 1996)
Oxford Univ Press; ISBN:
0716745305
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Editorial ReviewsAvailability: Usually ships
within 24 hours.
Hardcover - 65 pages (October
1999)
Yale Univ Pr; ISBN: 0300080220
; Dimensions (in inches): 0.42 x 7.33 x 4.81
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Editorial
Reviews
"During
the past ten years, there has been a revolution in our understanding of
developmental biology, as scientists apply the ideas and techniques of genetics
and embryology to the processes of development. In this book, John Maynard Smith
gives an account of the progress that has been made in this field - in our
knowledge of both the development of individuals and the evolution of the
species."--BOOK JACKET.
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The Art of Genes : How Organisms Make Themselves
Hardcover - 384 pages (August
1999)
Oxford Univ Pr (Trade); ISBN:
0198503431 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.16 x 9.51 x 6.46
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 30,571
Book Description
John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK. Presents a picture of current knowledge of
how organisms develop and the implications of these findings on how we view
ourselves. Author uses key metaphors to illustrate what is going on as an organism
develops, while providing detailed explanations of the basic mechanisms involved.
For students, educators, and researchers in biology and ge
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The Gene Wars : Science, Politics and the Human Genome
Synopsis
Over the past decade, discussions
about genetic engineering have spread from research laboratories to the national news.
Supporters and opponents of genetic engineering agree that it has the potential to change
our lives more than any other technological advance. Written in a clear, nontechnical
style, this book delves thoroughly into the biological and ehtical considerations we must
confront in the face of genetic engineering technology.
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Amazon.com
We stand at the edge, it seems, of a biotechnology revolution that may
change society as fundamentally as has the information age. Philip Kitcher's
The Lives to Come explains what biotechnology holds in store and grapples
with the seemingly intractable moral and ethical questions that it raises: When
should genetic screening be applied? When is abortion based on genetic information
permissible? How should individuals' genetic makeup factor into their insurance
eligibility? Kitcher is able to achieve a rare synthesis between lucid explanations
of genetics as a science and expertly posed and argued questions that attempt
to define its appropriate social context. He explains the numerous benefits
that genetics proffers, but when it comes to addressing their impact he goes
far beyond mere platitudes, thoughtfully weighing the alternatives and making
concrete policy suggestions that address the fears--eugenics, economic stratification,
privacy--that inevitably surround any discussion of the widespread applications
of genetics.
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The Monk in the Garden : The Lost
and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel
by Robin Marantz Henig
Hardcover - 224 pages (May 2000)
Houghton Mifflin Co (Trd); ISBN:
0395977657 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.11 x 8.58 x 5.83
Book
Description
Most people know that Gregor Mendel, the Moravian monk who patiently
grew his peas in a monastery garden, shaped our understanding of inheritance.
But people might not know that Mendel's work was ignored in his own lifetime,
even though it contained answers to the most pressing questions raised by Charles
Darwin's revolutionary book, On Origin Of The Species, published only
a few years earlier. Mendel's single chance of recognition failed utterly, and
he died a lonely and disappointed man. Thirty-five years later, his work was
rescued from obscurity in a single season, the spring of 1900, when three scientists
from three different countries nearly simultaneously dusted off Mendel's groundbreaking
paper and finally recognized its profound significance. The perplexing silence
that greeted Mendel's discovery and his ultimate canonization as the father
of genetics make up a tale of intrigue, jealousy, and a healthy dose of bad
timing. Telling the story as it has never been told before, Robin Henig crafts
a suspenseful, elegant, and richly detailed narrative that fully evokes Mendel's
life and work and the fate of his ideas as they made their perilous way toward
the light of day. The Monk In The Garden is a literary tour de force
about a little-known chapter in the history of science, and it brings us back
to the birth of genetics - a field that continues to challenge the way we think
about life itself.
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The Perfect Baby : A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics
Altered Fates : Gene Therapy and the Retooling of Human Life
Finally, Lyon and Gorner have written a book that deals with the most profound
and compelling implications of this work: gene therapy, or the possibility of bypassing
symptoms of diseases by dealing instead with their root genetic. Although this
well-researched and comprehensive volume might be a bit much for the casual reader, it is
a masterful and colorful work filled with facts, personalities, and politics that would
appeal to anyone with a real interest in understanding the history -- and possible futures
-- of gene therapy. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
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Editorial
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Amazon.com
Imagine a world of invisible servants, nimbly trimming unsightly hairs
and whipping up a strawberry mousse while you relax on your 200th birthday.
Biochemist Michael Gross takes you there with Travels to the Nanoworld,
an explanation and exploration of machines so tiny and complex as to rival the
powers of the mightiest magician. The lively, compelling prose introduces the
subject bit by bit, sharing the secrets of physics, biochemistry, and
engineering with concrete examples, then moves on to current and future research
possibilities. You'll visit with scientists who are cooking eggs at room
temperature, creating microscopic "buckytubes" of rolled graphite, and
digging into our DNA to create the next generation of computers. Gross takes the
time to explain his points carefully, but this never detracts from the narrative
flow; furthermore, his attention to describing processes and personalities makes
the players and even the technology come alive on the page. Whether writing
about nanotech guru K. Eric Drexler's unabashed cheerleading or wise guy Richard
Feynman's eerie prognostication, he makes the stories so engrossing that it's
easy to forget that most of the advances in Travels to the Nanoworld are
yet to come. It's a great place to visit, and if we're lucky, we'll get to live
there. --Rob Lightner
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The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye
View of the World
by Michael Pollan
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Becoming Immortal : Nanotechnology, You, and the Demise of Death
Hardcover (September 1995)
Blue Creek Ventures; ISBN:
0964628201
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