The Vital Question


Book Description

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




Expertise


Book Description

This is a collective study of philosophical questions to do with experts and expertise, such as: What is an expert? Who decides who the experts are? Should we always defer to experts? How should expertise inform public policy? What happens when the experts disagree? Must experts be unbiased? Does it matter what the source of the expertise is?




Nonsense on Stilts


Book Description

“This crash course in critical thinking . . . includes handy rules for evaluating the confused public discourse on climate change, evolution, and even UFOs.” —Discover Recent polls suggest that fewer than forty percent of Americans believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution, despite it being one of science’s best-established findings. Parents still refuse to vaccinate their children for fear it causes autism, though this link has been consistently disproved. And about forty percent of Americans believe that the threat of global warming is exaggerated, including many political leaders. In this era of fake news and alternative facts, there is more bunk than ever. But why do people believe in it? And what causes them to embrace such pseudoscientific beliefs and practices? In this fully revised second edition, noted skeptic Massimo Pigliucci sets out to separate the fact from the fantasy in an entertaining exploration of the nature of science, the borderlands of fringe science, and—borrowing a famous phrase from philosopher Jeremy Bentham—the nonsense on stilts. Presenting case studies on a number of controversial topics, Pigliucci cuts through the ambiguity surrounding science to look more closely at how science is conducted, how it is disseminated, how it is interpreted, and what it means to our society. The result is in many ways a “taxonomy of bunk” that explores the intersection of science and culture at large. Broad in scope and implication, Nonsense on Stilts is a captivating guide for the intelligent citizen who wishes to make up her own mind while navigating the perilous debates that will shape the future of our planet. “Brilliant . . . required reading for, well, everyone.” —New Scientist




Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry. Personal Recollections. IV


Book Description

The editors invited selected authors who had participated in or observed developments in biochemistry and molecular biology, particularly in the second half of this century, to record their personal recollections of the times and circumstances in which they worked. Having been given free reign, both content and style of the contruibutions reflect the flavour of the personality of the author.The book reflects the explosive development of biochemistry and molecular biology and related sciences that had led to the almost unique situation of these fields coming of age at a time when their founding fathers, or their scientific children, were alive and well.The contributions in this volume encompass a wide variety of experiences in many different countries and in very different fields of biochemistry.




Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry


Book Description

Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry: Personal Recollections, I presents selected topics in the history of biochemistry based on the authors' personal recollections. These topics range from the isolation of Cori ester and the discovery of sugar nucleotides to the work of Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861-1947). Ion-coupled membrane processes are also discussed, along with fructose and fructose-2,6-bisphosphateas well as lysosomes and glycogen. Comprised of 12 chapters, this volume begins with the discovery of Cori ester and the concept of phosphorolysis before turning to the discovery of sugar nucleotides and research on ion-coupled membrane processes. The reader is then introduced to studies of fructose, fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, lysosomes, and glycogen; the contributions of Frederick Gowland Hopkins in biochemistry; and a short autobiography of Juda Hirsch Quastel, with emphasis on his research work on the concept of active centers as a possible explanation of enzyme action and his investigation of the effects of malonic acid and substituted malonic acids on bacterial dehydrogenases. The remaining chapters focus on a biochemist's approach to autopharmacology; the early development of modern protein chemistry in Uppsala, Sweden; and the biographies of two Russian scientists, A. N. Bach and Sergei E. Severin. This monograph will be of interest to students, practitioners, and researchers in the field of biochemistry.




From Gene to Protein: Translation into Biotechnology


Book Description

From Gene to Protein: Translation into Biotechnology is the 15th volume in the continuing series under the title ""Miami Winter Symposia"". The theme of the symposium is the translation of the basic research findings into the practical application of biotechnology. This book summarizes methodology and its applications that lie behind the practical innovations. The book starts with reviews of techniques of eukaryotic cell culture, hybridoma technology and uses, and the in vitro synthesis of DNA and its use in the generation of protein analogs. Considerable space is devoted to development of monoclonal antibodies that promises to be the dominating tool of medical technology, both for diagnosis and therapy. Cloning into eukaryotic cells and methods of increasing the levels of gene expression are included. These topics reflect areas of intensive research that have important commercial and clinical value. Core chapters describe biological activities of cloned gene products, including reports on trials with human subjects of interferon, human insulin, and growth hormone. A panel session on horizons in biotechnology is also provided, looking forward to the directions of future research and its applications. Biotechnologists, cell biologists, scientists, researchers, teachers, and students will greatly benefit from this book.







Seduced by the Night


Book Description

With a powerful, sensual style reminiscent of ChristineFeehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon, Robin T. Popp delivers a spellbindingromance between a man who hunts vampires and the woman who'scaptured his heart.




Proxima b


Book Description

One day not too far from now there will be too many people on this planet. When that day comes, what will we do? Jerry, Michael, Emily, Amelia, Abigail and David receive their answer in the form of a letter. Proxima B is waiting for them and is going to expose their differences and their fears, which will let them make unexpected choices. Sometimes, a more obvious answer is not more predictable. Co-authored science fiction novel about a space mission that leads a group of colonists to land on Proxima b, which is an exoplanet in the habitable zone of the red dwarf called Proxima Centauri and whose distance from the sun is 4.24 light years. The year is 2099. Due to world's pollution, the excessive number of inhabitants, the subsequent lack of resources and other reasons, Earth is no longer fit to live in. The only hope is to try to reach what appears to be a ”second possibility”, Proxima b, indeed. This is why New Nasa Corporated is planning a mission called ”For everyone's sake!” that imposes the recruitment of several practitioners in their own field, including biologists, doctors, chemists, engineers and soldiers. These include Jerry, Michael, Emily, Amelia, Abigail and David, in addition to Matthew Ross, who is the captain of one of the three mother ships (the MATERs) that after the ”new colonizers” have been trained leave Earth and manage to reach the new planet through a wormhole. But during space travel something does not go as planned. Terrestrial beings find something different from what they expected on Proxima… Translator: Federico Favaro PUBLISHER: TEKTIME




Reflections on a Century of Malaria Biochemistry


Book Description

Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases and an enormous public health problem. Each year it causes disease in approximately 650 million people and kills between 1 and 3 million, most of them young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. This book provides an overview of the research that has been done in malaria biochemistry in the quest to find a cure. It discusses how our understanding has helped us to develop better diagnostics and novel chemotherapies. Researchers will find having all of this information in one volume, annotated with personal reflections from a leader in the field, invaluable given the big push being made on various fronts to use the latest drug discovery tools to attack malaria and other developing country diseases. - Reviews the past 100 years of malaria biochemistry research providing researchers with an overview of the investigations that have been undertaken in this field - Chronicles both biochemical successes and failures