Biological Sciences: Library Resources

Advances in Nano and Biochemistry: Environmental and Biomedical Applications gives insights into this advanced interdisciplinary science that encompasses the principles of physics and physical chemistry for the investigation of various processes and problems in biological systems. The book is a concise culmination of biophysical chemistry knowledge acquired through core concepts and advanced technologies for addressing emerging challenges in environmental and biomedical applications. Sections cover early diagnostic techniques and accurate treatment strategies using bioinspired, sustainable technologies, including nanomaterials, nanoenzymes, biopolymers, electrochemical biomolecule sensors, biocompatible magnetic nanomaterials, quantum dots and hybrid structures, and DNA nanotechnology.Other sections discuss advanced technologies for sensing and remedying environmental pollutants, including but not limited to, photocatalytic oxidations, gum polysaccharides based nanostructured materials, bio-inspired and biocompatible nanomaterials, hydrogel nanocomposites, and contemporary enzymes and nanozymes based technologies. Ultimately, the state-of-the-art chapters in this book will empower researchers to combine two complementary elements - chemical analysis use and biomedical applications.- Provides the fundamental concepts of biophysical chemistry and emerging technologies to solve environmental and biomedical problems- Describes the latest breakthrough research in biophysical chemistry and its applications to better understand biological systems- Supports development of the latest disease diagnostic and treatment technologies- Includes advances in physical chemistry and biology for the monitoring and remediation of environmental pollutants

Examining the racial underpinnings of food, microbial medicine, and disgust in America   American Disgust shows how perceptions of disgust and fears of contamination are rooted in the country's history of colonialism and racism. Drawing on colonial, corporate, and medical archives, Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer argues that microbial medicine is closely entwined with changing cultural experiences of digestion, excrement, and disgust that are inextricably tied to the creation of whiteness.    Ranging from nineteenth-century colonial encounters with Native people to John Harvey Kellogg's ideas around civilization and bowel movements to mid-twentieth-century diet and parenting advice books, Wolf-Meyer analyzes how embedded racist histories of digestion and disgust permeate contemporary debates around fecal microbial transplants and other bacteriotherapeutic treatments for gastrointestinal disease.   At its core, American Disgust wrestles with how changing cultural notions of digestion--what goes into the body and what comes out of it--create and impose racial categories motivated by feelings of disgust rooted in American settler-colonial racism. It shows how disgust is a changing, yet fundamental, aspect of American subjectivity and that engaging with it--personally, politically, and theoretically--opens up possibilities for conceptualizing health at the individual, societal, and planetary levels.

The authors aim to shed light on the practicality of using machine learning in finding complex chemoinformatics and bioinformatics applications as well as identifiying AI in biological and chemical data points. The chapters are designed in such a way that they highlight the important role of AI in chemistry and bioinformatics particularly for the classification of diseases, selection of features and compounds, dimensionality reduction and more. In addition, they assist in the organization and optimal use of data points generated from experiments performed using AI techniques. This volume discusses the development of automated tools and techniques to aid in research plans. Features Covers AI applications in bioinformatics and chemoinformatics Demystifies the involvement of AI in generating biological and chemical data Provides an Introduction to basic and advanced chemoinformatics computational tools Presents a chemical biology based toolset for artificial intelligence usage in drug design Discusses computational methods in cancer, genome mapping, and stem cell research

This text emphasizes the importance of artificial intelligence techniques in the field of biological computation. It also discusses fundamental principles that can be applied beyond bio-inspired computing. It comprehensively covers important topics including data integration, data mining, machine learning, genetic algorithms, evolutionary computation, evolved neural networks, nature-inspired algorithms, and protein structure alignment. The text covers the application of evolutionary computations for fractal visualization of sequence data, artificial intelligence, and automatic image interpretation in modern biological systems. The text is primarily written for graduate students and academic researchers in areas of electrical engineering, electronics engineering, computer engineering, and computational biology. This book: * Covers algorithms in the fields of artificial intelligence, and machine learning useful in biological data analysis. * Discusses comprehensively artificial intelligence and automatic image interpretation in modern biological systems. * Presents the application of evolutionary computations for fractal visualization of sequence data. * Explores the use of genetic algorithms for pair-wise and multiple sequence alignments. * Examines the roles of efficient computational techniques in biology.

The oceanographer Tessa Hill and the science journalist Eric Simons profile efforts to understand and protect marine environments, taking readers to habitats from shallow tidepools to the deep sea.

Legendary conservationists show us that we still have the power to prevent critical consequences of the sixth extinction in this game-changing book. Can we save threatened animals and ecosystems in the midst of a mass extinction? The answer is a resounding yes! Before They Vanish shows us how. In this wise and impassioned book, renowned conservation scientists Paul R. Ehrlich, Gerardo Ceballos, and Rodolfo Dirzo urge us to shift our thinking rather than succumb to grief over the losses that humanity faces. This comprehensive look at a crucial but often overlooked aspect of conservation--population extinction, or the loss of a species within a specific geographic location--guides us onto a new, hopeful path. The authors argue that conservationists have placed too much emphasis on the extinction of entire species, which occurs gradually enough that we only detect it in the direst of cases. By that time, meaningful action may be impossible. By shifting our focus to identifying extinction threats at the more localized population level, we can intervene more rapidly and effectively to prevent broader declines before it's too late. This change in perspective represents a critical step in saving these vanishing species; early detection and intervention may be our last, best hope for stemming the tide of this global crisis. Using examples from the worlds of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi, and microorganisms, the authors explain the concept of population extinction, its causes and consequences, and how to prevent the mass destruction of the amazing and unique creatures with whom we share our planet. This call to action is a must-read for anyone concerned with saving endangered and threatened species, our natural world--and ourselves.

Beyond DNA is a journey through uncharted territory, advancing new ways of thinking about evolution and adaptation. For nearly a hundred years evolutionary biologists have understood that evolution proceeds by substituting better genes for less good ones. But consensus is growing that this is not the whole story: geneticists are now revealing that spores, sperm, pollen and ova are packed with personalised genetic information that plays an important role in offspring development and has lifelong effects. This epigenetic - or 'extra-genetic ' -inheritance therefore makes significant contributions to evolutionary processes. In this highly accessible book, packed with instructive examples, Benjamin Oldroyd explains how a greater appreciation of the role of epigenetics is helping to solve a multitude of previously intractable problems in evolutionary biology - puzzles as varied as why invasive plants and animals can rapidly adapt to changes in their environment, how worker bees and queen bees can develop from the same egg, and why cancer becomes more common as we age. Beyond DNA concisely explains the mechanisms that underlie epigenetics, shows how epigenetic processes can lead to adaptation, and speculates on meaty issues such as the role that epigenetics plays in human health and happiness.

An exciting foray into Earth's inland waters, the remarkable species they contain, and the conservation challenges of protecting them. When we call Earth "the blue planet" we immediately envision the vast oceans that cover most of its surface. But seas aren't the only bodies of water that make Earth special. Millions of diverse inland waters rush, meander, and seep throughout the planet, teeming with life. These streams, lakes, wetlands, and groundwaters are home to thousands of species, many of which are extraordinary and some of which are critically endangered. In Beyond the Sea, ecologist David Strayer introduces readers to the world's most remarkable and varied inland waters, including massive lakes that fill only once a century, groundwaters miles beneath our feet that host unique microbes, volcanic lakes more corrosive than battery acid, and catastrophic floods that carry ten times more water than the Amazon River. Strayer also shares stories of the myriad fascinating species supported by these crucial ecosystems, featuring mussels that seduce fish, tiny tardigrades that cheat death, animals that photosynthesize, and plants that eat meat. Because humans have used--and abused--inland waters so intensively for everything from drinking water and fly-fishing to sewage disposal, many species around the world that depend on them are in desperate peril. Strayer explains the damage that humans have caused and offers solutions to sustain and restore inland-water ecosystems. Proving that the sea isn't the only aqueous realm of mystery and wonder, this book illuminates the secrets, science, and amazing denizens of the overlooked waters in our backyards.

Bioethics after God explores the relationship between morality and medicine in a society that has denied the existence of God. Medicine and bioethics are going through profound changes in the Western world. Practices that prior generations would have recognized as morally impermissible, such as abortion, eugenics, and euthanasia, are becoming central components of modern health care. Bioethics after God argues that in the process of rejecting its Christian roots, the Western world has upended traditional understandings of truth that are central to both scientific and moral judgment. The effect is felt throughout medicine as health care professionals increasingly work without the context and guidance provided by traditional Christian ethics. Cherry uses the conceptual framework of "weak bioethics"-bioethics solely informed by the stark limits of secular morality-to delve into shifting concepts of health and disease, the active embrace of ethically fraught practices, and technological developments such as brain transplantation and humanoid robots designed for sexual activity. The implications of a bioethics after God are wide-ranging and profound, and Cherry challenges us to consider the repercussions of pushing forward in medicine without the support of a solid ethical foundation.

Lipids are the major component of cell and organelle membranes. They are essential for maintaining cell integrity and defining distinct subcellular compartments but also play important roles in a variety of other cellular processes. Membrane fission and fusion and movement of lipid-enveloped vesicles underlie the majority of protein trafficking in cells and are critical for the function of synapses in the nervous system. In addition, lipids participate in numerous signaling pathways that connect cell-surface receptors with intracellular effectors. Written and edited by experts in the field, this new edition of the highly successful Cold Spring Harbor volume on lipids provides a comprehensive update on lipid cell biology. The contributors discuss the organization of lipids in cellular membranes, membrane biophysics, and the phase transitions lipids undergo. They examine tools for analysis of lipids and lipid modifications. They also review our understanding of lipid sorting and its role in maintenance of organelle identity. The volume covers the functions of lipids in various signal transduction pathways, as well as the roles of cholesterol, extracellular vesicles, and the importance of lipids in the unfolded protein response. Including discussion of the importance of lipids for synaptic activity and memory, it is an indispensable reference not only for cell biologists and biochemists but neurobiologists and any other researchers interested in the importance of lipids in cell physiology.

This book covers advances in nanostructured materials across a variety of biomedical applications as the field evolves from development of prototype devices to real-world implementation. It provides an in-depth look at the current state of the art in oxide nanostructures, carbon nanostructures, and 2D material fabrication and highlights the most important biomedical applications and devices of nanomaterials, including drug delivery, medical imaging, gene therapy, biosensors, and diagnostics. FEATURES Presents the findings of cutting-edge research activities in the field of nanomaterials, with a particular emphasis on biological and pharmaceutical applications Details finished and ongoing toxicity evaluations of emerging nanomaterials Offers a multidisciplinary perspective This book is recommended for senior undergraduate and graduate students, professionals, and researchers working in the fields of bioengineering, materials science and engineering, and biotechnology.

Comprehensive resource covering new technologies, materials, strategies, and recent advancements in the field of biosensing Biosensors summarizes cutting-edge technologies in biosensing, including gene editing (known as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat or CRISPR), quorum sensing utilizing inter and intra cell signals, two-dimensional (2D) materials and aptamer-mediated sensor designs, and more, with additional coverage of the latest materials, strategies, and advancements made in the field. Chapters are categorized on the basis of various bio-recognition elements that include aptamer, nucleic acid, enzymes, antibodies, bacteriophages, peptides, and molecular imprinted polymers. Plasmonic, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, colorimetric, fluorescence, electrochemical, magneto and piezo-electric biosensor sensing techniques are also considered. The roles of various nanomaterials, advancement in synthesis, signal enhancement strategies, and new trends for biomedical applications are also described. Current challenges, limitations, and future prospects to developing biosensors for point-of-care and clinical applications are also discussed. Written by three highly qualified authors, Biosensors includes information on: Diverse bio-receptors include nucleic acids, aptamers, enzymes, antibodies, bacteriophages, molecularly imprinted polymers, whole-cell, and techniques of immobilization Different transduction principles using bio-receptors (e.g., optical, electrochemical, piezo-electrical, and SERS) to detect microorganism, toxins, and diseases Nanomaterials synthesis, their role in biosensing, pros and cons of carbon, polymer, metals, metal oxides, and quantum dots-based nanomaterials in medical biosensing applications Biosensors is a comprehensive and complete resource on the subject for researchers and professionals in physics, chemistry, and biomedical science, research communities working in the fields of plasmonics, optics, biosensors, and nano-photonics, and students in related programs of study.

"[An] intriguing philosophical journey into a critical issue within evolutionary theory that for too long has remained unresolved." --Wall Street Journal Matt Ridley is one of our finest science writers. This book is a treat for bird lovers and evolutionary biologists alike." --Richard Dawkins, author of The Genetic Book of The Dead and The God Delusion The New York Times bestselling author of Genome and The Evolution of Everything revisits Darwin's revelatory theory of mate choice through the close study of the peculiar rituals of birds, and considers how this mating process complicates our own view of human evolution. In all animals, mating is a deal. But few creatures behave as if sex is a simple, even mutually beneficial, transaction. Many more treat it with reverence, suspicion, angst, and violence. In the case of the Black Grouse, the bird at the center of Matt Ridley's investigation, the males dance and sing for hours a day, for several exhausting months, in an arduous and even deadly ritual called a "lek." To prepare for the ordeal, they grow, preen and display fancy, twisted, bold-colored feathers. When achieved, consummation with a female takes seconds. So why the months of practice and preparation that is elaborate, extravagant, exhausting and elegant? The full answer remains a mystery. Evolutionary biologists can explain why males are generally the eager sellers, females the discriminating buyers. But they struggle to explain why, in some species, this extravagance goes beyond the mere gaudy, taking on bizarre shapes, postures, and behavior. And further, why these bird displays seem beautiful to us humans, a species with seemingly no skin in the game. Using an early morning "lek" as his starting point, Ridley explores the scientific research into the evolution of bright colors, exotic ornaments, and elaborate displays in birds around the world. Charles Darwin thought the purpose of such displays was to "charm" females. Though Darwin's theory was initially dismissed and buried for decades, recent scientific research has proven him newly right--there is a powerful evolutionary force quite distinct from natural selection: mate choice. In Birds, Sex and Beauty, Ridley reopens the history of Darwin's vexed theory, laying bare a century of disagreement about an idea so powerful, so weird, and so wonderful, we may have yet to fully understand its implications. 

A compassionate guide to the cancer journey, from screening and prevention to diagnosis and recovery. A cancer diagnosis can change our lives and the lives of our loved ones in an instant. It leaves us seeking answers to myriad questions and searching for hope. In The Cancer Journey, Dr. Chadi Nabhan demystifies this complex disease and offers a compassionate guide to understanding your diagnosis and treatment options. With decades of experience treating oncology patients, Dr. Nabhan answers your essential questions about cancer, including how it develops, how it is diagnosed, how it is treated, and how to prevent it from returning. He provides suggestions for how readers can prepare for their first visit to a cancer specialist, what questions to ask the health care team, and insider tips for getting second opinions and clinical trials. This comprehensive guide covers screening, survivorship, the art of communication, complementary and integrative medicines, and the future of cancer care. For those who may be at risk or are newly diagnosed, for family members and friends seeking guidance to help their loved ones, and for non-specialist providers seeking to educate their patients, The Cancer Journey is your one-stop-shop for all the information you need.

Cancer cells often display metabolic changes that distinguish them from normal cells in the body. Their preference for glycolysis over aerobic respiration even in the presence of oxygen was first observed over a century ago; however, it is only over the past two decades that researchers have begun to characterize all the pathways involved and investigate the therapeutic possibilities. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine reviews our understanding of the diversity of metabolic changes seen in cancer cells and their roles in sustaining tumor survival and proliferation. The contributors cover the new technologies being used to monitor metabolism in cells, the Warburg effect and the importance of mitochondria, metabolic signaling, and the importance of redox reactions and antioxidants. Other chapters examine the role of the tumor microenvironment, metal ions, and the immune system. The book also discusses the role of diet and how studies of patients are revealing how metabolic reprogramming occurs. It will thus be of interest not only to biochemists and oncologists but to all biologists interested in how the behavior of cells is regulated and coordinated.

Carbon is the only element that animates the entirety of the living world. Though comprising a tiny fraction of Earth's composition, our planet is lifeless without it. Yet it is maligned as the driver of climate change, scorned as an errant element blamed for the possible demise of civilisation. Here, Paul Hawken looks at the flow of life through the lens of carbon. Embracing a panoramic view of carbon's omnipresence, he explores how this ubiquitous and essential element extends into every aperture of existence and shapes the entire fabric of life. Hawken charts a course across our planetary history, guiding us into the realms of plants, animals, insects, fungi, food, and farms to offer a new narrative for embracing carbon's life-giving power and its possibilities for the future of human endeavour. In this stirring, hopeful, and deeply humane book, Hawken illuminates the subtle connections between carbon and our collective human experience and asks us to see nature, carbon, and ourselves as exquisitely intertwined - inseparably connected.

John Muir is widely and rightly lauded as the nature mystic who added wilderness to the United States' vision of itself, largely through the system of national parks and wild areas his writings and public advocacy helped create. That vision, however, came at a cost: the conquest and dispossession of the tribal peoples who had inhabited and managed those same lands, in many cases for millennia. Muir argued for the preservation of wild sanctuaries that would offer spiritual enlightenment to the conquerors, not to the conquered Indigenous peoples who had once lived there. "Somehow," he wrote, "they seemed to have no right place in the landscape." Cast Out of Eden tells this neglected part of Muir's story--from Lowland Scotland and the Wisconsin frontier to the Sierra Nevada's granite heights and Alaska's glacial fjords--and his take on the tribal nations he encountered and embrace of an ethos that forced those tribes from their homelands. Although Muir questioned and worked against Euro-Americans' distrust of wild spaces and deep-seated desire to tame and exploit them, his view excluded Native Americans as fallen peoples who stained the wilderness's pristine sanctity. Fortunately, in a transformation that a resurrected and updated Muir might approve, this long-standing injustice is beginning to be undone, as Indigenous nations and the federal government work together to ensure that quintessentially American lands from Bears Ears to Yosemite serve all Americans equally.  

Longlisted for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction An Economist Best Book of 2024 Exploring the most transformative breakthroughs in biology since the discovery of the double helix, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist unveils the RNA age. For over half a century, DNA has dominated science and the popular imagination as the "secret of life." But over the last several decades, a quiet revolution has taken place. In a series of breathtaking discoveries, the biochemist Thomas R. Cech and a diverse cast of brilliant scientists have revealed that RNA--long overlooked as the passive servant of DNA--sits at the center of biology's greatest mysteries: How did life begin? What makes us human? Why do we get sick and grow old? In The Catalyst, Cech finally brings together years of research to demonstrate that RNA is the true key to understanding life on Earth, from its very origins to our future in the twenty-first century. A gripping journey of discovery, The Catalyst moves from the early experiments that first hinted at RNA's spectacular powers, to Cech's own paradigm-shifting finding that it can catalyze cellular reactions, to the cutting-edge biotechnologies poised to reshape our health. We learn how RNA--once thought merely to transmit DNA's genetic instructions to the cell's protein-making machinery--may have jump-started life itself, and how, at the same time, it can cut our individual lives short through viral diseases and cancer. We see how RNA is implicated in the aging process and explore the darker depths of the supposed fountain of youth, telomerase. And we catch a thrilling glimpse into how RNA-powered therapies--from CRISPR, the revolutionary tool that uses RNA to rewrite the code of life, to the groundbreaking mRNA vaccines that have saved millions during the pandemic, and more--may enable us to improve and even extend life beyond nature's current limits. Written by one of our foremost scientists, The Catalyst is a must-read guide to the present and future of biology and medicine.

Unveiling the latest research in neurophysiology, Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Fifth Edition continues to stand as the only resource in the field. This book remains the standard for those who seek to explore the intricate molecular and cellular physiology of neurons and synapses.Notably, this new edition delves even deeper into the molecular properties and functions of excitable cells, offering unparalleled insights. In this edition, there are two groundbreaking chapters. The first reviews metabotropic receptors for olfactory transduction, while the second presents cutting-edge techniques for neuroscience research. Hypothesis-driven rather than a dry presentation of facts, the content firmly based on numerous experiments performed by top experts in the field, teaches students how to build and conduct intelligent research experiments.This book promotes a true understanding of nerve cell function and will be a useful resource for practicing neurophysiologists, neurobiologists, neurologists, and students in a graduate-level course on the topic alike.- Authoritative foundational coverage of basic cellular and molecular neurophysiology- Includes new chapters on metabotropic olfactory receptors for sensory transduction and experimental techniques used by neurophysiologists

Concerted efforts to deepen understanding of RNA modifications and their role in living systems hold the potential to advance human health, improve crop yields, and address other pressing societal challenges. RNA, which carries the information encoded by DNA to the places where it is needed, is amazingly diverse and dynamic. RNA is processed and modified through natural biological pathways, giving rise to hundreds, in some cases thousands, of distinct RNA molecules for each gene, thereby diversifying genetic information. RNA modifications are known to be pivotal players in nearly all biological processes, and their dysregulation has been implicated in a wide range of human diseases and disorders. Yet, our knowledge of RNA modifications remains incomplete, hindered by current technological limitations. Existing methods cannot discover all RNA modifications, let alone comprehensively sequence them on every RNA molecule. Nonetheless, what is known about RNA modifications has already been leveraged in the development of vaccines that helped saved millions of lives worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. RNA modifications also have applications beyond health, for example, enhancing agricultural productivity. Charting a Future for Sequencing RNA and Its Modifications: A New Era for Biology and Medicine calls for a focused, large-scale effort to accelerate technological innovation to harness the full potential of RNA modifications to address pressing societal challenges in health, agriculture, and beyond. This report assesses the scientific and technological breakthroughs, workforce, and infrastructure needs to sequence RNA and its modifications, and ultimately understand the roles RNA modifications play in biological processes and disease. It proposes a roadmap of innovation that will make it possible for any RNA from any biological system to be sequenced end-to-end with all of its modifications - a capability that could lead to more personalized and targeted treatments and instigate transformative changes across various sectors beyond health and medicine.

Chromatin: Structure, Function, and History covers the basics of chromatin biology, beginning with the discoveries that culminated in the recognition of the nucleosome as the basic subunit of chromatin. Chromatin folding, nucleosome positioning, and histone variants are discussed, as well as research on chromatin modifications and remodeling, which exploded in the early to mid-1990s and led to widespread interest in epigenetics. Considerable attention is given to methods and experiments that led to key insights and recent developments such as the use of genome-wide approaches and innovations in imaging approaches are also emphasized.By providing historical background together with detailed discussion of contemporary studies, the book aims to instill in the reader an appreciation not only of our current knowledge of chromatin structure and function, but also of the remarkable path that has taken chromatin to the forefront of modern research.- Provides a current, expansive, and well-documented resource on chromatin and epigenetics- Addresses the role of chromatin in transcription regulation and chromatin abnormalities in disease- Reviews the historical background of specific areas of chromatin research, enabling readers to understand how the field was born and to appreciate the discoveries and technical advances that have propelled it forward

Housewives, hard hats, and an Ohio town's restoration of the radioactive wasteland in its backyard In 1984, a uranium leak at Ohio's outdated Fernald Feed Materials Production Center highlighted the decades of harm inflicted on Cold War communities by negligent radioactive waste disposal. Casey A. Huegel tells the story of the unlikely partnership of grassroots activists, regulators, union workers, and politicians that responded to the event with a new kind of environmental movement. The community group Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH) drew on the expertise of national organizations while maintaining its autonomy and focus on Fernald. Leveraging local patriotism and employment concerns, FRESH recruited blue-collar allies into an innovative program that fought for both local jobs and a healthier environment. Fernald's transformation into a nature reserve with an on-site radioactive storage facility reflected the political compromises that left waste sites improved yet imperfect. At the same time, FRESH's outsized influence transformed how the government scaled down the Cold War weapons complex, enforced health and safety standards, and reckoned with the immense environmental legacy of the nuclear arms race. A compelling history of environmental mobilization, Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory details the diverse goals and mixed successes of a groundbreaking activist movement.

Comprehensive resource covering computational tools and techniques for the development of cost-effective drugs to combat diseases, with specific disease examples Computational Methods for Rational Drug Design covers the tools and techniques of drug design with applications to the discovery of small molecule-based therapeutics, detailing methodologies and practical applications and addressing the challenges of techniques like AI/ML and drug design for unknown receptor structures. Divided into 23 chapters, the contributors address various cutting-edge areas of therapeutic importance such as neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, inflammatory diseases, and viral infections. Edited by a highly qualified academic with significant research contributions to the field, Computational Methods for Rational Drug Design explores topics including: Computer-assisted methods and tools for structure- and ligand-based drug design, virtual screening and lead discovery, and ADMET and physicochemical assessments In silico and pharmacophore modeling, fragment-based design, de novo drug design and scaffold hopping, network-based methods and drug discovery Rational design of natural products, peptides, enzyme inhibitors, drugs for neurodegenerative disorders, anti-inflammatory therapeutics, antibacterials for multi-drug resistant infections, and antiviral and anticancer therapeutics Protac and protide strategies in drug design, intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in drug discovery and lung cancer treatment through ALK receptor-targeted drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics Helping readers seamlessly navigate the challenges of drug design, Computational Methods for Rational Drug Design is an essential reference for pharmaceutical and medicinal chemists, biochemists, pharmacologists, and phytochemists, along with molecular modeling and computational drug discovery professionals.

Why did white pine help spark the American Revolution? How did balsam aid the development of germ theory? What does hemlock have to do with making leather? In Conifers of the New England-­Acadian Forest, microbiologist Steve Keating explores how conifers influenced the course of human history, writing in a style that is both scientific and accessible. Keating's study focuses on one of the most forested and wild ecoregions in North America, which extends into New York, New England, and Canada and includes Acadia National Park. Here, spruces, firs, and cedars of the northern boreal forest mix with hemlocks and pines of more temperate climates. This combination helps create the appearance, aroma, and ecology of the region, and the trees' unique botanical traits have been ingeniously utilized by numerous peoples including the Iroquois, French explorers, beer brewers, and shipbuilders. Keating concludes with identification guides for the conifers and where they can be found in Acadia National Park.

CRISPR-Cas System in Translational Biotechnology discusses applied and translational aspects of the CRISPR-Cas technology. The book bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical solutions surrounding this emerging and impactful technology in several academic and industrial fields. It is split in five sections: CRISP-Cas fundamentals and advancements; CRISP-Cas in medical biotechnology; CRISP-Cas in environmental biotechnology; CRISP-Cas in food biotechnology; and biosafety, patents and commercialization of CRISP-Cas technology. Written by experts from diverse backgrounds, the content covers the subject and its impact in multiple fields.It is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers on bioinformatics, systems biology, and members of the biomedical field and biotechnology industry who are interested in learning more about CRISP-Cas system and its applications.- Discusses applied aspects of CRISPR-Cas technology and state-of-the-art technological/translational advancements in the field- Focuses on the CRISPR-Cas mediated genetic engineering for employment in various industries such as medical, agricultural, environmental and food- Encompasses knowledge on CRISPR-Cas commercialization, potential markets and associated ethical challenges

Many historical figures have their lives and works shrouded in myth, both in life and long after their deaths. Charles Darwin (1809-82) is no exception to this phenomenon and his hero-worship has become an accepted narrative. This concise, accessible and engaging collection unpacks this narrative to rehumanize Darwin's story and establish what it meant to be a 'genius' in the Victorian context. Leading Darwin scholars have come together to argue that, far from being a lonely genius in an ivory tower, Darwin had fortune, diligence and - crucially - community behind him. The aims of this essential work are twofold. First, to set the historical record straight, debunking the most pervasive myths and correcting falsehoods. Second, to provide a deeper understanding of the nature of science itself, relevant to historians, scientists and the public alike.

By the award-winning author of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: a history of humanity on the brink of decline. A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Selection We are living through a period that is unique in human history. For the first time in more than ten thousand years, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. In the middle of this century population growth will stop, and the number of people on Earth will start to decline - fast. In this provocative book, award-winning science writer Henry Gee offers a concise, brilliantly-told history of our species--and argues that we are on a rapid, one-way trip to extinction. The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire narrates the dramatic rise of humanity, how a scattered range of small groups across several continents eventually inbred, interacted, fought, established stable communities and food supplies, and began the process of dominating the planet. The human story is relatively brief--the oldest fossils of H. Sapiens date to approximately 300,000 years ago--yet the spread of our species has been unstoppable...until recently. As Gee demonstrates, our population has peaked, and is declining; our environment is becoming inimical to human life in many locations; our core resources of water, arable land, and air are diminishing; and new diseases, simmering conflicts, and ambiguous technologies threaten our collective health. Can we still change our course? Or is our own extinction inevitable? There could be a way out, but the launch window is narrow. Unless Homo sapiens establishes successful colonies in space within the next two centuries, our species is likely to stay earthbound and will have vanished entirely within another ten thousand years, bringing the seven-million-year story of the human lineage to an end. With assured narration, dramatic stories, and his signature sprightly humor, Henry Gee envisions new opportunities for the future of humanity--a future that will reward facing challenges with ingenuity, foresight, and cooperation.

The astonishing story of how animals use medicine and what it can teach us about healing ourselves Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature's pharmacy to heal themselves. Doctors by Nature reveals what researchers are now learning about the medical wonders of the animal world. In this visionary book, Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long and shows how the study of self-medicating animals could impact the practice of human medicine. Drawing on illuminating interviews with leading scientists from around the globe as well as his own pioneering research on monarch butterflies, de Roode demonstrates how animals of all kinds--from ants to apes, from bees to bears, and from cats to caterpillars--use various forms of medicine to treat their own ailments and those of their relatives. We meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms, sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites, and bees that incorporate sticky resin into their hives to combat pathogens. De Roode asks whether these astonishing behaviors are learned or innate and explains why, now more than ever, we need to apply the lessons from medicating animals--it can pave the way for healthier livestock, more sustainable habitats for wild pollinators, and a host of other benefits. Doctors by Nature takes readers into a realm often thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, exploring how scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs.

No detailed description available for "Do Plants Know Math?".

Invasive populations are ubiquitous and invariably carry consequences. A gene for herbicide resistance spreads; a tumour grows in a loved one's body; an agricultural pest sweeps across the country; a new pathogen proliferates around the world. All of these are invasive populations -- populations of genes, cells, or organisms spreading without control and having massive impact. Our collective desire to understand how invasive populations spread has inspired a rich body of basic theory developed from foundations laid in physics and statistics over a century ago. This theory has, however, often failed to explain real patterns in nature because a key consideration has been missing -- evolution. The last few decades have seen a growing awareness that evolution plays out on timescales that matter to many systems. The recent emergence of evolutionary thinking in invasion biology has generated important new ideas and has enriched our understanding not only of invasions but of ecology and evolution more broadly. This accessible textbook introduces these new ideas. It provides both a survey of the field -- a story about the history and development of our understanding -- as well as a synthesis of the new developments. There are many titles on biological invasions that typically take a purely ecological viewpoint, whilst those texts in which evolution does feature have tended to concentrate on adaptation to new environments. This book instead focuses on the intimate interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes as populations spread through time and space. The Ecology and Evolution of Invasive Populations is an advanced textbook aimed at graduate students and researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology seeking a broad, up-to-date, and authoritative overview of the field. The study of biological invasions is no longer a specialized sub-discipline of ecology; this book will also be of relevance to a far broader academic readership from disciplines ranging across physics, mathematics, and medicine.

The fields of molecular evolution, genome evolution, and evolutionary genetics are now well-established. Remarkably, however, although all evolutionary modifications begin at the cellular level, and despite the advances made in cell biology and microbiology over the past few decades, there is as yet no recognised discipline of evolutionary cell biology. The goal of this book is to help establish the foundations for this emerging field. Its principal aims are twofold: firstly, to promote an understanding among evolutionary biologists as to why the cellular details matter if we are to understand the mechanisms of evolution; secondly, to make clear to non-evolutionary biologists - cell biologists in particular - that evolution is not just a matter of natural selection and optimization, but a process whose reach depends on other population genetic features such as mutation, recombination, and random genetic drift. Although there are many excellent books on cell biology, microbiology, and biophysics, almost no attention is given to evolution. Likewise, although there are numerous evolutionary biology books on the market, none of them gives more than passing attention to details at the cellular level. Thus Evolutionary Cell Biology is genuinely novel, offering a broader understanding of evolutionary processes and an appreciation for the many interesting problems that remain to be solved at the cellular and subcellular levels. This advanced textbook is aimed at both cell biologists and evolutionary biologists. It will be accessible to upper-level undergraduates in biology, and certainly to graduate students in all areas of the life sciences. Professionals from a wide range of fields - cell biology, microbiology, evolution, biophysics, biochemistry, and mathematics - will be exposed to entirely new ideas not traditionally covered in their primary fields of expertise.

No detailed description available for "Evolution Evolving".

A compelling answer to an important question: Can past mass extinctions teach us how to avoid future planetary disaster? On its face, the story of mass extinction on Earth is one of unavoidable disaster. Asteroid smashes into planet; goodbye dinosaurs. Planetwide crises seem to be beyond our ability to affect or evade. Extinctions argues that geological history tells an instructive story, one that offers important signs for us to consider. When the asteroid struck, Charles Frankel explains, it set off a wave of cataclysms that wore away at the global ecosystem until it all fell apart. What if there had been a way to slow or even turn back these tides? Frankel believes that the answer to this question holds the key to human survival. Human history, from the massacre of Ice Age megafauna to today's industrial climate change, has brought the planet through another series of cataclysmic events. But the history of mass extinction together with the latest climate research, Frankel maintains, shows us a way out. If we curb our destructive habits, particularly our drive to kill and consume other species, and work instead to conserve what biodiversity remains, the Earth might yet recover. Rather than await decisive disaster, Frankel argues that we must instead take action to reimagine what it means to be human. As he eloquently explains, geological history reminds us that life is not eternal; we can disappear, or we can become something new and continue our evolutionary adventure.

A journey through the great mass-extinction events that have shaped our Earth. Drawing on the latest research, this timely and original book lays out the current scientific understanding of mass extinction on our planet. Cutting-edge techniques across biology, chemistry, physics and geology have transformed our knowledge of the deep past, including the discovery of a previously unknown mass extinction. This compelling evidence, revealing a series of environmental crises resulting in the near-collapse of life on Earth, illuminates our current dilemmas in exquisite detail. Beginning with the oldest, Professor Michael J. Benton takes us through the 'big five' die-outs: the Late Ordovician, which set the evolution of the first animals on an entirely new course; the late Devonian, apparently brought on by global warming; the cataclysmic End-Permian, also known as the Great Dying, which wiped out over 90% of all life on Earth; and, book-ending the age of the dinosaurs, the newly discovered Carnian Pluvial Event and the End-Cretaceous asteroid. He examines how global warming, acid rain, ocean acidification, erupting volcanoes and meteorite impact have affected conditions on Earth, the drastic consequences for global ecology, and how life in turn survived, adapted and evolved. Benton's expert retelling of the scientific breakthroughs are illustrated throughout with photographs of fossils and fieldwork, scenes from the laboratory and artistic reconstructions of ancient environments that bring us face to face with long-lost life forms. We learn how scientists have developed revolutionary new tools to uncover ancient extinction events and processes in forensic detail, how they model evolving systems, and how they are honing their methods to improve our understanding of the deep past. New research allows us to link long-ago upheavals to crises in our current age, the Anthropocene, with important consequences for us all.

Science and medicine have brought about many improvements in both the length and quality of human life. Nevertheless, at various times in history nations have rejected science in favour of pseudoscience. 'Faith in Fallacy' brings together various examples of state science denial and its consequences, examining what they have in common and how they differ.

In recent years, debates over healthcare have accompanied rapid advances in technology, from the expansion of telehealth services to artificial intelligence driven diagnostics. In this book, Shawn Bender delves into the world of Japanese robots engineered for care. Care robots (kaigo robotto) emerged early in the 21st century, when roboticists began converting assembly line technologies into responsive machines for older adults and people with disabilities. These robots are meant to be felt and programmed to feel. While some greet them with enthusiasm, others fear that they might replace a fundamentally human task. Based on fieldwork in Japan, Denmark, and Germany, Bender traces the emergence of care robots in Japan and examines their impact on therapeutic practice around the world. Social science scholarship on robotics tends to be either speculative--imagining life together with robots--or experimental--observing robot-human interaction in laboratories or through short-term field studies. Instead, Bender follows roboticists developing technologies in Japan, and travels with the robots themselves into everyday sites of care, tracking the integration of robots into institutional care and the connection of care practice to robotics development. By exploring the application of Japanese robotics across the globe, Feeling Machines highlights the entanglements of therapeutic practice and technological innovation in an age of more-than-human care.

How dominant culture--from sexism and homophobia to racism, capitalism, ableism, and more--has limited the science of animal behavior, and how we can free ourselves from these limited perspectives. In Feminism in the Wild, Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer reveal how scientists studying animal behavior have long projected human norms and values onto animals while seeking to understand them. When scientific studies conclude that these norms and values are natural in animals, it makes it easier to think of them as natural in humans too. And because scientists, historically and to this day, largely belong to elite, powerful segments of society, the norms and values embedded in animal behavior science match those of the already powerful. How can animal behavior science escape this trap of naturalizing dominant culture? Drawing from decades of feminist, antiracist, queer, disability justice, and Marxist contributions--including those of biologists--Kamath and Packer break down persistent assumptions in the status quo of animal behavior science and offer a multitude of alternative approaches. Core concepts in animal behavior science and evolutionary biology--from sex categories and sexual selection to fitness, adaptation, biological determinism, and more--are carefully contextualized and critically reexamined. This unique collaboration between an animal behavior scientist and a feminist science studies scholar is an illuminating and hopeful read for anyone who is curious about how animals behave, and anyone who wants to break free from scientific approaches that perpetuate systems of oppression.

No detailed description available for "Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses, and Quillworts of Eastern North America".

No detailed description available for "Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of the East Coast of North America".

Forensic DNA Applications: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Second Edition is fully updated to outline the latest advances in forensic DNA testing techniques and applications. It continues to fill the need for a reference book for people working in the field of forensic molecular biology testing and research as well as individuals investigating and adjudicating cases involving DNA evidence, whether they be civil or criminal cases. DNA techniques have greatly impacted obvious traditional forensic areas, but such advances have also positively affected myriad new areas of research and inquiry. It is possible today to think about solving forensic problems that were simply unheard of even a few years ago. As such, the book pulls all relevant research and applied science together into a detailed and comprehensive collection. Part I begins with the history and development of DNA typing and profiling for criminal and civil purposes. It discusses the statistical interpretation of results with case examples, mitochondrial DNA testing, Y single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and short tandem repeats (STRs), and X SNP and STR testing. It also explores low copy number DNA typing, mixtures, and quality assurance and control. Part II moves on to cover the various uses and applications of analyzing collected physical evidence, victim identification in mass disasters, analyzing animal DNA, forensic botany, and other unique applications. Part III is dedicated to the latest advances and developments in human molecular biology and Part IV looks at policies and laws and ethics governing DNA evidence, and its utilization in various cases and the courts. Forensic DNA Applications, Second Edition covers cutting-edge research and advancements in the field and is the most up-to-date reference available. Edited and contributed to by the world's foremost leaders in the field, it is a must-have reference for established professionals, and an essential resource to legal professionals--lawyers and judges dealing with civil and criminal cases involving DNA technology--as well as students entering the fields of genetics and forensic DNA analysis.

This textbook for graduate students presents fundamental and essential principles of forensic biology. It covers the theory, principles, and applications of forensic biology, focusing on the easier understanding of the applicability of the topics. It discusses the subject with an aim to enhance the theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject and explore the potentials of the fields in modern-day crime scene investigation for researchers and practitioners of the field. The book is supplemented with real-life case studies from national and international cases, significant to the discipline or unique approach to evidence analysis. Notably, the textbook discusses forensic sample analysis, emerging trends and new technologies, and legal and ethical concepts about forensic investigations. It further presents the history and development of forensic DNA profiling and the role of DNA databases in forensic investigations. It elucidates the applications of nanotechnology in forensics and examines the role of forensics in attributing acts of bioterrorism or bioproliferation.

"Accessible overview of gain of function, virological research that seeks to alter features of a pathogen, and what it might mean for the future of biological research"-- Provided by publisher.

Can experimenting with game design increase our chances of finding a cure for cancer? Cancer is crafty, forcing us to be just as clever in our efforts to outfox it--and we've made excellent progress, but is it time for a new play in the playbook? In Gaming Cancer, Jeff Yoshimi proposes a new approach to fighting an increasingly exhausting war. By putting the work of cancer research into the hands of nonspecialists, Yoshimi believes, we can accelerate the process of outgaming the disease once and for all. Gamers have already used "serious games" to discover new galaxies, digitize ancient texts, decode viruses, and solve theoretical problems in neuroscience. Cancer is a multilayered threat, and our best bet at overcoming it is via more minds working in concert. Gaming Cancer is an instruction manual for engineering games that motivate users to strain and sweat to find cancer cures. It integrates game design with research in cancer biology, data visualization techniques, and developments in cognitive science and AI while remaining sensitive to the limitations of citizen science and ethical concerns. Yoshimi sees in cutting-edge game technology the potential to educate and empower people to outwit cancer, an indirect route to richer science literacy that draws on the boundless resources of the mind. This book offers anyone invested in beating this seemingly intractable disease a concrete playbook that combines real science with creative vision in an effort to defeat the boss monster, cancer.

From a renowned biologist and best-selling author, a whole new way of looking at living organisms: reading them as documents describing ancient worlds.

Life on Earth has been hacked and genetic coding is understood. Transfer RNA (tRNA) is the core feature in evolution of translation (protein synthesis) systems. The pre-life sequences of the first type I and type II tRNAs are now known with certainty. Analysis of tRNA, therefore, provides clear insights into evolution of the genetic code, ribosomes and the origin of life.

An enchanting, beautifully illustrated guide to seasonal plants--showing the long history of herbal remedies and their uses today   "[A] charming almanac. . . . Hart-Davies, a writer and botanical illustrator whose watercolors enliven her book, . . . offers a lively combination of folk history and modern science; they overlap in intriguing ways."--Priscilla M. Jensen, Wall Street Journal   From sweet violets in spring to rosemary in winter, via marigolds, sage, elderberries, and hops, every season has its own bounty of herbs and plants.   Christina Hart-Davies presents a delightful guide to common plants as they appear throughout the year. Drawing on writers, storytellers, and poets from across the centuries, she examines the long history of herbal remedies. She shows how plants have been used for healing and unearths the stories and beliefs that surround them--including simple recipes for use at home.   Fully illustrated with exquisitely detailed watercolours, this is an inspirational guide to exploring our age-old relationship with plants. Readers will discover the hidden secrets of the plants that surround us and, through this, will be able to reconnect with our place in nature. We have relied on plants throughout our history. We still do, and, with luck, we always will.

Vaccines, vital for two centuries, govern our health, societies, and gatherings. A story at once of a few and one of all humanity, Life Before and After Vaccines portrays what life was like without the vaccines that many take for granted, highlighting the collective responsibility to preserve this crucial aspect of human safety.

Caught in the crossfire between climate deniers and catastrophists, the intelligent layperson is understandably bewildered when faced with the complexity of climate change. How To Think About Climate Change shows that economics provides not just a suitable, but an indispensable perspective to understand the root causes of the climate-change problem: scarcity of resources, externalities and free riding. Riccardo Rebonato argues that there are no silver bullets or easy solutions. However, he shows that the new-generation economics models offer a radically different insight about our best course of action from what most early models recommended - in particular, they suggest that fast and large-scale climate action can now be justified as the most cost-effective strategy without requiring the 'infinite altruism' of earlier models. Given the conceptual tools provided in this book, readers can decide whether they agree with these conclusions - and, if they do, what the most effective courses of action are.

This is a book about how Nahuas--native⁠ speakers of Nahuatl, the common language of the Aztec Empire and of more than 2.5 million Indigenous people today--have explored, understood, and explained the world around them in pre-invasion, colonial, and contemporary time periods. It is a deep dive into Nahua theoretical and practical inquiry related to the environment, as well as the dynamic networks in which Nahuas create, build upon, and share knowledges, practices, tools, and objects to meet social, political, and economic needs. In this work, author Kelly S. McDonough addresses Nahua understanding of plants and animals, medicine and ways of healing, water and water control, alphabetic writing, and cartography. Interludes between the chapters offer short biographical sketches and interviews with contemporary Nahua scientists, artists, historians, and writers, accompanied by their photos. The book also includes more than twenty full-color images from sources including the Florentine Codex, a sixteenth-century collaboration between Indigenous and Spanish scholars considered the most comprehensive extant source on the pre-Hispanic and early colonial Aztec (Mexica) world. In Mexico today, the terms "Indigenous" and "science and technology" are rarely paired together. When they are, the latter tend to be framed as unrecoverable or irreparably damaged pre-Hispanic traditions⁠, relics confined to a static past. In Indigenous Science and Technology, McDonough works against such erroneous and racialized discourses with a focus on Nahua environmental engagements and relationalities, systems of communication, and cultural preservation and revitalization. Attention to these overlooked or obscured knowledges provides a better understanding of Nahua culture, past and present, as well as the entangled local and global histories in which they were--and are--vital actors.  

No detailed description available for "Into the Great Wide Ocean".

Tracing over a century of transformation in the relationship between humans and our "best friend," from hunting companion to laboratory commodity to modern pet.   Intrepid, docile, and cloaked in coats of white, black, and tan, beagles were one of the most popular breeds in the United States in the twentieth century. From Snoopy to dog shows, many Americans loved and identified with beagles. But during the same period, as scientists searched for a standard research dog, beagles emerged as something else: an ideal animal for laboratory experimentation.   In Lab Dog, historian Brad Bolman explains how the laboratory dog became a subject of intense focus for twentieth-century scientists and charts the beagle's surprising trajectory through global science. Following beagles as they moved from eugenics to radiobiology, pharmaceutical testing to Alzheimer's studies, Lab Dog sheds new light on pivotal stories of twentieth-century science, including the Manhattan Project, tobacco controversies, contraceptive testing, and behavioral genetics research. Bolman shows how these experiments shaped our understanding of dogs as intelligent companions who deserve moral protection and socialization--and in some cases, daily medication. Compelling and accessible, Lab Dog tells the thorny story of the participation of beagles in science, including both their sacrifices and their contributions, and offers a glimpse into the future of animal experimentation.

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, it never occurred to Uche Blackstock and her twin sister, Oni, that they would be anything but physicians. In the 1980s, their mother headed an organisation of Black women physicians, and for years the girls watched these fiercely intelligent women in white coats tend to their patients and neighbours, host community health fairs, cure ills, and save lives. What Dr. Uche Blackstock did not understand as a child - or learn about at Harvard Medical School, where she and her sister had followed in their mother's footsteps, making them the first Black mother-daughter legacies from the school - were the profound and long-standing systemic inequities that mean just 2 percent of all U.S. physicians today are Black women; the racist practices and policies that ensure Black Americans have far worse health outcomes than any other group in the country; and the flawed system that endangers the well-being of communities like theirs. As an ER physician, and later as a professor in academic medicine, Dr. Blackstock became profoundly aware of the systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians continue to face. Legacy is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare. At once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a call to action, Legacy is Dr. Blackstock's odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician - to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024 * TIME's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 * New York Magazine's 10 Best Books of the Year * Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 * Smithsonian's 10 Best Science Books of the Year *  A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American, New York Public Library, Christian Science Monitor, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly * An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Year Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Nonfiction Prize * Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize * Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History "A masterpiece of science writing." -Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass "Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful." -Ed Yong, author of An Immense World "Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!" -Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction  Award-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom, "destabilizing not just how we see the green things of the world but also our place in the hierarchy of beings, and maybe the notion of that hierarchy itself." (The New Yorker) It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents. The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close. What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is. We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for--if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants--and our own place--in the natural world.

Beautifully illustrated and scientifically informed, a celebration of the astonishing diversity of sexual behavior and biology found in nature.   From a pair of male swans raising young to splitgill mushrooms with over 23,000 mating types, sex in the natural world is wonderfully diverse. Josh L. Davis considers how, for many different organisms--animals, plants, and fungi included--sexual reproduction and sex determination rely on a surprisingly complex interaction among genes, hormones, environment, and chance. As Davis introduces us to fascinating biological concepts like parthenogenesis (virgin birth), monoecious plants (individuals with separate male and female flowers), and sex-reversed genitals, we see turtle hatchlings whose sex is determined by egg temperature; butterflies that embody male and female biological tissue in the same organism; and a tomato that can reproduce three different ways at the same time. Davis also reveals animal and plant behaviors in nature that researchers have historically covered up or explained away, like queer sex among Adélie penguins or bottlenose dolphins, and presents animal behaviors that challenge us to rethink our assumptions and prejudices. Featuring fabulous sex-fluid fishes and ant, wasp, and bee queens who can choose both how they want to have sex and the sex of their offspring, A Little Queer Natural History offers a larger lesson: that the diversity we see in our own species needs no justification and represents just a fraction of what exists in the natural world.

No detailed description available for "The Lives of Butterflies".

Unveils how the immune system works and explores strategies for harnessing its potential for maintaining good health. Embark on a fascinating journey into the human immune system with The Logic of Immunity. B. J. Cherayil, an accomplished immunologist and educator, demystifies the complex workings of our body's defense system. This scientifically grounded book illustrates the inner mechanisms of specialized cells and molecules that safeguard our health, shedding light on how and why our immune systems can malfunction and lead to disease. Drawing from years of experience and expertise, Dr. Cherayil skillfully guides readers through the intricacies of immune responses and offers invaluable insights into the latest research-backed strategies to harness their power for maintaining and restoring well-being. Blending scientific knowledge with historical anecdotes, this work also introduces the remarkable scientists who have shaped our understanding of immune function. Complemented by detailed illustrations and a glossary of key terms, The Logic of Immunityexplains how the immune system interacts with other body systems, why some people develop autoimmune diseases while others do not, and how lifestyle factors may activate or suppress the immune system. Explore the enigmatic world of immunity, unlock its secrets, and discover the power it holds to protect our health.

WINNER OF THE 2024 ASJA BOOK AWARD, BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY  NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 BY THE NEW YORKER   NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE SELECTION From award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller comes the definitive story of the scientists who set out to answer two questions: "Why do we sleep?" and "How can we sleep better?" A century ago, sleep was considered a state of nothingness--even a primitive habit that we could learn to overcome. Then, an immigrant scientist and his assistant spent a month in the depths of a Kentucky cave, making nationwide headlines and thrusting sleep science to the forefront of our consciousness. In the 1920s, Nathaniel Kleitman founded the world's first dedicated sleep lab at the University of Chicago, where he subjected research participants (including himself) to a dizzying array of tests and tortures. But the tipping point came in 1938, when his cave experiment awakened the general public to the unknown--and vital--world of sleep. Kleitman went on to mentor the talented but troubled Eugene Aserinsky, whose discovery of REM sleep revealed the astonishing activity of the dreaming brain, and William Dement, a jazz-bass playing revolutionary who became known as the father of sleep medicine. Dement, in turn, mentored the brilliant maverick Mary Carskadon, who uncovered an epidemic of sleep deprivation among teenagers, and launched a global movement to fight it. Award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller weaves together science and history to tell the story of four outsider scientists who took sleep science from fringe discipline to mainstream obsession through spectacular experiments, technological innovation, and single-minded commitment. Readers will walk away with a comprehensive understanding of sleep and why it affects so much of our lives. "A propulsive, utterly engrossing history... None of it is simple and all of it is captivating."--The New York Times "Mapping the Darkness offers two narratives at once: a sweeping journey of discovery about dreams, sleep and the terra incognita of unconsciousness; and a wake-up call about the dangers of chronic exhaustion. It's time, Mr. Miller tells us, to take our sleep back."--The Wall Street Journal

Marine Fishes and Fisheries of New York documents the extraordinary diversity of fishes found within the state's inland marine waters and twelve nautical miles off the coastline. In this definitive resource for the region, Howard M. Reisman and Emerson C. Hasbrouck Jr. highlight 244 species alongside the fisheries and food chains to which they are vital. Species profiles describe distribution and annual movements, anatomical, physiological and behavioral distinctions, ecological roles, and more. This up-to-date volume also features: * Fishery management and sustainability practices * More than 150 drawings and a color gallery * QR codes linking to fish videos Marine Fishes and Fisheries of New York is essential for professionals and enthusiasts looking to discover the region's abundance of unique and important fish species.

For millennia, human societies have viewed the ocean as a dumping ground for waste products of all kinds. The sources of marine pollution are extensive, including oil spills, sewage, fertilizers, pesticides, industrial wastes, heavy metals, ocean acidification, plastics, and even invasive species, considered biological pollution. Yet, the solutions are not as clear.Updated to reflect recent research, this book discusses the sources of marine pollutants, their effects on marine organisms and humans, and how to reduce or eliminate them. Weis covers the aftermath of oil spills in addition to "emerging" topics like flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, noise pollution, and PFAS. A new chapter examines the prevalence of microplastics and how they rise through the food chain into human beings, along with their associated toxic chemicals. Additional chapters address the deadly effects of climate change in the ocean but also focus on actions that all people can take, citing recent environmental improvements as a cause for hope.

This text serves as an exploration of the beautiful topic of mathematical biology through the lens of discrete and differential equations. Intended for students who have completed differential and integral calculus, Mathematical Biology: Discrete and Differential Equations allows students to explore topics such as bifurcation diagrams, nullclines, discrete dynamics, and SIR models for disease spread, which are often reserved for more advanced undergraduate or graduate courses. These exciting topics are sprinkled throughout the book alongside the more typical first- and second-order linear differential equations and systems of linear differential equations. This class-tested text is written in a conversational, welcoming voice, which should help invite students along as they discover the magic of mathematical biology and both discrete and differential equations. A focus is placed on examples with solutions written out step by step, including computational steps, with the goal of being as easy as possible for students to independently follow along. Rich in applications, this book can be used for a semester-long course in either differential equations or mathematical biology. Alternatively, it can serve as a companion text for a two-semester sequence beginning with discrete-time systems, extending through a wide array of topics in differential equations, and culminating in systems, SIR models, and other applications.

A concise but rigorous textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students across the biological sciences that provides a foundation for understanding the methods used in quantitative biology. Biology has turned into a quantitative science. The core problems in the life sciences today involve complex systems that require mathematical expression, yet most biologists are untrained in this dimension of the discipline. Bridging that gap, this practical textbook equips students to integrate advanced mathematical concepts with their biological education. Mathematics in Biology covers three broad subjects-linear algebra, probability and statistics, and dynamical systems-each treated at three levels- basic principles, advanced topics, and applications. Motivations and examples are drawn from diverse areas of study, while end-of-chapter exercises encourage creative applications. Based on nearly two decades of teaching at Harvard and Caltech, this rigorous but concise text provides an essential foundation for understanding the methods used in quantitative biology. . Proven in the classroom . Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students across the biological sciences . Offers accompanying online materials including code and solved exercises

An accessible, beautifully illustrated celebration of insects--and their extraordinary contributions to humankind--from the hosts of the BBC Radio's Metamorphosis Insects outnumber humans 200 million to one, and their impact on people and the planet boasts a similar magnitude. Metamorphosis: How Insects Are Changing Our World investigates how modern entomological wonders contribute to the prosperity of humankind. Featuring more than 80 color illustrations that highlight the impressive variety and vibrancy of everything from beetles to blowflies, the book covers contemporary topics that emphasize the intersections between insects, technology, and the future of the planet, including: the role of insect metamorphosis as a barometer to track future climate change how invaluable the fruit fly has been to space travel how the hawkmoth's tongue is inspiring bioengineers to develop medical nanoprobes the way bee intelligence is shaping sophisticated flying robots for surveillance and rescue how a network of fly farms are set to lower carbon emissions  The study of insects has led to incredible strides in robotics, genetics, forensics, agriculture, medicine, aerospace, artificial intelligence, and biodiversity. Metamorphosis celebrates insect-driven progress and captures its sense of possibility with up-to-date research and scientific storytelling that connects readers to the bugs around them.

From heat waves and wildfires to flooding and record droughts, the impacts of climate change are now obvious. While the primary cause is the rise in greenhouse gases mainly from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, the complete story behind greenhouse gases also involves microbes and what they are doing in natural ecosystems. Although microbes contribute to the problem by producing greenhouse gases, climate change would be even more severe if not for other microbes that consume greenhouse gases. Understanding and solving the biggest environmental problem facing us today depends on the smallest organisms, microbes.

No detailed description available for "Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines".

A groundbreaking chronicle of scientific ocean drilling--a crowning achievement of the twentieth century--and how it shaped our knowledge of Earth's past. Under the radar--or, rather, sonar--of most people and many scientists, for the last six decades ships have plied the world's oceans, mining the seafloor for its secrets--and quietly resolving confounding geological mysteries. Continental drift and plate tectonics. The origin of the Hawaiʻian Islands. The erstwhile disappearance of the Mediterranean. The mystery of the ice ages. All are part of the story told by deep-sea drilling--and chapters in the history that unfolds in Mysteries of the Deep. In a series of vignettes ranging from the voyage of the HMS Challenger in the 1870s to the adventures of research ship Chikyū in the 2020s, James Powell recounts the surprises the seafloor has yielded to the probing of scientists. With a global, sometimes even extraterrestrial scope and a scientific reach that extends to every corner of geology and astrobiology, Powell's work recounts how cores extracted from the ocean floor have: ·      produced insights into microbial life on Mars and the end of dinosaurs' tenure on Earth ·      demonstrated that astronomical cycles control many geological events, and even human evolution ·      used a past episode of global warming to reveal the peril of high temperatures today ·      shown that global warming could melt enough Antarctic ice to drown the seacoasts The mysteries uncovered by deep-sea drilling, and covered by Powell in this eye-opening book, are many and various, often surprising and sometimes alarming--consequential not just for the science of the seafloor, but for how we learn about our planet's past and what we can do about its future.

The history of science is echoed in the development of its language and the names chosen for its technical terms. The Names of Science examines in detail how, over time, new words have entered the scientific lexicon and how some of them, but far from all, have survived to the present. Why is a transistor called a transistor and not something else? Why was the term 'scientist' only coined in 1834, and why was the name regarded as controversial for a long time afterwards? There is a story behind every scientific word we use today. In this work, Helge Kragh tells many of these stories, taking a broad historical perspective from the Renaissance to the present. By combining elements of linguistics with the history of the natural sciences including physics, chemistry, and astronomy, this book offers a new and innovative perspective on the historical development of the natural sciences. Following an introductory list of useful linguistic terms, the book is structured in six chapters, which cover important phases in the history of science, dealing with a vast range of scientific terminology from physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, to cosmology. It also considers, if only briefly, how English - and not, say, Latin or French - developed to become the internationally accepted language of science. Contrary to other works dealing with the subject, The Names of Science pays serious attention to the historical dimension of scientific language, and to the way in which scientists have, sometimes unconsciously, acted as linguists and neologists in their research work.

An internationally recognized scientist shows that Earth's separate continents, once together in Pangea, are again on a collision course. You've heard of Pangea, the single landmass that broke apart some 175 million years ago to give us our current continents, but what about its predecessors, Rodinia or Columbia? These "supercontinents" from Earth's past provide evidence that land repeatedly joins and separates. While scientists debate what that next supercontinent will look like--and what to name it--they all agree: one is coming. In this engaging work, geophysicist Ross Mitchell invites readers to remote (and sometimes treacherous) lands for evidence of past supercontinents, delves into the phenomena that will birth the next, and presents the case for the future supercontinent of Amasia, defined by the merging of North America and Asia. Introducing readers to plate tectonic theory through fieldwork adventures and accessible scientific descriptions, Mitchell considers flows deep in the Earth's mantle to explain Amasia's future formation and shows how this developing theory can illuminate other planetary mysteries. He then poses the inevitable question: how can humanity survive the intervening 200 million years necessary to see Amasia? An expert on the supercontinent cycle, Mitchell offers readers a front-row seat to a slow-motion mystery and an ongoing scientific debate.

From ancient acorns to future forests, the story of how oaks evolved and the many ways they shape our world. An oak begins its life with the precarious journey of a pollen grain, then an acorn, then a seedling. A mature tree may shed millions of acorns, but only a handful will grow. One oak may then live 100 years, 250 years, or even 13,000 years. But the long life of an individual is only a part of these trees' story. With naturalist and leading researcher Andrew L. Hipp as our guide, Oak Origins takes us through a sweeping evolutionary history, stretching back to a population of trees that lived more than 50 million years ago. We travel to the ancient tropical Earth to see the ancestors of the oaks evolving side by side with the dinosaurs. We journey from the oaks' childhood in the once-warm forests of the Arctic to the montane cloud forests of Mexico and the broad-leaved evergreen forests of Southeast Asia. We dive into current research on oak genomes to see how scientists study genes' movement between species and how oaks evolve over generations--spanning tens of millions of years. Finally, we learn how oak evolutionary history shapes the forests we know today, and how it may even shape the forests of the future. Oaks are familiar to almost everyone, and beloved. They are embedded in our mythology. They have fed us, housed us, provided wood for our ships and wine barrels and homes and halls, planked our roads, and kept us warm. Every oak also has the potential to feed thousands of birds, squirrels, and mice and host countless insects, mosses, fungi, and lichens. But as Oak Origins makes clear, the story of the oaks' evolution is not just the story of one important tree. It is the story of the Tree of Life, connecting all organisms that have ever lived on Earth, from oaks' last common ancestor to us.

Agricultural history has enjoyed a rebirth in recent years, in part because the agricultural enterprise promotes economic and cultural connections in an era that has become ever more globally focused, but also because of agriculture's potential to lead to conflicts over precious resources. History is replete with stories of armies standing or falling as a result of their supply of agriculturally produced commodities. Civilizations have likewise succumbed because of famine or crop-related pestilence, highlighting the critical nature of agriculture to both regional and global society. The importance and fragility of agricultural systems will come into much greater focus because of climate change in the twenty-first century, something farmers the world over have begun to reckon with. As its implications are manifested in droughts and floods that hamper crop production, urban people will become ever more conscious of their own reliance upon agriculture. The contemporary critical evaluation of agriculture reflects a transition from a framework that celebrated the positive aspects of the evolution of agriculture to one that also explores its negative implications, such as the emergence of intensive and extractive agriculture that has worked to the detriment of indigenous peoples and disrupted traditional political economies. The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History reflects this rebirth and examines the wide-reaching implications of agricultural issues, bringing together the many historiographical traditions within geographic regions across the world that intersect either directly or indirectly in terms of agricultural history. Contributors to this volume include historians from around the world and specialists in European, American, African, Middle East, Russian, and Asian history. Essays touch on the green revolution, the development of the Atlantic slave plantation, the agricultural impact of the American Civil War, the rise of scientific and corporate agriculture, and modern exploitation of agricultural labor. The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History is an essential volume for those interested in the myriad ways that agricultural systems affect our world.

An award-winning biologist and writer applies queer feminist theory to developmental genetics, arguing that individuals are not essentially male or female.     The idea that gender is a performance--a tenet of queer feminist theory since the nineties--has spread from college classrooms to popular culture. This transformative concept has sparked reappraisals of social expectations as well as debate over not just gender, but sex: what it is, what it means, and how we know it. Most scientific and biomedical research over the past seventy years has assumed and reinforced a binary concept of biological sex, though some scientists point out that male and female are just two outcomes in a world rich in sexual diversity.      In Performance All the Way Down, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard O. Prum brings feminist thought into conversation with biology, arguing that the sexual binary is not essential to human genes, chromosomes, or embryos. Our genomes are not blueprints, algorithms, or recipes for the physical representation of our individual sexual essences or fates. In accessible language, Prum shows that when we look closely at the science, we see that gene expression is a material action in the world, a performance through which the individual regulates and achieves its own becoming. A fertilized zygote matures into an organism with tissues and organs, neurological control, immune defenses, psychological mechanisms, and gender and sexual behavior through a performative continuum. This complex hierarchy of self-enactment reflects the evolved agency of individual genes, molecules, cells, and tissues.   Rejecting the notion of an intractable divide between the humanities and the sciences, Prum proves that the contributions of queer and feminist theorists can help scientists understand the human body in new ways, yielding key insights into genetics, developmental biology, physiology. Sure to inspire discussion, Performance All the Way Down is a book about biology for feminists, a book about feminist theory for biologists, and a book for anyone curious about how our sexual bodies grow.

Bacteria are the most ubiquitous life-forms on Earth, and are studied extensively to gain insight into their function and understand how they interact with their environment. In recent years, bacterial biophysics has added a new dimension to this research by using the tools of physics to investigate the quantitative principles that underpin these cellular systems. This book provides a modern and cohesive introduction to bacterial biophysics, with a focus on biofilms, slimes and capsules. In the first of three sections, key techniques and models from the physical sciences that can be applied to bacterial problems are presented. Section 2 then provides a bacterial microbiology primer for physical scientists and an examination of single-cell phenomena. The final section explores interacting bacteria and biofilms from a physical perspective. Ideal for physics graduates interested in this important field, this book is also relevant for researchers in physical chemistry, bioengineering, mathematics and microbiology.

The Physics of Protein Structure and Dynamics looks at various aspects of protein structure and dynamics from a physico-chemical point of view. It goes into some depth regarding the description of non-covalent forces that determine the relative stability of folded and unfolded proteins. Anharmonic protein dynamics involving motions between different minima of a rugged Gibbs energy landscape is described in great detail. The book combines various aspects of the protein folding/unfolding processes with an overview of intrinsically disordered proteins, which have attracted considerable interest of the protein community over the last 25 years but are thus far underrepresented in classroom-oriented textbooks. The book looks at protein folding and intrinsically disordered proteins as heavily interrelated topics that need to be viewed together. Furthermore, it presents some basic physico-chemical aspects of protein/peptide self-assembly into nanoscale fibrils. Intrinsically disordered peptides and proteins play a major role particularly in aggregation and self-assembly processes that lead to various diseases (Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, Mad-Cow). Therefore, the relevance of protein disorder for protein self-assembly deserves a closer look. Protein self-assembly cannot be separated from protein folding since it is frequently the product of misfolding. With regard to modern theories, the folding processes are linked to insights on protein dynamics and the discovered relationship between proteins and spin glasses.

Famines and other serious food shortages have been one of the scourges faced by humanity for millennia. Plants for Desperate Times is an introduction to the diversity of plant foods that have saved millions of lives during lethal food shortages. While not a field guide, it addresses questions about what famine foods are and why they are important. The work highlights one hundred plants. Each entry includes the common and scientific names, botanical family, distribution, use as a famine food and other uses, and nutritional information. The species come from across the botanical kingdom, demonstrating the diversity of life-saving plants and the human ingenuity of making what might seem to be inedible plants edible. Unexpectedly, important famine foods include alternative uses of important crops as well as native plants. Beyond a study of famine foods, the authors share why keeping an inventory of plant foods of last resort is so important. They help to build an understanding of little-known and underappreciated foods that may have a greater role in provisioning humanity in the future. As much as we may hope that severe food scarcity will never occur again, history suggests otherwise, and Plants for Desperate Times provides invaluable documentation of these vital foods.  

How animals conceive of death and dying--and what it can teach us about our own relationships with mortality When the opossum feels threatened, she becomes paralyzed. Her body temperature plummets, her breathing and heart rates drop to a minimum, and her glands simulate the smell of a putrefying corpse. Playing Possum explores what the opossum and other creatures can teach us about how we and other species understand mortality, and demonstrates that the concept of death, far from being a uniquely human attribute, is widespread in the animal kingdom. With humor and empathy, Susana Monsó tells the stories of ants who attend their own funerals, chimpanzees who clean the teeth of their dead, dogs who snack on their caregivers, crows who avoid the places where they saw a carcass, elephants obsessed with collecting ivory, and whales who carry their dead for weeks. Monsó, one of today's leading experts on animal cognition and ethics, shows how there are more ways to conceive of mortality than the human way, and challenges the notion that the only emotional reactions to death worthy of our attention are ones that resemble our own. Blending philosophical insight with new evidence from behavioral science and comparative psychology, Playing Possum dispels the anthropocentric biases that cloud our understanding of the natural world, and reveals that, when it comes to death and dying, we are just another animal.

A timely collection of essays on the pressing possibilities and risks of gene-editing technology. Scientists and genetic engineers are becoming increasingly adept at editing the human genome. How far can--and should--they go in editing future generations? In The Promise and Peril of CRISPR, editor Neal Baer brings together a timely collection of essays by influential bioethicists, philosophers, and geneticists to explore the moral, ethical, and policy challenges posed by CRISPR technology. We are at a technological and ethical crossroads in grappling with the impacts of genetic editing. Gene-editing technology holds the promise of curing more than 7,000 known genetic diseases. Yet with that promise comes the peril of using CRISPR to edit the human genome, which could not only lead to manipulating human evolution, but also to creating and releasing pathogens capable of wreaking havoc on human, animal, and plant life. Although CRISPR has already cured several genetic diseases, it could also be used to design biological weapons or to edit the embryos of people who can afford to purchase genetic "enhancements" for their children. What role can and should the public play in discussing the far-reaching implications of gene editing? What oversights should be put in place to prevent a rogue scientist from engineering another baby - as was recently done with twins in China? Essay contributors offer informed predictions and guidelines for how the uses of CRISPR today will affect life in the future. Decisions we make now may have unpredictable consequences for future generations. For anyone concerned about the uses and potential abuses of gene editing, these essays provide a critical and comprehensive discussion of the central issues surrounding CRISPR technology. Contributors: Florence Ashley, R. Alta Charo, Marcy Darnovsky, Kevin Doxzen, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Gigi Kwik Gronvall, Jodi Halpern, Katie Hasson, Andrew C. Heinrich, Jacqueline Humphries, J. Benjamin Hurlbut, Ellen D. Jorgensen, Peter F. R. Mills, Carol Padden, Marcus Schultz-Bergin, Robert Sparrow, Sandra Sufian, Krystal Tsosie, Ethan Weiss, Rachel M. West

A hands-on lab guide in the R programming language that enables students in the life sciences to reason quantitatively about living systems across scales This lab guide accompanies the textbook Quantitative Biosciences, providing students with the skills they need to translate biological principles and mathematical concepts into computational models of living systems. This hands-on guide uses a case study approach organized around central questions in the life sciences, introducing landmark advances in the field while teaching students--whether from the life sciences, physics, computational sciences, engineering, or mathematics--how to reason quantitatively in the face of uncertainty. Draws on real-world case studies in molecular and cellular biosciences, organismal behavior and physiology, and populations and ecological communities Encourages good coding practices, clear and understandable modeling, and accessible presentation of results Helps students to develop a diverse repertoire of simulation approaches, enabling them to model at the appropriate scale Builds practical expertise in a range of methods, including sampling from probability distributions, stochastic branching processes, continuous time modeling, Markov chains, bifurcation analysis, partial differential equations, and agent-based simulations Bridges the gap between the classroom and research discovery, helping students to think independently, troubleshoot and resolve problems, and embark on research of their own Stand-alone computational lab guides for Quantitative Biosciences also available in Python and MATLAB

Zombies aren't just the stuff of nightmares. Explore the fascinating world of real-life insect zombification. Zombies are all around us--insect zombies, that is. In Rise of the Zombie Bugs, Mindy Weisberger explores the eerie yet fascinating phenomenon of real-life zombification in the insect class and among other invertebrates. Zombifying parasites reproduce by rewriting their victims' neurochemistry, transforming them into the "walking dead": armies of cicadas, spiders, and other hosts that helplessly follow a zombifier's commands, living only to serve the parasite's needs until death's sweet release (and often beyond). Through vivid descriptions and captivating storytelling, Weisberger explains the sinister mechanics of nature's most cunning survival strategies, including the biological marvels and evolutionary intricacies behind zombie ants, mind-controlled beetles, and the fungi and viruses that reprogram their hosts' behavior. Blending scientific rigor with a flair for the macabre, Weisberger takes readers on a global journey--from Brazilian rainforests to European meadows--to uncover the dark secrets of parasitic manipulation. Her examination of these creatures seeks to answer fundamental questions of their existence: why is a bug's world full of zombies, why are arthropods so susceptible to this zombification, and could the creators of zombie bugs ever evolve to do the same to people? Perfect for fans of horror and science alike, Rise of the Zombie Bugs offers a chilling yet enlightening look at the hidden world of parasites. It's a must-read for anyone curious about the true terrors lurking in nature's undergrowth and the unnerving beauty of evolution's darker side.

RNA Methodologies: A Laboratory Guide for Isolation and Characterization, Sixth Edition provides the most up-to-date ribonucleic acid lab techniques for seasoned scientists and graduate students alike. This edition features new material on RNA sequencing, RNA in Situ Hybridization, non-coding RNAs, computational RNA biology, transcriptomes and bioinformatics, along with the latest advances in methods and protocols across the field of RNA investigation. As a leader in the field, Dr. Farrell provides a wealth of knowledge on the topic of RNA biology while also giving readers helpful hints and troubleshooting techniques from his own personal experience in this subject area.This book presents the essential knowledge and techniques to use when working with RNA for the experienced practitioner, while also aiding the beginner in fully understanding this important branch of molecular biology.- Presents the latest information covering all aspects of working with RNA, delivering a holistic understanding of this leading field in molecular biology- Builds from basic information on RNA techniques to in-depth protocols for specific applications- Features new chapters on RNA sequencing and RNA in situ hybridization- Includes new material on RNA clinical applications and innovations, including RNA therapeutics and RNA vaccines, with particular relevance to coronavirus- Comprises the latest developments in transcriptomes and bioinformatics, with new material on computational RNA biology, RNA CHiP analysis, aptamer biology and RNA epigenetics

Uncovering common threads across types of science skepticism to show why these controversial narratives stick and how we can more effectively counter them through storytelling   Science v. Story analyzes four scientific controversies--climate change, evolution, vaccination, and COVID-19--through the lens of storytelling. Instead of viewing stories as adversaries to scientific practices, Emma Frances Bloomfield demonstrates how storytelling is integral to science communication. Drawing from narrative theory and rhetorical studies, Science v. Story examines scientific stories and rival stories, including disingenuous rival stories that undermine scientific conclusions and productive rival stories that work to make science more inclusive.   Science v. Story offers two tools to evaluate and build stories: narrative webs and narrative constellations. These visual mapping tools chart the features of a story (i.e., characters, action, sequence, scope, storyteller, and content) to locate opportunities for audience engagement. Bloomfield ultimately argues that we can strengthen science communication by incorporating storytelling in critical ways that are attentive to audience and context.  

A pioneering scientist presents a mind-expanding account of the sociogenomics revolution, which promises to upend everything we know about human development. For more than 150 years, the question of nature versus nurture has been one of the most contentious issues in the human sciences. On the one side are "blank-slaters," who believe we are mainly shaped by our environment. On the other side are "hereditarians," who believe in the primacy of genes. From the start, the fight has been highly politicized and extremely bitter, given that it has implications for how we think about racial disparities, meritocracy, reproduction, and free will itself. In The Social Genome, pioneering scientist Dalton Conley demonstrates that this longstanding debate is fundamentally misguided. The true question is not nature versus nurture, but how nature and nurture interact to make each of us who we become. The Social Genome is a sweeping account of the sociogenomics revolution, which has, in the last decade, upended many of our notions about human development. Sociogenomics brings together advances in molecular genetics and traditional social and behavioral science. The key tool is the polygenic index, which allows us to analyze DNA to measure a child's genetic potential. Today, we can estimate a child's adult height, how far they will go in school, and their weight as an adult--all from a cheek swab, finger prick, or vial of saliva. Conley and other researchers are using this new science to shed light on the ways in which genes shape our world, influencing how each person both creates and responds to the environment around them. Conley reveals a world where children's DNA influences the nurture they extract from their parents; the genes of our schoolmates affect our likelihood of smoking as much as our own DNA does; and spouses' genes influence each other's moods and behaviors. Looking forward, Conley envisions a future where dating, education, public health, and other institutions have been radically altered by the sociogenomic revolution. As Conley argues, we should no longer think of nature versus nurture, but about how our genes seek the nurture they need to express themselves and how, in turn, our environments are made partly from the genes of other people. The Social Genome presents a nuanced, powerful perspective on individual potential and social dynamics and raises critical ethical questions about how we will navigate a future where we have access to far more genetic information than ever before.

Duana Fullwiley has penned an intimate chronicle of laboratory life in the genomic age. She presents many of the influential scientists at the forefront of genetics who have redefined how we practice medicine and law and understand ancestry in an era of big data and waning privacy. Exceedingly relatable and human, the scientists in these pages often struggle for visibility, teeter on the tightrope of inclusion, and work tirelessly to imprint the future. As they actively imagine a more equal and just world, they often find themselves ensnared in reproducing timeworn conceits of race and racism that can seed the same health disparities they hope to resolve. Nothing dynamic can live for long as a blank slate, an innocent tabula rasa. But how the blank slate of the once-raceless human genome became one of racial differences, in various forms of what Fullwiley calls the tabula raza, has a very specific and familiar history--one that has cycled through the ages in unexpected ways.

Tangles offer a precise way to identify structure in imprecise data. By grouping qualities that often occur together, they not only reveal clusters of things but also types of their qualities: types of political views, of texts, of health conditions, or of proteins. Tangles offer a new, structural, approach to artificial intelligence that can help us understand, classify, and predict complex phenomena. This has become possible by the recent axiomatization of the mathematical theory of tangles, which has made it applicable far beyond its origin in graph theory: from clustering in data science and machine learning to predicting customer behaviour in economics; from DNA sequencing and drug development to text and image analysis. Such applications are explored here for the first time. Assuming only basic undergraduate mathematics, the theory of tangles and its potential implications are made accessible to scientists, computer scientists, and social scientists.

In Then I Am Myself the World, Christof Koch explores the only thing we directly experience: consciousness. At the book's heart is integrated-information theory, the idea that the essence of consciousness is the ability to exert causal power over itself, to be an agent of change. Koch investigates the physical origins of consciousness in the brain and how this knowledge can be used to measure consciousness in natural and artificial systems. Enabled by such tools, Koch reveals when and where consciousness exists, and uses that knowledge to confront major social and scientific questions: When does a foetus first become self-aware? Can psychedelic and mystical experiences transform lives? What happens to consciousness in near-death experiences? Why will generative AI ultimately be able to do the very thing we can do, yet never feel any of it? And do our experiences reveal a single, objective reality? This is an essential book for anyone who seeks to understand ourselves and the future we are creating.

2024 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice Reviews The environmental history of "the most polluted lake in America." ​​ Native Americans have long regarded Onondaga Lake as one of the most sacred spaces in the continent, the place where peace between nations was achieved and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was created. In the mid-twentieth century, however, it acquired a wholly different reputation as "the most polluted lake in America." Toxic Lake is an environmental history of this complex ecological system, tracking how it was tarnished, the costly efforts to clean it up, and the controversies those efforts generated. Thomas Shevory argues that the history of Onondaga Lake mirrors the larger environmental history of the US, from colonization to the industrial era, resulting, eventually, in the rise of social movements and legislative action for environmental protection. Layered within this history is the dismissal of indigenous land claims and the marginalization of indigenous voices in clean-up efforts. Toxic Lake illustrates that the failure to prevent the environmental destruction of Onondaga Lake was part of a political climate which favored unregulated industrial production and urban growth, ignoring the destructive impacts on local environments. Shevory argues this larger failure was the result of an active process of privileging the economic interests of polluters over other business interests, expanding neighborhoods, and indigenous rights. He concludes with an investigation of New York's recent declaration that the clean-up is complete, questioning what exactly that means and whether the lake's status as a sacred space will ever be re-established. Toxic Lake is a compelling work of history, demonstrating the disastrous effects of pollution and the importance of community involvement in environmental activism.

A thoughtful consideration of the storytelling and science behind ancient DNA discoveries.   In recent years, discoveries brought to light through analysis of ancient DNA--or aDNA--have made headlines around the world. While ancient DNA studies may appear to focus on laboratory science and objective results, the findings have also relied heavily on storytelling and can be influenced by political interests.   In The Trouble with Ancient DNA, Anna Källén explores how the parameters of genetic science influence the stories we tell about our ancient ancestors, questioning what narratives we can and should take at face value. Through accounts of migrations, warriors, and figures like Cheddar Man, we see enticing and potent narratives that reach far beyond what can be gathered from the scientific study of molecules alone. Rather, by privileging certain narratives and questions--like those about sex or eye and skin color--our stories of ancient DNA are spun around the structure of today's methodologies, technologies, and popular and political interests. Källén considers how DNA is used to sensationalize stories, how its use poses questions of ethics and care, and who is responsible if stories of ancient DNA are adopted for dangerous political projects.  

No two people are the same, and no two groups of people are the same. But what kinds of differences are there, and what do they mean? What does our DNA say about race, gender, equality, or ancestry? Drawing on the latest discoveries in anthropology and human genetics, Understanding Human Diversity looks at scientific realities and pseudoscientific myths about the patterns of diversity in our species, challenging common misconceptions about genetics, race, and evolution and their role in shaping human life today. By examining nine counterexamples drawn from popular scientific ideas, that is to say, examinations of what we are not, this book leads the reader to an appreciation of what we are. We are hybrids with often inseparable natural and cultural aspects, formed of natural and cultural histories, and evolved from remote ape and recent human ancestors. This book is a must for anyone curious about human genetics, human evolution, and human diversity.

There are arguably few areas of science more fiercely contested than the question of what makes us who we are. Are we products of our environments or our genes? Is nature the governing force behind our behaviour or is it nurture? While it is now widely agreed that it is a mixture of both, discussions continue as to which is the dominant influence. This unique volume presents a clear explanation of heritability, the ongoing nature versus nurture debate and the evidence that is currently available. Starting at the beginning of the modern nature-nurture debate, with Darwin and Galton, this book describes how evolution posed a challenge to humanity by demonstrating that humans are animals, and how modern social science was necessitated when humans became an object of natural science. It clearly sets out the most common misconceptions such as the idea that heritability means that a trait is 'genetic' or that it is a justification for eugenics.

Since fracking emerged as a way of extracting natural gas, through intense deep drilling and the use of millions of gallons of water and chemicals to fracture shale, it has been controversial. It is perceived in different ways by different people--by some as an opportunity for increased resources and possibly jobs and other income; by others as a public health and environmental threat; and for many, an unknown. Richard Buttny, a scholar who works on rhetoric and discursive practices, read a story in his local paper in New York about hydrofracking coming to his area and had to research what it was, and what it could mean for his community. Soon he joined neighbors in fighting to have the practice banned state-wide. At the same time, he turned his scholarly eye to the messaging from both sides of the fight, using first-person accounts, interviews, and media coverage. The activists fighting fracking won. New York is now the only state in the US with sizable deposits of natural gas that has banned hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Unfracked explains the competing rhetoric and discourses on fracking among New York-based advocates, experts, the grassroots, and political officials. Buttny examines how these positions evolved over time and how eventually the state arrived at a decision to ban this extractive technology. His accessible approach provides both a historical recounting of the key events of this seven-year conflict, along with four in-depth case studies: a grassroots citizen group, a public hearing with medical physicians, a key intergovernmental hearing, and a formal debate among experts. The result is a look at a very recent, important historical moment and a useful examination of environmental activist and fossil fuel advocate rhetoric around an issue that continues to cause debate nationwide.  

A geneticist and internationally recognized anti-racism educator provides a powerful, science-based rebuttal to common fallacies about human difference. Well-meaning physicians, parents, and even scientists today often spread misinformation about what biology can and can't tell us about our bodies, minds, and identities. In this accessible, myth-busting book, geneticist Shoumita Dasgupta draws on the latest science to correct common misconceptions about how much of our social identities are actually based in genetics. Dasgupta weaves together history, current affairs, and cutting-edge science to break down how genetic concepts are misused and how we can approach scientific evidence in a socially responsible way. With a unifying and intersectional approach disentangling biology from bigotry, the book moves beyond race and gender to incorporate categories like sexual orientation, disability, and class. Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins is an invaluable, empowering resource for biologists, geneticists, science educators, and anyone working against bias in their community.

"Weaving together memories from her life on the lakes with nearly fifty years of environmental policy advocacy work, Elder provides an insider's perspective into the quest to protect the Great Lakes and surrounding public lands, from past battles to protect Michigan wilderness and establish the region's national lakeshores to present fights against toxic pollution and climate change"-- Provided by publisher.

The globe-trotting tales of five women who fought for the right to enjoy the wild places of the earth. For millennia the 'wild' was a place heroic men went on epic quests. Women were prevented from joining them, either through physical control or powerful myths about what would happen if they ventured beyond the city wall or village boundary. So how did women claim their place in the remote and lovely parts of our planet? In Wildly different, historian Sarah Lonsdale traces the lives of five women who fought for the right to work in, enjoy and help to save the earth's wild places. We'll meet Mina Hubbard, who outraged the exploration community when she stepped into a canoe in northern Labrador. Evelyn Cheesman, who became the first female keeper of insects at London Zoo. Dorothy Pilley, who shocked polite society by donning men's climbing breeches. Ethel Haythornthwaite, who helped make the Peak District Britain's first National Park. And Wangari Maathai, who started a movement to plant millions of trees across sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on interviews with Sir David Attenborough, Wangari Maathai's daughter and others, Lonsdale recounts the women's adventures across five continents. Evocative and inspiring, this book shows how women can be 'wildly different'.