Human body - Literature Subject

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Medical Information Science Reference; first edition (July 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616920041
• ISBN-13: 978-1616920043
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 8.9 x 11.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,208,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

At the beginning of this century enormous progress had been made in genetics. The Human Genome Project finished sequencing human DNA. It seemed it was only a matter of time until we had all the answers to the secrets of life on this planet. The cutting-edge of biology, however, is telling us that we still dont even know all of the questions. How is it that, despite each cell in your body carrying exactly the same DNA, you dont have teeth growing out of your eyeballs or toenails on your liver? How is it that identical twins share exactly the same DNA and yet can exhibit dramatic differences in the way that they live and grow? It turns out that cells read the genetic code in DNA more like a script to be interpreted than a mould that replicates the same result each time. This is epigenetics and its the fastest-moving field in biology today. The Epigenetics Revolution traces the thrilling path this discipline has taken over the last twenty years. Biologist Nessa Carey deftly explains such diverse phenomena as how queen bees and ants control their colonies, why tortoiseshell cats are always female, why some plants need a period of cold before they can flower, why we age, develop disease and become addicted to drugs, and much more. Most excitingly, Carey reveals the amazing possibilities for humankind that epigenetics offers for us all - and in the surprisingly near future.

• File Size: 2798 KB
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Publisher: Icon Books Ltd (September 1, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00JFVOLZK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
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• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,331 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Basic Science > Genetics
  • #16 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Genetics
  • #42 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Evolution

This is one of those books that introduces an entirely new and fascinating topic. A similar work would be Chaos: Making a New Science which introduced the concepts of chaotic dynamical systems at a time when even many practitioners of the sciences would not have heard of it.

Similarly, this book introduces the discoveries in epigenetics (epi- meaning "on", or a layer on top of classical genetics) and pretty much all of this will be new information unless you have been actively working in the field of cell biology over the past few years.

The book talks about the paradigm shift that is occurring as cell biologists are realizing that this epigenetic information is as complex and important to the correct function of life as the underlying DNA genome, and even allows for Lamarckian inheritance in certain cases where an offsprings own epigenetic information and phenotype can be influenced by that of the parents, meaning that some environmental effects in a parents life can directly influence future generations.

Also much of the non-protein-coding genome that for many years was considered to be unimportant "junk" is now turning out to be very important as it can be transcribed into functional RNA molecules that perform important functions. The book contains a simple graphic showing that the ratio of the non-protein-coding DNA to that of traditional protein coding genes increases in direct proportion with the complexity of the organism. The fundamental genes and proteins between say a chimpanzee and a human are virtually identical and it now begins to look as though its that "junk" DNA that makes all the difference.

This is a fascinating look at recent developments in the ever-accelerating biological revolution and I highly recommend it to everyone who yearns to understand how life works.

G.

By Gavin Scott

Word of warning - I may gush! Im no biologist, but Nessa Carey manages to make epigenetics clear and incredibly interesting to me. This is not an easy read, in that it requires one to think and occasionally to do a little mental gymnastics to get ones head around the concepts she introduces, but nevertheless its the kind of book that can be gulped down in large servings because Carey is skilled at explaining these high-falutin concepts so well.

The topics range from inherited traits to cloning and back again, and I found even the descriptions of how certain experiments were undertaken were such that they read incredibly well. This is a book that could havebeen dry as dust, but its not.

I think probably one where the time taken to read the sample is well spent - Im sure some people just wont find this that interesting - but if you are at all interested in science, biology, DNA, and the mystery of how things are and arent passed on, then this is a must read. Absorbing, educational, and downright fascinating. Brilliant.

By tiggrie AKA Sarah

• Age Range: 2 - 3 years
• Series: Bright & Early Board Books(TM)
• Board book: 24 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; Brdbk edition (November 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375812407
• ISBN-13: 978-0375812408
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Bioengineering > Biotechnology
  • #24 in Books > Childrens Books > Early Learning > Basic Concepts > Words
  • #35 in Books > Childrens Books > Early Learning > Basic Concepts > Sense & Sensation

If you liked Dr. Seusss The Tooth Book, you will find this book equally rewarding.
In The Eye Book, Dr. Seuss explores the concept of what vision is, who has it, and why its important. At the same time, he has created a book with an extremely small number of words (almost all of one syllable) and maximum amount of repetition to make memorizing and learning to read the book as simple as possible.
A handsome blue-eyed boy begins,
"Eye
Eyes
My eyes
My eyes"
He then points to a pink-eyed, friendly-looking rabbit, and says,
"His eyes
His eyes"
With a picture of the boy winking, the boy says,
"Wink eye
Wink eye"
With a picture of the rabbit, the boy says,
"Pink eye
Pink eye"
Then you move into the concept of what vision is -- seeing and being seen.
"My eyes see.
His eyes see.
I see him.
And he sees me."
The connection between humans and animals is nicely built from there. This will help your child to understand that we have many things in common with animals. Knowing that can lead to lots of empathic play and developing a more sensitive adult. Be prepared for your child to want a pet rabbit, though.
The book then uses the idea of seeing to add simple words, along with their images in order to help with word decoding. The words introduced include blue, red, bird, bed, sun, moon, fork, knife, spoon, girl, man, boy, horse, tin can, holes, poles, trees, clocks, bees, rocks, flies, ants, pink, underpants, rings, strings, rain, pie, dogs, and airplanes.
"Hooray for eyes!"
You can also use this book to establish an interest in flash cards.

Im deeply grateful to be experiencing so fully the daily development of my grandsons by having the opportunity to babysit for them. As a mother, I worked outside of the home while my own sons were youngsters, with all of the outside pressures that always entails - so its been nothing short of amazing to be able to focus solely on these little guys and rediscover the world through their eyes! When it came time for our younger grandsons first Christmas, he was just 9 months old. Grandpa & I thought it would be a better idea - since we already had an overabundance of toddler toys in the house that our older grandson no longer played with - to have his gifts that year be the beginning of a complete collection of Dr. Seuss books. The older one (4 year age difference) was able to start enjoying the "Beginner Books" series (age 4-8) immediately, and the (now 22 month old) younger one has graduated from board books to this "Bright and Early Books" series, with the clever tag line of being "for Beginning Beginners" (age 3 & under).

"The Eye Book" was the second of a dozen Dr. Seuss books in this series... this one is actually written under one of the pen names used by Theodor Geisel for books he authored but didnt illustrate, Theo. LeSieg (Geisel - otherwise known as Dr. Seuss - spelled backward). Apparently the first publication was in 1968 with Roy McKie as illustrator, but we purchased this 1999 hardcover version which is illustrated by Joe Mathieu, featuring a cartoonish-looking young boy and bunny - darling, colorful illustrations that really complement the simple words and keep a youngster interested.

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (November 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019533650X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195336504
• Product Dimensions: 1.1 x 6.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #645,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Twenty years before starting to write this book, Duffin, a hematologist, was "invited to read a set of bone marrow samples....The fourteen specimens were taken from one woman over an eighteen-month period" (p 3), a woman suffering from severe leukemia. Duffin assumed the patient had died, and that she had been asked to look over the samples for a lawsuit.

As it turned out, the patient was--and still is--very much alive. The samples were being studied by the Catholic church during the process of sainthood. Every person who was proposed for canonization had to have a required number of miracles before the process could continue. And the church needed to be sure it really was a miracle.

A good outcome was not enough for the church. Nor did a long remission count. Instead, the miracle needed to be spontaneous, and lasting. This process of canonization, which began in the 1500s, required medical doctors to agree that there was no possible scientific explanation for what had occurred.

Curious, Duffin visited the Vaticans archives and studied the miracles recorded over the past four centuries. The result of her research is this book, full of quirky facts about the miracles and the people and the doctors involved.

Take the case of Maria, who, in 1844, discovered a lump in her breast the size of a walnut. "Every day it grew bigger, harder, and more painful (p 37). The doctors insisted on an instant surgery. But her priest told her about "the cause of Paolo della Croce...so for twenty days and nights, Maria prayed to the uncanonized Paolo" (p 37). On the night of Oct. 20th the lump vanished.

Some miracles are downright common, such as the incorruptibility "(preservation) or sweet odor of the corpse of a saint" (p 100).

I have had a longstanding interest in healing in all its many forms, and in particular apparently miraculous healings, which are usually just labeled "spontaneous remissions," "placebo responses" or "regressions to the mean." I think that this book is unique. Written by someone who is both a physician and historian at Queens University in Ontario, she has drawn on the Vatican archives and texts from the Vatican library to critically review four centuries of testimony on the topic of "medical miracles."

The background to her research is fascinating. Over twenty years ago she was working as a hematologist and was asked to examine the medical records of a woman who was in remission from acute leukemia. She was asked to do this "blind," and it was only later that she learned that the patients story was part of the canonization process of the first Canadian-born saint, Marie-Marguerite dYouville. She then realized that the Vatican archives must contain medical data for healing miracles performed by every saint canonized in modern times. The Roman Catholic Church uses strict criteria for healing miracles. If there is any chance that the healing might have occurred naturally or through human intervention, then it "does not count." So independent medical opinions are recruited to rigorously analyze claims of a miracle. Not only was Dr. Duffin unaware of the nature of the case on which she was asked to consult, she was, by her own admission, both a skeptic and an atheist.

People are often surprised to learn that the Roman Catholic Church differs from many other Christian denominations in its constant evolution as new scientific discoveries are made.

• Series: Vaccines (Plotkin/ Orenstein)
• Hardcover: 1570 pages
• Publisher: Saunders; 6 edition (October 30, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1455700908
• ISBN-13: 978-1455700905
• Product Dimensions: 3 x 9.1 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Basic Sciences > Immunology
  • #92 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Immunology

• Series: A Merloyd Lawrence Book
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books; 1 edition (February 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738210943
• ISBN-13: 978-0738210940
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Childrens Health > Autism & Aspergers Syndrome
  • #57 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Child Psychology
  • #82 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Special Needs

This is a detailed look at a difficult subject but for the parent of a child with autism it is one of those stones that should not go unturned. Dr. Greenspan makes the extraordinary claim that he has treated thousands of children and adults with ASD and has never seen one that could not be moved forward on the spectrum, not even one. In many cases they have been be able to join their peers in full healthy emotional and intellectual lives.

Dr. Greenspan is no quack. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School. He and Dr. Serena Wieder have spent the last twenty five years developing the approach they call Floortime. Their thesis is that all learning begins with emotion. The tiniest infant typically bonds and begins to communicate with its mother because it finds that communication pleasurable and desirable. Each little step in the process represents a foundational building block required for the next step. Children with autism have missed some of those building blocks. The idea behind Floortime is to meet the child wherever she is emotionally. Find what the child likes to do. Join her in the activity. Follow her lead and establish an emotional bond that can be used to communicate in a way the child finds pleasurable. That in turn can allow her to put some of the missing foundation in place. Over time the child moves up on the spectrum.

I find Dr. Greenspans success stories inspirational. My four year old grandson has made remarkable progress in the two years since he was diagnosed with autism. He plays with his peers, makes strong eye contact, and laughs with his dad. But for the past six months or so he seems to be stuck on a language plateau.

• Series: Delmar Learnings
• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Delmar Cengage Learning; 2 edition (December 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766814327
• ISBN-13: 978-0766814325
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 8.1 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

• Hardcover: 912 pages
• Publisher: Benjamin Cummings; 7 edition (March 2, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321762436
• ISBN-13: 978-0321762436
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Basic Sciences > Genetics
  • #29 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Basic Sciences > Microbiology
  • #32 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology

Just the best book in genomics! Has a clear explanation of all basic processes inside the nucleus. It is not a cell biology book, but it has everything about genomics.

By Magus

Overall, this book is very thorough and clear but not super concise. I would suggest that everyone use it as a reference to go back to whatever is not clear in the lecture.

By Amazon Customer