An insider's view on bringing extinct species back to life
Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist and pioneer in ancient DNA research, addresses this intriguing question by walking readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro vividly explores the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is being used to resurrect the past. Considering de-extinction's practical benefits and ethical challenges, Shapiro argues that the overarching goal should be the revitalization and stabilization of contemporary ecosystems. Looking at the very real and compelling science behind an idea once seen as science fiction, How to Clone a Mammoth demonstrates how de-extinction will redefine conservation's future.A lively and endlessly fascinating deep-dive into nature and the many groundbreaking human inventions inspired by the wild.
Delightful.--The Guardian
Fans of Helen Scales won't want to miss this.--Publishers Weekly STARRED Review
When astronomers wanted a telescope that could capture X-rays from celestial bodies, they looked to the lobster. When doctors wanted a medication that could stabilize Type II diabetic patients, they found their muse in a lizard. When scientists wanted to drastically reduce emissions in cement manufacturing, they observed how corals construct their skeletons in the sea. This is biomimicry in action: taking inspiration from nature to tackle human challenges.
In Nature's Wild Ideas, Kristy Hamilton goes behind the scenes of some of our most unexpected innovations. She traverses frozen waterfalls, treks through cloudy forests, discovers nests in the Mojave desert, scours intertidal zones and takes us to the deepest oceans and near volcanoes to introduce us to the animals and plants that have inspired everything from cargo routing systems to non-toxic glues, and the men and women who followed that first spark of I wonder all the way to its conclusion, sometimes against all odds.
While the joy of scientific discovery is front and center, Nature's Wild Ideas is also a love letter to nature--complete with a deep message of conservation: If we are to continue learning from the creatures around us, we must protect their untamed homelands.
This book is written, keeping the undergraduate students in mind, with the aim to develop foundation of the novice in the field of biotechnology. The book is written in simple and easy to understand language. The various fundamental concepts involved are explained lucidly with vivid diagrams and suitable illustrations.
This book deals with genetics and genetic engineering principles with applications in pharmaceutical biotechnology; fermentation process; plant cell/tissue culture and animal cell/tissue/organ culture; hybridoma technology and novel methods for the production of monoclonal antibodies; transformative capacity of microbes in production of hard to synthesize pharmaceuticals; methods of cell immobilization and their applications; environmental and social role of biotechnology; and bioinformatics.
From the contributors to The Conversation, this collection of essays by leading experts in biotechnology provides foundational knowledge on a range of topics, from CRISPR gene sequencing to the ethics of GMOs and designer babies.
In The Conversation on Biotechnology, editor Marc Zimmer collects essays from The Conversation U.S. by top scholars and experts in the field, who present a primer on the latest biotechnology research, the overwhelming possibilities it offers, and the risks of its abuse. From an overview of CRISPR technology and gene editing in GMOs to the ethical questions surrounding designer babies and other applications of biotechnology in humans, it highlights the major implications biotechnology will bring for health and society. Topics range from the spectacular use of light to fire individual neurons in the brain to making plant-based meats; from curbing diseases with genetically modified mosquitoes to looking back on 40 years of opinions on IVF babies.
The Critical Conversations series collects essays from top scholars on timely topics, including water, biotechnology, gender diversity, gun culture, and more, originally published on the independent news site The Conversation U.S.
Contributors: Nathan Ahlgren, Ivan Anishchenko, Trine Antonsen, Jennifer Barfield, Pedro Belda-Ferre, Ari Berkowitz, Adeline Boettcher, Jason Delbourne, Kevin Doxzen, Mo Ebrahimkhani, Eleanor Feingold, J. Benjamin Hurlbut, Cecile Janssens, Samira Kiani, Amanda Kowalczyk, Mariana Lamas, Andrew Lapworth, Rebecca Mackelprang, Kathleen Merrigan, Saman Naghieh, Sean Nee, Dimitri Perrin, Christopher Preston, Jason Rasgon, Penny Riggs, Jason Robert, Oliver Rogoyski, Gary Samore, Sahotra Sarkar, George E. Seidel, Patricia A. Stapleton, Craig W. Stevens, Paul B. Thompson, Christopher Tuggle, Vikramaditya G. Yadav, Marc Zimmer
A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies that radically reshaped the world: radios, televisions, aircraft, computers, and a host of still-evolving digital tools. Today, a new technological convergence--of biology and engineering--promises to create the tools necessary to tackle the threats we now face, including climate change, drought, famine, and disease
World-renowned neuroscientist and academic leader Susan Hockfield describes the most exciting new developments and the scientists and engineers who helped to create them. Virus-built batteries. Cancer-detecting nanoparticles. Computer-engineered crops. Together, they highlight the promise of the technology revolution of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges of our time.
This book provides an excellent platform for understanding the chemical processes involved in food transformation. Starting with the examination of major food components, such as water, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and minerals, the author further introduces the biochemistry of digestion and energy metabolism of food ingredients. The last section of the book is devoted to modern food technologies and their future perspectives.
What happens when migration takes place between sites defined by different types of 'colonial difference'? This book asks this question in the context of Somali migration to Scotland, which it maps over a century of colonial relations, independence movements, and the reorganisation of the (post)colonial Somali and British states. Framing both Somalia and Scotland as sites of marginality in the matrices of colonial power, it tracks through a combination of archival material and contemporary testimonies the operation, development and divergence of (the) colonial(ity of) power in shaping Somali migration and citizenship experiences in Scotland. However, whilst the book has a grounded and localised focus, it makes the argument that Somali-Scottish migration cases present the urgent need for a holistic approach to the operation of coloniality, which not only emanates from the so-called 'centre' of Empire, but also at and between its edges.
Stephen Heywood was twenty-nine years old when he learned that he was dying of ALS -- Lou Gehrig's disease. Almost overnight his older brother, Jamie, turned himself into a genetic engineer in a quixotic race to cure the incurable. His Brother's Keeper is a powerful account of their story, as they travel together to the edge of medicine.
The book brings home for all of us the hopes and fears of the new biology. In this dramatic and suspenseful narrative, Jonathan Weiner gives us a remarkable portrait of science and medicine today. We learn about gene therapy, stem cells, brain vaccines, and other novel treatments for such nerve-death diseases as ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's -- diseases that afflict millions, and touch the lives of many more.
The Heywoods' story taught me many things about the nature of healing in the new millennium, Weiner writes. They also taught me about what has not changed since the time of the ancients and may never change as long as there are human beings -- about what Lucretius calls 'the ever-living wound of love.'
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.In this timely and controversial work, Sue Hubbell contends that the concept of genetic engineering is anything but new, for humans have been tinkering with genetics for centuries. Focusing on four specific examples -- corn, silkworms, domestic cats, and apples -- she traces the histories of species that have been fundamentally altered over the centuries by the whims and needs of people.