Read Free Book: Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma) by Kat Arney

The language of genes has become common parlance. We know they make our eyes blue, our hair curly, and they control our risks of cancer, heart disease, alcoholism, and Alzheimer's. One thousand dollars will buy you your own genome readout, neatly stored on a USB stick. And advances in genetic medicine hold huge promise.

We've all heard of genes, but how do they actually work? There are six feet of DNA inside every one of your cells; this encodes 20,000 or so genes, tangled into a mass of molecular spaghetti. This is the text of the cookbook of life, and hidden within these strands are the instructions that tell cells when and where to turn genes on or off.

In 1935, Ernest Hemingway was supposedly given Snow White, a six-toed cat who went on to father a line of similar offspring that still roam the writer's Florida estate. Scientists now know that the fault driving this profusion of digits lies in a tiny genetic control switch, miles away (in molecular terms) from the gene that "makes" toes. Researchers are discovering more about the myriad molecular switches that make sure genes are turned on at the right time and in the right place, and what happens when they don't work properly. This is allowing a four-dimensional picture of DNA to be built--a dynamic biological library, rather than static strings of code. Geneticist Kat Arney explores the intricacies of how, out of this seeming genetic chaos, life is created. Read Online Book Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma) by Kat Arney Full Free

Review :

"[Arney] delivers an alluring tale of science at its most humble and probing, at least as practiced by the company of skeptics and scientific investigators . . . A robust, bouncy, pellucid introduction to DNA and genetics." ―starred review, Kirkus Reviews

"Writing in a breezy, irreverent style, Arney, a science journalist specializing in genetics, explores what is known about the inner workings of the genome. Her results are both fascinating and surprising." ―Publishers Weekly

"The author is often highly amusing, and she knows her stuff . . . An intelligent and engaging look at human genetics." ―Library Journal

"As readers look over the investigators’ shoulders . . . Arney has well primed her readers to share the intellectual excitement sure to come when today’s pioneers announce their findings." ―Booklist

"Herding Hemingway's Cats will instantly turn you into the most interesting guest at any party--it's a joy to read and a masterclass in making the complex story of life accessible, entertaining and relevant." ―Mark Stevenson, author of AN OPTIMIST'S TOUR OF THE FUTURE

Tags:

Kat Arney Ebook: Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma)
Read Online Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma)
Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma)
Kat Arney Ebooks
Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma) by Kat Arney

Download The Genius of Birds from Jennifer Ackerman

Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. In fact, according to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence.  Like humans, many birds have enormous brains relative to their size. Although small, bird brains are packed with neurons that allow them to punch well above their weight.

In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research— the distant laboratories of Barbados and New Caledonia, the great tit communities of the United Kingdom and the bowerbird habitats of Australia, the ravaged mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy and the warming mountains of central Virginia and the western states—Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be intelligent.

Consider, as Ackerman does, the Clark’s nutcracker, a bird that can hide as many as 30,000 seeds over dozens of square miles and remember where it put them several months later; the mockingbirds and thrashers, species that can store 200 to 2,000 different songs in a brain a thousand times smaller than ours; the well-known pigeon, which knows where it’s going, even thousands of miles from familiar territory; and the New Caledonian crow, an impressive bird that makes its own tools.

But beyond highlighting how birds use their unique genius in technical ways, Ackerman points out the impressive social smarts of birds. They deceive and manipulate. They eavesdrop. They display a strong sense of fairness. They give gifts. They play keep-away and tug-of-war. They tease. They share. They cultivate social networks. They vie for status. They kiss to console one another. They teach their young. They blackmail their parents. They alert one another to danger. They summon witnesses to the death of a peer. They may even grieve.

This elegant scientific investigation and travelogue weaves personal anecdotes with fascinating science. Ackerman delivers an extraordinary story that will both give readers a new appreciation for the exceptional talents of birds and let them discover what birds can reveal about our changing world. Incredibly informative and beautifully written, The Genius of Birds richly celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely intelligent creatures. Read Online Book The Genius of Birds from Jennifer Ackerman Full Free

Review :

“[A] gloriously provocative and highly entertaining book. Jennifer Ackerman provides a masterly survey of research in the last two decades that has produced a revolution in our understanding of bird cognition. The Genius of Birds [is] important not only for what it says about birds, but also about the human ingenuity entailed in unraveling the mysteries of the avian brain. It is at once a book of knowledge but also a work of wonder and an affirmation of the astonishing complexity of our world.” —Wall Street Journal

“Lovely, celebratory. For all the belittling of ‘bird brains,’ [Ackerman] shows them to be uniquely impressive machines…”—New York Times Book Review 

“Richly researched… The Genius of Birds provides engrossing evidence that will have readers looking at birds in a completely new way.”—The Daily Progress

“A lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence.”—Scientific American

“Ackerman is a pro at parsing scientific con­cepts in an accessible style, and her lyrical writing underscores her appreciation for the beauty and adaptability of birds.”—BookPage
 
“Ackerman writes with a light but assured touch, her prose rich in fact but economical in delivering it. Fans of birds in all their diversity will want to read this one.”—Kirkus Reviews


Tags:
Jennifer Ackerman Book: The Genius of Birds
The Genius of Birds
Jennifer Ackerman Ebooks
Download The Genius of Birds
The Genius of Birds from Jennifer Ackerman

Read Online Book Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky

From the New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt, a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today’s world.

Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability. One has only to look at history’s greatest press run, which produced 6.5 billion copies of Máo zhuxí yulu, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Zedong)―which doesn’t include editions in 37 foreign languages and in braille―to appreciate the range and influence of a single publication, in paper. Or take the fact that one of history’s most revered artists, Leonardo da Vinci, left behind only 15 paintings but 4,000 works on paper. And though the colonies were at the time calling for a boycott of all British goods, the one exception they made speaks to the essentiality of the material; they penned the Declaration of Independence on British paper.

Now, amid discussion of “going paperless”―and as speculation about the effects of a digitally dependent society grows rampant―we’ve come to a world-historic juncture. Thousands of years ago, Socrates and Plato warned that written language would be the end of “true knowledge,” replacing the need to exercise memory and think through complex questions. Similar arguments were made about the switch from handwritten to printed books, and today about the role of computer technology. By tracing paper’s evolution from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the contributions made in Asia and the Middle East, Mark Kurlansky challenges common assumptions about technology’s influence, affirming that paper is here to stay. Paper will be the commodity history that guides us forward in the twenty-first century and illuminates our times. Read Online Book Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky Full Free

Review :

“An historical journey well worth the ride. [Kurlansky] has a deep instinct for telling detail, which he combines with a disarmingly fun narrative style. Kurlansky makes a compelling case that paper has always been a revolutionary force – a foundation for expression of every sort ― and that it is certainly not dead yet.” (Elizabeth Taylor - The National Book Review)

“Kurlanksy tells [the history of paper] vividly in this compact and well-illustrated book….He has a sharp eye for curious details….[and] offers a versatile introduction to this long and complicated history.” (Anthony Grafton - New York Times Book Review)

“Kurlansky argues convincingly that his subject gets too much credit, at the risk of diminishing his book. Luckily for readers, it’s littered with amazing facts.” (Lily Rothman - Time magazine)

“Curious, vital, prolific, and witty…. Kurlansky’s work makes brilliant use of paper as a key to civilization.” (Booklist)

“Illuminating....Kurlansky is a graceful writer and an industrious researcher. ” (Library Journal)


Tags:
#Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky
#Free Online Reading Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky
#Read Online Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky Full Free
#Free Ebook Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky
#Download Book Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky

Read Online Book Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio

Forensic science is booming. TV dramas, books and movies have made morgues cool. Complex technology and intricate research can take curdled blood, bone shards, and flakes of skin and turn them into justice. And Vincent Di Maio, MD, son of a famous New York City medical examiner, is one of the lions of forensic science in his own right.  

In this clear, gritty, and enthralling narrative, Di Maio himself guides us into the inner sanctum, through the cases that have made him famous, from the exhumation of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and the racially charged shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, to the unmasking of a serial baby-killer and the mysterious death of troubled genius Vincent van Gogh. Along the way, one of the country's most methodical and intuitive criminal pathologists will dissect himself, maintaining a nearly continuous flow of suspenseful stories, revealing anecdotes, and enough macabre insider details to rivet the most fervent crime fans. Read Online Book Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio Full Free

Review :

The fascinating making of a global leader in forensic pathology from his Brooklyn beginnings tutored by his father, the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, to San Antonio, Texas.  From Trayvon Martin to Lee Harvey Oswald, Phil Spector, and the West Memphis Three, an expert’s insights into the real world of autopsies, exhumations and courtroom testimony.”
—Michael M. Baden, M.D., former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, author, and host of HBO’s “Autopsy”

“In my view, Ron Franscell is one of the very finest and most exciting true-crime writers in America. And he’s just the man I’d send behind the morgue doors for an unprecedented look at forensic medicine and its dramatically increasing role in modern justice. ―Vincent Bugliosi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of "Helter Skelter" and prosecutor of Charles Manson

“I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling read. So many fascinating reminiscences. So much factual detail of cases I only read about in the newspapers. Wonderful historical details too. This will certainly take pride of place on my pathology shelf.” ―David McCallum, actor who plays NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the American television series NCIS.

“Dr. Vincent Di Maio and Ron Franscell have produced a powerful book … in language and style that the lay person can easily comprehend. Di Maio comes across as fair and unbiased, and as a strong advocate for justice regardless of whether it is a defense attorney or prosecutor examining him on the stand. This is a book that you will not want to put down … I highly recommend this book, especially to forensic practitioners and lay persons interested in the criminal justice system.” ―Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, Chairman of Forensic Sciences at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and commentator at CNN, Court TV, CBS, and others

“When one of the world’s most celebrated medical examiners teams up with one of the world’s best true-crime authors, the result is a brilliantly written forensic masterpiece. MORGUE is a must-read for all CSI fans. I highly recommend it.” ―Steve Hodel, New York Times bestselling author of Black Dahlia Avenger and LAPD Homicide Detective (Ret.)

“Astonishingly good and compulsively readable, this book is what happens when one of the world’s most renowned medical examiners meets a veteran crime journalist. Part insider’s memoir, part CSI on steroids, this book is a must-read for all crime fans.” ―Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of Starvation Heights and A Twisted Faith

“A forensic-literary tour de force, Di Maio and Franscell exhume some of the most controversial murders and deaths of our time for examination, from Trayvon Martin to Lee Harvey Oswald and Vincent Van Gogh, in this fascinating, new and uniquely compelling take on unsolved mysteries.” ―Caitlin Rother, New York Times bestselling author of Lost Girls and Poisoned Love

Tags:

#Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio

#Free Online Reading Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio

#Read Online Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio Full Free

#Free Ebook Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio

#Download Book Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio