Biology Books

What's up Dr. Asma. ((fellow pupil)) If you are reading this, I was wondering if this book had a lot of pictures and illustrations. My mind wanders easily, and some how the pictures help me concentrate. ((Buddha 4 Beginners)) Last time I colored in the pictures with markers, it was fun.

Stephen T. Asma's book, Following Form and Function: A Philosophical Archaeology of Life Science, could also have been titled, Everything you wanted to know about the Cuvier-Geoffroy debate but were afraid to ask. Either title might, unfortunately, suggest a difficult book, addressing either a subject too arcane to be of interest to the general reader, or an unnecessary exercise: in regard to this latter concern, one could put forth that in our "sophisticated" time the inextricable linkage of form and function is taken for granted;onsequently the debate between Cuvier (arguing for the primacy of form/function) and Geoffroy (arguing for the priority of morphology/structure) is both deeply antiquated, and long resolved.

Early in his text, Asma sets the conceptual priorities straight: the central subject of his text (p 7), the form and function debate, speaks directly to the most profound questions of epistemology and metaphysics. Citing Stephen Gould (p 170n9,188n1) Asma proposes that this central subject is of greater immediacy and goes deeper than the conceptual struggle between evolution and creationism (Huxley).

By seating this debate in its proper historical, and philosphical context, the whole Western philsophical canon (from Aristotle to Darwin and back again is the title of one of his references) falls into the ambit of Asma's deftly written book. And his explanations, although perforce not infrequently a bit detailed, are with just a little effort encouragingly apprehensible.

Asma book is particularly successful in its attempt to shed light on one of the least tractable areas (most difficult to learn about/teach) in biology and philosophy: the vexatious arena of telology. A New York Times Book Review of Edelman's Bright Air, Brillant Fire was entitled, The Chicken and the Egg Together at Last; I could also have entitled this review, The Acorn and the Oak Together at Last, because Asma's explanation of non intentional (organistic, organismic) teleology is both compelling, and the best I come across.

Notably the Cuvier/Geoffroy debate has recently sufaced in the popular scientific literature (e.g., Gould (11/85) Geoffroy and the Homeobox, NH; Gould (10/86) Archetype and Adaptation, NH, Gould (2/97) As the Worm Turns NH; Desmond (82) Archetypes and Ancestor UOC; Zimmerman (98) At The Waters Edge, fP, also texts by Kauffman, Goodwin). Gould's essays (Gould apparently mentored some of Asma's early effort)in particular provide a rather excellent acompaniment to Asma's more puristic philosphical project.

In closing, I suggest you open this book: from Asma to Aristotle to Cuvier/Geoffroy, it is a very good work indeed.

I was quite surprised to come across this work, and found that it changed my view of biology on the spot. Since the mere mention of teleology in biological company tends to produce 'bizarre behavior' this work is a positive indication that times are changing and the many philosophical issues need to be reconsidered in light of the resurfacing of developmental questions of evolution. The current monistic emphasis on adaptation and function is heuristically critiqued and the results, while still perhaps murky, powerfully address a huge void in current thinking. The author adopts what he calls a modified Kantianism, which is all well and good, but in so far as he lands in the realm of 'dialectical biology' (very briefly at the end), one wonders if the formulation is not in need of further 'debugging'. Kant's powerful formulation of a stance toward teleology,whose considerations are generally fruitless speculations Darwinists rightly find suspect, with its embrace and reserve both is at once a green light and a warning. But that is the price of doing business in such a radically different form of biological thinking. Splendid effort, whatever the results.

Are you interested in dinosaurs, fossils, and archeology? Then the book, "Fossil Fish Found Alive: Discovering the Coelacanth" is a good book for readers of all ages.

Written by Sally M. Walker, this is a good read about a prehistoric fish that should have died out millions of years ago. Bolstered by terrific photographs throughout the book, Ms. Walker tells the very interesting story of the modern discovery of the Coelacanth by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer on December 22, 1938 in East London, South Africa. Courtenay-Latimer was director of the East London Museum and when she saw the beautiful iridescent blue, five-foot-long fish in a pile with other fish that day, she remarked, "...there appeared the most beautiful fish I had ever seen." The fish had hard scales with spiny points, and its fins were thick and looked like fin-shaped feet. It was a most unusual fish! It was a possibility that this fish might be the missing link, the fish that crawled on land and began the evolution of land animals.

The author takes us through the history of the subsequent searches for more Coelacanths, to further study this amazing fish. She brings us to the present day, where the Coelacanth has been seen in action on the ocean floor by modern submersibles. The book is well written and easy to understand. The author includes a timeline from 1938 to 2001 that tells the story of the research done on the Coelacanth, and includes a glossary of terms so that everyone can understand this amazing tale.

I highly recommend this book to children and adults from ages 8 to 99.

Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered the fish long believed extinct on December 22, 1938. Walker provides the perfect amount of detail to make for a lively description of the research and discoveries that scientists have made until the present. Photographs and illustrations are excellent. Includes maps, timeline, source notes, selected bibliography, glossary, and index. Karen Woodworth-Roman, Children's Science Book Review

The mysteries of the ocean just keep on amazing me! This is a superbly written book about a fish, the coelacanth, that was thought to be extinct. Ms. Walker presents a tremendous amount of material in a highly readable manner. Her well-chosen photographs, drawings, and maps compliment her rich text. Ms. Walker has written clearly, bringing together comprehensive scientific research into a unique story of a unique fish. This is a terrific book and a definite must for any collection of ocean books.

Every person born is a highly probabilistic creature, having been randomly put together by a chance selection from twenty-three chromosomes from each parent. The combinatorial variation is remarkable even in extremely homogeneous populations, and even more so in multicultural populations where there are great disparities in the average abilities of different groups. Blacks excel in sports of speed leading to their total dominance in professional sports. Jews excel in verbal intelligence leading to their remarkable dominance in law, academics, politics, and the media. And other groups fall in between these group-based genetic differences. However, it is evident throughout this book that these issues will not be dealt with honestly and directly. They will be tip-toed around, especially intelligence.

This book ignores the more communitarian morality of Asian countries and/or western particularistic moral theories. They do take it up in Appendix II, "Methodology." There they state simply that a communitarian moral theory only exists as a condemnation of liberalism -- it does not attempt to put forth its own communitarian moral theory as rigorously as has been put forth by liberalism or a Rawlsian theory. Notice the irony here, that the same charge can be made against those (Gould, Lewontin, Rose, Kamin, et al.) who claim that there is no difference in the average intelligence of races or that genes do not matter. They also, like the communitarian moralists, have only attacked empiricists who have developed sociobiology and intelligence as genetically based. So now we have the kettle calling the stove black.

These authors are concerned that society will become more stratified with regards to genetic capital by various groups. That is, the well-to-do will be able to use genetic engineering to eliminate unwanted genes as well as enhance their children's potential by inserting new "improved" genes into their genetic code -- including altering the germ line genes that will be carried on to successive generations. Is this a fair criticism? Not really, because this is how evolution progresses and it has already occurred as I stated above. Groups, because of breeding are not the same. Again, using the example of Ashkenazi Jews or east Asians who dominate the economies of south Asian countries, multiculturalist societies are already made up of groups who are not equal. Ashkenazi Jews have and average IQ of 117 and live among populations with an average IQ of 100. Malaysians have an average IQ of 90 with a troublesome east Asian minority, that will not assimilate, and has an average IQ of about 106 that dominates the economy. Australians have a troublesome minority of aborigines with a low IQ. These and many other examples show that there is nothing new about some groups eugenically rising above other groups, in terms of intelligence at least. But now that we have new tools at our disposal, those of us who would like to acquire the high intelligence of Ashkenazi Jews for example are told that it is somehow unjust!

I would like to suggest that this book is a landmark in the intellectual history of the human race on a par with Rousseau's Social Contract and Darwin's Origin of the Species. This book is a great achievement for the authors (a "dream team" of practicing bioethicists). I had just enough training in ethics (B.A. Michigan 1982) to understand the book and I enjoyed it immensely.

I wonder, however, whether this book would probably be inaccessible to many readers who should read it. I expect we will need a really thorough set of "Cliff Notes" (or "Genomic Ethics for Dummies"), since this book seems designed to be read by the modern ethical philosopher, moreso than the educated members of the public. Perhaps the reviewers on Amazon.com could provide such a service for the world. I was fortunate to have an advance peek at the book through a conference held in San Diego in January, so I have had some time to reflect on the book's implications.

This book made me intrigued about the prospect for some people using the genome to have better babies (see the book on Designer Babies by Dr. Gosden for the "how to" on in vitro fertilization). Under secular ethical principles, as outlined in this book, do parents have an ethical obligation to use genomic information to have a "healthier" child? If so, what are the ethical boundaries of that obligation? NPR had a report some time ago about some achondroplastic dwarf parents who wanted to choose a child with their genetic "defect" --- is that sometime ethically prohibited by the principles in this book? The parental choice issues raised by this book strike me as the issue ripe for controversy. These are the fundamental questions that this book raises for every member of the human race who plans to procreate (or already has procreated).

My kids will be entering the first generation where prospects for improving admission to the aristocracy (e.g. to an Ivy League school) arguably could begin at the moment of conception (if in vitro, aided by genomic data to screen embryoes). I find that interesting and a little bit alarming.

Chance to Choice also addresses myriad ethical issues (those relating to "distributive justice" in the mode of John Rawls' Theory of Justice) that will spin off from the genome project. They suggest that genetic discrimination (the "genetic ghetto") may arise if we are not careful about how this information is used.

For anyone planning to make a living from the genome, some understanding of this book is essential to their success in business (I am an attorney involved in biotech issues and I think that this book point to (but does not map out) the boundaries of what companies can do with the genome).

My EMail is tredick@chapinlaw.com if anyone interested in discussing this book's implications further. I think that people will be talking about this one until the talking, bipedal genetically enhanced, vegetarian activist cows come home sometime in the next hundred years (just kidding... ;).

I plan to buy some extra copies on Amazon.com to give away or mark up with highlighters (those parts I need to read many times to really understand). It really is a great and timely book.

Tom

This book addresses all of the neccessary details of the social ramafications involved with our knowledge of the human genome. In this book, the heart wrenching accounts of America's eugenic movement are powerful enough to move anyone to become actively involved in the issues at hand. A real eye opener, one which makes it painstakingly clear that we are not prepared to deal with the information that we have aquired about ourselves and eachother.

This book is a wonderful source of mutual fund data. I am just a an average joe who needed some help in the investment world. With this book, I was able to avoid those money grubbing brokers and get business handled on my own terms. I have told all my family and friends about this book and they are just as pleased as I am. I suggest that you let Morningstar do the hard research and number crunching for you, too.

Morningstar is the reason that I have been able to retire early. Much earlier than I ever thought possible. I have recommended their various publications to friends of mine, who have all come up to thank me later on. And the folks at Morningstar are just beautiful people.

This is a great reference tool. I was somewhat disappointed that some smaller funds with outstanding track records were excluded; however, with over 9,000 funds available the authors had to draw the line somewhere.

I graduated two years ago with a degree in Biochemistry, and have been working in a lab subsequently doing neurobiology research. I haven't used any of these gene cloning techniques during that time, and re-reading this book again has been really useful in refreshing me to some of the basic concepts which I haven't needed since I was an undergraduate. The explanations are clear and concise and every chapter builds on the last to give you a broad and basic understanding of these essential techniques. As an introduction this is great, but obviously you should read a more thorough textbook to follow up with if you are about to begin research in a lab.

I think the main reason of reading this book is because this is my chosen research problem. It's very interesting to know that cloning is one of the breakthroughs of today's technology.

I only wish I had found this book BEFORE I started Grad School. The author actually goes out of his way to be uncomplicated, which is unusual. If you want a quick but comprehensive overview of this fast-moving field, then this is the book for you.

General Microbiology is the kind of book that I always wont to find and learn from it. The book has a concise presentation that gives an overview of the field to students not only focused in microbiology, but also to students of botany -my self- zoology, chemistry and other disciplines. I thanks the author for such a great book and especially for made it for students who are discovering and learning the marvellous world of biological sciences.

I have used "General Microbiology" as a teaching source in Microbial Physiology for many years. I have allways been amazed at the scope of information packed in what appears to be a rather small volume, which is not easy to find in other sources. It is excellent value for money. On the downside, it is getting long in the tooth and there does not seem to be a new revision on the horizon - which is a real pity!

This little book is a treasure trove of useful information for biology instructors and students alike. This book should NOT be in the library of any biologist, It should, however, be dog-eared and on the desk of every working biology student, teacher and writer. It never fails to amaze me how easily I find what I'm looking for in it and how complete the answer is. A living classic! Five stars is not enough.

The Gist of Genetics

I've had Dr. Davis as a professor and he used this book as a reading for the course. It is very helpful and straight to the point, will help you see the big picture, as well as providing the important details.

In my sophomore genetics class we used two textbooks. One is a 600 pages textbook filled with colorful pictures, the other one is the this book. After I spent hours reading and comprehending a chapter in the 600-pages tiny-font textbook, I turned to the 200-pages large-font Gist of Gennetics. And there it is, truly the gist of genetics. I regretted that I didn't read this book first but instead wasted my valuable time reading useless [junk]. The only problem is that this book is entirely black and white, with little to no picture (only has genetic diagrams). But unless you are the type who fall asleep reading b/w textbooks, this is a great book for quick understanding of basic genetics.

What a delightful page-turner this book turned out to be. I needed information, fast, and this sounded like a good buy. It sure was. The author makes very complex ideas and medical procedures understandable for lay people, but doesn't sacrifice the seriousness of his subject. His wry wit does not demean the eminent and not-so-eminent figures he writes about but, rather, brings them back to life. In fact, the author himself seems to be sitting in the room with you, relaxed and talking about some people you both know.

Men. I can say that, because all of these feuds involved men, except for one concerning Rosalind Franklin and the DNA fiasco...with one of my least favorite scientists, Watson.
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of ego that gets involved in scientific and medical discoveries. It's humongous! Fights concerning rights of discoveries or inventions, fights concerning doing the right thing for the patient (rather than the doctor), etc. have existed since the beginning of time and are continuing today. The very last section of the book had to do with the discovery of the AIDS virus by Gallo (American) and Montagnier (French).

Some of the earlier feuds had to do with the discovery of how the body really works through doing dissections of both animals and human cadavers. This was frowned upon by the Church, which basically ran society during the middle ages and into the Renaissance, but some brave men like Harvey and Di Vinci went ahead and did what needed to be done. So when they actually published their findings, all hell often broke lose. This often put these physicians and scientists at risk for life, but their refusal to rely on ancient theories from Galen is what paved the way for modern medicine.

I enjoyed the way Hellman writes. He's a little bit of of a cynic and smart aleck, just my type...since I'm that way myself. The information is concise and interesting. I knew about some of the fights from previous medical histories, but Hellman often gave information that wasn't available in these books. The story concerning Semmelweis who discovered the real reasons behind women dying in childbirth from pueperal fever (exhange of germs from cadavers to women in labor by doctors not cleaning up prior to touching those women) is probably one of the saddest stories I have ever read, especially since he ended up being brutalized in an insane asylum, and it killed him at an early age.

This should be on a list of required readings for medical and research students. Perhaps if more of them realized how ridiculous these spats are, especially if they involve ego and money (which is a current huge problem thanks to the pharmaceutical companies and kickbacks to physicians), they would learn to allow ethics to govern more of their behavior.

People who enjoy medical history, and teachers can use this book to interest students in medicine and research, because these are areas of a good percent of the jobs today.

Karen Sadler
Science Education

A sprightly romp through three hundred years of medical history, focusing on ten major contretemps. Entertaining and educational, it's also a cautionary tale for would-be medical researchers: many of the "heroes" of these tales (Semmelweis, Bernard, Franklin) meet extremely unkind fates. If you enjoyed Hellman's previous outing on feuds in science, you'll find here more of the same.

Barbara Goldoftas delivers a moving and insightful illumination of the conflicting forces of politics, economics, religion, and environmentalism in her concise depiction of the destruction of the once-pristine Philippine ecology. Clearly loving the country and its people, Barbara Goldoftas even-handedly explores the reasons for the Philippine's environmental decline, unflinchingly ascribing responsibility where it belongs, yet she offers concrete examples of hope for remedy and remidiation. For realistic environmentalists, this is required reading.

This is an interesting book that describes environmental problems in Philippines from the perspective of a writer who also makes her own perspective very clear. It has useful information about what has happened there, and plenty of colorful anecdotes. A good read for anyone who wants to know about the Philippines.

A sweeping look at ecological problems in the Philippines. The author reveals a deep-felt love for the country, its challenges and its needs. Scientific and unexpectedly lyrical.

This is a great basic book to explain genetics and Mendel's life. Super diagrams. Great for early science reports...

Everything in this picture book is wonderful: the illustrations, the tone of the text, the amount of biographical and scientific information. This will serve as a fabulous introduction to Mendel's innovative scientific work on genetics for a 5th or 6th grader's science curriculum, or for just general family's enjoyment!

How does genetics work? Gregor Mendle was fascinated by passed-along traits all his life, and overcame poverty to found the science of genetics. He lived the life of a friar and put together an experiment involving growing multiple generations of peas. Kids in grades 3-4 will delight in a true biography that reads with the excitement of fiction.