Recommendations based on "First Encyclopedia of the Human Body (First Encyclopedias)"

It’s a seemingly undeniable truth that aging is inevitable. But what if everything we’ve been taught to believe about aging is wrong? What if we could choose our lifespan?In this groundbreaking book, Dr. David Sinclair, leading world authority on genetics and longevity, reveals a bold new theory for why we age. As he writes: “Aging is a disease, and that disease is treatable.”This book takes us to the frontlines of research many from Dr. David Sinclair’s own lab at Harvard—that demonstrate how we can slow down, or even reverse, aging. The key is activating newly discovered vitality genes, the descendants of an ancient genetic survival circuit that is both the cause of aging and the key to reversing it.

Reader-friendly Cell Biology, 4th Edition, provides a concise but comprehensive foundation for students entering research or health care career paths. Award winning illustrations help readers quickly grasp general principles. The authors have thoroughly updated this popular text to provide readers with the current understanding of the principles of normal cellular function along with examples of how molecular defects predispose to human disease. Major new themes in the 4th edition include the roles of intrinsically disordered polypeptides and phase separation in cellular functions, the influence of new molecular structures on understanding mechanisms, and the impact of exciting new methods―from single cell RNA sequencing to second generation super resolution fluorescence microscopy―on advancing our understanding.Clear, readable explanations provide a concise story about how cells function at the molecular level.An intuitive chapter flow starts with genome organization, gene expression, and RNA processing as a foundation for understanding every aspect of cellular function and physiology.Brings cellular biology to life for students interested in medical science by explaining how mutations in genes can compromise virtually every cellular system and predispose to human disease. Knowledge of cell biology has led to new treatments for cancer, heart failure, cystic fibrosis, and many other diseases.Unique illustrations with realistic proportions and relationships explain every cellular process including the assembly of SARS CoV-2, the structures attaching mitotic chromosomes to microtubules, the mechanism of DNA replication and how pumps, carriers and channels orchestrate physiological processes from synaptic transmission to cellular volume regulation.Covers exciting breakthroughs such as SMC motor proteins actively organizing chromosomal DNA, TOR kinases regulating metabolism, new types of immunotherapy for cancer treatment, mechanisms regulating fast axonal transport and their relation to neurodegenerative diseases, how completion of DNA replication sets the time for cells to enter mitosis, how a cascade of signals specifies the site of cell division, and newly understood pathways of normal and pathological cell death.Enhanced eBook version included with purchase. Your enhanced eBook allows you to access all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

"Utterly fascinating." —Bill Bryson"An incredible journey." —Siddhartha MukherjeeA groundbreaking exploration of the science of longevity and mortality—from Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki RamakrishnanThe knowledge of death is so terrifying that we live most of our lives in denial of it. One of the most difficult moments of childhood must be when each of us first realizes that not only we but all our loved ones will die—and there is nothing we can do about it.Or at least, there hasn’t been. Today, we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in understanding why we age—and why some species live longer than others. Could we eventually cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?Venki Ramakrishnan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and former president of the Royal Society, takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our physiology. But might death serve a necessary biological purpose? What are the social and ethical costs of attempting to live forever?Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.

Journalist Beth Macy's definitive account of America's opioid epidemic "masterfully interlaces stories of communities in crisis with dark histories of corporate greed and regulatory indifference" (New York Times) -- from the boardroom to the courtroom and into the living rooms of Americans.In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, Macy sets out to answer a grieving mother's question-why her only son died-and comes away with a gripping, unputdownable story of greed and need. From the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, Macy investigates the powerful forces that led America's doctors and patients to embrace a medical culture where overtreatment with painkillers became the norm. In some of the same communities featured in her bestselling book Factory Man, the unemployed use painkillers both to numb the pain of joblessness and pay their bills, while privileged teens trade pills in cul-de-sacs, and even high school standouts fall prey to prostitution, jail, and death.Through unsparing, compelling, and unforgettably humane portraits of families and first responders determined to ameliorate this epidemic, each facet of the crisis comes into focus. In these politically fragmented times, Beth Macy shows that one thing uniting Americans across geographic, partisan, and class lines is opioid drug abuse. But even in the midst of twin crises in drug abuse and healthcare, Macy finds reason to hope and ample signs of the spirit and tenacity that are helping the countless ordinary people ensnared by addiction build a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities."An impressive feat of journalism, monumental in scope and urgent in its implications." -- Jennifer Latson, The Boston Globe

By the time Rock Hudson's death in 1985 alerted all America to the danger of the AIDS epidemic, the disease had spread across the nation, killing thousands of people and emerging as the greatest health crisis of the 20th century. America faced a troubling question: What happened? How was this epidemic allowed to spread so far before it was taken seriously? In answering these questions, Shilts weaves weaves the disparate threads into a coherent story, pinning down every evasion and contradiction at the highest levels of the medical, political, and media establishments.Shilts shows that the epidemic spread wildly because the federal government put budget ahead of the nation's welfare; health authorities placed political expediency before the public health; and scientists were often more concerned with international prestige than saving lives. Against this backdrop, Shilts tells the heroic stories of individuals in science and politics, public health and the gay community, who struggled to alert the nation to the enormity of the danger it faced. And the Band Played On is both a tribute to these heroic people and a stinging indictment of the institutions that failed the nation so badly.

From the National Magazine Award-winning Runner’s World columnist, frequent New Yorker online contributor, and Cambridge-trained physicist: a fascinating and definitive exploration of the extraordinary science of human endurance and the secrets of human performance, for fans of The Sports Gene, Born to Run, and Grit.From running a two-hour marathon to summiting Mount Everest, we’re fascinated by the extremes of human endurance, constantly testing both our physical and psychological limits.How high or far or fast can humans go? And what about individual potential: what defines a person’s limits?For years, physiology determined the answer: heart size, lung capacity, and muscle strength. But over the past decade, a wave of dramatic findings in the cutting-edge science of endurance has completely overturned our understanding of human limitation. Endure widely disseminates these findings for the first time: It’s the brain that dictates how far we can go—which means we can always push ourselves further.Hutchinson presents an overview of science’s search for understanding human fatigue, from crude experiments with electricity and frogs’ legs to sophisticated brain imaging technology. Going beyond the traditional mechanical view of human limits (like a car with a brick on its gas pedal, we go until the tank runs out of gas), he instead argues that a key element in endurance is how the brain responds to distress signals—whether heat, or cold, or muscles screaming with lactic acid—and reveals that we can train to improve brain response.An elite distance runner himself, Hutchinson takes us to the forefront of the new sports psychology—brain electrode jolts, computer-based training, subliminal messaging—and presents startling new discoveries enhancing the performance of athletes today and shows how anyone can utilize these tactics to bolster their own performance—and get the most out of their bodies.

Susan Sontag's celebrated essays on cancer and AIDS now available in one volume.In 1978, Sontag wrote Illness as Metaphor, a classic work described by Newsweek as "one of the most liberating books of its time." A cancer patient herself when she was writing the book, Sontag shows how the metaphors and myths surrounding certain illnesses, especially cancer, add greatly to the suffering of patients and often inhibit them from seeking proper treatment. By demystifying the fantasies surrounding cancer, Sontag shows cancer for what it is--just a disease. Cancer, she argues, is not a curse, not a punishment, certainly not an embarrassment and, it is highly curable, if good treatment is followed.Almost a decade later, with the outbreak of a new, stigmatized disease replete with mystifications and punitive metaphors, Sontag wrote a sequel to Illness as Metaphor, extending the argument of the earlier book to the AIDS pandemic.These two essays now published together, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors, have been translated into many languages and continue to have an enormous influence on the thinking of medical professionals and, above all, on the lives of many thousands of patients and caregivers.

In This Accessible And Groundbreaking Book -- Filled With The Moving Stories Of Real People -- Medical Doctor And Bestselling Author Of Scattered Minds, Gabor Maté, Shows That Emotion And Psychological Stress Play A Powerful Role In The Onset Of Chronic Illness. Western Medicine Achieves Spectacular Triumphs When Dealing With Acute Conditions Such As Fractured Bones Or Life-threatening Infections. It Is Less Successful Against Ailments Not Susceptible To The Quick Ministrations Of Scalpel, Antibiotic Or Miracle Drug. Trained To Consider Mind And Body Separately, Physicians Are Often Helpless In Arresting The Advance Of Most Of The Chronic Diseases, Such As Breast Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, And Even Alzheimer’s Disease. Gabor Maté Has Found That In All Of These Chronic Conditions, There Is A Common Thread: People Afflicted By These Diseases Have Led Lives Of Excessive Stress, Often Invisible To The Individuals Themselves. From An Early Age, Many Of Us Develop A Psychological Coping Style That Keeps Us Out Of Touch With The Signs Of Stress. So-called Negative Emotions, Particularly Anger, Are Suppressed. Dr. Maté Writes With Great Conviction That Knowledge Of How Stress And Disease Are Connected Is Essential To Prevent Illness In The First Place, Or To Facilitate Healing. When The Body Says No Is An Impressive Contribution To Current Research On The Physiological Connection Between Life’s Stresses And Emotions And The Body Systems Governing Nerves, Immune Apparatus And Hormones. With Great Compassion And Erudition, Gabor Maté Demystifies Medical Science And, As He Did In Scattered Minds, Invites Us All To Be Our Own Health Advocates. Excerpt From When The Body Says No “only An Intellectual Luddite Would Deny The Enormous Benefits That Have Accrued To Humankind From The Scrupulous Application Of Scientific Methods. But Not All Aspects Of Illness Can Be Reduced To Facts Verified By Double-blind Studies And By The Strictest Scientific Techniques. We Confine Ourselves To A Narrow Realm Indeed If We Exclude From Accepted Knowledge The Contributions Of Human Experience And Insight. . . . “in 1892 William Osler, One Of The Greatest Physicians Of All Time, Suspected Rheumatoid Arthritis To Be A Stress-related Disorder. Today Rheumatology All But Ignores That Wisdom, Despite The Supporting Scientific Evidence That Has Accumulated In The 110 Years Since Osler First Published His Text. That Is Where The Narrow Scientific Approach Has Brought The Practice Of Medicine. Elevating Modern Science To Be The Final Arbiter Of Our Sufferings, We Have Been Too Eager To Discard The Insights Of Previous Ages.” From The Hardcover Edition.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY PRIZE THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.2 BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BMA PRESIDENT'S AWARD 2017 An incredible memoir from one of the world's most eminent heart surgeons, recalling some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he's worked on. Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon's shoulder. A slip of the hand and life ebbs away. The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors and pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. An off-day can have dire consequences - this job has a steep learning curve, and the cost is measured in human life. Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart. Professor Stephen Westaby took chances and pushed the boundaries of heart surgery. He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five year career and now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable and poignant cases - such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, and a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years. A powerful, important and incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating and sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, and how it feels to hold someone's life in your hands.

Our microbiome - the complex ecosystem of bacteria, viruses and other microbes inside us - is critically important to our health and wellbeing. It is given to us by our mothers at birth, adapts with us as we age, influences our mood and appetites, determines how fast we run and even affects who we choose as a partner. In this ground-breaking book, expert on the microbiome James Kinross, takes us on a guided tour of our extraordinary inner universe, showing how our relationship with microbes may hold the key to why we are increasingly succumbing to diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and autoimmune conditions. He highlights the disastrous consequences of our war on germs, the effects of globalisation and our addiction to antibiotics, showing how it is only now, as we are beginning to discover the microbiome's enormous potential, that we are realising it is in grave danger. Drawing on cutting-edge research and years of clinical experience, Kinross shows us how to protect this vital inner world before it's too late - providing practical tips on how to optimise the microbiome to protect your health, boost your immunity and safeguard your mental wellbeing. His illuminating, urgent book shows that if we work with, not against our microbes, we can live better, healthier lives.