Invisible Frontiers: Race to Synthesize a Human Gene

Science & Math

Hall, Stephen S.

Biological Sciences

SIDGWICK JACKSON

A compelling investigation into one of our most coveted and cherished ideals, and the efforts of modern science to penetrate the mysterious nature of this timeless virtue. We all recognize wisdom, but defining it is more elusive. In this fascinating journey from philosophy to science, Stephen S. Hall gives us a dramatic history of wisdom, from its sudden emergence in four different locations (Greece, China, Israel, and India) in the fifth century B.C. to its modern manifestations in education, politics, and the workplace. We learn how wisdom became the provenance of philosophy and religion through its embodiment in individuals such as Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus; how it has consistently been a catalyst for social change; and how revelatory work in the last fifty years by psychologists, economists, and neuroscientists has begun to shed light on the biology of cognitive traits long associated with wisdom—and, in doing so, begun to suggest how we might cultivate it. Hall explores the neural mechanisms for wise decision making; the conflict between the emotional and cognitive parts of the brain; the development of compassion, humility, and empathy; the effect of adversity and the impact of early-life stress on the development of wisdom; and how we can learn to optimize our future choices and future selves. Hall’s bracing exploration of the science of wisdom allows us to see this ancient virtue with fresh eyes, yet also makes clear that despite modern science’s most powerful efforts, wisdom continues to elude easy understanding.

Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

KNOPF

We all recognize wisdom, but defining it is more elusive. In this fascinating journey from philosophy to science, Stephen S. Hall gives us a penetrating history of wisdom, from its sudden emergence in the fifth century B.C. to its modern manifestations in education, politics, and the workplace. Hall’s bracing exploration of the science of wisdom allows us to see this ancient virtue with fresh eyes, yet also makes clear that despite modern science’s most powerful efforts, wisdom continues to elude easy understanding.

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

We are in the midst of a quiet revolution in medicine called immunotheraphy, a form of medicine that takes its lessons from the very bodies it seeks to treat. Immunological methods are now employed to treat cancer, AIDS and chronic viral diseases. Beginning with the 'occasional miracles' of a mysterious turn-of-the-century cancer vaccine called Coley's toxins, Stephen S Hall traces the story of how doctors have learned to use the immune system and its 'commotions' to develop a wide array of cutting-edge therapies. As Hall proceeds across continents and time, he discusses interferon, tumour necrosis factors and the newest and most promising substances to trigger a 'commotion', such as a interleukin-2. From the author of 'the best book written about the new age of biology' (Nobel Prize winner Philip Sharp) comes this fast-paced account of medicine in the making.

Commotion In the Blood: Life, Death and The Immune System (Sloan Technology Series)

Medical Books

Little,Brown & Company

Discusses the use of innovative new technologies to map diverse areas of the universe, from the mathmatical constant pi, to human chromosomes, to the ocean floor

Mapping the Next Millennium: The Discovery of New Geographies

Random House]

Mapping the Next Millenium

Random House Value Publishing

A visually stunning and conceptually explosive report from the frontiers of mapmaking. Ranging from the mapping of the ocean floor to the scanning of remote galaxies, from portraits of subatomic collisions to an unprecedented view of the mathematical constant "pi, " this work makes the theoretical compellingly concrete, even as it reminds us that the world is far more vast than we ever dreamed. Photographs throughout.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Mapping the Next Millennium

A look into the mysteries of life extension profiles people working to make humans live longer and better, traces the history of the science of aging, and explains how recent discoveries could change our lives.

Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension

Evolution

Houghton/Mifflin

An award-winning journalist tackles the hot topic of male body image and shows how physical size during childhood affects our psychology, social status, relationships, and income as adults. With a mix of fresh research, incisive reportage, and bracing candor, Size Matters traces the surprising history of society’s bias against shortness and reveals how short people can and do thrive in spite of this insidious bigotry. Drawing on his own childhood experiences (he was shorter than 99 percent of boys his age), Stephen Hall explains the evolution of the growth chart, the biology of childhood aggression, and the wrenching phenomenon of bullying. He explores the factors that determine why one child’s small stature may lead to anguish while another short child develops an emotional resilience that will enrich his later life. Weaving together recent findings from the fields of animal behavior, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Hall assesses the role of physical size in mating success and argues that the alpha male may not be king of the mountain after all. Hall also pinpoints the social forces that create and cash in on our anxieties about size, from bulked-up superhero action figures to pharmaceutical companies selling growth hormone to increase a child’s height -- at a cost of up to $40,000 a year. He introduces us to families who have agonized over whether to make that huge investment. He explains new research showing that a person’s height as a teenager has lifelong psychological consequences. He even tracks down kids he bullied in elementary school and kids who bullied him in high school to show that these childhood encounters have lasting effects on our adult lives. Along the way, Hall builds a persuasive case against societal attitudes that make size (or any difference) matter and argues forcefully that being short has psychological, social, and biological advantages. Size Matters will raise the consciousness -- and the spirits -- of any short male and anyone who cares about him.

Size Matters: How Height Affects the Health, Happiness, and Success of Boys - and the Men They Become

Reference

Mariner Books

Regenerative medicine and human life extension are among the most cutting-edge pursuits in science, and potentially among the most profitable. In Merchants of Immortality, Stephen S. Hall offers both an expose<acute> of this fascinating science and a case study of the billion-dollar industry that has grown up around it. At the center of the field are stem cell research and cloning -- topics of continuous ethical debate -- and the stem cell legislation that has unintentionally created a strange and thriving private-sector business niche. Merchants of Immortality is a captivating, incisive account of a new frontier at the intersection of biology and business.</acute>

Merchants Of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hall, Stephen S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hall, Stephen S.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hall, Stephen S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Invisible Frontiers: Race to Synthesize a Human Gene

Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience

Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience

Commotion In the Blood: Life, Death and The Immune System (Sloan Technology Series)

Mapping the Next Millennium: The Discovery of New Geographies

Mapping the Next Millenium

Mapping the Next Millennium

Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension

Size Matters: How Height Affects the Health, Happiness, and Success of Boys - and the Men They Become

Merchants Of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension