How To Build A Dragon Or Die Trying: A Satirical Look At Cutting-edge Science

Author: Paul Knoepfler
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9813274484
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
'This co-authored book explores how advances in cell biology, CRISPR gene editing and bioengineering might be used to make a live dragon. The result is a gloriously tongue-in-check scientific epic … How to Build a Dragon or Die Trying is deliberately flamboyant and outrageous. It’s also funny and smart. Far from a how-to guide for ne’er-do-wells to weaponize reptiles, it is designed to spark healthy curiosity in anyone who enjoys a ripping good science read.'NatureWhat if you could have your own real dragon? While that might seem like just a fantasy, today cutting-edge science has brought us to the point where it might really be possible. This book looks into the possibilities of making living, fire-breathing dragons. The world has been fascinated with dragons for thousands of years. Fictional dragons still have a firm place in pop culture, such as Smaug from The Hobbit as well as the dragons in Game of Thrones and in the How to Train Your Dragon movies. This new book discusses using powerful technologies such as CRISPR gene editing, stem cells, and bioengineering to make real dragons. It also goes through what useful information we can learn from animals such as Pteranodons and amazing present-day creatures in our quest to build actual dragons. The book goes on to discuss the possibility of building other mythical creatures such as unicorns and mermaids. Overall, How to Build A Dragon is also meant as a satirical look at cutting-edge science, and it pokes fun at science hype. Anyone who is interested in dragons or cutting-edge science will enjoy this book! It is written in a humorous, approachable way making science fun and easy to understand, including for young adults.The author is well-known scientist Paul Knoepfler who is familiar to the public for his science, his blog The Niche, and his frequent contributions to lay stories on new science concepts such as stem cells and CRISPR. He also is known for his TED talk on designer babies with more than 1.3 million views, and his two books — . The co-author, his daughter Julie Knoepfler, is a high school student interested in science and writing. She has her own blog on literary and film analysis, and enjoys taking a humorous look at culture through writing.

Stem Cells: An Insider's Guide

Author: Paul Knoepfler
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814508829
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description
Stem Cells: An Insider's Guide is an exciting new book that takes readers inside the world of stem cells guided by international stem cell expert, Dr. Paul Knoepfler. Stem cells are catalyzing a revolution in medicine. The book also tackles the exciting and hotly debated area of stem cell treatments that are capturing the public's imagination. In the future they may also transform how we age and reproduce. However, there are serious risks and ethical challenges, too. The author's goal with this insider's guide is to give readers the information needed to distinguish between the ubiquitous hype and legitimate hope found throughout the stem cell world. The book answers the most common questions that people have about stem cells. Can stem cells help my family with a serious medical problem such as Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, or Autism? Are such treatments safe? Can stem cells make me look younger or even literally stay physically young? These questions and many more are answered here.A number of ethical issues related to stem cells that spark debates are discussed, including risky treatments, cloning and embryonic stem cells. The author breaks new ground in a number of ways such as by suggesting reforms to the FDA, providing a new theory of aging based on stem cells, and including a revolutionary Stem Cell Patient Bill of Rights. More generally, the book is your guide to where the stem cell field will be in the near future as well as a thoughtful perspective on how stem cell therapies will ultimately change your life and our world.

Dragon Tears

Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0425253775
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Book Description
Police Detective Harry Lyon is caught in a whirlwind of terror that threatens to sweep away not only him but his partner and everyone he loves.

Spring Chicken

Author: Bill Gifford
Publisher: Hachette+ORM
ISBN: 1455527459
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 311

Book Description
From acclaimed journalist Bill Gifford comes a roaring journey into the world of anti-aging science in search of answers to a universal obsession: what can be done about getting old? Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying) Spring Chicken is a full-throttle, high-energy ride through the latest research, popular mythology, and ancient wisdom on mankind's oldest obsession: How can we live longer? And better? In his funny, self-deprecating voice, veteran reporter Bill Gifford takes readers on a fascinating journey through the science of aging, from the obvious signs like wrinkles and baldness right down into the innermost workings of cells. We visit cutting-edge labs where scientists are working to "hack" the aging process, like purging "senescent" cells from mice to reverse the effects of aging. He'll reveal why some people live past 100 without even trying, what has happened with resveratrol, the "red wine pill" that made headlines a few years ago, how your fat tissue is trying to kill you, and how it's possible to unlock longevity-promoting pathways that are programmed into our very genes. Gifford separates the wheat from the chaff as he exposes hoaxes and scams foisted upon an aging society, and arms readers with the best possible advice on what to do, what not to do, and what life-changing treatments may be right around the corner. An intoxicating mixture of deep reporting, fascinating science, and prescriptive takeaway, Spring Chicken will reveal the extraordinary breakthroughs that may yet bring us eternal youth, while exposing dangerous deceptions that prey on the innocent and ignorant.

The Way of Kueh

Author: Christopher Tan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789814845366
Category : Desserts
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description

Upgunned

Author: David J. Schow
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0312571372
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
A riveting Hitchcockian thriller from the screenwriter of THE CROW. Elias McCabe is having one hell of a night: He gets kidnapped at gunpoint by a professional hit man and is forced to shoot blackmail photos of a prominent politician. Things go wrong with the shoot… very wrong. When the night is over, Elias is scared to death … and ten thousand dollars richer. If he keeps his mouth shut. But he doesn’t — and now the hit man has targeted him for payback. As a desperate amateur in the games of death, Elias is up against a seasoned pro. As his entire life slides into the abyss, he has to stay alive by inventing new ways, moment-by-moment, to avoid, misdirect, and finally confront his ever-more-determined murderer as corpses and collateral damage stack up coast-to-coast in their wake.

Heir Apparent

Author: Vivian Vande Velde
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0152045600
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 285

Book Description
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The Genes That Make Us

Author: Edwin Kirk
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781925849394
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
Genes - we all have them and we're all affected by them, often in unknown ways. Whether directly inherited or modified by our environment, genes control or significantly influence almost every aspect of our lives, from the success of our conception and the development of our sexual characteristics, to the colour of our skin, hair, and eyes; our height and weight; our health; and, unfortunately, an untold number of diseases. For many, the first time that genetics truly matters to them is in a doctor's office as they learn about a condition that may affect them, their unborn children, or even their wider family. Yet from the first laborious survey of the human genome twenty years ago to the commercial machines that now sequence 6,000 genomes per year, a revolution is taking place in medicine. Navigating this world of heartbreaking uncertainties, tantalising possibilities, and thorny questions of morality is Professor Edwin Kirk, a rare doctor who works both in the lab and with patients, and who has over two decades of experience. In The Genes That Make Us, he explains everything you need to know with clarity, insight, and great humanity.

The Angel Tiger and Other Stories

Author: Barrie Sherwood
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789814845281
Category : Interpersonal relations
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description

The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness

Author: Florence Hartley
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Book Description
In preparing a book of etiquette for ladies, I would lay down as the first rule, "Do unto others as you would others should do to you." You can never be rude if you bear the rule always in mind, for what lady likes to be treated rudely? True Christian politeness will always be the result of an unselfish regard for the feelings of others, and though you may err in the ceremonious points of etiquette, you will never be impolite. Politeness, founded upon such a rule, becomes the expression, in graceful manner, of social virtues. The spirit of politeness consists in a certain attention to forms and ceremonies, which are meant both to please others and ourselves, and to make others pleased with us; a still clearer definition may be given by saying that politeness is goodness of heart put into daily practice; there can be no _true_ politeness without kindness, purity, singleness of heart, and sensibility.