How We Live and Why We Die: The Secret Lives of Cells

Author: Lewis Wolpert
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 039329272X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
Acclaimed biologist Lewis Wolpert eloquently narrates the basics of human life through the lens of its smallest component: the cell. Everything about our existence— imagination and reproduction, birth and death—is governed by our cells. They are the basis of all life in the universe, from the tiniest of bacteria to the most complex of animals. Genes in developing embryos determine the makeup of individuals, and the rapid firing between nerve cells creates the spirit of who we are. When we age, our cells cannot repair the damage they have undergone; when we get ill, it is because cells are so damaged they stop working and die. In the tradition of Lewis Thomas’s science classic The Lives of a Cell, Wolpert, an internationally acclaimed embryologist, draws on the recent discoveries of genetics to demonstrate how human life derives from a single cell and then grows into a body: an incredibly complex society made up of billions of cells. Wolpert sensitively examines the science behind often controversial research topics that are much discussed by rarely understood—stem cell research, cloning, DNA, and mutating cancer cells—all the while illuminating how the intricacies of cellular behavior bear directly on human behavior. Wolpert isn’t afraid to tackle the tough questions, including how and why single cells evolved into complex organisms and, first and foremost, what gave rise to the original cell, the origin of all life. Lively and passionate, How We Live and Why We Die is both an accessible guide to understanding the human body and a deeply reverent meditation on life itself.

How We Live and why We Die

Author: Lewis Wolpert
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
In the tradition of the classic "Lives of a Cell," but with the benefit of the latest research, an internationally acclaimed embryologist demonstrates how human life derives from a single cell and then grows into a body, an incredibly complex society made up of billions of them.

How to Die

Author: Ray Robertson
Publisher: Biblioasis
ISBN: 1771960957
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 129

Book Description
A radical revaluation of how contemporary society perceives death—and an argument for how it can make us happy. “He who would teach men to die would teach them to live,” writes Montaigne in Essais, and in How to Die: A Book about Being Alive, Ray Robertson takes up the challenge. Though contemporary society avoids the subject and often values the mere continuation of existence over its quality, Robertson argues that the active and intentional consideration of death is neither morbid nor frivolous, but instead essential to our ability to fully value life. How to Die is both an absorbing excursion through some of Western literature’s most compelling works on the subject of death as well as an anecdote-driven argument for cultivating a better understanding of death in the belief that, if we do, we’ll know more about what it means to live a meaningful life.

How We Die Now

Author: Karla Erickson
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9781439908242
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Book Description
As we live longer and die slower and differently than our ancestors, we have come to rely more and more on end-of-life caregivers. These workers navigate a changing landscape of old age and death that many of us have little preparation to encounter. How We Die Now is an absorbing and sensitive investigation of end-of-life issues from the perspectives of patients, relatives, medical professionals, and support staff. Karla Erickson immersed herself in the daily life of workers and elders in a Midwestern community for over two years to explore important questions around the theme of “how we die now.” She moves readers through and beyond the many fears that attend the social condition of old age and reveals the pleasures of living longer and the costs of slower, sometimes senseless ways of dying. For all of us who are grappling with the “elder boom,” How We Die Now offers new ways of thinking about our longer lives.

How to Live and Not Die

Author: Norvel Hayes
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
ISBN: 1667502050
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 133

Book Description
Unlock Your Miracle! Are you bound with debilitating disease and painful symptoms? Have you or someone you love been given a terminal diagnosis that feels like a death sentence? God wants you to live and not die! He has made provision for you through Jesus and given you specific promises in His Word to secure your healing and establish your victory over sickness. Esteemed Bible teacher the late Dr. Norvel Hayes imparts radical faith to help you receive your miracle despite insurmountable odds. How to Live and Not Die offers every Christian facing a hopeless situation the keys to unlock their faith for a healing miracle in their body. If you have been languishing in fear, unbelief, or uncertainty, allow this book to ignite faith for your complete victory. This book will position you to possess your miracle as you... Discover God's plan for your health and healing Unleash your miracle through worship Turn your hopeless situations around Exercise authority that cannot be denied Drive out despair and seize your victory You have an enduring promise of abundant life! As you focus your attention on Jesus and His Word, you will live and not die.

Let's Talk about Death

Author: Steve Gordon
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1633881121
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Experts in end-of-life care tell us that we should talk about death and dying with relatives and friends, but how do we get such conversations off the ground in a society that historically has avoided the topic? This book provides one example of such a conversation. The coauthors take up challenging questions about pain, caregiving, grief, and what comes after death. Their unlikely collaboration is itself connected to death: the murders of two of Irene's closest friends and Steve's support in perpetuating memories of those friends' lives and not just their violent ends. The authors share the results of a no-holds-barred discussion they conducted for several years over email. Readers can consider a range of views on complicated issues to which there are no right answers. Letting ourselves pose certain questions has the potential to profoundly change the way we think about death, how we choose to die, and, just as importantly, the way we live. Honest, probing, sensitive, and even humorous at times, the completely open discussions in this book will help readers deal with a topic that most of us try to avoid but that everyone will face eventually.

When We Die

Author: Prof. Cedric Mims
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1466883855
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 531

Book Description
An unusually comprehensive study of death as both a social and scientific phenomenon, When We Die is as frank as it is informed. This far-reaching discussion considers mortality from the personal and the universal perspective, generously citing past and present poets and physicians from a diverse and telling range of traditions. Mims, who for two decades served as Professor of Microbiology at London's Guys Hospital, brings a humane, inquisitive, and learned sensibility to his topic. "This book is a light-hearted but wide-ranging survey of death, the causes of death, and the disposal of corpses," writes Mims. "It tells why we die and how we die, and what happens to the dead body and its bits and pieces. It describes the ways corpses are dealt with in different religions and in different parts of the world; the methods for preserving bodies; and the ways—fascinating in their diversity—in which corpses or parts of corpses are used and abused." The volume also explores such crucial death-based notions as the afterlife, the soul, and the prospect of immortality. By way of the book's main focus, Mims continues: "We should take a more matter-of-fact view of death (and) accept it and talk about it more than we do—as we have done with the once taboo subject of sex." This is a work that any student of social anthropology will find equally enlightening and essential.

How We Die

Author: Sherwin B Nuland
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1407074687
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
What happens to us as we die? Discover the answers in this exclusive 25th anniversary edition of Sherwin B Nuland’s seminal book With a foreword by Paul Kalanithi, bestselling author of When Breath Becomes Air. There are many books intended to help people deal with the trauma of bereavement, but few which explore the reality of death itself. Sherwin B. Nuland - with over thirty years' experience as a surgeon - explains in detail the processes which take place in the body and strips away many illusions about death. The result is a unique and compelling book, addressing the one final fact that all of us must confront. 'I don't know of any writer or scientist who has shown us the face of death as clearly, honestly and compassionately as Sherwin Nuland does here' James Gleick, author of Chaos

How Not to Die

Author: Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250066123
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
From the physician behind the wildly popular NutritionFacts website, How Not to Die reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind the only diet that can prevent and reverse many of the causes of disease-related death. The vast majority of premature deaths can be prevented through simple changes in diet and lifestyle. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America-heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure, and more-and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches, freeing us to live healthier lives. The simple truth is that most doctors are good at treating acute illnesses but bad at preventing chronic disease. The fifteen leading causes of death claim the lives of 1.6 million Americans annually. This doesn't have to be the case. By following Dr. Greger's advice, all of it backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer. History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks. In addition to showing what to eat to help treat the top fifteen causes of death, How Not to Die includes Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen -a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day.Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders are just what we need to live longer, healthier lives.

What Really Happens When You Die?

Author: Andrew McLauchlin
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
ISBN: 1784281883
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
What happens to us when we die? It's a question that has sought answers from religion; philosophy; the supernatural; and, more recently, to evidence from 'near death' experience. But never, it seems, from science. Yet that's where the answer appears to lie. Specifically, in cosmology, the study of the history and future of the universe. Taking his inspiration from Stephen Hawking's groundbreaking A Brief History of Time, author Andrew McLauchlin brings his background in physics to bear on this fascinating subject. He examines developments in cosmology and shows how they point to a conclusion about the dimension of time that has very real implications not only for the universe but also for us. What Really Happens When We Die? is a journey of discovery into a realm that offers an astonishing explanation for one of life's imponderables.