The ultimate guide to the smells of the universe - the ambrosial to the malodorous, and everything in between - from the author of the acclaimed culinary guides On Food and Cooking and Keys to Good Cooking From Harold McGee, James Beard Award-winning author and leading expert on the science of food and cooking, comes an extensive exploration of the long-overlooked world of smell. In Nose Dive, McGee takes us on a sensory adventure, from the sulfurous nascent earth more than four billion years ago, to the fruit-filled Tian Shan mountain range north of the Himalayas, to the keyboard of your laptop, where trace notes of phenol and formaldehyde escape between the keys. We'll sniff the ordinary (wet pavement and cut grass) and the extraordinary (ambergris and truffles), the delightful (roses and vanilla) and the challenging (swamplands and durians). We'll smell one another. We'll smell ourselves. Through it all, McGee familiarizes us with the actual bits of matter that we breathe in-the molecules that trigger our perceptions, that prompt the citrusy smells of coriander and beer and the medicinal smells of daffodils and sea urchins. And like everything in the physical world, molecules have histories. Many of the molecules that we smell every day existed long before any creature was around to smell them-before there was even a planet for those creatures to live on. Beginning with the origins of those molecules in interstellar space, McGee moves onward through the smells of our planet, the air and the oceans, the forest and the meadows and the city, all the way to the smells of incense, perfume, wine, and food. Here is a story of the world, of every smell under our collective nose. A work of astounding scholarship and originality, Nose Dive distills the science behind the smells and translates it, as only McGee can, into an accessible and entertaining guide. Incorporating the latest insights of biology and chemistry, and interweaving them with personal observations, he reveals how our sense of smell has the power to expose invisible, intangible details of our material world and trigger in us feelings that are the very essence of being alive.

Which oil will work for you? This beautifully illustrated 52-card deck + booklet will help you understand the benefits of a variety of essential oils and harness their healing powers. Essential oils have been used for therapeutic purposes for more than 6,000 years, and today many turn to these substances for their healing properties, whether they want to address a physical ailment or find emotional balance. Drawing from her expertise and hands-on experience with these powerful oils, Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook has created a colorful and user-friendly card deck and booklet. Each of the 52 cards outlines the properties of an essential oil, ranging from frankincense to lavender, while the booklet provides a comprehensive introduction to these oils with their history and applications. With a range of ideas for using the oils to strengthen physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, this essential reference helps readers take full advantage of their healing potential.

Biomedical Science Chinese herbal medicine represents complementary or adjunctive therapies that often can improve the efficacy of Western medicine to achieve the pharmacological effects, especially in cancer treatment. However, the combination of herbs with therapeutic drugs can raise potential health risk. Building a bridge between Western medicine and herbal medicines, Active Phytochemicals from Chinese Herbal Medicines: Anti-Cancer Activities and Mechanisms gives you useful information on how integrated medicines can work for cancer therapy. It discusses the therapeutic uses of phytochemicals, adverse effects, and interactions with (Western) cancer drugs. The author takes a unique approach to integrated pharmacology of herbal medicines, examining the development of phytochemicals and their mechanisms of action in the context of the cancers and diseases they are used to treat. He covers biologic action of the active phytochemicals at the molecular, cellular, and organ levels. The book covers the principles of the interaction of phytochemicals and the related drug actions. It also addresses the common pathways affecting cancer development before discussing the phytochemical classes and specific phytochemicals that have been recently reported in journal papers for the management of cancer and other diseases. Highlighting the increasingly important aspects of pharmacology, including health benefit and drawbacks of phytochemicals, the book presents the relevant background of the biochemistry of the cancer. It includes illustrations and tables with adverse reactions that highlight important issues related to phytochemical actions. These features and more make the book a useful reference on phytochemicals obtained from herbal medicines. It blends coverage of fundamental mechanisms of anti-cancer action and the use of phytochemicals to manage cancers and other human diseases, allowing you to explore how herbal medicines can enhance conventional protocols.

This book provides a comprehensive coverage and a succinct overview of the current status of supportive cancer care with Chinese medicine written by leading experts in the field. The chapters coherently present an overview on the major treatment approaches of Chinese medicine and progresses made with different important aspects on supportive cancer care with acupuncture, herbal therapy and qigong. Moreover, there are reviews on the evidences and efficacies of Chinese medicine for controlling radiation-induced injuries, chemotherapy-related side effects, as well as pain control with Chinese medicine. In order to provide information from basic science at the bench to the patient's bedside, modern researches and clinical trials would be overviewed so as to give an up-to-date and realistic evaluation of a therapy's utility for cancer patients. It is also worth noting that toxicology, safety and herb-drug interactions are the main concerns of using Chinese medicine combined with western medicine. A chapter will expound on these issues and there will also be chapters discussing integrative Chinese and Western medicine, as well as cancer prevention with Chinese medicine. This book presents state-of-the-art knowledge on supportive cancer care with Chinese medicine, which will appeal to anyone involved in cancer care. This is a precious book for all types of readers, including but not limited to oncologists, cancer researchers, pharmacologists, pharmaceutical specialists, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, Chinese medicine educators, medicine postgraduates and undergraduates, cancer caregivers, cancer survivors, and family members of cancer patients who want to expand their knowledge in supportive cancer care.

An extraordinary compendium of information on herbal medicine, Medicinal Plants of the World, Volume 2 comprehensively documents the medicinal value of twenty-four major plants species widely used around the world in medical formulations. The book's exhaustive summary of available scientific data for the plants provides detailed information on how each plant is used in different countries, describing both traditional therapeutic applications and what is known from its use in clinical trials. A comprehensive bibliography of over 3000 references cites the literature available from a wide range of disciplines. This book offers an unprecedented collection of vital scientific information for pharmacologists, herbal medicine practitioners, drug developers, medicinal chemists, phytochemists, toxicologists, and researchers who want to explore the use of plant materials for medicinal and related purposes.

Several chronic health problems facing modern populations can be easily treated through the use of natural substances. Many of the ailments that people suffer from are related to lifestyles and diet. The immune system, for example, is the focus of tremendous scientific interest because of its relation to diseases such as cancer, leukemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, AIDS, and severe allergies. Yet the immune system can be weakened by pharmaceuticals. In contrast, the immune system is strengthened by herbs such as echinacea, astragalus, and reishi.In America, early settlers brought their folklore from Europe, adding it to the abundant knowledge of the Native American Indians, who had for centuries told tales of how the Great Spirit gave them certain medicinal plants to cure their people. With interest in herbal cures taken from medicinal plants growing, herbalists are once again gaining a respected place among healers."Do All Bugs Need Drugs?" presents a step-by-step guide that explains how to treat common ailments at home using natural and herbal treatments. It also offers insightful, common sense health information, useful for anyone with chronic ailments who is searching for a natural way to manage their symptoms and pain.

Explore how everyday people living in eighteenth-century England dealt with sickness, accidents, and disease in this unpublished kitchen book from 1737.Bridget Lane, a typical British housewife and lady of the house, treated her family for the physical ills that befell them. She gathered more than 150 cures and remedies, compiling them along with her unique insights into healing principles and practices of the time.Edited with detailed commentary by Vincent DiMarco, a longtime scholar of medieval literature, this text examines how Bridget Lane's cures relate to folk- and herbal medicine traditions, whether recipes preserved vestiges of magic and spiritual healing, details on ingredients and their effects, and ways certain recipes have been adapted to the modern kitchen.Based on a comprehensive analysis of how the people of the eighteenth-century understood ailments, Mrs. Lane's guide and the attendant commentary is intended for students, lovers of history, and anyone interested in the social sciences. Join an eighteenth-century housewife and discover all she did in the kitchen to protect and help her family with "It Has Helped to Admiration."

The authors describe the electric, magnetic and other relaxational processes in a wide spectrum of materials: liquid crystals, molecular magnets, polymers, high-Tc superconductors and glasses. The book summarizes the phenomenological fundamentals and the experimental methods used. A detailed description of molecular and collective dynamics in the broad range of liquid crystals is presented. Magnetic systems, high-Tc superconductors, polymers and glasses are an important subject of matter. It is shown that the researchers working on relaxation processes in different fields of materials sciences are dealing with the same physical fundamentals, but are sometimes using slightly different terms. The book is addressed to scientists, engineers, graduate and undergraduate students, experimentalists and theorists in physics, chemistry, materials sciences and electronic engineering. Many internationally well known experts contribute to it.

* Relieve the stress of everyday life with essential fragrances to help you wind down. * Make your home a calming place--with a peaceful living space and a restful bedroom where sleep comes easily. * Know the best oils for a relaxing massage or bath. You'll feel a new-found sense of tranquility! 80 pages (all in color), 9 x 9 1/4.

This book on complementary alternative medicine (CAM) for the Elderly provides a critical and objective evaluation of alternative medical therapy for the elderly. The focus on practical aspects such as adverse effects and general risks of various therapeutic methods makes it a valuable reference book for the general practitioner, for geriatricians and professionals within the area of alternative medicine, but also for interested laypeople. In the three sections, Epidemiology, Types of CAM, and Common Medical Problems and CAM, a broad range of issues are covered. They range from drug compliance in elderly people to CAM in the treatment of specific conditions such as pulmonary diseases, arthritis or cancer. The above features and in particular the unbiased approach to discuss the pros and cons of CAM make this publication a must-have for everybody searching for detailed information on alternative medicine for the elderly.

This book provides a richly documented account of the historical, cultural, philosophical and practical dimensions of feng shui. It argues that where feng shui is entrenched educational systems have a responsibility to examine its claims, and that this examination provides opportunities for students to better learn about the key features of the nature of science, the demarcation of science and non-science, the characteristics of pseudoscience, and the engagement of science with culture and worldviews. The arguments presented for feng shui being a pseudoscience can be marshalled when considering a whole range of comparable beliefs and the educational benefit of their appraisal. Feng shui is a deeply-entrenched, three-millennia-old system of Asian beliefs and practices about nature, architecture, health, and divination that has garnered a growing presence outside of Asia. It is part of a comprehensive and ancient worldview built around belief in chi (qi) the putative universal energy or life-force that animates all existence, the cosmos, the solar system, the earth, and human bodies. Harmonious living requires building in accord with local chi streams; good health requires replenishment and manipulation of internal chi flow; and a beneficent afterlife is enhanced when buried in conformity with chi directions. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the proper manipulation of internal chi by acupuncture, tai-chi and qigong exercise, and herbal dietary supplements. Matthews has produced another tour de force that will repay close study by students, scientists, and all those concerned to understand science, culture, and the science/culture nexus. Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami, USA With great erudition and even greater fluidity of style, Matthews introduces us to this now-world-wide belief system. Michael Ruse, Philosophy, Florida State University, USA The book is one of the best research works published on Feng Shui. Wang Youjun, Philosophy, Shanghai Normal University, China The history is fascinating. The analysis makes an important contribution to science literature. James Alcock, Psychology, York University, Canada This book provides an in-depth study of Feng Shui in different periods, considering its philosophical, historical and educational dimensions; especially from a perspective of the 'demarcation problem' between science and pseudoscience. Yao Dazhi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China