This book examines the sense of smell in humans, comparing it with the known functions of the same sense in other animals. Odorous cues play a role in sexual physiology and behavior in animals and there are claims that odor can play the same role in humans. The place of odors and scents in aesthetics and in psychoanalysis serves to illustrate the link between the emotional centers and the brain. The book presents arguments to explain the way in which our ancestral past has given rise to our modern day olfactory enigmas. Containing a glossary and chapter summaries the book will be accessible to a wide audience.

The first major account of the somatotyping field in over thirty years, this volume presents a comprehensive history of somatotyping, beginning with W.H. Sheldon's introduction to the method in 1940. The controversies regarding the validity of Sheldon's method are described, as are the various attempts to modify the technique, particularly the Heath-Carter method, which has come into widespread use. Somatotyping is a method of description and assessment of the body on three shape and composition scales: endomorphy (relative fatness), mesomorphy (relative musculoskeletal robustness), and ectomorphy (relative linearity). The book reviews present knowledge of somatotypes around the world, how they change with growth, aging and exercise, and the contributions of genetics and environment to the rating. Also reviewed are the relationships among somatotypes and sport, physical performance, health and behavior.

This series in intended for those students following advanced level social biology and related syllabuses. Each text deals with a specific topic area and the series as a whole provides a stimulating introduction to a subject of growing importance. The control of disease and the active encouragement of good health is a major priority of nations worldwide. This book gives a detailed study of a number of diseases and health problems from which common themes and underlying principles emerge. Details of transmission, treatment and control are covered as well as epidemiology and sociooeconomic factors - particularly the implications of AIDS. Topics range from infectious diseases, pulmonary disease and malaria to immunology, transplantation and physical fitness.

Understand how our immune system fights disease and enables the body to heal itself. 'Thrilling... Reads like the best kind of adventure story' STEPHEN FRY 'Excellent' TIM SPECTOR, Sunday Times bestselling author of Spoon-Fed Here, Professor Daniel Davis charts the groundbreaking scientific quest to understand how it fights disease and enables the body to heal itself. He explains how it is affected by stress, sleep, age and our state of mind, and reveals how all of this knowledge is now unlocking a revolutionary approach to medicine and well-being. The Beautiful Cure tells a dramatic story of detective work and discovery, of puzzles solved and of the mysteries that remain, and of lives sacrificed and saved. SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 'Wonderful... recounts in exceptionally clear and sympathetic prose how research into the immune system has resulted in a health revolution' HENRY MARSH 'Thoroughly absorbing... Davis is a wonderful storyteller' BILL BRYSON

'Mind-blowing ... It is a hugely important book ... His story is crucial' Matt Ridley, The Times One of the world's top behavioural geneticists argues that we need a radical rethink about what makes us who we are The blueprint for our individuality lies in the 1% of DNA that differs between people. Our intellectual capacity, our introversion or extraversion, our vulnerability to mental illness, even whether we are a morning person - all of these aspects of our personality are profoundly shaped by our inherited DNA differences. In Blueprint, Robert Plomin, a pioneer in the field of behavioural genetics, draws on a lifetime's worth of research to make the case that DNA is the most important factor shaping who we are. Our families, schools and the environment around us are important, but they are not as influential as our genes. This is why, he argues, teachers and parents should accept children for who they are, rather than trying to mould them in certain directions. Even the environments we choose and the signal events that impact our lives, from divorce to addiction, are influenced by our genetic predispositions. Now, thanks to the DNA revolution, it is becoming possible to predict who we will become, at birth, from our DNA alone. As Plomin shows us, these developments have sweeping implications for how we think about parenting, education, and social mobility. A game-changing book by a leader in the field, Blueprint shows how the DNA present in the single cell with which we all begin our lives can impact our behaviour as adults.

'It's a brilliant book... There are lessons in every paragraph... Get it now.' Chris Evans 'Wonderous and wild. I loved this book' James Nestor, bestselling author of Breath 'Moving, raw and unflinching' Julia Samuel, bestselling author of This Too Shall Pass 'Incredible storytelling' Dr Rangan Chatterjee, bestselling author of Feel Better in 5 ____________________________________________________________________________ How do you carry on when things go deadly wrong? When Dr Rahul Jandial operated on Karina, an eleven-year-old girl whose spinal cord was splitting in two, he had to make an impossible decision. He followed his head over his gut and Karina was left permanently paralysed, altering both patient and surgeon's lives for ever. This decision would haunt Rahul for decades, a constant reminder of the fine line between saving and damaging a life. As one of the world's leading brain surgeons, Rahul is the last hope for patients with extreme forms of cancer. In treating them, he has observed humanity at its most raw and most robust. He has journeyed to unimaginable extremes with them, guiding them through the darkest moments of their lives. Life on a Knife's Edge is Rahul's poetic and beautifully written account of the resilience, courage and belief he has witnessed in his patients, and the lessons about human nature he has learned from them. It is about the impossible choices he has to make, and the fateful consequences he is forced to live with. From challenging the ethics of surgical practices, to helping a patient with locked-in syndrome communicate her dying wish to her family, Rahul shares his extraordinary experiences, revealing the depths of a surgeon's psyche that is continuously pushed to its limits.

"...Useful background information is displayed in blue boxes, and good use is made of numerous tables and diagrams...a useful book for the undergraduate medical or allied health professional..." -Oncology News, May/June 2010 This forward looking cancer biology book appeals to a wide ranging audience. Introductory chapters that provide the molecular, cellular, and genetic information needed to comprehend the material of the subsequent chapters bring unprepared students up to speed for the rest of the book and serve as a useful refresher for those with previous biology background. The second set of chapters focuses on the main cancers in terms of risk factors, diagnostic and treatment methods and relevant current research. The final section encompasses the immune system's role in the prevention and development of cancer and the impact that the Human Genome Project will have on future approaches to cancer care. While best suited to non-majors cancer biology courses, the depth provided satisfies courses that combine both majors and non-majors. Also, and deliberately, the authors have incorporated relevant information on diagnosis and treatment options that lend appeal to the lay reader.

Urban Evolutionary Biology fills an important knowledge gap on wild organismal evolution in the urban environment, whilst offering a novel exploration of the fast-growing new field of evolutionary research. The growing rate of urbanization and the maturation of urban study systems worldwide means interest in the urban environment as an agent of evolutionary change is rapidly increasing. We are presently witnessing the emergence of a new field of research in evolutionary biology. Despite its rapid global expansion, the urban environment has until now been a largely neglected study site among evolutionary biologists. With its conspicuously altered ecological dynamics, it stands in stark contrast to the natural environments traditionally used as cornerstones for evolutionary ecology research. Urbanization can offer a great range of new opportunities to test for rapid evolutionary processes as a consequence of human activity, both because of replicate contexts for hypothesis testing, but also because cities are characterized by an array of easily quantifiable environmental axes of variation and thus testable agents of selection. Thanks to a wide possible breadth of inference (in terms of taxa) that may be studied, and a great variety of analytical methods, urban evolution has the potential to stand at a fascinating multi-disciplinary crossroad, enriching the field of evolutionary biology with emergent yet incredibly potent new research themes where the urban habitat is key. Urban Evolutionary Biology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers studying the genetics, evolutionary biology, and ecology of urban environments. It is also highly relevant to urban ecologists and urban wildlife practitioners.

We like to think of ourselves as highly evolved. But if we are evolution's greatest creation, why are we so badly designed? We have retinas that face backward, we must find vitamins and nutrients in our diets that other animals simply make for themselves and millions of us can't reproduce successfully without help from modern science. And that's just the beginning of the story. Biologist Nathan H. Lents takes us on an entertaining and illuminating tour of our four-billion-year-long evolutionary saga, and shows us how each of our flaws tells us a story about our species' history.

What if there were a pill for love? Or an anti-love drug, designed to help us break up? This controversial and timely new book argues that recent medical advances have brought chemical control of our romantic lives well within our grasp. Substances affecting love and relationships, whether prescribed by doctors or even illicitly administered, are not some far-off speculation - indeed our most intimate connections are already being influenced by pills we take for other purposes, such as antidepressants. Treatments involving certain psychoactive substances, including MDMA-the active ingredient in Ecstasy-might soon exist to encourage feelings of love and help ordinary couples work through relationship difficulties. Others may ease a breakup or soothe feelings of rejection. Such substances could have transformative implications for how we think about and experience love. This brilliant intervention into the debate builds a case for conducting further research into "love drugs" and "anti-love drugs" and explores their ethical implications for individuals and society. Rich in anecdotal evidence and case-studies, the book offers a highly readable insight into a cutting-edge field of medical research that could have profound effects on us all. Will relationships be the same in the future? Will we still marry? It may be up to you to decide whether you want a chemical romance. -- .

This book uses evolution as the unifying theme to trace the connections between levels of biological complexity from genes through nervous systems, animal societies, and human cultures. It examines the history of evolutionary theory from Darwin to the present, including: the impact of molecular biology and the emergence of evolutionary social theory.

'From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself' Richard Dawkins 'A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are . . . this book really shines . . . Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory' Observer 'Witty, personal and above all informed by passion and deep knowledge, this is the story of you, not just from conception onwards but from the millions of years of evolution that have shaped the way we are today' Adam Rutherford ***SHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE*** Alice Roberts takes you on the most incredible journey, revealing your path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person. It's a story that connects us with our distant ancestors and an extraordinary, unlikely chain of events that shaped human development and left a mark on all of us. Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embroyos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.

Clear, engaging, and visually compelling, Starr and McMillan's HUMAN BIOLOGY teaches you the core concepts of human biology and prepares you to make well-informed decisions in your life. Each chapter opens with an application that highlights the relevance of biology and motivates the study of the topic. You then learn basic concepts which help you think critically about these issues. Useful learning aids, such as section-ending "Take-Home Messages" and a running glossary help you understand key concepts. At the end of the chapter, "Your Future" and "Explore on Your Own" sections demonstrate the impact and personal relevance of the content on your life. Available with InfoTrac (R) Student Collections http://gocengage.com/infotrac.

Developmental Juvenile Osteology was created as a core reference text to document the development of the entire human skeleton from early embryonic life to adulthood. In the period since its first publication there has been a resurgence of interest in the developing skeleton, and the second edition of Developmental Juvenile Osteology incorporates much of the key literature that has been published in the intervening time. The main core of the text persists by describing each individual component of the human skeleton from its embryological origin through to its final adult form. This systematic approach has been shown to assist the processes of both identification and age estimation and acts as a core source for the basic understanding of normal human skeletal development. In addition to this core, new sections have been added where there have been significant advances in the field.

The birthplace of modern humans, Africa, has the highest genetic diversity in the world, yet it remains vastly understudied. With biomedical research increasingly focused on human variation, studying the large population size and number of mutations in African genomes could unravel the complexity of phenotypic traits underlying the biology of our species and hold huge potential for scientific and medical advances. An initial chapter 'conceptualizes Africa', providing relevant terminology. The first section covers genetic history and population structure. The next section looks at the genetic basis of common infectious diseases, such as leishmaniasis, malaria and tuberculosis, with a final part considering common non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease and cancer. Gene environment interaction under globalization and the burden of diseases of lifestyle are included. For researchers and graduate students in biological anthropology, genetic anthropology, human and population genetics, and public health.

Taking us on an incredible journey across centuries and galaxies, accompanied by his characteristic wit, Professor Luke O'Neill explains how it all began, how it all will end and everything in between. Readers will benefit from Luke's insatiable curiosity for life when they dive into this ultimate journey through life and death. Among many fascinating facts, you'll discover the science behind how we got to be so smart, why sex with a caveman was a good idea, the science of finding love, why we follow religions, and how robots will become part of everyday life. Humanology is a humbling reminder that we're just a small speck in a big universe - so sit back and embrace the adventure. 'A man who can explain 4.2 billion years of life on Earth and make me laugh at the same time - sheer genius.' Pat Kenny, Newstalk

Race, while drawn from the visual cues of human diversity, is an idea with a measurable past, an identifiable present, and an uncertain future. The concept of race has been at the center of both triumphs and tragedies in American history and has had a profound effect on the human experience. "Race Unmasked" revisits the origins of commonly held beliefs about the scientific nature of racial differences, examines the roots of the modern idea of race, and explains why race continues to generate controversy as a tool of classification even in our genomic age.

Through rigorous historical research, "Race Unmasked" reveals how genetics and related biological disciplines formed and preserved ideas of race and, at times, racism throughout the twentieth century. Surveying the work of some of the twentieth century's most notable scientists, the book tests and then proves the limitations of a racial worldview. This new work is a gripping history of science and scientists that throws the contours of our current and evolving understanding of human diversity into sharp relief.

Sex has no history, but sexual science does. Starting in the late nineteenth century, people all over the world suddenly began to insist that understandings of sex be based on science. As Japanese and Indian sexologists influenced their German and American counterparts, and vice versa, sexuality, modernity, and imaginings of exotified "Others" became intimately linked. The first anthology to provide a worldwide perspective on the birth and development of the field, A Global History of Sexual Science contends that actors outside of Europe-in Asia, Latin America, and Africa-became important interlocutors in debates on prostitution, birth control, and transvestism. Ideas circulated through intellectual exchange, travel, and internationally produced and disseminated publications. Twenty scholars tackle specific issues, including the female orgasm and the criminalization of male homosexuality, to demonstrate how concepts and ideas introduced by sexual scientists gained currency throughout the modern world.

Our sense of smell - or olfaction as it is technically known - is our most enigmatic sense. It can conjure up memories, taking us back to very specific places and emotions, whilst powerful smells can induce strong feelings of hunger or nausea. In the animal kingdom smell can be used to find food, a mate, or a home; to sense danger; and to send and receive complex messages with other members of a species. Yet despite its fundamental importance in our mental life and in the existence of all animals, our scientific understanding of how smell works is limited. In this Very Short Introduction, Matthew Cobb describes the latest scientific research on smell in humans and other mammals, in insects, and even in fish. He looks at how smell evolved, how animals use it to navigate and communicate, and disorders of smell in humans. Understanding smell, especially its neurobiology, has proved a big challenge, but olfactory science has revealed genetic factors that determine what we can and cannot smell, and why some people like a given smell while others find it unbearable. He ends by considering future treatments for smell disorders, and speculating on the role of smell in a world of robots. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.