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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Human biology & related topics
Mader's Human Biology introduces the main themes of biology through
the lens of the human body. Students improve their scientific
literacy while establishing a foundation of knowledge in human
biology and physiology. The text integrates tested, traditional
content with a modern suite of digital tools.
A successful Wall Street trader turned neuroscientist reveals how
risk taking and stress transform our body chemistry
Before he became a world-class scientist, John Coates ran a
derivatives trading desk in New York City. He used the expression
"the hour between dog and wolf" to refer to the moment of
Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation traders passed through when under
pressure. They became cocky and irrationally risk-seeking when on a
winning streak, tentative and risk-averse when cowering from
losses. In a series of groundbreaking experiments, Coates
identified a feedback loop between testosterone and success--one
that can cloud men's judgment in high-pressure decision-making.
Coates demonstrates how our bodies produce the fabled gut feelings
we so often rely on, how stress in the workplace can impair our
judgment and even damage our health, and how sports science can
help us toughen our bodies against the ravages of stress. Revealing
the biology behind bubbles and crashes, "The Hour Between Dog and
Wolf "sheds new and surprising light on issues that affect us all.
Scientists are deciphering the biology of the tumor cell at a level
of detail that would have been hard to imagine just a decade or so
ago. The development of high-throughput DNA sequencing and genomics
technologies have allowed an understanding of the development,
growth, survival, and spread of cancer cells in the body. From this
information, we now have a basic blueprint or roadmap of how a
single damaged cell can develop into a pre-malignant lesion, a
primary tumor, and finally, a lethal tumor that may spread
throughout the body and resist both medical therapy and host immune
responses. In this book, we provide an overview of our current
understanding of this cancer blueprint, which has been aided both
by the study of familial cancer syndromes, in vitro studies of
cancer cells, and animal models. Three classes of genes have
emerged from these studies: tumor suppressor genes needed for
normal growth control and DNA repair; oncogenes that regulate cell
growth and survival, and epigenetic modifiers, enzymes that
regulate the modification of DNA and the proteins that form
chromatin. Each of these three classes of genes is mutated or
altered at least once in virtually all malignant cancer cells.
Current technologies permit the DNA sequencing of cancer exomes
(coding gene sequencing), whole genomes, transcriptome (all
expressed genes), and DNA methylation profiling. These studies show
that all tumors have unique constellations of mutated, rearranged,
amplified, and deleted genes. Single-cell sequencing further shows
that there is extensive variation in individual cells in the tumor;
that cancers evolve, and have many of the properties of a
multi-cellular entity. Lastly, cancer cells, through mutations in
epigenetic modifiers, can reprogram the genome and unlock entire
developmental and gene expression pathways to adapt and survive in
changing conditions. This reprogramming allows the tumor to elude
the host body's defenses, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted
therapy that we use in cancer treatment. Understanding this cancer
blueprint paves the way for the development of future therapies to
treat and eliminate cancer.
The lymphatic system develops and functions in parallel with the
blood circulatory system (termed the "hemovasculature") and
accomplishes transport of interstitial fluids, dietary lipids, and
reverse transport of cholesterol, immune cells, and
antigens-providing a critical homeostatic fluid balance and
transmission of immune cells and mediators back to the
cardiovascular system. Although the daily flow of lymph (normally
1-2 L/day under unstressed conditions) is far lower than that of
daily blood flow (which is 7,500 L/day), without the adequate
functioning of the lymphatics, virtually all organs and tissues
would acutely suffer many different physical and inflammatory
stresses ranging from edema to organ system failure. Although blood
and lymphatic vessels often form in anatomic parallels to one
another, our knowledge of the workings of the lymphatic system, the
fine structure of lymphatic networks, how they function in
different organs, and how they are regulated physiologically and
immunologically are far from parallel; our knowledge of the
lymphatic system still remains at only a tiny fraction of what is
understood about the cardiovascular system. Although both the
cardiovascular and lymphatic systems are important transport
systems, what they transport and how they transport and propel
these very different cargoes could not be more dissimilar. This
book provides an overview of the history of the discovery (and
re-discovery) of the components of the lymphatic system, lymphatic
anatomy, physiological functions of lymphatics, molecular features
of the lymphatic system, and clinical perspectives involving
lymphatics which may be of interest to scientists, clinicians,
patients, and the lay public. We provide a current understanding of
some of the more important structural similarities and differences
between lymphatics and the blood vascular system, their coordinated
control by angiogenic and hemangiogenic growth factors and other
modulators, the fate and lineage determinants which control
lymphatic development, and the roles that lymphatics may play in
several different diseases.
A New York Times bestseller and a Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and The Times.
Is getting a little less comfortable the key to living a happier, healthier life?
When journalist Scott Carney came across a picture of a man in his fifties sitting on a glacier in just his underwear, he assumed it must be a hoax. Dutch guru Wim Hof claimed he could control his body temperature using his mind and teach others to do the same. Sceptical, Carney signed up to Hof’s one-week course, not realising that it would be the start of a four-year journey to unlock his own evolutionary potential.
From hyperventilating in a Polish farmhouse to underwater weight training in California, and eventually climbing Mt Kilimanjaro wearing just shorts and running shoes, Carney travelled the world testing out unorthodox methods of body transformation and discovering the science behind them.
In What Doesn’t Kill Us he explains how getting a little less comfortable can help us to unlock our lost evolutionary strength.
Provides a critical and comprehensive overview of theorising and
debate about the role of race and ethnicity in contemporary
societies. This book intends to explore the evolution of race and
ethnicity as subjects of both scholarly and political debate. It is
of interest to students and scholars of race and ethnicity alike.
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