Series in Molecular Biology
Books in Molecular Biology
Carbon-Nitrogen-Sulfur: Human Interference in Grand Biospheric Cycles
ica, I considered myself an old hand: when I started to study the environment of the North Bohemian region in 1963, the ecosystemic changes and health effects result ing from extremely high concentrations and deposition of sulfurous and nitrogenous air pollutants and particulate matter could not be ignored. When I returned to the area in 1966 to work there for nearly three years as a consultant in energy and environmental affairs, I came to realize the difficulties of efficiently controlling the problem. Hiking on the crest of the Ore Mountains overlooking the valley, I saw much destruction and degradation of coniferous plantings-but I was also repeatedly surprised by the contrast of the withering tops and stunted dried-out growth of spruces and firs with the magnificent beech trees and the healthy understory of shrubs and wild flowers. I recall this impressive lesson of ecosystemic vulnerability and resistance every time I read sweeping generalizations about the environmental effects of acid deposition. At the same time, in the second half of the 1960s, I was introduced by a friend, an engineer working in analytical chemistry and biochemistry, to some of the mysteries of enzymes; this led me to nitrogenase, one of the most incredible sub stances on this planet, and to an interest in various aspects of the nitrogen cycle, which was further strengthened by my later work on the energy cost of crop production, involving inevitable comparisons between natural nitrogen fixation and Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis.
Francis Crick
Between 1953 and 1966, scientist Francis Crick led a revolution in biology by discovering, quite literally, the secret of life: the genetic code. Crick, who died in 2004 at the age of 88, will be remembered as one of the most influential scientists in history, but little is known about his life outside of the laboratory. Science writer Matt Ridley, author of the national bestseller Genome, presents the most complete, in-depth portrait of Crick available today. Ridley’s comprehensive work follows Crick from his childhood in the English Midlands to a lackluster education and six years designing magnetic mines for the Royal Navy, to his leap into biology at the age of thirty-one and its astonishing consequences. In the process, Ridley illuminates the life and ideas of the man who forever changed our world and how we understand it. Matt Ridley’s books have been shortlisted for six literary awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Genome. His book The Agile Gene was named best science book published in 2003 by The National Academies of Science. He is a visiting professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. He lives in Newcastle, England. “Matt Ridley’s Francis Crick perceptively and warmly recounts the extraordinary life of the 20th century’s most important biologist.” — James D. Watson
Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology is the story of the molecules of life, their relationships, and how these interactions are controlled. It is an expanding field in life sciences, and its applications are wide and growing. We can now harness the power of molecular biology to treat diseases, solve crimes, map human history, and produce genetically modified organisms and crops, and these applications have sparked a multitude of fascinating legal and ethical debates. In this Very Short Introduction, Aysha Divan and Janice Royds examine the history, present, and future of Molecular Biology. Starting with the building blocks established by Darwin, Wallace and Mendel, and the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, they consider the wide range of applications for Molecular Biology today, including the development of new drugs, and forensic science. They also look forward to two key areas of evolving research such as personalised medicine and synthetic biology. 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.
Molecules
The processes in a single living cell are akin to that of a city teeming with molecular inhabitants that move, communicate, cooperate, and compete. In this Very Short Introduction, Philip Ball explores the role of the molecule in and around us - how, for example, a single fertilized egg can grow into a multi-celled Mozart, what makes spider's silk insoluble in the morning dew, and how this molecular dynamism is being captured in the laboratory, promising to reinvent chemistry as the central creative science of the century. 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.
The Upgrade
Welcome to the better half of your life. The New York Times bestselling author of The Female Brain explains how a woman’s brain gets “upgraded” in midlife, inspiring and guiding women to unlock their full potential. “This is an important book. I want all women to read it. I wish I had read it years ago!”—Jane Fonda Dr. Louann Brizendine was among the first to explain why women think, communicate, and feel differently than men. Now, inspired by her own experiences and those of the thousands of women at her clinic, she has a message that is nothing short of revolutionary: in the time of life typically known as menopause, women’s brains are reshaped, for the better, in a way that creates new power, a bracing clarity, and a laser-like sense of purpose if you know how to seize it. With guidance for navigating the perimenopausal and menopausal storm while it lasts, and actionable, science-backed steps for preserving brain health for the rest of your life, The Upgrade is a stunning roadmap, told through intimate stories, to a new brain state and its incredible possibilities. Dr. Brizendine explains the best science-backed strategies for: • Hormones: If timed and handled properly, hormone management can save your life. Brizendine cuts through the controversy to give you the latest guidance for HRT. • Exercise: Leg strength correlates directly with healthy brain function at age 80. Here are the strategies for maintaining your strength. • Sleep: It’s critical for maximizing the Upgrade, and Brizendine shares how to achieve healthy rest during challenging transitions. • Mindset: Brizendine shows how to seize the opportunities of your midlife brain changes by shifting your mindset and vision with intention. • Brain Health: The Upgraded brain requires special care when it comes to sugar, alcohol, inflammatory foods, and the microbiome. Here’s advice for fueling and maintaining cognitive function for decades. The Upgrade amounts to a celebration of how women step into their power and an entirely new—and radically positive—understanding of aging.
What is Life?
Seventy years ago, Erwin Schrödinger posed a profound question: 'What is life, and how did it emerge from non-life?' This problem has puzzled biologists and physical scientists ever since. Living things are hugely complex and have unique properties, such as self-maintenance and apparently purposeful behaviour which we do not see in inert matter. So how does chemistry give rise to biology? What could have led the first replicating molecules up such a path? Now, developments in the emerging field of 'systems chemistry' are unlocking the problem. Addy Pross shows how the different kind of stability that operates among replicating molecules results in a tendency for chemical systems to become more complex and acquire the properties of life. Strikingly, he demonstrates that Darwinian evolution is the biological expression of a deeper, well-defined chemical concept: the whole story from replicating molecules to complex life is one continuous process governed by an underlying physical principle. The gulf between biology and the physical sciences is finally becoming bridged. This new edition includes an Epilogue describing developments in the concepts of fundamental forms of stability discussed in the book, and their profound implications. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.