I'll preface this review by saying I knew absolutely nothing about bones. I could tell you that it’s the hard stuff that holds our bodies vertical, that they sometimes break but eventually heal and it’s where our red blood cells come from, but beyond that? Nothing. Bones is a book that is for the initiated and uninitiated alike, although granted the initiated will find that 90% of the content of this book is remedial. The book is divided in three sections: what are bones and what do they do, what happens when bones ‘go bad’ and what innovations have we developed to ... Continue Reading...
Review: Resurrection Science: Conservation, De-extinction and the Precarious Future of Wild Things
M.R O'Connor attempts to tackle the moral and social implications regarding de-extinction efforts. Considering the fact that mammoth DNA has been fully sequenced, it stands to reason the sequencing of other animal DNA is only a breath away. O'Connor delves in the questions: which animals are worth saving? What are the implications on the environment and human society? Will establishing the science of de-extinction devalue the meaning of "extinct species"? The novel looks at extremely troubled Spray Toads whose natural habitat has been destroyed by human efforts. ... Continue Reading...
Review: Immunity
I was expecting something very different from Immunity. Instead of an autobiography concerning the life and career of one of the world's most eminent immunologist, I got a mix of dry textbook and autobiography. I don't know if I consider this a good or bad thing, but I definitely think this book is written for a specific audience and it's not the lay man. William E Paul, a prominent member at the National Institute of Health has written plenty of academic texts on immunology, held roles as president of American Association of Immunologists and the American Society ... Continue Reading...
Review: The Worst of Times
The Worth of Times is a book that looks to be fairly straightforward on the surface, but is actually semi-complex. Wignall's novel describes how and why cataclysms caused mass extinctions in pre-historic time. He explains how scientists use technology and ancient clues to solve the riddles surrounding mass extinctions. He mainly describes the role of volcanic activities in mass extinction events. The novel attempts to foster further understanding as to why LIPs (large igneous provinces), which can develop into volcanic provinces, were so detrimental to life before ... Continue Reading...
Review: How to Clone a Mammoth
I want to start noting that I generally dislike the maltreatment of animals and cruelty enacted in laboratories, so this could not be an unbiased review. How to Clone a Mammoth is about cloning and the various problems concerned with the technologies used to clone cells. Shapiro explains these problems in the most base way, only touching on much of the scientific jargon that would confuse the average reader. She also explains that cloning would not return a perfect specimen from the Ice Age as popular belief has led us to imagine. Instead, the creatures developed ... Continue Reading...