Science : Biology

A brain scientist’s journey from a debilitating stroke to full recovery becomes an inspiring exploration of human consciousness and its possibilities. On the morning of December 10, 1996 Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. A neuroanatomist by profession, she observed her own mind completely deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four brief hours. As the damaged left side of her brain – the rational, grounded, detail and time-oriented side – swung in and out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realties: the euphoric nirvana of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace; and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized Jill was having a stroke, and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely. In My Stroke of Insight, Taylor shares her unique perspective on the brain and its capacity for recovery, and the sense of omniscient understanding she gained from this unusual and inspiring voyage out of the abyss of a wounded brain. It would take eight years for Taylor to heal completely. Because of her knowledge of how the brain works, her respect for the cells composing her human form, and most of all an amazing mother, Taylor completely repaired her mind and recalibrated her understanding of the world according to the insights gained from her right brain that morning of December 10th. Today Taylor is convinced that the stroke was the best thing that could have happened to her. It has taught her that the feeling of nirvana is never more than a mere thought away. By stepping to the right of our left brains, we can all uncover the feelings of well-being and peace that are so often sidelined by our own brain chatter. A fascinating journey into the mecha more...

Price: $19.96

Tales about organ transplants appear in mythology and folk stories, and surface in documents from medieval times, but only during the past twenty years has medical knowledge and technology been sufficiently advanced for surgeons to perform thousands of transplants each year. more...

Price: $15.95

Calculations in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: A Guide to Mathematics in the Laboratory is the first comprehensive guide devoted exclusively to calculations encountered in the genetic engineering laboratory. Mathematics, as a vital component of the successful design and interpretation of basic research, is used daily in laboratory work. This guide, written for students, technicians, and scientists, provides example calculations for the most frequently confronted problems encountered in gene discovery and analysis. The text and sample calculations are written in an easy-to-follow format. It is the perfect laboratory companion for anyone working in DNA manipulation and analysis. more...

Price: $57.95

The aim of this book is to assemble a series of chapters, written by experts in their fields, covering the basics of color - and then some more. In this way, readers are supplied with almost anything they want to know about color outside their own area of expertise. Thus, the color measurement expert, as well as the general reader, can find here information on the perception, causes, and uses of color. For the artist there are details on the causes, measurement, perception, and reproduction of color. Within each chapter, authors were requested to indicate directions of future efforts, where applicable. One might reasonably expect that all would have been learned about color in the more than three hundred years since Newton established the fundamentals of color science. This is not true because:. • the measurement of color still has unresolved complexities (Chapter 2). • many of the fine details of color vision remain unknown (Chapter 3). • every few decades a new movement in art discovers original ways to use new pigments, and dyes continue to be discovered (Chapter 5). • the philosophical approach to color has not yet crystallized (Chapter 7). • new pigments and dyes continue to be discovered (Chapters 10 and 11). • the study of the biological and therapeutic effects of color is still in its infancy (Chapter 2). Color continues to develop towards maturity and the editor believes that there is much common ground between the sciences and the arts and that color is a major connecting bridge. more...

Price: $143.00

Biodiversity is recognised to be of global importance, yet species and habitats are under increasing pressure from human-induced influences. This Handbook will enable practitioners to plan and conduct a survey of any species or habitat and to evaluate the data so as to determine its local, national and international significance. more...

Price: $136.00