Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2019 - Science & Technology — Biology — Zoology

Discovering Retroviruses serves as an impressive example of how an expert can communicate a broad and complex topic to a general audience. Skalka (emer., Fox Chase Cancer Center) succeeds in doing so without sacrificing the details and subtleties of the field that make it so fascinating to experts. A world authority on retroviruses, she writes an engaging and accessible book that uses retrovirology as the thread to lead the reader on a compelling journey through the early years of molecular biology, the development of our understanding of cancer, the genomic basis of evolution, and a comprehensive recounting of HIV and the AIDS epidemic (HIV is among the most well-known examples of a retrovirus). Each chapter has notes, references, and suggested reading for those seeking further information. Skalka includes stories of the individuals involved in the research driving this field, a perspective that adds richness to the narrative. A measure of a true scholar is the ability to effectively communicate the complexities of his or her discipline to a general audience, and Skalka succeeds in an impressive fashion.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Historically, philosophers have thought of things in the world metaphysically as substances--continuants such as organisms, which change--that are intrinsically connected with processes, or occurrents. The authors argue that substance-based thinking, so fundamental for the development of Western science and philosophy, has hampered the understanding of processes studied in contemporary theoretical biology. In this collection of papers, Nicholson and Dupre (both, Univ. of Exeter, UK) have fashioned an empirical foundation for the processual philosophy of biology based on the thesis that the makeup of the world is most advantageously thought of as ordered processes at varying time scales rather than as various montages of material objects. The 20 or so European and North American contributors investigate biology from a convincingly naturalistic perspective of complex hierarchies of biological processes. Viewing biological development in this manner, not as something that happens to an entity but from the perspective of phases of an entity's procedural process, may well constitute theoretical biology's next explanatory paradigm shift. This is an important book in the development of biological explanation and understanding.Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

This addition to a small genre of autobiographical books by Nobel science laureates is eminently readable. The author is a citizen of the world, having worked and studied at half-dozen places in the US and UK. Born in India to parents who had international training in biochemistry and psychology, married to an American artist who writes and illustrates children's books, he brings a broad perspective to his research. With great perceptiveness, Ramakrishnan leads readers through complex techniques and technologies to the final goal of describing how ribosomes translate genetic information into functional proteins. Many illustrations enhance descriptions of the players in the game--and the pieces that they move about--to finally capture the ribosome in action, allowing a dynamic story to emerge. He also describes how the game is played, giving sharp insights into the convoluted ways of science, describing how and where he acquired useful knowledge, how he interacted with the many other players, and how the game ends. Always gracious, writing eloquently, Ramakrishnan's story is truly worthy of the dust jacket quotes and worth a reader's time.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

Carlson (Indiana Univ., Bloomington) argues that progress in the life sciences does not conform to Thomas Kuhn's paradigm shift model of scientific change. Using a broad range of examples from modern biology, Carlson proposes that change is incremental and driven by advances in experimental and observational technology that allow biologists to gather better data. It is this continuous flow of increasingly sophisticated data that drives better understanding, the development of new fields, and fusion of existing fields. Chapters cover how we came to understand cell biology, genetics, mutation, organismal life cycles, biochemistry, sex determination, microbiology, developmental biology, and evolution. Each chapter takes its subject from a prescientific understanding to its 21st-century state, emphasizing the changes in observation and technology that allowed the discipline to advance. Carlson's writing is generally quite strong; science is liberally mixed with social context to make both more interesting and understandable. Only a few areas (e.g., Drosophila genetics) are too technical for the average reader. Carlson's thesis of incrementalism is almost secondary to the book's primary utility as an excellent historical overview of the development of the modern synthesis of molecular, cellular, developmental, and evolutionary biology.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

In Life Finds a Way: What Evolution Teaches Us about Creativity, evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner (Univ. of Zurich, Switzerland) takes what has been learned about nature's creative process and applies it to human creativity. In the first half of the book, he reviews the development of evolutionary thought since Darwin presented the theory of natural selection. Wagner describes the limitations of natural selection identified in the first half of the 20th century and the solutions proposed, such as the inclusion of genetic drift and sexual recombination, as essential mechanisms required in addition to natural selection. In doing this, he very elegantly describes the adaptive landscape metaphor created by USDA scientist Sewall Wright to illustrate the main barrier evolution faces in finding the best solutions. In the second half of the book, Wagner uses the landscape metaphor to show how humans can optimize their creative potential, providing examples in education, business, government, technological innovation, and science. This book will be most useful to those with some background in evolutionary theory.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

Using the Ovidian narrative of Myrrha's transformation into a tree as a consequence of desiring to be neither dead nor alive, Bruyere (Emory Univ.) argues that the contemporary discursive practices and technological narratives of perishability (i.e., seed and toxic waste repositories; genetic engineering and tissue preservation) have transformed human relationships to living and dying by managing perishability, mortality, and temporality in ways that obfuscate their reality and meaning. In particular, the author seeks to place in dialogue the documents, discourses, and boundaries separating biomedical, political, and ecological practices to reveal their impact on constructions of sustainability--providing in the process a space for the recognition of human transience and suffering. Chapters focus on the discourses and practices associated with preparedness and survival, including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault Project, the preservation of Henrietta Lacks' cervical cancer cells, and the culture of cancer treatment in the context of "living in diagnosis." Bruyere's exploration is a groundbreaking examination of the intersections of the social, scientific, and philosophical practices associated with being human. It is well written and argued, though necessarily obscure because of its innovative attempt to connect disparate discourses not often scrutinized together in this context.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates and above.

Did restriction enzymes (RE) let the GMO genie out of its bottle? No, not without help from people, polymerases, and ligases, but so far only the RE merit a history of their own. The author, active in the field for 40 years, gives an authoritative, clearly written, but often dense narrative. Portions were covered by her previous reviews in research journals. The early history of the field--prior to about 1970 and covered in the first two chapters--contains many personal recollections by participants. The field, initially a curiosity-driven study of microbe versus phage warfare, exploded from the first purification of an RE into genetic engineering and GMOs in just over a decade, as described in chapters 3-5. Two further chapters, detailed and extensively referenced, deal with two decades' work to understand structural diversity of RE in four distinct classes. More recent findings (2004-16) fill a 120-page scientific review, with about 700 references. The text is produced to a very high standard, containing a glossary of abbreviations, a nearly 2,000-term index, over 1,500 references, many color illustrations, and useful appendixes. This is a permanent resource for advanced students and professionals. Selected portions make excellent supplemental reading for advanced undergraduates.Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

To gain a full appreciation for how the modern version of the "species concept" continues to evolve, it is important for both scientists and philosophers to explore the critical paradigm shifts that occupy the evolutionary path of what may possibly be a human construct with no clear definition. Wilkins (philosophy, Univ. of Sydney, Australia) has produced a second edition of his original work, Species: A History of the Idea (1st ed., CH, Apr'10, 47-4409). This new edition includes a discussion on the work of 16th-century theologians attempting to determine how many unique types of animals were carried on Noah's Ark. He added this discussion as a result of his conviction that their work necessitated an understanding of a fundamental type of form, and that this necessity led to the introduction of species as a concept. Beyond that, there are very few historical novelties of note in this second edition. Still, by adding an entire section on the various philosophical discussions of the species concept, Wilkins has expanded the audience that his manuscript will appeal to. This new and enlarged edition will appeal to all readers with an interest in the philosophy of science.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

The two-volume Social Medicine Reader is edited by members of the University of North Carolina's Social Medicine Department. It is a collection of pieces reflective of an interdisciplinary course taught to medical students. The readings are brilliantly woven together to provide a thought-provoking and scholarly awareness of the complex relationship between medicine, health, and society. Widely considered "classic" readings were omitted from this third edition, and new pieces from the scholarly literature are added for greater impact and reflection. The first volume addresses topics such as illness, the role and training of health care professionals, the patient-provider relationship, institutional bioscience and medical cultures, ethics, death and dying, and allocation of resources and justice. The second volume explores health and illness, how contemporary America experiences and defines difference and disability, how disease outcome is predicted by social categories, and how gender, race/ethnicity, and social class shape medical care and health outcomes. A must-read for health care professionals, these readings are provocative and invite critical social and moral analysis among health care professionals.Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.

The species has been an important concept in the life sciences since Linnaeus first laid the groundwork for the modern taxonomic system of living organisms in 1735. Sigwart (Queen's Univ. Marine Laboratory, Ireland) has made an ambitious attempt to summarize the significance of this taxonomic unit using a pragmatic approach, shifting the universal ambiguous question of "What is a species?" to "What do species mean?" The book explores themes such as how species are practically distinguished, the administrative aspects of the Linnaean taxonomic system, how the taxonomic system reflects evolutionary relationships, and how species function as the primary units of evolution. This volume is one of the best practical primers on this challenging subject, and would serve well as a companion text in a number of undergraduate subjects in the life sciences, including genetics, organismal biology, taxonomy, evolution, the paleontological sciences, and environmental sciences. It would also make a useful resource for graduate students in any life science discipline. It offers a superb review for students and practitioners in molecular biology who do not work with the whole organism and need to broaden their understanding of whole organisms. Overall, this is an important resource for undergraduate and graduate students in the pure and applied life sciences.Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels and professionals.

This fantastically illustrated book on corals by Shick (emer., zoology and oceanography, Univ. of Maine) is a labor of love. Almost every page has a full-color image illustrating some facet of the history of our understanding of corals or of coral biology. The text includes seven chapters and a prelude indicating the story behind the title, and ending with a coda that examines what's in the future for corals. The numbered chapters go from what a coral is to our understanding of coral biology today. Locations mentioned in the text are mapped in an appendix. Shick includes not only references but a short bibliography. For the non-biologist there is a glossary. A substantial index concludes the volume. While there is no shortage of books devoted to corals, coral reefs, and the coral biome, there are none exactly like this book. The text is densely written as many of the paragraphs describe who said what and when, but the narrative is engaging and readable. The book is well suited to a scholarly audience as well as to anyone interested in coral and coral biology.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.