Suggestions for some good science related books?
Joe Esquibel
Monday, 30 July 2007 21:17 UTC
Howdy everyone,
During a recent trip to the library, I stumbled on some books by Robert Sapolsky (“Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers”,“The Trouble with Testosterone”, “Baboon’s Memoir”). I thought they were terrific; brief overviews on various neurobiology topics coupled with musings on grad school and conducting research.
My chance discovery made me wonder what else was out there. Anyone have suggestions on good science related books (or blogs for that matter)?
All suggestions welcome!
J
An amusing passage from “Trouble with Testosterone”:
…I spent a few years doing research at the Salk Institute in San Diego…perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. Next door was a hang gliding center…One morning, I glanced up from, perhaps, my thousandth pipetting of the day, and my eyes briefly locked with those of a passing hang glider. It occurred to me in that instant that we were having the identical thought: “No way in hell would I like to be in your shoes, buddy…” – pg. 137
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Replies
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I am currently reading “The Monk in the Garden” by Robin Marantz Henig. It is a story of Gragor Mendel’s life and the discovery of the secrets of inheritance.
I also enjoyed reading “Microbe Hunters” by Paul De Kruif. This is a dramatization of the scientists, bacteriologists and doctors who discovered the microbes and invented the vaccines to counter them.
“Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder is on the life and quest of Dr. Paul Farmer.
Well as you can see, I am a fan of science biographies.
Here are two recent article in Science and Nature Methods on summer reading for scientists if you are interested.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated!
Joe
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I really enjoyed “The Seven Daughters of Eve” by Byran Sykes, which described the trials and triumphs of using mRNA to describe human evolution and determine ancient migration patterns.
You might also want to check out “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston – a good read if you have any interest in infectious diseases and containment.
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James Watson’s The Double Helix is a classic.
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A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson- long but worth reading the whole thing
Anything by Stephen J Gould
The Making of the Fittest – Sean B Carroll is GREAT read, much more ‘popular science’ than his other books but easy to read and some of really cool ‘stories’ of evolution .
A book similar to “the seven daughters of eve”, which uses mitochondrial DNA to track maternal descent, is “Y: the Descent of Men”, by Steve Jones, and tracks changes in markers on the Y chromosome.
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An Earth Saving Revolution by Dr. T. Higa
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Dear all:
I recommend “Archimedes’ Bathtub”. The author is David Perkins. He aims to pursue the emergence of the so-called Breakthrough Thinking. This book did revealed me a great secret of innovation. That corresponds perfectly to the Law of Attraction. No metaphysics but science.
Tai-Chung Huang, MD to PhD
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