Parasite Rex

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Parasite Rex

Author : Carl Zimmer
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 074320011X
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (432 download)

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Book Synopsis Parasite Rex by : Carl Zimmer

Download or read book Parasite Rex written by Carl Zimmer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001-11-09 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites control the minds of their hosts, sending them to their destruction. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites are masters of chemical warfare and camouflage, able to cloak themselves with their hosts' own molecules. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites steer the course of evolution, where the majority of species are parasites. WELCOME TO EARTH. For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and in the darkest shadows of science. Yet these creatures are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer deftly balances the scientific and the disgusting as he takes readers on a fantastic voyage. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the fetid parasite haven of southern Sudan, Zimmer graphically brings to life how parasites can change DNA, rewire the brain, make men more distrustful and women more outgoing, and turn hosts into the living dead. This thorough, gracefully written book brings parasites out into the open and uncovers what they can teach us about the most fundamental survival tactics in the universe.

This Is Your Brain On Parasites

Author : Kathleen McAuliffe
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0544193229
Total Pages : 299 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (441 download)

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Book Synopsis This Is Your Brain On Parasites by : Kathleen McAuliffe

Download or read book This Is Your Brain On Parasites written by Kathleen McAuliffe and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Engrossing … [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —Wall Street Journal “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can't wait to share.” —Scientific American Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Heather Havrilesky, Bookforum

Parasitism

Author : Timothy M. Goater
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521190282
Total Pages : 515 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (211 download)

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Book Synopsis Parasitism by : Timothy M. Goater

Download or read book Parasitism written by Timothy M. Goater and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Synthesizes the latest developments in the ecology and evolution of animal parasites for a new generation of parasitologists.

People, Parasites, and Plowshares

Author : Dickson D. Despommier
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231535260
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis People, Parasites, and Plowshares by : Dickson D. Despommier

Download or read book People, Parasites, and Plowshares written by Dickson D. Despommier and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dickson D. Despommier's vivid, visceral account of the biology, behavior, and history of parasites follows the interplay between these fascinating life forms and human society over thousands of years. Despommier focuses on long-term host-parasite associations, which have evolved to avoid or even subvert the human immune system. Some parasites do great damage to their hosts, while others have signed a kind of "peace treaty" in exchange for their long lives within them. Many parasites also practice clever survival strategies that medical scientists hope to mimic as they search for treatments for Crohn's disease, food allergies, type 1 diabetes, organ transplantation, and other medical challenges. Despommier concentrates on particularly remarkable and often highly pathogenic organisms, describing their lifecycles and the mechanisms they use to avoid elimination. He details their attack and survival plans and the nature of the illnesses they cause in general terms, enabling readers of all backgrounds to steal a glimpse into the secret work of such effective invaders. He also points to the cultural contexts in which these parasites thrive and reviews the current treatments available to defeat them. Encouraging scientists to continue to study these organisms even if their threat is largely contained, Despommier shows how closer dissection of the substances parasites produce to alter our response to them could help unravel some of our most complex medical conundrums.

New Guinea Tapeworms And Jewish Grandmothers

Author : Robert S Desowitz
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 9780393304268
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis New Guinea Tapeworms And Jewish Grandmothers by : Robert S Desowitz

Download or read book New Guinea Tapeworms And Jewish Grandmothers written by Robert S Desowitz and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1987-04-07 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A medical ecologist examines the threat posed by disease-carrying parasites and insects and identifies the conditions--miracle drugs, destruction of natural controls--that have encouraged them to flourish.

Worm Story

Author : Morris Gleitzman
Publisher : Penguin Group Australia
ISBN 13 : 1742284906
Total Pages : 114 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (422 download)

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Book Synopsis Worm Story by : Morris Gleitzman

Download or read book Worm Story written by Morris Gleitzman and published by Penguin Group Australia. This book was released on 2004-11-29 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who likes stomach acid and sludge farming and wants to find a friend? Wilton the worm. Who likes running away and hiding and wants to save the world? Algy the microbe. What's huge and scary and the first thing they see outside? Underpants. Wilton has a bad feeling in his tummy. The one he lives in. Can one worm discover new worlds and save his friends from destruction? Wilton is about to find out. Discover the magical world of the intestine and embark on an epic journey with Wilton and Algy as they learn the power of friendship, bravery, and self-discovery on their quest to save their world and each other. ------------------ PRAISE FOR MORRIS GLEITZMAN ‘Readers can't get enough of him.’ The Independent ‘A brilliantly funny writer’ Sunday Telegraph ‘A virtuoso demonstration of how you can make comedy out of the most unlikely subject’ Sunday Times ‘He is one of the finest examples of a writer who can make humour stem from the things that really matter in life.’ The Guardian

Venomous

Author : Christie Wilcox
Publisher : Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 13 : 0374712212
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (747 download)

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Book Synopsis Venomous by : Christie Wilcox

Download or read book Venomous written by Christie Wilcox and published by Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thrilling tale of encounters with nature’s masters of biochemistry From the coasts of Indonesia to the rainforests of Peru, venomous animals are everywhere—and often lurking out of sight. Humans have feared them for centuries, long considering them the assassins and pariahs of the natural world. Now, in Venomous, the biologist Christie Wilcox investigates and illuminates the animals of our nightmares, arguing that they hold the keys to a deeper understanding of evolution, adaptation, and immunity. She reveals just how venoms function and what they do to the human body. With Wilcox as our guide, we encounter a jellyfish with tentacles covered in stinging cells that can kill humans in minutes; a two-inch caterpillar with toxic bristles that trigger hemorrhaging; and a stunning blue-ringed octopus capable of inducing total paralysis. How do these animals go about their deadly work? How did they develop such intricate, potent toxins? Wilcox takes us around the world and down to the cellular level to find out. Throughout her journey, Wilcox meets the intrepid scientists who risk their lives studying these lethal beasts, as well as “self-immunizers” who deliberately expose themselves to snakebites. Along the way, she puts her own life on the line, narrowly avoiding being envenomated herself. Drawing on her own research, Wilcox explains how venom scientists are untangling the mechanisms of some of our most devastating diseases, and reports on pharmacologists who are already exploiting venoms to produce lifesaving drugs. We discover that venomous creatures are in fact keystone species that play crucial roles in their ecosystems and ours—and for this alone, they ought to be protected and appreciated. Thrilling and surprising at every turn, Venomous will change everything you thought you knew about the planet’s most dangerous animals.

Parasitology

Author : Eric Loker
Publisher : Garland Science
ISBN 13 : 1317407725
Total Pages : 577 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (174 download)

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Book Synopsis Parasitology by : Eric Loker

Download or read book Parasitology written by Eric Loker and published by Garland Science. This book was released on 2015-03-02 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach focuses on the conceptual basis of parasitology, with the goal of providing students with an enriched view of parasites and their biology. Concentrating on concepts will enable readers to gain a broader perspective that will increase their ability to think critically about all kinds of parasitic associations. The interfaces between the study of parasitism and prominent biological disciplines such as biodiversity, immunology, ecology, evolution, conservation biology, and disease control are highlighted. Studying individual parasites is an essential part of parasitology so Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach contains an appendix which provides a concise overview of the biology of important human and veterinary parasites. End-of-chapter questions are provided, as is an instructor manual.

Microcosm

Author : Carl Zimmer
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0307377563
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis Microcosm by : Carl Zimmer

Download or read book Microcosm written by Carl Zimmer and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-05-06 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Best Book of the YearSeed Magazine • Granta Magazine • The Plain-DealerIn this fascinating and utterly engaging book, Carl Zimmer traces E. coli's pivotal role in the history of biology, from the discovery of DNA to the latest advances in biotechnology. He reveals the many surprising and alarming parallels between E. coli's life and our own. And he describes how E. coli changes in real time, revealing billions of years of history encoded within its genome. E. coli is also the most engineered species on Earth, and as scientists retool this microbe to produce life-saving drugs and clean fuel, they are discovering just how far the definition of life can be stretched.

Parasites

Author : Rosemary Drisdelle
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520259386
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis Parasites by : Rosemary Drisdelle

Download or read book Parasites written by Rosemary Drisdelle and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The evolution and life history of parasites, their role in shaping human history, as well as future threats posed by them.

A Planet of Viruses

Author : Carl Zimmer
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022632026X
Total Pages : 133 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (263 download)

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Book Synopsis A Planet of Viruses by : Carl Zimmer

Download or read book A Planet of Viruses written by Carl Zimmer and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years, scientists have been warning us that a pandemic was all but inevitable. Now it's here, and the rest of us have a lot to learn. Fortunately, science writer Carl Zimmer is here to guide us. In this compact volume, he tells the story of how the smallest living things known to science can bring an entire planet of people to a halt--and what we can learn from how we've defeated them in the past. Planet of Viruses covers such threats as Ebola, MERS, and chikungunya virus; tells about recent scientific discoveries, such as a hundred-million-year-old virus that infected the common ancestor of armadillos, elephants, and humans; and shares new findings that show why climate change may lead to even deadlier outbreaks. Zimmer’s lucid explanations and fascinating stories demonstrate how deeply humans and viruses are intertwined. Viruses helped give rise to the first life-forms, are responsible for many of our most devastating diseases, and will continue to control our fate for centuries. Thoroughly readable, and, for all its honesty about the threats, as reassuring as it is frightening, A Planet of Viruses is a fascinating tour of a world we all need to better understand.

At the Water's Edge

Author : Carl Zimmer
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0684856239
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (848 download)

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Book Synopsis At the Water's Edge by : Carl Zimmer

Download or read book At the Water's Edge written by Carl Zimmer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1999-09-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everybody Out of the Pond At the Water's Edge will change the way you think about your place in the world. The awesome journey of life's transformation from the first microbes 4 billion years ago to Homo sapiens today is an epic that we are only now beginning to grasp. Magnificent and bizarre, it is the story of how we got here, what we left behind, and what we brought with us. We all know about evolution, but it still seems absurd that our ancestors were fish. Darwin's idea of natural selection was the key to solving generation-to-generation evolution -- microevolution -- but it could only point us toward a complete explanation, still to come, of the engines of macroevolution, the transformation of body shapes across millions of years. Now, drawing on the latest fossil discoveries and breakthrough scientific analysis, Carl Zimmer reveals how macroevolution works. Escorting us along the trail of discovery up to the current dramatic research in paleontology, ecology, genetics, and embryology, Zimmer shows how scientists today are unveiling the secrets of life that biologists struggled with two centuries ago. In this book, you will find a dazzling, brash literary talent and a rigorous scientific sensibility gracefully brought together. Carl Zimmer provides a comprehensive, lucid, and authoritative answer to the mystery of how nature actually made itself.

I Contain Multitudes

Author : Ed Yong
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062368621
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (623 download)

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Book Synopsis I Contain Multitudes by : Ed Yong

Download or read book I Contain Multitudes written by Ed Yong and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Book of 2016 • NPR Great Read of 2016 • Named a Best Book of 2016 by The Economist, Smithsonian, NPR's Science Friday, MPR, Minnesota Star Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Times (London) From Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin—a “microbe’s-eye view” of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on earth. Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ed Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are. The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.

Evolution

Author : Carl Zimmer
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062038230
Total Pages : 530 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution by : Carl Zimmer

Download or read book Evolution written by Carl Zimmer and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-11-23 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This brilliant book is a virtual Voyage of the Beagle! Carl Zimmer shows, with the benefit of a hundred and fifty years of hindsight, how right Darwin was.” —Steve Jones, author of Darwin’s Ghost Darwin’s The Origin of Species was breathtaking—beautifully written, staunchly defended, defiantly radical. Yet it emerged long before modern genetics, molecular biology, and contemporary findings in paleontology. In this remarkable book, a rich and up-to-date view of evolution is presented that explores the far-reaching implications of Darwin’s theory. At a time when controversies surrounding creationism and education are bursting into public consciousness, this book’s emphasis on the power, significance, and relevance of evolution will make it a catalyst for public debate. Evolution marks a turning point in the 150-year debate and will be an indispensable asset to any serious reader with an interest in the life sciences, a passion for truth in education, or a concern for the future of the planet. “The evolution of life over four billion years is a grand narrative, full of plots, intrigues, surprises and deaths. Carl Zimmer tells the tale with zest and style.” —Matt Ridley, New York Times–bestselling author “Proceeding from the flurry of preparations for Darwin’s famous voyage, Carl Zimmer leads us off on a journey of our own, tracking the development—and the implications—of one of the most powerful ideas in the biological sciences.” —Scientific American “Science writer Zimmer does a superb job of providing a sweeping overview of most of the topics critical to understanding evolution, presenting his material from both a historical and a topical perspective.” —Publishers Weekly “Popular science that will truly be popular.” —Booklist

Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress

Author : Robert A. McGuire
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262297493
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (622 download)

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Book Synopsis Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress by : Robert A. McGuire

Download or read book Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress written by Robert A. McGuire and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The crucial role played by diseases in economic progress, the growth of civilizations, and American history. In Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress, Robert McGuire and Philip Coelho integrate biological and economic perspectives into an explanation of the historical development of humanity and the economy, paying particular attention to the American experience, its history and development. In their path-breaking examination of the impact of population growth and parasitic diseases, they contend that interpretations of history that minimize or ignore the physical environment are incomplete or wrong. The authors emphasize the paradoxical impact of population growth and density on progress. An increased population leads to increased market size, specialization, productivity, and living standards. Simultaneously, increased population density can provide an ecological niche for pathogens and parasites that prey upon humanity, increasing morbidity and mortality. The tension between diseases and progress continues, with progress dominant since the late 1800s. Integral to their story are the differential effects of diseases on different ethnic (racial) groups. McGuire and Coelho show that the Europeanization of the Americas, for example, was caused by Old World diseases unwittingly brought to the New World, not by superior technology and weaponry. The decimation of Native Americans by pathogens vastly exceeded that caused by war and human predation. The authors combine biological and economic analyses to explain the concentration of African slaves in the American South. African labor was more profitable in the South because Africans' evolutionary heritage enabled them to resist the diseases that became established there; conversely, Africans' ancestral heritage made them susceptible to northern “cold-weather” diseases. European disease resistance and susceptibilities were the opposite regionally. Differential regional disease ecologies thus led to a heritage of racial slavery and racism.

The Parasite Menace

Author : Skye Weintraub
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 9781885670885
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis The Parasite Menace by : Skye Weintraub

Download or read book The Parasite Menace written by Skye Weintraub and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2000-09-30 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parasites. The word typically conjures images of impoverished living conditions, foreign travel or questionable eating establishments. But the presence of parasites is much more common than most people think. Contaminated water supplies, poor hygiene, and ignorance, coupled with the presence of various commonly found parasites puts infection rates among North Americans as high as 85 percent, according to some experts. In The Parasite Menace, Dr. Skye Weintraub educates the reader about parasites: how to prevent infection, detect their presence, and rid ourselves of them by through diet and nutrition, herbal and supplemental therapies, and other natural practices. Dr. Weintraub also examines proper hygiene practices, water filters, proper food handling, immune system fortification, and other ways to decrease our risk of being infected with parasites.

Peeps

Author : Scott Westerfeld
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101119128
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Peeps by : Scott Westerfeld

Download or read book Peeps written by Scott Westerfeld and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-09-07 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A year ago, Cal Thompson was a college freshman more interested in meeting girls and partying than in attending biology class. Now, after a fateful encounter with a mysterious woman named Morgan, biology has become, literally, Cal's life. Cal was infected by a parasite that has a truly horrifying effect on its host. Cal himself is a carrier, unchanged by the parasite, but he's infected the girlfriends he's had since Morgan. All three have turned into the ravening ghouls Cal calls Peeps. The rest of us know them as vampires. It's Cal's job to hunt them down before they can create more of their kind. . . . Bursting with the sharp intelligence and sly humor that are fast becoming his trademark, Scott Westerfeld's novel is an utterly original take on an archetype of horror.