Sam Kean
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 10 - AR Pts: 19
Lexile measure
1300L
Language
English
Description
The periodic table of the elements is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, obsession, and betrayal. These tales follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold, and all the elements in the table as they play out their parts in human history. The usual suspects are here, like Marie Curie (and her radioactive journey to the discovery of polonium and radium) and William Shockley (who is credited, not exactly justly,...
2) The violinist's thumb: and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code
Author
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
Explores the wonders of the building block of life, DNA, and explains crazy cat ladies, why some people have no fingerprints, why some people survive nuclear bombs, and more.
Author
Pub. Date
2014.
Language
English
Description
Early studies of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike--strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, horrendous accidents--and see how victims coped. In many cases their survival was miraculous, if puzzling. Observers were amazed by the transformations that took place when different parts of the brain were destroyed, altering victims' personalities. Parents suddenly couldn't recognize their own children. Pillars of the community...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
The Icepick Surgeon masterfully guides the reader across two thousand years of history, beginning with Cleopatra's dark deeds in ancient Egypt. The book reveals the origins of much of modern science in the transatlantic slave trade of the 1700s, as well as Thomas Edison's mercenary support of the electric chair and the warped logic of the spies who infiltrated the Manhattan Project. But the sins of science aren't all safely buried in the past. Many...
Author
Language
English
Description
Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have the secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were so alarmed to learn that the Nazis were outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research, they assembled a motley crew of geniuses -- dubbed the Alsos Mission -- and sent them careening into Axis territory. Thrust into the dark world of international espionage,...
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 9 - AR Pts: 8
Lexile measure
1210L
Language
English
Formats
Description
Presents a young readers adaptation of the book that collects tales about elements of the periodic table, sharing their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, evil, love, the arts, and the lives of the scientists who discovered them.
Author
Pub. Date
[2020]
Language
English
Description
Assuming the viewer has no background in science, these twelve half-hour lectures cover the fundamental properties of DNA, the techniques that have unraveled its mysteries, the exciting revelations that have come to light, and the stories of the all-too-human scientists involved. Witty and informative, the lectures are delivered by science writer and podcaster Sam Kean, author of the bestseller The Violinist's Thumb.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Locked inside the DNA of every species that ever lived are endless stories-about origins, ancestors, fate, and much more. Until recently, these secrets were completely inaccessible. But with the help of new technologies, scientists are now reading the hidden history of DNA, making remarkable discoveries about ourselves and our fellow species. Your gateway to this treasure trove of information is Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA, 12 informative...
Author
Language
English
Description
The periodic table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. We learn that Marie Curie...
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 3
Language
English
Description
Enter the home stretch in the race to find the structure of DNA. With eminent chemist Linus Pauling leading the pack, longshots James Watson and Francis Crick got a key clue from rival investigator Rosalind Franklin (without her knowledge). Analyze the reasoning that led Watson and Crick to their 1953 breakthrough, and consider why Franklin didn't beat them to it.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 11
Language
English
Description
Investigate the first precision technique for genetic engineering, CRISPR, heralded as holding the potential for science fiction-like manipulation of the human genome. Trace the history of CRISPR-based techniques from a coastal salt marsh, to the fight over patents. Consider the potential for abuse of this powerful tool.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 8
Language
English
Description
Every cell in the human body has essentially the same DNA, yet cells behave very differently, partly due to epigenetics. In epigenetics, the DNA genetic sequence remains constant, but the activity of that sequence changes as genes get switched on and off. More surprising, epigenetics also explains how the inheritance of traits can be influenced by environmental factors.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 12
Language
English
Description
Look at the genetic basis for certain diseases and how personalized genetic medicine might be customized to the hidden histories that each of us have written in our DNA. Discover what makes the challenges so daunting and focus in particular on the different mechanisms behind different cancers, and how genetics helps us disentangle the differences.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 1
Language
English
Description
Your investigation begins with the independent discoveries of genes and of DNA in the mid-1800s. Follow both trails into the 20th century, as chromosomes are discovered and the realization finally begins to dawn that genes and DNA may be related.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 2
Language
English
Description
Join the quest to understand the molecular biology of the gene with the famous blender experiment, which showed that DNA, not proteins, transmit genetic information. Then look at five scientists who competed to solve the mystery of DNA's structure, including Rosalind Franklin and a team of rookie investigators who stumbled embarrassingly in their first attempt.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 4
Language
English
Description
Because DNA is only a blueprint, the discovery of its double helix structure was just the beginning. Trace the next big step: understanding how DNA synthesizes proteins through the intermediary of RNA. Here again, a dark horse researcher (Marshall Nirenberg) made the crucial breakthrough. Then see how DNA fingerprinting became possible in the 1980s.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 10
Language
English
Description
Where did humans originate? When did we first start wearing clothes? How did the agricultural revolution spread? Delve into historical questions that DNA has answered, involving figures such as King Tut, Genghis Khan, Thomas Jefferson, and King Richard III. Consider Abraham Lincoln to ask where we draw the line in reading genetic secrets from the past.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 9
Language
English
Description
In the wake of the Human Genome Project, scientists were able to chart our shared heritage with a multitude of species. Most startling was evidence of breeding between modern humans and Neanderthals in the deep past, with a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA present in major human populations today. Peer into the human genome to read these and other clues about our multifaceted history.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 7
Language
English
Description
Investigate the curious career of microbes in our bodies, not just the ones that make us sick, but more crucially, those that get incorporated into our DNA, driving evolution in unpredictable ways. For instance, the placenta that makes most mammals distinct from egg-laying animals appears to be an adaptation derived from an invasive virus. Learn why 8% of our genome is viral in origin.
Author
Series
Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA volume 6
Language
English
Description
The decoding of the human genome paved the way for Project ENCODE, designed to identify functional elements in the genome. Focus on examples that are central to human culture, such as language. Probe the foxp2 gene that appears to play a role in speech, together with other genes. Consider the role of mutations and nature's gene splicing in boosting our brain and cognitive abilities.