Aleta's Book Report

Amazon.com Review Dan Ariely on Survival of the Sickest MIT professor Dan Ariely has become one of the leaders in the growing field of behavioral economics, and his bestselling book debut, Predictably Irrational, has brought his ideas--and his ingenious experiments and charming sense of humor--to a much wider audience. With the simplest of tests (often an auction or a quiz given under a few conditions) he shows again and again not only that we are wired to make irrational decisions in many situations, but that we do so in remarkably predictable ways. I have always been puzzled by the way in which genetic diseases have managed to survive throughout the ages. How could it be that these diseases were able to withstand the evolutionary process, where only the most fit survive, and continue to be transferred from one generation to the next? Survival of the Sickest provides a thought provoking yet entertaining explanation to this puzzle. In this insightful book Dr. Sharon Moalem demonstra...

Missing Microbes by Martin Blaser (Henry Holt and Company) Description: A critically important and startling look at the harmful effects of overusing antibiotics, from the field's leading expert Tracing one scientist’s journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take readers to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage that overuse of antibiotics is doing to our health: contributing to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now, this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances—antibiotics—threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequenc...

Not yet Published - but looks good for Science Teachers... The Remedy by Thomas Goetz (Gotham Books) Description: The riveting history of tuberculosis, the world’s most lethal disease, the two men whose lives it tragically intertwined, and the birth of medical science. In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, accountable for a third of all deaths. A diagnosis of TB—often called consumption—was a death sentence. Then, in a triumph of medical science, a German doctor named Robert Koch deployed an unprecedented scientific rigor to discover the bacteria that caused TB. Koch soon embarked on a remedy—a remedy that would be his undoing. When Koch announced his cure for consumption, Arthur Conan Doyle, then a small-town doctor in England and sometime writer, went to Berlin to cover the event. Touring the ward of reportedly cured patients, he was horrified. Koch’s “remedy” was either sloppy science or outright fraud. But to a world desperate for relief, Koch’s remedy ...

by Neil White This is the story of a prison in Carville, Louisiana. Most of us know that Carville is also the site of the only "leper" colony in the lower 48 states. It happens to have been shared for some time by the Department of Corrections prison. Neil White, a Mississippi native educated at Ole Miss, was indicted and jailed for crimes he committed in his publishing business. He was incarcerated in the Carville facility, which shared housing with a very old colony of Hansen's Disease patients. Neil was surprised and upset that he was at the same place with "lepers", not even sure that he wasn't going to "catch" the disease. This is his story of accepting the residents and learning from them. You will enjoy this sweet book.

Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York Deborah Blum http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125502336&ft=1&f=1033 WOW - What a book! Science teachers will especially enjoy the history behind the elements of the periodic table as these elements are used in poisons and toxins. The book itself follows the story of the two men who founded forensic science in New York City ( New York City?! ). Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler worked many years to find methods to detect toxins during autopsies. Their trials were magnified by the politics of Tammany Hall, since, in many cases, the political body did not want cause of death to be recorded. Blum wrote a very readable book. Listen to the interview at the link above - I think you will enjoy it.

by Colin Dickey This was a fun and interesting book to read. I really enjoyed the historical aspect and the stories of the "unusual" ways these characters "memorialized" their heroes. Being a lover of music, I really enjoyed the post-death adventures of Haydn and Beethoven, and as a student and teacher of anatomy, it just goes to follow that I enjoyed the "research" part of this story. I immediate shared this book and it is now on the circuit, being enjoyed by many.

by Steve Berry Steve Berry hooked me with the Romanov Prophesy, and did not let me down on this story. It is another in the Cotton Malone series, dealing with the mysteries from Napoleon's adventures in Egypt. Ironically, I am also reading Mirage, a factual writing about Napoleon's time in Egypt (which ties in with the Katherine Neville book "The Eight"). I love the way Berry weaves in histories and myths into his writings. He rounds out a book like few other authors.