Showing results by narrator "Bernadette Dunne" in All Categories

Genetic engineering, which refers to the direct manipulation of DNA, became a reality in the 1970s. In this audiobook, we take a look at how far the field has come, starting with a revolutionary gene-editing tool called CRISPR that’s taking the research world by storm. We then examine how CRISPR and other approaches are being investigated to treat disease, the fantastic-sounding research being done in synthetic biology, controversial efforts in modifying crops and saving species, as well as the numerous ethical issues raised in these areas.

Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998) was a war correspondent for nearly 50 years. From the Spanish Civil War in 1937 through the wars in Central America in the mid-'80s, her candid reports reflected her feelings for people no matter what their political ideologies, and the openness and vulnerability of her conscience. "I wrote very fast, as I had to," she says, "afraid that I would forget the exact sound, smell, words, gestures, which were special to this moment and this place."

With dashing Scotland Yard Inspector Alec Fletcher at her side, Daisy is enjoying a delightful performance of Verdi's Requiem, featuring her neighbor Muriel Westlea's celebrated sister, Bettina. But when all that emerges from the doomed diva's vocal chords is a dying gasp, Daisy soon discovers that the notoriously difficult opera star had her share of adversaries.

Meg's paternal grandfather has hired Stanley Denton to find her grandmother Cordelia. Stanley has found a trail to his long-lost love in a small town a short drive away. He convinces Meg to come with him to meet her, but unfortunately, the woman they meet is Cordelia's cousin. Cordelia died several years ago, and the cousin suspects she was murdered by her long-time neighbor. Stanley and Meg agree to help track down the killer.

Aelliana Caylon has escaped her abusive family. She's found love in her starship co-pilot - a man who turns out to be the leader of Korval, the most powerful clan of the Liaden Universe. But destiny never intended an easy life for Aelliana. Insidious forces within the empire are determined that a new line of Korval heirs be destroyed and that Clan Korval itself be blasted to interplanetary dust. The fight for the future of the Liaden Universe is on, and one heroine is determined to protect her family and her soul mate.

Best selling author Iris Johansen raises the stakes and the heart rate with this relentless new thriller that follows the harrowing trail of a ruthless killer on the hunt - and the woman who is determined to hunt him down.

Smart, sassy, and unapologetically feminine, In Praise of Difficult Women is an ode to the bold and charismatic women of modern history. Karen Karbo spotlights the spirited rule breakers who charted their way with little regard for expectations: Amelia Earhart, Helen Gurley Brown, Edie Sedgwick, and Shonda Rhimes, among others. Their lives provide inspiration and instruction for the new age of feminism we have entered. Karbo distills these lessons with wit and humor, examining the universal themes that connect us to each of these mesmerizing personalities today.

If F. Scott Fitzgerald was the hero of the Jazz Age, Edna St. Vincent Millay, as flamboyant in her love affairs as she was in her art, was its heroine. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Millay was dazzling in the performance of herself. Her voice was likened to an instrument of seduction, and her impact on crowds and on men was legendary. Yet beneath her studied act, all was not well.

The story of Sarah - and of history itself - begins in the cradle of civilization: the Sumerian city-state of Ur, a land of desert heat, towering gardens, and immense wealth. The daughter of a powerful lord, Sarah is raised in great luxury, but balks at the arranged marriage her father has planned for her. The groom is handsome and a nobleman, but on their wedding day, Sarah panics and impulsively flees to the vast, empty marshes outside the city walls.

Kiss the Boys Goodbye convincingly shows that a legacy of shame remains from America’s ill-fated involvement in Vietnam even though that conflict ended over 35 years ago. Until US government policy on POW/MIAs changes, it remains one of the most crucial issues for any American soldier who fights for home and country, particularly when we are engaged with an enemy who doesn't adhere to the international standards for the treatment of prisoners - or any American hostage...

Val and Julie just want what’s best for their kids, David and Sophie. So when teenage son David comes home one day asking for a Pilot, a new brain implant to help with school, they reluctantly agree. This is the future, after all. Soon, Julie feels mounting pressure at work to get a Pilot to keep pace with her colleagues, leaving Val and Sophie part of the shrinking minority of people without the device. Before long, the implications are clear for the family and society: Get a Pilot or get left behind. With government subsidies and no downside, why would anyone refuse?

The Doll Collection is exactly what it sounds like: a treasured toy box of all-original dark stories about dolls of all types, including everything from puppets and poppets to mannequins and baby dolls. Featuring everything from life-sized clockwork dolls to all-too-human Betsy Wetsy-type baby dolls, these stories play into the true creepiness of the doll trope but avoid the clichés that often show up in stories of this type.

While preparing for her wedding, Julia DeMarco comes across a famous photograph of a little girl in front of a Russian orphanage, and sees her own eyes staring back at her. But Julia is not an orphan, nor was she adopted. She knows where she comes from, or does she? Suddenly, the people she has loved and trusted are tainted by suspicion. The one person who is willing to help her is reckless photographer Alex Manning.

Seven minutes after President Obama put his signature to a landmark national health care insurance program, a lawyer in the office of Florida GOP attorney general Bill McCollum hit a computer key, sparking a legal challenge to the new law that would eventually reach the nation’s highest court. Health care is only the most visible and recent front in a battle over the meaning and scope of the U.S. Constitution. The battleground is the Supreme Court, and one of the most skilled, insightful, and trenchant of its observers takes us close up to watch it in action.

In the 1930s, battered and humbled by the Great Depression, the US financial sector struck a grand bargain with the federal government. Bankers gained a safety net in exchange for certain curbs on their freedom: transparency rules, record-keeping and anti-fraud measures, and fiduciary responsibilities. By the free-market era of the 1980s and 90s, however, Wall Street argued that rules embodied in New Deal-era regulations to protect consumers and ultimately taxpayers were no longer needed - and government agreed.

If you want to improve your conversational skills - and achieve greater levels of personal and professional success - The Art of Talking to Anyone is the ultimate book. Rosalie Maggio has built a career on teaching people how to say the right thing at the right time - and she's made her techniques available to you.

When crime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Florida beach, she is bloodied and disoriented but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear the signature of a sadistic serial killer: The Collector, who has resumed his grim hobby of abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirs before dumping their bodies. None of his victims has ever escaped - and he desperately wants Mia back. FBI agent Eric MacFarlane has pursued The Collector for a long time and now Mia holds the key.

When Keladry of Mindelan is chosen by the legendary Lord Raoul to be his squire, the conservatives of the realm hardly think she's up to the job. Kel quickly proves her ability as a jouster, warrior, and guardian of a fiery griffin, ultimately earning respect and admiration among the men, as well as the affection of a fellow squire.

QB, the actress playing Porfiria, is a true drama queen, with a drinking problem and a bad attitude. When Meg attempts to extract the recalcitrant QB from her dressing room, Meg finds her dead. Now Meg and Michael, despite the zany atmosphere, must solve the murder.

Elizabeth Ford went through medical school unsure of where she belonged. It wasn't until she did her psychiatry rotation that she found her calling - to care for one of the most vulnerable populations of mentally ill people, the inmates of New York City's jails, including Rikers Island, who are so sick that they are sent to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for care.