Systems Biology

Systems biology came about as growing numbers of engineers and scientists from other fields created algorithms which supported the analysis of biological data in incredible quantities. Whereas biologists of the past had been forced to study one item or aspect at a time, due to technical and biological limitations, it suddenly became possible to study biological phenomena within their natural contexts.

Until recently, microglia were thought to be merely the brain’s housekeepers, helpfully removing damaged cells. But a recent groundbreaking discovery revealed them to be capable of terrifying Jekyll and Hyde behavior. When triggered - and anything that stirs up the immune system in the body can activate microglia - they can morph into destroyers, impacting a wide range of issues from memory problems and anxiety to depression and Alzheimer’s. Under the right circumstances, however, microglia can be coaxed back into being angelic healers.

The study of geometry is at least 2500 years old, and it is within this field that the concept of mathematical proof first arose. To this day geometry remains a very active area of research in mathematics. This Very Short Introduction covers the areas of mathematics falling under geometry, starting with topics such as Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries, and ranging to curved spaces, projective geometry in Renaissance art, and geometry of space-time inside a black hole. Throughout, Maciej Dunajski outlines the role geometry plays in the broader context of science and art.

Have you ever wondered how your brain makes a choice? And why are some people more susceptible than others to making poor choices? The Biology of Choice explores the key attributes of your brain that contribute to the choices you make. Suitable for both the casual reader and the budding neuroscientist, The Biology of Choice uses familiar, day-to-day scenarios to help you understand how your brain makes a decision then acts to carry out that decision. The Biology of Choice also explores the changes that occur in the brain that contribute to common mental maladies such as addiction, ADHD, ...

A renowned neuroscientist provides an “unorthodox but enlightening” (Wall Street Journal) narrative of how addiction happens in the brain, and what we can do to overcome it Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned...

For the past 25 years, scientists have challenged conventional views of evolution and have developed revolutionary theories with profound implications. Fritjof Capra has been at the forefront of this revolution and now, in The Web of Life, he offers a brilliant synthesis of these exciting breakthroughs.

As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.

Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer.

Relieve anxiety, burnout, feelings of overwhelm, and chronic physical symptoms by healing your dysregulated nervous system with this 5-stage roadmap based on the latest science. Dr. Linnea Passaler has helped thousands globally in her digital health program address a wide range of symptoms...

We harbor roughly the same number of microbes as we have cells. This complex ecosystem is crucial to our health, affecting many processes including immunity, child development, and bone density regulation. Research in this area has exploded, and in this audiobook, we highlight some of the most exciting work on how the microbiome develops, its influence on brain and behavior, and implications in both contributing to and treating various disorders.

What begins as a small fish kill at a wastewater plant in South Carolina sets off a chain reaction that reveals a terrifying truth: the infrastructure we trust—the pipes beneath our feet, the plants that keep our water clean—may already be compromised. Retired wastewater engineer Campbell Lake thought he’d left the industry behind for good. But when a former facility he once warned about goes dark, and strange biological signals begin appearing in treatment systems across the country, he’s pulled into a mystery that stretches far beyond regulatory failure. Alongside a brilliant but ...

Discover the hidden world of your immune army—lymphocytes—and how to unleash their full healing power to conquer infection, inflammation, and cancer. In The Role of Lymphocytes in the Defense of the Body, internationally renowned physician-scientist Benoît Tano, MD, PhD delivers the most comprehensive and groundbreaking exploration of the human immune defense system ever published. This authoritative masterpiece reveals, for the first time, how each lymphocyte—T cells, B cells, NK cells, and memory cells—functions, communicates, and orchestrates the miraculous defense of the human ...

You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door. So what, exactly, is your immune system? In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes listeners on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses.

A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system - the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind audiobook, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist.

A major new biography of Francis Crick, codiscoverer of the structure of DNA, pioneering neuroscientist, and twentieth-century genius What are the moments that make a life? In Francis Crick’s, the decisive moment came in 1951, when he first met James Watson. Their ensuing discovery of the...

“Stress causes disease. Redox imbalance is why.” From that seven-word thesis, “One Disease: Redox Imbalance” builds the provocative case that stress-driven imbalance in the body’s oxidation/reduction (redox) systems, is central to the onset and progression of chronic diseases ranging from aging to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental illness and more. Author Michael Sherer has synthesized research drawn from over 250,000 articles on Pubmed, a repository of global medical research, to explain what redox imbalance is, why you and even your doctor are likely unaware of it, and to ...

Nature is complex, elegant, and infinite in its wisdom. Farmers who are truly successful learn nature's many facets and her intricate dance; they crack the code of how to honor and feed this boundless natural system while coaxing the production needed for the survival of a modern farm. Natural product formulator and farm consultant Jerry Brunetti wraps together a lifetime of learning and his uncanny observations in this fascinating volume on the interconnected dynamics in place on a farm -- the farm's geology, biology, and diversity of life forms. Learn to look at -- and manage -- your farm...

In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin J. 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 consequences.

"Fascinating . . . Surprising entertainment, combining deep learning with dad jokes . . . [Schutt] is a natural teacher with an easy way with metaphor.”—The Wall Street Journal In this lively, unexpected look at the hearts of animals—from fish to bats to humans—American Museum of...

I didn’t set out to write a post-pandemic health book. The seeds of this book were sown over a decade ago. Yet its core message––stress causes disease and lost stress resilience can be recovered––couldn’t be more timely. Each day brings new stories of health challenges presented as mysterious and unsolvable. Rising rates of anxiety, depression, long COVID, post-pandemic stress disorder, and a raft of physical and mental ailments all attest to the centrality of stress in disease and the global hit to stress resilience we have collectively experienced. While acknowledging these ...