Explorations in Basic Biology
by
Medical Terminology Systems
by
Hole's Human Anatomy & Physiology
by
Human Anatomy and Physiology
by
Imitation of Life
by
How scientists are using nature as model and metaphor to reinvent computing: a survey of an emerging field. As computers and the tasks they perform become increasingly complex, researchers are looking to nature--as model and as metaphor--for inspiration. The organization and behavior of biological organisms present scientists with an invitation to reinvent computing for the complex tasks of the future. In Imitation of Life, Nancy Forbes surveys the emerging field of biologically inspired computing, looking at some of the most impressive and influential examples of this fertile synergy. Forbes points out that the influence of biology on computing goes back to the early days of computer science--John von Neumann, the architect of the first digital computer, used the human brain as the model for his design. Inspired by von Neumann and other early visionaries, as well as by her work on the "Ultrascale Computing" project at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Forbes describes the exciting potential of these revolutionary new technologies. She identifies three strains of biologically inspired computing: the use of biology as a metaphor or inspiration for the development of algorithms; the construction of information processing systems that use biological materials or are modeled on biological processes, or both; and the effort to understand how biological organisms "compute," or process information. Forbes then shows us how current researchers are using these approaches. In successive chapters, she looks at artificial neural networks; evolutionary and genetic algorithms, which search for the "fittest" among a generation of solutions; cellular automata; artificial life--not just a simulation, but "alive" in the internal ecosystem of the computer; DNA computation, which uses the encoding capability of DNA to devise algorithms; self-assembly and its potential use in nanotechnology; amorphous computing, modeled on the kind of cooperation seen in a colony of cells or a swarm of bees; computer immune systems; bio-hardware and how bioelectronics compares to silicon; and the "computational" properties of cells.
RNA
by
In RNA: Life's Indispensable Molecule, Jim Darnell provides a comprehensive and captivating account of RNA research, illuminated by his own life-long and celebrated engagement in the field. Darnell describes how scientists unraveled fundamental questions about the biochemical and geneticimportance of RNA - how mRNAs are generated and used to produce proteins, how noncoding and catalytic RNAs mediate key cellular processes, and how RNA molecules likely initiated life on Earth. With a scope extending from the early 20th century to the present day, and with the clarity expected froman accomplished textbook author, he conveys the intellectual context in which these questions first arose and explains how the key experiments were structured and answers obtained. The book is geared towards scientists from the graduate level on up, and will particularly appeal to activeinvestigators in RNA biology, educators of molecular biology and biochemistry, and science historians.
The Human Superorganism
by
A cutting-edge new book that reveals how foreign microbes might actually be good for us, contrary to past belief. The microorganisms that we have sought to eliminate have been supporting our ancestors for centuries. They comprise 90 percent of the cells in our bodies and yet we have significantly reduced their power, sparking an epidemic of new diseases, or superbugs. The Human Superorganism presents pioneering research and offers a blueprint for a revolution in public health, by going against what we always thought was true: that foreign microbes are bad for us.
The Animal Within Us
by