The Explorer Gene

The Explorer Gene
Author: Tom Cheshire
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476730288

The remarkable account of an extraordinary family of explorers who spurred innovation and accomplished incredible feats—even when the popular consensus was against them. On May 27, 1931, Auguste Piccard became the first human to enter the stratosphere, flying an experimental balloon he invented himself. Thirty years later, his son Jacques went to the bottom of the earth, descending to the Mariana Trench in a submarine built by him and Auguste. To this day, no one has gone deeper. Bertrand, the third generation, was the first person to fly around the world non-stop in a balloon. Now, he’s building his own craft: a solar-powered plane to circumnavigate the globe. In The Explorer Gene, Tom Cheshire asks how three generations of one family achieved such extraordinary feats, often with the consensus against them. None of the Piccards set out to explore: Auguste was a physicist, Jacques an economist and Bertrand a psychiatrist. Was it fate, a famous family name – or their explorer gene?

The Explorer Gene

The Explorer Gene
Author: Tom Cheshire
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 147673027X

Originally published: Great Britain: Short Books, 2013.

The Explorers Gene

The Explorers Gene
Author: Tom Cheshire
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Balloonists
ISBN:

Meet the Piccards. Swiss, all over 6ft5, with high foreheads and leonine hair. Great uncle Jules helped build the first hydroelectric power plant in the world. Grandfather Auguste went higher than any man before him, to the edge of space, in a balloon he designed himself. And when his twin brother Jean-Felix bettered his record, Auguste constructed his own submersible and went deeper than any man before him. He held the deepest dive record, post-humously, for decades - until film director James Cameron finally beat him in 2012. Auguste's grandson Bertrand wanted to escape the family name and became a psychiatrist. He then became the first person to circumnavigate the world in a balloon. Now, like his grandfather, he's building his own vehicle: a solar-powered plane to fly across the globe non-stop. It might make it look like the Piccard family coasted on breakthrough after breakthrough. But they won their achievements as private individuals, without government support. And they were frequently ridiculed for their efforts (it was years before Nasa adopted both Jean-Felix's and Bertrand's techniques). This is a remarkable story, not just about the extraordinary achievements of a family, but about the power of the individual to spur innovation, even when the consensus is against you.

Inequality

Inequality
Author: Carles Lalueza-Fox
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2022-02-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262369168

How genomics reveals deep histories of inequality, going back many thousands of years. Inequality is an urgent global concern, with pundits, politicians, academics, and best-selling books all taking up its causes and consequences. In Inequality, Carles Lalueza-Fox offers an entirely new perspective on the subject, examining the genetic marks left by inequality on humans throughout history. Lalueza-Fox describes genetic studies, made possible by novel DNA sequencing technologies, that reveal layers of inequality in past societies, manifested in patterns of migration, social structures, and funerary practices. Through their DNA, ancient skeletons have much to tell us, yielding anonymous stories of inequality, bias, and suffering. Lalueza-Fox, a leader in paleogenomics, offers the deep history of inequality. He explores the ancestral shifts associated with migration and describes the gender bias unearthed in these migrations—the brutal sexual asymmetries, for example, between male European explorers and the women of Latin America that are revealed by DNA analysis. He considers social structures, and the evidence that high social standing was inherited—the ancient world was not a meritocracy. He untangles social and genetic factors to consider whether wealth is an advantage in reproduction, showing why we are more likely to be descended from a king than a peasant. And he explores the effects of ancient inequality on the human gene pool. Marshaling a range of evidence, Lalueza-Fox shows that understanding past inequalities is key to understanding present ones.

The Society of Genes

The Society of Genes
Author: Itai Yanai
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2016-01-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674425022

Nearly four decades ago Richard Dawkins published The Selfish Gene, famously reducing humans to “survival machines” whose sole purpose was to preserve “the selfish molecules known as genes.” How these selfish genes work together to construct the organism, however, remained a mystery. Standing atop a wealth of new research, The Society of Genes now provides a vision of how genes cooperate and compete in the struggle for life. Pioneers in the nascent field of systems biology, Itai Yanai and Martin Lercher present a compelling new framework to understand how the human genome evolved and why understanding the interactions among our genes shifts the basic paradigm of modern biology. Contrary to what Dawkins’s popular metaphor seems to imply, the genome is not made of individual genes that focus solely on their own survival. Instead, our genomes comprise a society of genes which, like human societies, is composed of members that form alliances and rivalries. In language accessible to lay readers, The Society of Genes uncovers genetic strategies of cooperation and competition at biological scales ranging from individual cells to entire species. It captures the way the genome works in cancer cells and Neanderthals, in sexual reproduction and the origin of life, always underscoring one critical point: that only by putting the interactions among genes at center stage can we appreciate the logic of life.

The GenoType Diet

The GenoType Diet
Author: Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo
Publisher: Harmony
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2007-12-26
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 076792844X

What’s Your GenoType? GenoType 1 The Hunter Tall, thin, and intense, with an overabundance of adrenaline and a fierce, nervous energy that winds down with age, the Hunter was originally the success story of the human species. Vulnerable to systemic burnout when overstressed, the Hunter’s modern challenge is to conserve energy for the long haul. GenoType 2 The Gatherer Full-figured, even when not overweight, the Gatherer struggles with body image in a culture where thin is “in.” An unsuccessful crash dieter with a host of metabolic challenges, the Gatherer becomes a glowing example of health when properly nourished. GenoType 3 The Teacher Strong, sinewy, and stable, with great chemical synchronicity and stamina, the Teacher is built for longevity—given the right diet and lifestyle. This is the genotype of balance, blessed with a tremendous capacity for growth and fulfillment. GenoType 4 The Explorer Muscular and adventurous, the Explorer is a biological problem solver, with an impressive ability to adapt to environmental changes, and a better than average capacity for gene repair. The Explorer’s vulnerability to hormonal imbalances and chemical sensitivities can be overcome with a balanced diet and lifestyle. GenoType 5 The Warrior Long, lean, and healthy in youth, the Warrior is subject to a bodily rebellion in midlife.With the optimal diet and lifestyle, the Warrior can overcome the quick-aging metabolic genes and experience a second, “silver,” age of health. GenoType 6 The Nomad A GenoType of extremes, with a great sensitivity to environmental conditions—especially changes in altitude and barometric pressure, the Nomad is vulnerable to neuromuscular and immune problems. Yet a well-conditioned Nomad has the enviable gift of controlling caloric intake and aging gracefully. The author of the international bestseller Eat Right 4 Your Type again breaks new ground with the first diet plan based on your unique genetic code. With Eat Right 4 Your Type and additional books in the Blood Type Diet® series, Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo pioneered a new, revolutionary approach to dieting—one linked to a person’s blood type. In the GenoType Diet, he takes his groundbreaking research to the next level by identifying six unique genetic types. Whether you are a Hunter, Gatherer, Teacher, Explorer, Warrior, or Nomad, Dr. D’Adamo offers a customized program that compliments your genetic makeup to maximize health and weight loss, as well as prevent or even reverse disease. In simple, concise prose, Dr. D’Adamo explains how a host of environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle, dictate how and when your genes express themselves. He goes on to demonstrate precisely how, with the right tools, you can alter your genetic destiny by turning on the good genes and silencing the bad ones. Your health risks, weight, and life span can all be improved by following The GenoType Diet that’s right for you. Using family history and blood type, as well as simple diagnostic tools like fingerprint analysis, leg length measurements, and dental characteristics, Dr. D’Adamo shows you how to map out your genetic identity and discover which of the six GenoType plans you should follow. Without expensive tests or a visit to the doctor, The GenoType Diet reveals previously hidden genetic strengths and weaknesses and provides a precise diet and lifestyle plan for every individual. Based on the latest and most cutting-edge genetic research, this is a twenty-first-century plan for wellness and weight loss from a renowned healthcare pioneer.

Explorers Who Got Lost

Explorers Who Got Lost
Author: Diane Sansevere-Dreher
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 150
Release: 1992-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780812520385

Examines the adventures of such early explorers of America as Columbus, Dias, and Cabot. Includes information on the events, society, and superstitions of the times.

The Gene Hunters

The Gene Hunters
Author: Calestous Juma
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2014-07-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1400860253

The world is on the verge of receiving new life forms that will profoundly and irrevocably change the global economy: the "gene hunters" who first cloned the gene in 1973 are now not only modifying existing species but also creating new plants and animals. Ready or not for such awesome power, the human race has put itself in a position to govern evolution. What will we do with the abilities we now command? asks this broad and stimulating book on the role of plant material in economic development. Writing in a style that is easily understandable even to those with no background in biotechnology, Calestous Juma begins by showing how the importation of plants strengthened the British Empire and brought the United States to global agricultural superiority. He goes on to explore the current international competition for genetic material and the potential impact of biotechnology on the relationship of the developed and developing world. Juma points out that biotechnology poses real dangers to the third world. Often one of the few exportable resources that a developing country possesses is an unusual or rare crop, but biotechnological techniques make possible the cultivation of many such crops outside their natural habitats, potentially eliminating the need to import the crops from the countries in which they grow indigenously. After discussing the threat of biotechnology, Juma comes full circle and points out that it does not have to be a threat. Actually, tremendous benefits could accrue to the third world from biotechnology--if and only if that new technology is adapted to its needs. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The North Pole

The North Pole
Author: Robert E. Peary
Publisher: DigiCat
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2022-05-28
Genre: Travel
ISBN:

The North Pole is a book by Robert E. Peary. It presents the discovery of The North Pole in 1909 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club in colorful fashion.