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3 books illuminate the cutting edge medical research that could save your life Right now, science is transforming what we know about preserving and improving human health. These three extraordinary books take you to the cutting edge of emerging science, presenting new findings that might someday save your life. In Antibiotic Resistance: Understanding and Responding to an Emerging Crisis, Karl S. Drlica and David S. Perlin presents a thorough and authoritative overview of the growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics, and what this means to our ability to control and treat infectious diseases. The authors answer crucial questions such as: What is resistance? How does it emerge? How do common human activities promote resistance? What can we do about it? How can we strengthen our defenses against resistance, minimize our risks, extend the effectiveness of current antibiotics, and find new ones faster? Next, in Chips, Clones, and Living Beyond 100: How Far Will the Biosciences Take Us?, Paul and Joyce A. Schoemaker tour the remarkable field of biosciences as it stands today, and preview the directions and innovations that are most likely to emerge in the coming years. They offer a clear, non-technical overview of crucial current developments that are likely to have enormous impact, addressing issues ranging from increased human longevity to global warming, bio-warfare to personalized medicine. Along the way, they illuminate each of the exciting technologies and hot-button issues associated with contemporary biotechnology - including stem cells, cloning, probiotics, DNA microarrays, proteomics, gene therapy, and more. Finally, in It Takes a Genome, Greg Gibson posits a revolutionary new hypothesis: our genome is out of equilibrium, both with itself and its environment. Our bodies weren't designed to subsist on fat and sugary foods; our immune systems aren't designed for today's clean, bland environments; our minds aren't designed to process hard-edged, artificial electronic inputs from dawn ‘til midnight. That, says Gibson, is why so many of us suffer from chronic diseases that barely touched our ancestors. Gibson reveals the stunningly complex ways genes cooperate and interact; illuminates the genetic “mismatches” that lead to cancer, diabetes, inflammatory and infectious diseases, AIDS, depression, and senility; and considers surprising new evidence for genetic variations in human psychology. From world-renowned leaders and experts, including Karl S. Drlica, David S. Perlin, Paul J. H. Schoemaker, Joyce A. Schoemaker, and Greg Gibson

This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Biomes of the World: series covers the biomes at high altitudes and near the poles, including the arctic tundra biomes, the Mid-Latitude Alpine Tundra Biome (found in the mountain ranges of North America, Asia, and South America), and the tropical alpine tundra biome (for example, Hawaii).

This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Biomes of the World focuses on deserts, the seemingly desolate—but actually quite lively—regions that are home to some of the most interesting and beautiful flora and fauna in the world. Desert Biomes examines three different types of biomes: warm/hot deserts (such as the Mojave and Sahara deserts), cold deserts (such as Patagonia in South America), and the West Coast Fog Desert biomes, which occur on certain regions of the western edge of major continents. The volumes examines how these biomes are unique in terms of their vegetation, geographical distribution, soil, challenges posed by the environment, adaptation of the plants and animals to the environment, and conservation efforts. Maps, photos, diagrams, drawings, and tables accompany the text, as do sidebars that highlight habitats, species, and ecological relationships. The volume includes a bibliography of accessible resources for further research.