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"Kean, Sam"
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The disappearing spoon and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements
These tales follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold, and all the elements in the table as they play out their parts in human history.
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The 'Other' Breast Cancer Genes
Since the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2 , dozens more breast cancer genes have come to light. But what risk they pose—and what to tell women who carry them—remain quandaries.
First there were the BRCA genes. Now, dozens or more breast cancer genes have been unmasked. But unlike BRCA1 and BRCA2 , the risk these genes pose is uncertain. And that leaves doctors and genetic counselors in a bind. With understanding so limited, is information on these genes even helpful? Should women with a family history of breast cancer be tested for them? And what do you tell them if the test comes back positive?
Journal Article
The violinist's thumb : and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code
\"In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future\"-- Provided by publisher.
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Making Smarter, Savvier Robots
What machines of the future really need to learn, say experts who plan to have them explore the far reaches of the solar system, is more independent behavior.
There's a defect in current space-exploration technology: Basically, robots are pretty dumb. Now scientists across the world are striving to change that by developing intelligent robots that can circumvent danger and spot enticing features on their own. Hundreds of scientists, mostly at NASA and at universities, are working on improving robot explorers. But only a few dozen specialize in developing robots with true, high-level independence. The main NASA lab, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has a dozen people and a budget of about $4 million—a lower figure than in the past. But scientists there see promising signs. For one, NASA chief technologist Robert Braun has begun a new, general Space Technology Program that lists \"machine intelligence\" as one thrust.
Journal Article
Disrupting Hedgehog May Reverse Advanced Cancer, If Only Temporarily
A drug has dramatically shrunk cancerous tumors by disrupting a key genetic pathway, although one deadly brain cancer quickly developed resistance. A study published online this week in Science describes the mechanism by which this resistance developed.
In the first clinical proof of its kind, a drug has dramatically shrunk cancerous tumors by disrupting a key genetic pathway. But a study targeting one deadly brain cancer, medulloblastoma, ended in disappointment as the patient's once-tamed tumor quickly developed resistance to the drug and killed him. A separate study published online this week in Science describes the mechanism by which the man's brain tumor developed resistance.
Journal Article
الملعقة المختفية : وقصص أخرى حقيقية، في الجنون، والحب، وتاريخ العالم من الجدول الدوري للعناصر الكيميائية
كتاب (الملعقة المختفية، وقصص أخرى حقيقية في الجنون، والحب، وتاريخ العالم من الجدول الدوري للعناصر الكيميائية)، وهو في مجال الأدبيات العلمية، ويقع في (416) صفحة، من القطع المتوسط موضوع (العناصر الكيميائية)، موزعة على خمسة أبواب وتسعة عشر فصلا، تتمثل الفصول في بانوراما حية لدور الكيمياء في التاريخ البشري وتأثيرها الكبير في حياتنا، من خلال الجدول الدوري للعناصر الكيميائية الذي يعتبر من أعظم الإنجازات البشرية الفكرية ؛ فما بين عنصر الهيدروجين في أعلى اليسار، والعناصر الكامنة في الصف الأسفل، هناك قصص عن الأدب، والفنون، والتاريخ، والمال، والجريمة، والجنون، والحب، والسياسية، وعلم الصرف، وعلم النفس.
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The Violinist's Thumb: Stories about Genetics, Retro Diagnosis, and Human Life
This is a transcription of the speech by Sam Kean at the Washington Academy of Sciences 2013 Awards Banquet. Kean is the author of the New York Times national bestseller, The Disappearing Spoon, and most recently The Violinist's Thumb. Both books were named among the top five science books of the year, and each was nominated for major awards here in the United States and abroad. The author and his books have been featured on NPR's \"Radiolab,\" \"All Things Considered,\" and \"Fresh Air.\" References for these two Kean books appear at the end of this presentation.
Journal Article
THE SCIENTIFIC NIGHT SHIFT
Sometimes the pursuit of data clashes with a researcher's own circadian rhythms.
Working nights is unavoidable, or at least commonplace, in certain scientific fields. If you want to study bat behavior or stellar nebulae or sleep physiology, you may have to become half-nocturnal yourself, and scientists who sign up for the night shift encounter problems that just don't arise during the day. They tumble down embankments in the pitch black, nod off midexperiment, and grow paranoid in the witching hours. It's a tough gig, and for these and other reasons psychologists and sleep experts take a dim view of night work, which can disrupt sleep, throw hormones out of whack, and make you measurably dumber. And yet, few of the nocturnal scientists Science talked to would give up their work. Amid the misery and exhaustion, science after hours can still produce moments of serenity, even euphoria. \"Either you're getting to know more about the natural world, or you're getting to know more about yourself,\" one night-shift scientist says. \"It's always a source of happiness to me.\"
Journal Article