THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot

 

Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951, but her cells are still alive today - which is why she is said to be immortal. Her cells have been used in all sorts of medical research experiments, for example in developing a vaccine for polio. But the important thing about this book is that the woman who should have been the hero had been completely forgotten. No one asked permission to take her cells. No one consulted her family. A journalist called Rebecca Skloot researched the story and the book is in part her own story she traced Henrietta Lacks's family. You should read this if you are interested in Medicine or medical research. Not only does it contain useful scientific details but the searing investigation of medical ethics and racial justice is essential reading.



SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: Without the Hot Air by David MacKay

 

This is an amazing book, written to be accessible. It goes over the UK's energy problems and possible solutions. David MacKay is a professor at Cambridge University. He backs up his ideas with simple calculations, which are mainly put in a section at the end. It is possible to read what he thinks without looking at the maths. This is probably the best book in our library for Engineering. This book stirred up passionate debate. I even wrote a letter to The Cumberland News in defence of it, because I don't think he wants to cover the whole country in wind farms. David MacKay was so keen that you should read his book that he has made it available for free download on the Internet, if you don't fancy a paper copy: http://www.withouthotair.com/

THE MUSIC OF LIFE by Denis Noble

 

The thesis of this book is that biological systems are not strictly bottom up, with your genes dictating how your cells and bodies work. Denis Noble is a systems biologist. He gives examples in which external conditions can feed down to the genes, changing the way in which a particular gene is expressed (ie how that gene acts in the cell). This is called epigenetics. This is very different to the popular interpretation of Neo-Darwinism put forward by Richard Dawkins in his book "The Selfish Gene" (see previous post). Denis Noble is careful not to rubbish Dawkins but he has his own stance. This book is short and easy to read, and it finishes with a quotation from Wittgenstein. What's not to like?