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摘要
摘要
For twelve months beginning in January 2000, celebrated essayist and research physician Gerald Weissmann carefully documented the modern age of enlightenment, charting its scientific marvels and new plagues. Now, this illuminating diary takes us on a literary exploration of laboratories and beyond to see the impact on human life and culture of headliners such as RU 486, AIDS drugs, and other current developments, including the controversial use of stem cells.
Whether calling on Ralph Waldo Emerson to explain Craig Venter's drive to unravel the genome or tracing the effect of Rachel Carson's legacy on the spread of malaria around the world, Weissmann's lively chronicle captures the greatest genetic revolution of all time.
评论 (3)
Kirkus评论
Thirty-four short medical/social-history essays by the erudite if somewhat dyspeptic physician-author (Democracy and DNA, 1996, etc.). Weissmann's "diary" runs in reverse order, beginning on October 2, 2001, and working backwards to April 3, 2000. The dating is as arbitrary as the title; essays have more to do with whatever news struck Weissmann's fancy and launched his stream of medical consciousness. For example, the entry dated June 26, 2000-the day that Francis Collins and Craig Venter appeared with President Clinton to announce that the rival teams had all but completed mapping the human genome-takes the White House event as a jumping-off point for a discussion of laying the transatlantic cable in the19th century and the place of private enterprise in science and industry. Given the author's respectable knowledge of the arts and sciences, this approach is often rather enlightening. Weissmann's take on good friend Lewis Thomas's life (January 17, 2001) emphasizes Thomas's liberal stance against the rampant anti-Semitism that characterized most medical schools a generation ago. The essay for October 3, 2000 (during the week the FDA approved controversial "abortion pill" RU 486), encapsulates the history of research on the effects of steroid hormones on cell membranes and of prostaglandins on uterine muscle. April 3, 2000, cautions against mixing prescription drugs and herbal remedies (about which Weissmann is generally negative) but concludes with a marvelous history of aspirin. July 4, 2000, a paean to the late Patrick O'Brian, may intrigue fans with the suggestion that O'Brian heroes Aubrey and Maturin are modeled after Fitzroy and Darwin. Elsewhere, Weissmann reveals an impatience with the way things are, a sense that we haven't come all that far, and even the suggestion that it might be best to go back, for example by reintroducing DDT as a means of preventing malaria. There's wisdom here to be sure, but it's mingled with plenty of self-indulgence.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Collected from an e-zine called Praxis Post, these essays on biomedical topics were all written within the last two years. Prompted by headlines, the most famous of which was the cataloging of the humane genome, Weissmann delves into the science behind the announcement. Connecting dots in the time-honored manner of the essayist, Weissmann is at his best when tracking the progress of medicine within its historical context. The main theme running through these pieces is that despite the sophisticated development of treatments flowing from cellular- and molecular-level knowledge, good old public sanitation is the most utilitarian preventative of illness. He alludes to its prime importance in pieces on diseases that made the news recently, such as the Ebola virus. An information-packed source that provides cultural context and goes a level deeper than the daily newspaper. Gilbert Taylor.
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
The director of the Biotechnology Study Center at the NYU School of Medicine, Weissmann (Democracy and DNA) here gathers 34 of the columns he published between April 2000 and October 2001 in the webzine Praxis Post (www.praxispost.com/ post/). While many of the columns focus on the remarkable genomic milestones reached during that time (e.g., announcement of the draft human sequence in June 2000 and publication of the working draft sequence in February 2001), the essays are thoroughly grounded in medical and biological reality. Weissmann discusses the politics of cloning and contraception and pays welcome attention to public health issues, which will continue to be just as important as molecular biology and biochemistry advances. Juxtaposing true medical progress such as the recent dramatic reductions in deaths from stroke with ongoing struggles against hoof and mouth, mad cow, Ebola, and other diseases, Weissmann's book is erudite, engaging, and accessible. Recommended for public and academic libraries, particularly those with well-thumbed copies of Lewis Thomas's The Lives of a Cell. [See also another recent release, The Human Genome, edited by Carina Dennis & Richard Gallagher. Ed.] Mary Chitty, Cambridge Healthtech, Newton Upper Falls, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.