Human biology Books

Book Synopsis All cultures are concerned with the business of childbirth, so much so that it can never be described as a purely physiological or even psychological event. This volume draws together work from a range of anthropologists and midwives who have found anthropological approaches useful in their work. Using case studies from a variety of cultural settings, the writers explore the centrality of the way time is conceptualized, marked and measured to the ways of perceiving and managing childbirth: how women, midwives and other birth attendants are affected by issues of power and control, but also actively attempt to change established forms of thinking and practice. The stories are engaging as well as critical and invite the reader to think afresh about time, and about reproduction.Trade Review “In this fascinating, scholarly, and readable book the authors take us into our familiar worlds and make them strange, with the result that we can see clearly, with fresh, critical, and creative eyes, what goes on in our everyday world. Each of the chapters helps us see how differently time can be experienced and framed.” · Anthropology in Action “While concerns regarding imposition of timeframes on pregnancy, labour and birth may be familiar to researchers and practitioners, McCourt’s book adds a cultural dimension to its critique that is frequently neglected in this debate… This book is a must-read for midwives and academics as well as midwifery, medical and social sciences students.” · The Practising Midwife “This book is consistently well written, the ethnographic data are rich, and anthropological concepts and perspectives are successfully used to provide important insights into the meaning of time in relation to childbirth.” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute “Childbirth is an eurudite and lively collection of writings by some of the most creative and innovative authors around on the theme of time and childbirth. Drawing on anthropological and sociological perspectives, the authors have created a unique praxis which embodies theory and ethnographic empirical work. Chris McCourt has created a truly original book which will be on the ‘must read’ list for scholars, practitioners and all those with an interest in the meaning of birth in society today.” · Jane Sandall, Professor of Social Sciences & Women's Health, King's College “This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book which provides rich insights into the meaning of time in relation to childbirth. Although time is central to the way that childbirth is viewed and 'managed', its significance has been largely ignored. This book fills this gap, drawing on a wealth of cross cultural studies undertaken by midwives and anthropologists, to explore how differing constructions of time affect the experiences of women and childbirth attendants. It provides an original and critical analysis, which will be of interest to childbirth practitioners and researchers as well as to the wider social science research community.” · Billie Hunter, Professor of Midwifery, Swansea University “In this fascinating, scholarly and very readable book the authors, as they have done in their work, take us into our familiar worlds and make them strange, so that we can see more clearly, with fresh critical and more creative eyes, what goes on in our everyday world. Every chapter helps us see how differently time can be experienced and framed.” · Lesley Page, Visiting Professor in Midwifery Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery King's College LondonTable of Contents List of Figures Foreword Ronnie Frankenberg Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT Chapter 1. From Tradition to Modernity: Time and Childbirth in Historical Perspective Christine McCourt and Fiona Dykes Chapter 2. Cosmologies, Concepts and Theories: Time and Childbirth in Cross-cultural Perspective Christine McCourt PART II: TIME AND CHILDBIRTH PRACTICES Chapter 3. Counting Time in Pregnancy and Labour Soo Downe and Fiona Dykes Chapter 4. The Progress of Labour: Orderly Chaos? Clare Winter and Margie Duff Chapter 5. Time and Midwifery Practice Trudy Stevens Chapter 6. "Waiting on Birth": Management of Time and Place in a Birth Centre Denis Walsh Chapter 7. Management of Time in Aboriginal and Northern Midwifery Settings Gisela Becker PART III: TIME AND CHILDBIRTH EXPERIENCES Chapter 8. Narrative Time: Stories, Childbirth and Midwifery Ólöf Ólafsdóttir and Mavis Kirkham Chapter 9. How Long Have I Got? Time in Labour: Themes from Women's Birth Stories Christine McCourt Chapter 10. "Feeding All the Time": Women's Temporal Dilemmas around Breastfeeding in Hospital Fiona Dykes Chapter 11. Living with "Uncertainty": Women's Experience of Breastfeeding in the Current Japanese Social Context Naoko Hashimoto Conclusion Notes on Contributors Index

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Book Synopsis The genealogical model has a long-standing history in Western thought. The contributors to this volume consider the ways in which assumptions about the genealogical model—in particular, ideas concerning sequence, essence, and transmission—structure other modes of practice and knowledge-making in domains well beyond what is normally labeled “kinship.” The detailed ethnographic work and analysis included in this text explores how these assumptions have been built into our understandings of race, personhood, ethnicity, property relations, and the relationship between human beings and non-human species. The authors explore the influences of the genealogical model of kinship in wider social theory and examine anthropology’s ability to provide a unique framework capable of bridging the “social” and “natural” sciences. In doing so, this volume brings fresh new perspectives to bear on contemporary theories concerning biotechnology and its effect upon social life.Trade Review “This collection of ten essays is the latest major work to call for renewed attention to the topic [of kinship], especially with respect to contemporary questions of how cultures relate to nature…[It] is a welcome addition to the ongoing revival of kinship, and will stimulate further debate among its many participants.” • Ethnobiology LettersTable of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Pedigrees of Knowledge: Anthropology and the Genealogical Method Sandra Bamford and James Leach Chapter 2. Aborescent Culture: Writing and Not Writing Race Horse Pedigrees Rebecca Cassidy Chapter 3. When Blood Matters: Making Kinship in Colonial Kenya Teresa Holmes Chapter 4. The Web of Kin: An Online Genealogical Machine Gisli Pálsson Chapter 5. Genes, Mobilities and the Enclosures of Capital: Contesting Ancestry and its Applications in Iceland Hilary Cunningham Chapter 6. Skipping a Generation and Assisted Kinship Jeanette Edwards Chapter 7. ‘Family Trees’ among the Kamea of Papua New Guinea: A Non-Genealogical Approach to Imagining Relatedness Sandra Bamford Chapter 8. Knowledge as Kinship: Mutable Essence and the Significance of Transmission on the Rai Coast of PNG James Leach Chapter 9. Stories Against Classification: Transport, Wayfaring and the Integration of Knowledge Tim Ingold Chapter 10. Revealing and Obscuring Rivers’s Pedigrees: Biological Inheritance and Kinship in Madagascar Rita Astuti Chapter 11. The Gift and the Given: Three Nano-Essays on Kinship and Magic Eduardo Viveiros de Castro Notes on contributors Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis Research on health involves evaluating the disparities that are systematically associated with the experience of risk, including genetic and physiological variation, environmental exposure to poor nutrition and disease, and social marginalization. This volume provides a unique perspective - a comparative approach to the analysis of health disparities and human adaptability - and specifically focuses on the pathways that lead to unequal health outcomes. From an explicitly anthropological perspective situated in the practice and theory of biosocial studies, this book combines theoretical rigor with more applied and practice-oriented approaches and critically examines infectious and chronic diseases, reproduction, and nutrition.Trade Review "[This volume] is very well organized, overall, with a layout ideal for students and academics who are looking to collaborate with their colleagues in anthropology and public health. The chapter structures offer well thought out summaries; a helpful glossary is found in the back. Those curious about human action and inaction as sources of ill health will find adversity and risk’s impact on health clearly and vibrantly displayed through Panter-Brick and Fuentes’ bio-cultural investigation of unequal health outcomes." · Journal of the Bio-Social Society "These are vibrant and important treatments of socio-cultural concepts in health that fit well into medical anthropology, but also go beyond that. Their contribution lies in reminding and refining how human health and biology are produced, perceived, and communicated in a deep social context that includes history, politics, economics, and current global culture, especially modern media.… The editors have brilliantly organized the volume." · Stephen T. McGarvey, Professor of Community Health and Anthropology, Brown UniversityTable of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes Foreword: Framing Risk, Adversity and Health Alan Goodman Introduction: Health, Risk, Adversity: A Contextual View from Anthropology Catherine Panter-Brick and Agustín Fuentes PART I: HEALTH RISKS AND DISEASES IN TRANSITION Commentary I: Understanding Health Past and Present Charlotte Roberts Chapter 1. Health Consequences of Social and Ecological Adversity Among Indigenous Siberian Populations: Biocultural and Evolutionary Implications William R Leonard, J Josh Snodgrass and Mark V Sorenson Chapter 2. A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding the Risk and Context of Emerging Primate-borne Zoonoses Lisa Jones-Engel and Gregory Engel Chapter 3. Viral Panic, Vulnerability and the Next Pandemic Ann Herring Appendix I: Was the 1918 Pandemic Caused by a Bird Flu Virus? Appendix II: Applying the Syndemic Approach: Whooping Cough at York PART II: GENERATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE Commentary II: Thinking About Health Through Time and Across Generations Darna Dufour Chapter 4. Adaptation, Health and the Temporal Domain of Human Reproductive Physiology Peter Ellison and Grazyna Jasienska Chapter 5. Changes in Risk Factors for Breast Cancer in Migrant Women: An inter-generation comparison among Bangladeshis in the UK Alejandra Núñez-de-la-Mora and Gillian R. Bentley Chapter 6. Family Structure and Child Growth in sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing “hidden risk” Daniel W. Sellen Appendix: Poor Growth and Risk of Death PART III: GENE EVOLUTION, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH Commentary III: Explaining Health Inequalities Bill Dressler Chapter 7. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Keith Godfrey and Mark Hanson Chapter 8. Beyond the Gradient: An Integrative Anthropological Perspective on Social Stratification, Stress, and Health Thomas McDade Chapter 9. The Slavery Hypothesis: An Evaluation of a Genetic-Deterministic Explanation for Hypertension Prevalence Rate Inequalities Lorena Madrigal, Mwenza Blell, Ernesto Ruiz and Flory Otarola Conclusion: Adversity, Risk and Health: A View from Public Health Martin White Contributors Glossary Index

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Book Synopsis Extensive social science research, particularly by anthropologists, has explored women’s reproductive lives, their use of reproductive technologies, and their experiences as mothers and nurturers of children. Meanwhile, few if any volumes have explored men’s reproductive concerns or contributions to women’s reproductive health: Men are clearly viewed as the “second sex” in reproduction. This volume argues that the marginalization of men is an oversight of considerable proportions. It sheds new light on male reproduction from a cross-cultural, global perspective, focusing not only upon men in Europe and America but also those in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Both heterosexual and homosexual, married and unmarried men are featured in this volume, which assesses concerns ranging from masculinity and sexuality to childbirth and fatherhood.Trade Review 2010 MOST NOTABLE RECENT COLLECTION PRIZE. AWARDED BY THE COUNCIL ON ANTHROPOLOGY AND REPRODUCTION. “These researchers hail from four continents, thus providing a cross-cultural perspective as they give voice to men's experiences in the process of reproduction. The contributors use a variety of methodological approaches, including content analysis, participant observation, in-depth interviewing, reproductive history intakes, and survey questionnaires. The result is a comprehensive, engaging volume that will certainly trigger additional interest and research in this heretofore ignored aspect of men's lives. Highly recommended.” • Choice “Overall, there is a well-balanced mix of ethnography and theory that engages the reader throughout the volume…[The book] is successful in challenging assumptions and stereotypes surrounding men’s involvement in reproduction and demonstrating that the topic of men and reproduction has been neglected by social scientific study thus far…[and] represents an important initial text on a subject deserving of further attention in the social sciences.” • The Journal of Biosocial Science “The chapters in this volume demonstrate the vast variety of ways men across the globe intersect with reproduction… In the Introduction, the editors highlighted the absence of men’s reproductive lives from social science research. In this volume they do much to bring men back in to the reproductive spotlight.” • Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology ldquo;Whilst anthropologists acknowledge men’s sexuality, we tend to view men as disengaged from reproduction, and to see their power as lying elsewhere in social life. This exceptionally well edited collection of fourteen stimulating essays attempts to redress this imbalance, by analyzing men’s complex, varied, and ever-changing reproductive lives…the collection offers an excellent starting-point for a potentially rewarding intellectual endeavour.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute “The book is logically structured, clearly organised and well presented. The breadth and depth of insight provided ensures that it covers all key areas of debates in relation to infertility, reproduction and the links to men and masculinities. In addition, the range of geographical regions that the studies are drawn from ensures that nuanced consideration is given to how localised cultural discourses intersect with gendered conceptualisations of reproductive techniques in a global context.” • Sociology of Health and Illness “…an overdue first step in recognizing that men’s role in contemporary human reproduction – from their gametes to their psyches – has been a neglected realm of scientific and scholarly pursuit.” • Robert D. Nachtigall, M.D., Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San FranciscoTable of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1. The Missing Gamete? Ten Common Mistakes or Lies about Men’s Sexual Destiny Matthew C. Gutmann Chapter 2. Killer Sperm: Masculinity and the Essence of Male Hierarchies Lisa Jean Moore Chapter 3. Gender, Masculinity, and Reproduction: Anthropological Perspectives Matthew R. Dudgeon and Marcia C. Inhorn Chapter 4. Men's Influences on Women's Reproductive Health: Medical Anthropological Perspectives Matthew R. Dudgeon and Marcia C. Inhorn Chapter 5. Manhood and Meaning in the Marketing of the “Male Pill” Laury Oaks Chapter 6. Reproductive Paradoxes in Vietnam: Masculinity, Contraception, and Abortion in Vietnam Nguyen Thi Thuy Hanh Chapter 7. Reproductive Politics in Southwest China: Deconstructing a Minority Male-dominated Perspective on Reproduction Yen Fang Tzu Chapter 8. The Sex in the Sperm: Male Infertility and its Challenges to Masculinity in an Israeli-Jewish Context Helene Goldberg Chapter 9. “It’s a bit unmanly in a way”: Men and Infertility in Denmark Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen Chapter 10. Male Genital Cutting: Masculinity, Reproduction, and Male Infertility Surgeries in Egypt and Lebanon Marcia C. Inhorn Chapter 11. "We are pregnant": Israeli Men and the Paradoxes of Sharing Tsipy Ivry Chapter 12. Making Room for Daddy: Men’s "Belly Talk" in the Contemporary United States Sallie Han Chapter 13. Husband-assisted Birth among the Rarámuri of Northern Mexico Janneli F. Miller Chapter 14. Stories of Fatherhood: Kinship in the Making Maruska la Cour Mosegaard Notes on contributors Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis Extensive social science research, particularly by anthropologists, has explored women’s reproductive lives, their use of reproductive technologies, and their experiences as mothers and nurturers of children. Meanwhile, few if any volumes have explored men’s reproductive concerns or contributions to women’s reproductive health: Men are clearly viewed as the “second sex” in reproduction. This volume argues that the marginalization of men is an oversight of considerable proportions. It sheds new light on male reproduction from a cross-cultural, global perspective, focusing not only upon men in Europe and America but also those in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Both heterosexual and homosexual, married and unmarried men are featured in this volume, which assesses concerns ranging from masculinity and sexuality to childbirth and fatherhood.Trade Review 2010 MOST NOTABLE RECENT COLLECTION PRIZE. AWARDED BY THE COUNCIL ON ANTHROPOLOGY AND REPRODUCTION. “These researchers hail from four continents, thus providing a cross-cultural perspective as they give voice to men's experiences in the process of reproduction. The contributors use a variety of methodological approaches, including content analysis, participant observation, in-depth interviewing, reproductive history intakes, and survey questionnaires. The result is a comprehensive, engaging volume that will certainly trigger additional interest and research in this heretofore ignored aspect of men's lives. Highly recommended.” • Choice “Overall, there is a well-balanced mix of ethnography and theory that engages the reader throughout the volume…[The book] is successful in challenging assumptions and stereotypes surrounding men’s involvement in reproduction and demonstrating that the topic of men and reproduction has been neglected by social scientific study thus far…[and] represents an important initial text on a subject deserving of further attention in the social sciences.” • The Journal of Biosocial Science “The chapters in this volume demonstrate the vast variety of ways men across the globe intersect with reproduction… In the Introduction, the editors highlighted the absence of men’s reproductive lives from social science research. In this volume they do much to bring men back in to the reproductive spotlight.” • Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology ldquo;Whilst anthropologists acknowledge men’s sexuality, we tend to view men as disengaged from reproduction, and to see their power as lying elsewhere in social life. This exceptionally well edited collection of fourteen stimulating essays attempts to redress this imbalance, by analyzing men’s complex, varied, and ever-changing reproductive lives…the collection offers an excellent starting-point for a potentially rewarding intellectual endeavour.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute “The book is logically structured, clearly organised and well presented. The breadth and depth of insight provided ensures that it covers all key areas of debates in relation to infertility, reproduction and the links to men and masculinities. In addition, the range of geographical regions that the studies are drawn from ensures that nuanced consideration is given to how localised cultural discourses intersect with gendered conceptualisations of reproductive techniques in a global context.” • Sociology of Health and Illness “…an overdue first step in recognizing that men’s role in contemporary human reproduction – from their gametes to their psyches – has been a neglected realm of scientific and scholarly pursuit.” • Robert D. Nachtigall, M.D., Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San FranciscoTable of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1. The Missing Gamete? Ten Common Mistakes or Lies about Men’s Sexual Destiny Matthew C. Gutmann Chapter 2. Killer Sperm: Masculinity and the Essence of Male Hierarchies Lisa Jean Moore Chapter 3. Gender, Masculinity, and Reproduction: Anthropological Perspectives Matthew R. Dudgeon and Marcia C. Inhorn Chapter 4. Men's Influences on Women's Reproductive Health: Medical Anthropological Perspectives Matthew R. Dudgeon and Marcia C. Inhorn Chapter 5. Manhood and Meaning in the Marketing of the “Male Pill” Laury Oaks Chapter 6. Reproductive Paradoxes in Vietnam: Masculinity, Contraception, and Abortion in Vietnam Nguyen Thi Thuy Hanh Chapter 7. Reproductive Politics in Southwest China: Deconstructing a Minority Male-dominated Perspective on Reproduction Yen Fang Tzu Chapter 8. The Sex in the Sperm: Male Infertility and its Challenges to Masculinity in an Israeli-Jewish Context Helene Goldberg Chapter 9. “It’s a bit unmanly in a way”: Men and Infertility in Denmark Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen Chapter 10. Male Genital Cutting: Masculinity, Reproduction, and Male Infertility Surgeries in Egypt and Lebanon Marcia C. Inhorn Chapter 11. "We are pregnant": Israeli Men and the Paradoxes of Sharing Tsipy Ivry Chapter 12. Making Room for Daddy: Men’s "Belly Talk" in the Contemporary United States Sallie Han Chapter 13. Husband-assisted Birth among the Rarámuri of Northern Mexico Janneli F. Miller Chapter 14. Stories of Fatherhood: Kinship in the Making Maruska la Cour Mosegaard Notes on contributors Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis Interest in the study of kinship, a key area of anthropological enquiry, has recently reemerged. Dubbed ‘the new kinship’, this interest was stimulated by the ‘new genetics’ and revived interest in kinship and family patterns. This volume investigates the impact of biotechnology on contemporary understandings of kinship, of family and ‘belonging’ in a variety of European settings and reveals similarities and differences in how kinship is conceived. What constitutes kinship for different publics? How significant are biogenetic links? What does family resemblance tell us? Why is genetically modified food an issue? Are ‘genes’ and ‘blood’ interchangeable? It has been argued that the recent prominence of genetic science and genetic technologies has resulted in a ‘geneticization’ of social life; the ethnographic examples presented here do show shifts occurring in notions of ‘nature’ and of what is ‘natural’. But, they also illustrate the complexity of contemporary kinship thinking in Europe and the continued interconnectedness of biological and sociological understandings of relatedness and the relationship between nature and nurture.Trade Review “This superb anthology extends the emphasis on technology that has become such a prominent feature of much recent anthropological work on kinship…In this richly ethnographic text, the most familiar problems produce the most unusual answers…Each chapter brilliantly combines kinship as a matrix with kinship as a tool, using ethnographic examples that leap off the page.” · Journal of Anthropological ResearchTable of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: The Matter in Kinship Jeanette Edwards Chapter 1. Knowing and Relating: Kinship, Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the New Genetics Joan Bestard Chapter 2. Imagining Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Family, Kinship and ‘Local Thinking’ in Lithuania Auksuole Cepaitiene Chapter 3. Eating Genes and Raising People: Kinship Thinking and Genetically Modified Food in the North of England Cathrine Degnen Chapter 4. The Family Body: Persons, Bodies and Resemblance Diana Marre and Joan Bestard Chapter 5. The Contribution of Homoparental Families to the Current Debate on Kinship Anne Cadoret Chapter 6. Corpo-real Identities: Perspectives from a Gypsy Community Nathalie Manrique Chapter 7. Incest, Embodiment, Genes and Kinship Enric Porqueres i Gené and Jérôme Wilgaux (France) Chapter 8. ‘Loving Mothers’ at Work: Raising Others’ Children and Building Families with the Intention to Love and Take Care Eniko Demény Chapter 9. Adoption and Assisted Conception: One Universe of Unnatural Procreation. An Examination of Norwegian Legislation Marit Melhuus and Signe Howell Chapter 10. Fields of Post-human Kinship Ben Campbell Chapter 11. Are Genes Good to Think With? Carles Salazar Notes on Contributors Bibliography Author Index Subject Index

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Book Synopsis All cultures are concerned with the business of childbirth, so much so that it can never be described as a purely physiological or even psychological event. This volume draws together work from a range of anthropologists and midwives who have found anthropological approaches useful in their work. Using case studies from a variety of cultural settings, the writers explore the centrality of the way time is conceptualized, marked and measured to the ways of perceiving and managing childbirth: how women, midwives and other birth attendants are affected by issues of power and control, but also actively attempt to change established forms of thinking and practice. The stories are engaging as well as critical and invite the reader to think afresh about time, and about reproduction.Trade Review “In this fascinating, scholarly, and readable book the authors take us into our familiar worlds and make them strange, with the result that we can see clearly, with fresh, critical, and creative eyes, what goes on in our everyday world. Each of the chapters helps us see how differently time can be experienced and framed.” · Anthropology in Action “While concerns regarding imposition of timeframes on pregnancy, labour and birth may be familiar to researchers and practitioners, McCourt’s book adds a cultural dimension to its critique that is frequently neglected in this debate… This book is a must-read for midwives and academics as well as midwifery, medical and social sciences students.” · The Practising Midwife “This book is consistently well written, the ethnographic data are rich, and anthropological concepts and perspectives are successfully used to provide important insights into the meaning of time in relation to childbirth.” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute “Childbirth is an eurudite and lively collection of writings by some of the most creative and innovative authors around on the theme of time and childbirth. Drawing on anthropological and sociological perspectives, the authors have created a unique praxis which embodies theory and ethnographic empirical work. Chris McCourt has created a truly original book which will be on the ‘must read’ list for scholars, practitioners and all those with an interest in the meaning of birth in society today.” · Jane Sandall, Professor of Social Sciences & Women's Health, King's College “This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book which provides rich insights into the meaning of time in relation to childbirth. Although time is central to the way that childbirth is viewed and 'managed', its significance has been largely ignored. This book fills this gap, drawing on a wealth of cross cultural studies undertaken by midwives and anthropologists, to explore how differing constructions of time affect the experiences of women and childbirth attendants. It provides an original and critical analysis, which will be of interest to childbirth practitioners and researchers as well as to the wider social science research community.” · Billie Hunter, Professor of Midwifery, Swansea University “In this fascinating, scholarly and very readable book the authors, as they have done in their work, take us into our familiar worlds and make them strange, so that we can see more clearly, with fresh critical and more creative eyes, what goes on in our everyday world. Every chapter helps us see how differently time can be experienced and framed.” · Lesley Page, Visiting Professor in Midwifery Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery King's College LondonTable of Contents List of Figures Foreword Ronnie Frankenberg Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT Chapter 1. From Tradition to Modernity: Time and Childbirth in Historical Perspective Christine McCourt and Fiona Dykes Chapter 2. Cosmologies, Concepts and Theories: Time and Childbirth in Cross-cultural Perspective Christine McCourt PART II: TIME AND CHILDBIRTH PRACTICES Chapter 3. Counting Time in Pregnancy and Labour Soo Downe and Fiona Dykes Chapter 4. The Progress of Labour: Orderly Chaos? Clare Winter and Margie Duff Chapter 5. Time and Midwifery Practice Trudy Stevens Chapter 6. "Waiting on Birth": Management of Time and Place in a Birth Centre Denis Walsh Chapter 7. Management of Time in Aboriginal and Northern Midwifery Settings Gisela Becker PART III: TIME AND CHILDBIRTH EXPERIENCES Chapter 8. Narrative Time: Stories, Childbirth and Midwifery Ólöf Ólafsdóttir and Mavis Kirkham Chapter 9. How Long Have I Got? Time in Labour: Themes from Women's Birth Stories Christine McCourt Chapter 10. "Feeding All the Time": Women's Temporal Dilemmas around Breastfeeding in Hospital Fiona Dykes Chapter 11. Living with "Uncertainty": Women's Experience of Breastfeeding in the Current Japanese Social Context Naoko Hashimoto Conclusion Notes on Contributors Index

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Book Synopsis The modern world is saturated with images. Scientific knowledge of the human body (in all its variety) is highly dependent on the technological generation of visual data – brain and body scans, x-rays, diagrams, graphs and charts. New technologies afford scientists and medical experts new possibilities for probing and revealing previously invisible and inaccessible areas of the body. The existing literature has been successful in mapping the impact and implications of new medical technologies and in marrying the visual and the body but thus far has focused only narrowly on particular kinds of technology or taken only a purely textual/visual (cultural studies) approach to images of the body. Combining approaches from three of the most dynamic and popular fields of contemporary social anthropology – the study of the visual, the study of the technological and the study of the human body – this volume draws these together and interrogates their intersection using insights from ethnographic approaches. Offering a fascinating and wide range of perspectives, the chapters in this volume bring an innovative focus that reflects the authors’ shared interest in ‘the body’ and visualising technologies.Trade Review “…a compelling collection of works that engages with the impact of modern technologies and sciences on human life. It is an important contribution to the fields of visual anthropology, anthropology of the body and science and technology studies, engaging with the complex relationships between various technologies and various forms of subjectivity, while also grappling with important historical, political and cultural considerations.” · Journal of Biosocial Science “Anthropologically, this is a timely,challenging, and important collection of essays for anyone interested in technologies of vision and bodies and provides novel material for study in the anthropology of science, technology, and medicine.” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological InstituteTable of Contents List of Figures and Tables Preface and Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Technologized Images, Technologized Bodies Jeanette Edwards, Penny Harvey, and Peter Wade Chapter 2. Pharmaceutical Witnessing: Drugs for Life in an Era of Direct-to-consumer Advertising Joseph Dumit Chapter 3. Picturing the Brain Inside, Revealing the Illness Outside: A Comparison of the Different Meanings Attributed to Brain Scans by Scientists and Patients Simon Cohn Chapter 4. Embodied Brains: Why Science Studies Needs the Anthropology of Museums Anne Lorimer Chapter 5. Spectacles of Reason: An Ethnography of Indian Gastroenterologists Stefan Ecks Chapter 6. Technokids? Insulin Pumps Incorporated in Young People’s Bodies and Lives Griet Scheldeman Chapter 7. Wearable Augmentations: Imaginaries of the Informed Body Ana Viseu and Lucy Suchman Chapter 8. ‘Embryos Are Our Baby’: Abridging Hope, Body and Nation in Transnational Ova Donation Michal Nahman Chapter 9. Living Differently in Time: Plasticity, Temporality and Cellular Biotechnologies Hannah Landecker Notes on Contributors Index

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Book Synopsis Folk, alternative and complementary health care practices in contemporary Western society are currently experiencing a renaissance, albeit with features that are unique to this historical moment. At the same time biomedicine is under scrutiny, experiencing a number of distinct and multifaceted crises. In this volume the authors draw together cutting edge cross-cultural, interdisciplinary research in Britain and Ireland, focusing on exploring the role and significance of healing practices in diverse local contexts, such as the use of crystals, herbs, cures and charms, potions and lotions.Trade Review “…in this volume, the editors emphasise the interactional and interdependent nature of folk, biomedicine and other alternative and complementary treatments (CAM). Hence, the book will be of value not only to readers who are interested in folk, alternative and complementary medicine but also to those interested in biomedicine. I would recommend the book to many students, teachers, researchers and lay readers.” · Sociology of Health & IllnessTable of Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Introduction: Folk Healing in Contemporary Britain and Ireland: Revival, Revitalisation or Reinvention? Ronnie Moore and Stuart McClean Chapter 2. Folk Healing and a Post-scientific World Ronnie Moore and Stuart McClean Chapter 3. The Medical Marketplace and Medical Tradition in Nineteenth-century Ireland Catherine Cox Chapter 4. Folk Healing in Rural Wales: The Use of Wool Measuring Susan Philpin Chapter 5. A General Practice, A Country Practice: The Cure, the Charm and Informal Healing in Northern Ireland Ronnie Moore Chapter 6. Rescuing Folk Remedies: Ethnoknowledge and the Reinvention of Indigenous Herbal Medicine in Britain Ayo Wahlberg Chapter 7. Crystal and Spiritual Healing in Northern England: Folk-inspired Systems of Medicine Stuart McClean Chapter 8. Medical Pluralism in the Republic of Ireland: Biomedicines as Ethnomedicines Anne Macfarlane and Tomas deBrun Chapter 9. Born To It and Then Pushed Out of It: Folk Healing in the New Complementary and Alternative Medicine Marketplace Geraldine Lee-Treweek Chapter 10. Beyond Legislation: Why Chicken Soup and Regulation Don’t Mix Julie Stone Chapter 11. Epilogue: Towards Authentic Medicine: Bodies and Boundaries Stuart McClean and Ronnie Moore Notes on Contributors Index

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Book Synopsis Israel is the only country in the world that offers free fertility treatments to nearly any woman who requires medical assistance. It also has the world's highest per capita usage of in-vitro fertilization. Examining state policies and the application of reproductive technologies among Jewish Israelis, this volume explores the role of tradition and politics in the construction of families within local Jewish populations. The contributors—anthropologists, bioethicists, jurists, physicians and biologists—highlight the complexities surrounding these treatments and show how biological relatedness is being construed as a technology of power; how genetics is woven into the production of identities; how reproductive technologies enhance the policing of boundaries. Donor insemination, IVF and surrogacy, as well as abortion, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and human embryonic stem cell research, are explored within local and global contexts to convey an informed perspective on the wider Jewish Israeli environment.Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures Introduction: Reproductive Technologies among Jewish Israelis: Setting the Ground Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli and Yoram S. Carmeli PART I: KIN: REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND THE QUEST FOR BIOGENETIC PARENTHOOD Chapter 1. The Contribution of Israeli Researchers to Reproductive Medicine: Fertility Experts' Perspectives Shlomo Mashiach, Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli, Roy Mashiach and Martha Dirnfeld Chapter 2. The Regulation of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis for Sibling Donors in Israel, Germany and England: A Comparative Look at Balancing Risks and Benefits Yael Hashiloni-Dolev and Shiri Shkedi Chapter 3. The Man in the Sperm: Kinship and Fatherhood in Light of Male Infertility in Israel Helene Goldberg Chapter 4. The Last Outpost of the Nuclear Family: A Cultural Critique of Israeli Surrogacy Policy Elly Teman Chapter 5. Adoption and Assisted reproduction Technologies: A Comparative Reading of Israeli Policies Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli and Yoram S. Carmeli PART II: GENE: REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT CHILD Chapter 6. Genetic Testing and Screening in Religious Groups: Perspectives of Jewish Haredi Communities Barbara Prainsack and Gil Siegal Chapter 7. Ultrasonic Challenges to Pronatalism Tsipi Ivry Chapter 8. Abortion Committees as Agents of Eugenics: Medical and Public Views on Selective Abortion following Mild or Likely Fetal Pathology Nitzan Rimon-Zarfaty and Aviad Raz Chapter 9. Cultural Values in Action: The Israeli Approach to Human Cloning Gali Ben-Or and Vardit Ravitsky PART III: COMMUNITY: A SELF-PORTRAIT WITH TECHNOLOGY Chapter 10. Art, Community and Beyond: Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Israel Interviews with Prof. Nissim Benvenisty and Prof. karl Skorecki Interviewer: Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli Chapter 11. Medicine and the State. The Medicalization of Reproduction in Israel Yali Hashash-Daniel Chapter 12. The Mirth of the Clinic: The Banality of Conception in an Israeli Fertility Clinic Susan M. Kahn Chapter 13. Between Reproductive Citizenship and Consumerism: Attitudes Towards Assisted Reproductive Technologies among Jewish and Arab Israeli Women Larissa Remennick Chapter 14. Ethnography, Exegesis, and Jewish Ethical Reflection: The New Reproductive Technologies in Israel Don Seeman Notes on Contributors

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Book Synopsis Fieldwork is a central method of research throughout anthropology, a much-valued, much-vaunted mode of generating information. But its nature and process have been seriously understudied in biological anthropology and primatology. This book is the first ever comparative investigation, across primatology, biological anthropology, and social anthropology, to look critically at this key research practice. It is also an innovative way to further the comparative project within a broadly conceived anthropology, because it does not focus on common theory but on a common method. The questions asked by contributors are: what in the pursuit of fieldwork is common to all three disciplines, what is unique to each, how much is contingent, how much necessary? Can we generate well-grounded cross-disciplinary generalizations about this mutual research method, and are there are any telling differences? Co-edited by a social anthropologist and a primatologist, the book includes a list of distinguished and well-established contributors from primatology and biological anthropology.Trade Review “Anyone who has untaken fieldwork will relate to many of the experiences in this book and will subscribe to the recurring theme of field researchers needing to be resourceful and adaptable in the face of the unexpected. As a consequence, there should be interest from a broad readership,” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological InstituteTable of Contents Chapter 1. Centralizing Fieldwork Jeremy MacClancy and Agustín Fuentes Chapter 2. The Do’s and Don’ts of Fieldwork Geoffrey A. Harrison Chapter 3. The Anthropologist as a Primatologist: Mental Journeys of a Fieldworker Volker Sommer Chapter 4. Primate Fieldwork and its Human Contexts in Southern Madagascar Robert W. Sussman Chapter 5. Problem Animals or Problem People? Ethics, Politics and Practice or Conflict between Community Perspectives and Fieldwork on Conservation Phyllis C. Lee Chapter 6. Ecological Anthropology and Primatology: Fieldwork Practices and Mutual Benefits Juichi Yamagiwa Chapter 7. Lost in Translation: Field Primatology, Culture, and Interdisciplinary Approaches Nobuyuki Kutsukake Chapter 8. Measuring Meaning and Understanding in Primatological and Biological Anthropology Fieldwork: Context and Practice Agustín Fuentes Chapter 9. Fieldwork as Research Process and Community Engagement Mark Eggerman and Catherine Panter-Brick Chapter 10. Framing the Quantitative within the Qualitative: Why Biological Anthropologists do Fieldwork Lyliane Rosetta Chapter 11. Considerations on Field Methods used to assess Non-human Primate Feeding Behaviours and Human Food Intake in terms of nutritional requirements Claude Marcel Hladik Chapter 12. Anthropobiological Surveys in the Field: A reflection on the Bioethics of Human Medical and DNA Surveys Alain Froment Chapter 13. Field Schools in Central America: playing a pivotal role in the formation of modern field primatologists Katherine C. MacKinnon Chapter 14. The Narrator’s Stance: Story-telling and Science at Berenty Reserve Alison Jolly Chapter 15. Natural Homes: Primate Fieldwork and the Anthropological Method Pamela J. Asquith Chapter 16. Popularizing Fieldwork: Examples from Primatology and Biological Anthropology Jeremy MacClancy Index

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Book Synopsis Fieldwork is a central method of research throughout anthropology, a much-valued, much-vaunted mode of generating information. But its nature and process have been seriously understudied in biological anthropology and primatology. This book is the first ever comparative investigation, across primatology, biological anthropology, and social anthropology, to look critically at this key research practice. It is also an innovative way to further the comparative project within a broadly conceived anthropology, because it does not focus on common theory but on a common method. The questions asked by contributors are: what in the pursuit of fieldwork is common to all three disciplines, what is unique to each, how much is contingent, how much necessary? Can we generate well-grounded cross-disciplinary generalizations about this mutual research method, and are there are any telling differences? Co-edited by a social anthropologist and a primatologist, the book includes a list of distinguished and well-established contributors from primatology and biological anthropology.Trade Review “Anyone who has untaken fieldwork will relate to many of the experiences in this book and will subscribe to the recurring theme of field researchers needing to be resourceful and adaptable in the face of the unexpected. As a consequence, there should be interest from a broad readership,” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological InstituteTable of Contents Chapter 1. Centralizing Fieldwork Jeremy MacClancy and Agustín Fuentes Chapter 2. The Do’s and Don’ts of Fieldwork Geoffrey A. Harrison Chapter 3. The Anthropologist as a Primatologist: Mental Journeys of a Fieldworker Volker Sommer Chapter 4. Primate Fieldwork and its Human Contexts in Southern Madagascar Robert W. Sussman Chapter 5. Problem Animals or Problem People? Ethics, Politics and Practice or Conflict between Community Perspectives and Fieldwork on Conservation Phyllis C. Lee Chapter 6. Ecological Anthropology and Primatology: Fieldwork Practices and Mutual Benefits Juichi Yamagiwa Chapter 7. Lost in Translation: Field Primatology, Culture, and Interdisciplinary Approaches Nobuyuki Kutsukake Chapter 8. Measuring Meaning and Understanding in Primatological and Biological Anthropology Fieldwork: Context and Practice Agustín Fuentes Chapter 9. Fieldwork as Research Process and Community Engagement Mark Eggerman and Catherine Panter-Brick Chapter 10. Framing the Quantitative within the Qualitative: Why Biological Anthropologists do Fieldwork Lyliane Rosetta Chapter 11. Considerations on Field Methods used to assess Non-human Primate Feeding Behaviours and Human Food Intake in terms of nutritional requirements Claude Marcel Hladik Chapter 12. Anthropobiological Surveys in the Field: A reflection on the Bioethics of Human Medical and DNA Surveys Alain Froment Chapter 13. Field Schools in Central America: playing a pivotal role in the formation of modern field primatologists Katherine C. MacKinnon Chapter 14. The Narrator’s Stance: Story-telling and Science at Berenty Reserve Alison Jolly Chapter 15. Natural Homes: Primate Fieldwork and the Anthropological Method Pamela J. Asquith Chapter 16. Popularizing Fieldwork: Examples from Primatology and Biological Anthropology Jeremy MacClancy Index

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Book Synopsis There are not many areas that are more rooted in both the biological and social-cultural aspects of humankind than diet and nutrition. Throughout human history nutrition has been shaped by political, economic, and cultural forces, and in turn, access to food and nutrition has altered the course and direction of human societies. Using a biocultural approach, the contributors to this volume investigate the ways in which food is both an essential resource fundamental to human health and an expression of human culture and society. The chapters deal with aspects of diet and human nutrition through space and time and span prehistoric, historic, and contemporary societies spread over various geographical regions, including Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia to highlight how biology and culture are inextricably linked.Trade Review “The editors provide a nice integration of the book material in the conclusion. While the individual chapters do not, for the most part, provide examples of integrative biocultural approaches, the editors skilfully weave them together thematically and in relation to current issues in the conclusion…the book provides a nice sampling of the spectrum of data and approaches that constitute the field, and as such would be useful for a class in nutritional anthropology.” · JRAI “The individual chapters presented in the volume are well written and together detail a broad range of methodological approaches to the topics around which the volume is structured…This edited volume would be of particular interest to advanced graduate students or researchers interested in the specific topics covered by each chapter.” · Medical Anthropology Quarterly "This is a high-quality publication. Many of the chapters are excellent reviews of methods and perspectives in their particular area. The editors have clearly done a good job… There is a strong mix of topics that go well together and are tied together by the first and last chapters." · Alan Goodman, Hampshire CollegeTable of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes Chapter 1. Introduction: A Biocultural Approach to Human Diet and Nutrition T. Moffat and T. Prowse PART I: EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES ON NUTRITION Chapter 2. Nutritional and Metabolic Influences on Human Brain Evolution W. R. Leonard, M. L. Robertson and J. J. Snodgrass Chapter 3. Child Growth among Southern African Foragers in the Past S. Pfeiffer and L. Harrington Chapter 4. Infant and Young Child Feeding in Human Evolution D. W. Sellen PART II: BREASTFEEDING AND BEYOND: NUTRITION THROUGHOUT THE LIFE COURSE Chapter 5. The Use of Stable Isotope Analysis to Determine Infant and Young Child Feeding Patterns T. L. Dupras Chapter 6. A Community in Transition: Deconstructing Breastfeeding Trends in Gibraltar, 1955-96 L. A. Sawchuk, E. K. Bryce and S. D. A. Burke PART III: FOOD INSECURITY AND MALNUTRITION Chapter 7. Dietary Diversity, Dietary Transitions and Childhood Nutrition in Nepal: Questions of Methodology and Practice T. Moffat and E. Finnis Chapter 8. Responses to a Food Crisis and Child Malnutrition in the Nigerien Sahel R. E. Casiday, K. R. Hampshire, C. Panter-Brick and K. Kilpatrick PART IV: NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN GROWTH AND DISEASE Chapter 9. Growth, Morbidity, and Mortality in Antiquity: A Case Study from Imperial Rome T. Prowse, S. Saunders, C. Fitzgerald, L. Bondioli and R. Macchiarelli Chapter 10. Examining Nutritional Aspects of Bone Loss and Fragility across the Life Cycle in Bioarchaeology S. C. Agarwal and B. Glencross Chapter 11. Obesity - An Emerging Epidemic: Temporal trends in North America P. T. Katzmarzyk PART V: CONCLUSION Chapter 12. Diet and Nutrition in Biocultural Perspective: Back to the Future T. Prowse and T. Moffat Contributors Glossary Index

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Book Synopsis'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL, bestselling author of The Future of Geography'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY, bestselling author of OtherlandsOur biology will change how you see the world. Lewis Dartnell explores how human biology has shaped relationships, societies, economies and wars across the globeHow did haemophilia bring down the Russian royal family? And scurvy give rise to the Mafia?We are a wonder of evolution. Our exceptional abilities created life as we know it, but we're also deeply flawed. This extraordinary contradiction between our faculties and frailties is the essence of what it means to be human. And history has played out in the balance between them.Here, Lewis Dartnell tells our story through the lens of this uniquely fragile nature for the first time. From cognitive biases to endemic diseases, he explores how human biology has shaped relationships, societies, economies and wars across the globe - and considers how, importantly, it continues to challenge and define our progress.'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT, author of Cure'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD, author of How to Make the World Add UpTrade ReviewAlways an interesting and engaging writer, Dartnell ... finds fascinating nuggets in familiar stories * Guardian *I’ve always liked Dartnell’s books for their factiness * Sunday Times *An illuminating journey through history using our bodies as the vehicle. It's quite a ride! * Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography *Wide-ranging, comprehensive and refreshing * Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands *A wild ride through science, history and prehistory, full of unexpected connections and delightful insights * Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add Up *A revolutionary account of human progress. This is history as you've never read it before: a gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller * Jo Marchant, author of The Human Cosmos *A sublime, mind-expanding exploration of who we are and how we got here * Richard Fisher, author of The Long View *Brilliantly entertaining and beautifully written, Being Human forces you to see the world in a totally new way. Interdisciplinary history at its best * Jonathan Kennedy, author of Pathogenesis *A spirited canter through the ways our biology has inescapably affected world history that'll open your eyes and stretch your mind * Henry Gee, author of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth *Bursting with scientific stories, this is a fascinating exploration of how our flawed biology shapes how we live, love, thrive and die. Being Human will make you think in a new light about yourself and your species * Kat Arney, author of Rebel Cell *A brilliant, super-informative and enjoyable read * Dr Camilla Pang, author of Explaining Humans *Lewis Dartnell has a well-deserved reputation for engaging writing on big themes. Being Human is so engrossing that it's hard to put down * Martin Rees, author of If Science is To Save Us *Dartnell has done it again. Full of surprising, vivid and profound lessons, this book is quite literally wonderful * Ed Conway, author of Material World *[A] revealing survey ... Biology determines more than personal destiny * New Statesman *[A] fascinating lucky dip of a book * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisDrawing especially on insights emerging from studies of the cellular networks formed by fungi, this book describes the fundamental indeterminacy that enables life forms to thrive in and create inconstant circumstances. It explains how indeterminacy arises from counteraction between associative and dissociative processes at the reactive interfaces between living systems and their surroundings. It stresses the relevance of these processes to understanding the dynamic contexts within which living systems of all kinds — including human societies-explore for, use up, conserve and recycle sources of energy.By focusing on dynamic boundaries, the book counterbalances the discretist view that living systems are assembled entirely from building-block-like units — individuals and genes — that can be freely sifted, as opposed to channeled, by natural selection. It also shows how the versatility that enables life forms to proliferate in rich environments, whilst minimizing losses in restrictive environments, depends on capacities for error and co-operation within a fluid, non-hierarchical power structure. Understanding this point yields a more compassionate, less competitive and less self-centred outlook on life's successes and failures.Trade Review"Slowly, a new genre of writing is emerging that recognises both partnership and competition as crucial to understanding evolution ... Degrees of Freedom is a fascinating new addition to this debate ... Rayner has elegantly shown that, in much of the microbial world at least, DNA takes a back seat to environmental context. He wants to apply these same principles to the behaviour of more familiar communities such as ant colonies and plant roots and even, more contentiously, to ourselves. Already his ideas, which have been dubbed 'eco-Darwinism', have intrigued evolutionists. Now this accessible book brings his challenging perspective into the public areas." New Scientist, 1997 "Dr Rayner explains with virtuosity the extraordinary properties of the fungi of the woodland floor and relates this to a range of other phenomena, such as how humans learn." SGM Quarterly, Nov 1997 "For such a concise book ... well-referenced and indexed, it is extraordinarily wide in scope." The Ecologist, Jan/Feb 1998 "Highly recommended for biologists of all disciplines." Choice, 1998Table of ContentsDefining dynamic boundaries; scaling hierarchies - individuals and collectives from molecules to communities; determinacy and indeterminacy; differentiation and integration; versatility and degeneracy; balance and circumstance; me and you, us and them - merger, takeover and rejection; compassion in place of strife - the future of human relationships?.

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Book SynopsisDrawing especially on insights emerging from studies of the cellular networks formed by fungi, this book describes the fundamental indeterminacy that enables life forms to thrive in and create inconstant circumstances. It explains how indeterminacy arises from counteraction between associative and dissociative processes at the reactive interfaces between living systems and their surroundings. It stresses the relevance of these processes to understanding the dynamic contexts within which living systems of all kinds — including human societies-explore for, use up, conserve and recycle sources of energy.By focusing on dynamic boundaries, the book counterbalances the discretist view that living systems are assembled entirely from building-block-like units — individuals and genes — that can be freely sifted, as opposed to channeled, by natural selection. It also shows how the versatility that enables life forms to proliferate in rich environments, whilst minimizing losses in restrictive environments, depends on capacities for error and co-operation within a fluid, non-hierarchical power structure. Understanding this point yields a more compassionate, less competitive and less self-centred outlook on life's successes and failures.Trade Review"Slowly, a new genre of writing is emerging that recognises both partnership and competition as crucial to understanding evolution ... Degrees of Freedom is a fascinating new addition to this debate ... Rayner has elegantly shown that, in much of the microbial world at least, DNA takes a back seat to environmental context. He wants to apply these same principles to the behaviour of more familiar communities such as ant colonies and plant roots and even, more contentiously, to ourselves. Already his ideas, which have been dubbed 'eco-Darwinism', have intrigued evolutionists. Now this accessible book brings his challenging perspective into the public areas." New Scientist, 1997 "Dr Rayner explains with virtuosity the extraordinary properties of the fungi of the woodland floor and relates this to a range of other phenomena, such as how humans learn." SGM Quarterly, Nov 1997 "For such a concise book ... well-referenced and indexed, it is extraordinarily wide in scope." The Ecologist, Jan/Feb 1998 "Highly recommended for biologists of all disciplines." Choice, 1998Table of ContentsDefining dynamic boundaries; scaling hierarchies - individuals and collectives from molecules to communities; determinacy and indeterminacy; differentiation and integration; versatility and degeneracy; balance and circumstance; me and you, us and them - merger, takeover and rejection; compassion in place of strife - the future of human relationships?.

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Book SynopsisBy capturing the latest developments in this dynamic field – including cloning, embryonic stem cells, and assisted reproduction – Ramón Piñón has made sure that his textbook is the most up-to-date and useful introduction to human reproductive biology available. This book, developed from the author's course notes at UC San Diego, is designed as an introductory text for non-science majors. Although its emphasis is on biology, it combines a rich assortment of comparative historical and literary notes with a contemporary inquiry into human sexuality. It may also serve as an intermediate-level text for non-science majors, or an introductory text for students of biology.Table of Contents1. The Study of Human Reproduction 2. Sex, Reproduction, and Mutation 3. Reproductive Hormones 4. Sex Determination and Fetal Sexual Differentiation 5. The Ovary: The Ovulatory and Menstrual Cycles 6. The Testis and Testicular Function 7. The Brain and Reproduction 8. Puberty 9. Stress and Reproduction 10. Aging and Reproduction 11. Fertilization and Implantation 12. Placentation, Parturition, and Lactation 13. Fetal Loss and Birth Defects 14. Disorders of Sexual Development 15. Artificial Control of Fertility 16. Infertility and Assisted Reproduction 17. Sexually Transmitted Diseases 18. Cancers of the Reproductive Tissues 19. The Biology of Human Sexuality 20. Human Embryo Research List of Abbreviations Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThe unforgettable introduction to the human body that continues to inspire new generations of doctors Awesome and magnificent as the body itself, here is the one book that explains the mysteries of human anatomy – from head to heart; muscles to metabolism; bones to blood and beyond – in a way certain to captivate. It cuts through jargon and transcends the ordinary to let you get to know all about your body: how it adapts, how it protects itself, how it senses the world, how it grows. An indispensable book for everyone who has ever felt a sense of wonder for the remarkable machine that remains infinitely superior to every human invention.Trade Review'The scope of this book is nothing less than the scope of man' Newsweek'An endlessly enchanting, stimulating work of high literary value' Modern Medicine'Stimulating... profound... vivid' Wall Street Journal'A modern classic' Columbus Dispatch

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe view “It’s all in our genes and we cannot change it” developed in the past 150 years since Gregor Mendel’s experiments with flowering pea plants. However, there is a special form of genetics, referred to as epigenetics, which does not involve any change of our genes but regulates how and when they are used. In the cell nucleus our genes are packed into chromatin, which is a complex of histone proteins and genomic DNA, representing the molecular basis of epigenetics. Our environment and lifestyle decisions influence the epigenetics of our cells and organs, i.e. epigenetics changes dynamically throughout our whole life. Thus, we have the chance to change our epigenetics in a positive as well as negative way and present the onset of diseases, such a type 2 diabetes or cancer. This textbook provides a molecular explanation how our genome is connected with environmental signals. It outlines that epigenetic programming is a learning process that results in epigenetic memory in each of the cells of our body. The central importance of epigenetics during embryogenesis and cellular differentiation as well as in the process of aging and the risk for the development of cancer are discussed. Moreover, the role of the epigenome as a molecular storage of cellular events not only in the brain but also in metabolic organs and in the immune system is described. The book represents an updated but simplified version of our textbook “Human Epigenomics” (ISBN 978-981-10-7614-8). The first five chapters explain the molecular basis of epigenetics, while the following seven chapters provide examples for the impact of epigenetics in human health and disease.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Chromatin and gene expression.- DNA methylation.- Histone modifications.- Chromatin modifying proteins and RNAs.- Embryogenesis and cellular differentiation.- Population epigenetics and aging.- Cancer epigenetics.- Neuroepigenetics.- Nutritional epigenetics.- Epigenetics of immune function.- Epigenome-environment interactions and their therapy.

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