Biomedicine and the Human Condition: Challenges, Risks, and Rewards

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
Leaving Eden......Page 17
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – Introducing a Theme......Page 21
George Bernard Shaw’s Misgivings –\rTwentieth-Century Optimism......Page 23
The Great Philanthropists......Page 27
Investment in the New Biology......Page 30
Questions from a Sceptical Public......Page 33
Biomedicine Comes of Age......Page 34
General sources......Page 35
“In Sorrow Thou Shalt Bring Forth Children”......Page 36
Changing Reproductive Habits......Page 39
Surviving Childhood......Page 44
Birth Control......Page 48
Assisting Reproduction......Page 53
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 59
General sources......Page 60
DNA Transmits Genetic Information......Page 61
Nucleic Acids and Heredity......Page 66
Genetic Contributions to a Fertilised Egg......Page 69
What Is a Gene?......Page 72
Dark Secrets of  DNA......Page 73
How Life Experience and Heredity Affect Health......Page 80
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 83
General sources......Page 84
The Architecture of Cells......Page 85
A Cell for Every Purpose – Specialists and Stem Cells......Page 94
Cells Communicating – Growth Factors and\rTheir Receptors......Page 97
The Death of Cells......Page 99
Cells and Immortality......Page 103
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 104
General sources......Page 105
The Perfect Nursery?......Page 106
Perils of Embryonic Life......Page 109
How Nutritional Experiences in Utero Affect Adult Health......Page 114
Premature Birth – the Danger of Arriving Early......Page 121
From Birth to Maturity......Page 123
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 126
General sources......Page 127
Microbes – Historic Enemies......Page 128
How Can We Know What We Should Eat?......Page 138
Toxicological Dangers – Living in a Chemical Zoo......Page 144
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 146
General sources......Page 147
Life Span and Ageing......Page 148
What Happens as We Age?......Page 151
Longevity, Life Experience, and the Genome......Page 157
How Cells Grow Old......Page 162
Stopping the Clock......Page 166
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 167
General sources......Page 168
Twentieth-Century Nightmare......Page 169
Six Steps to Chaos......Page 172
Life Experience and Cancer – Six Major Risks......Page 177
Control and Prevention of Cancer......Page 186
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 188
General sources......Page 189
Historic Epidemics......Page 190
Vaccines......Page 195
Magic Bullets – Antibiotics......Page 204
Why Microbes Will Always Be a Threat......Page 207
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 213
General sources......Page 214
Should We Worry about Unknown Infectious Enemies?......Page 215
Influenza......Page 217
AIDS......Page 221
Prion Diseases......Page 224
Mosquito-borne Diseases......Page 227
The Threat of Bioterrorism......Page 232
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 234
General sources......Page 235
The Power of Chemistry......Page 236
Lessons from Nature......Page 239
Making New Drugs......Page 243
Quacks, Carelessness, and Misadventure......Page 255
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 258
General sources......Page 259
Genetically Engineered Insulin......Page 260
Gene Technology Becomes an Industry......Page 264
Making Novel Protein Medicines......Page 267
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 280
General sources......Page 281
The Surgical Tradition......Page 282
The Biology of Renewal......Page 284
Twentieth-Century Uses of Human Blood......Page 285
Blue Babies and Coronary By-pass Operations......Page 289
Tissue Engineering – Repairing Skin and Other Tissues......Page 290
Organ Transplantation......Page 293
Cell Therapy – Radical Uses of Stem Cells......Page 301
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – A Summary......Page 304
General sources......Page 305
The Burden of Genetic Disease......Page 306
Avoiding Genetic Disease......Page 311
Treatment of Genetic Disease......Page 316
Fixing Faults in the Genome – Gene Therapy......Page 318
The Human Genome Project – a Detailed Map of a New Frontier......Page 321
Ethical Dilemmas and the Genome Project......Page 325
Challenges, Risks, and Rewards – a Summary......Page 326
General sources......Page 327
15 Epilogue: Signposts to ‘‘Wonderland”......Page 328
References......Page 337
Index......Page 357