Discovery: Science as a Window to the World

DISCOVERY: WINDOWS ON THE LIFE SCIENCES......Page 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 7
PREFACE......Page 11
CHAPTER 1: ON DISCOVERY......Page 14
SERENDIPITY......Page 17
FOLLOWING A HUNCH: THE ROAD TO CISPLATIN......Page 18
SEEING CONNECTIONS: FROM LETHARGIC GUINEA PIGS TO LITHIUM......Page 21
NATURAL PRODUCTS CHEMISTRY......Page 24
SYNTHETIC VERSUS COMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY......Page 27
SEQUENClNG GENOMES......Page 28
THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT......Page 30
CHAPTER 2: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE: WHEN CHEMISTRY BECAME BIOLOGY......Page 36
DEBUNKING SPONTANEOUS GENERATION......Page 38
DISPROVING VITALISM......Page 39
LIFE FROM SPACE: PERHAPS SOME EVIDENCE......Page 40
WHERE COULD LIFE HAVE ARISEN?......Page 44
THE MILLER EXPERIMENT......Page 46
OTHER PREBIOTlC SIMULATIONS......Page 49
AFTER THE BUILDING BLOCKS FORM: POLYMERIZATION......Page 50
WHY RNA?......Page 52
EVOLUTION IN A TEST TUBE......Page 53
A PRE-RNA WORLD?......Page 55
A FINAL WORD ON CONTROVERSY......Page 56
CHAPTER 3: GOING OUT ON A LIMB FOR THE TREE OF LIFE......Page 60
IN THE LEGACY OF GALILEO......Page 61
INSPIRATION FROM THE GENETIC CODE......Page 62
THE EXPERIMENTS......Page 65
MAKING THE CASE......Page 67
DETAILS EMERGE......Page 68
ARKIES AFFECT BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION......Page 69
HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION......Page 70
DOMAINS ARRIVE-FOR SOME......Page 72
IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL......Page 74
A FINAL NOTE ON PERSPECTIVE......Page 75
CHAPTER 4: IN PURSUIT OF PRIONS......Page 78
EARLY CLUES: SCRAPIE, RIDA, AND CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE......Page 80
OF KURU AND CANNIBALS......Page 82
INTO THE LAB TO ISOLATE THE AGENT......Page 85
IATROGENIC CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE ARISES......Page 87
HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE FROM CADAVERS CAUSES A PRION DISEASE......Page 88
PRUSINER AND PRIONS......Page 89
THE BRITISH BEEF SCARE......Page 91
1985 TO 1987: 420 NEW BSE CASES......Page 92
1988: 3072 NEW BSE CASES......Page 93
1990: 14,371 NEW BSE CASES......Page 94
1991 TO 1992: THE NUMBERS OF NEW BSE CASES PEAK AT 25,644 AND 36,924......Page 95
1994......Page 97
1995......Page 98
1996......Page 99
1999......Page 101
FATAL INSOMNIA......Page 102
VISUALIZING PRIONS......Page 105
THE YEAST CONNECTION......Page 106
WHAT'S NEXT?......Page 107
CHAPTER 5: THE TALE OF TELOMERES......Page 112
DISCOVERING STICKY ENDS......Page 113
THE HAYFLICK LIMIT......Page 115
THE END REPLICATION PROBLEM......Page 119
THE HAYFLICK LIMIT MEETS THE END REPLICATION PROBLEM......Page 120
CLUES FROM CILIATES......Page 123
PROBING HUMAN TELOMERES......Page 125
TRACKING TELOMERASE IN DIFFERENT CELL TYPES......Page 127
SHUTTING TELOMERASE OFF......Page 130
TURNING TELOMERASE ON......Page 131
THE FUTURE: TELOMERE MEDICINE?......Page 133
CHAPTER 6: STEM CELLS: THE SCIENCE OF SELF-RENEWAL......Page 144
FROM BONE MARROW TO BRAIN MARROW......Page 145
A CELL'S POTENTIAL GONE HAYWIRE: TERATOMAS......Page 148
STRAIN 129 LEADS TO IDENTIFYING STEM CELLS......Page 149
TRACING THE ORIGIN OF A TERATOMA......Page 152
A SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT CATALYZES CELL CULTURE......Page 153
KNOCKOUTS BEGIN WITH EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS......Page 155
ENTER EMBRYONIC GERM CELLS......Page 157
BEYOND THE MOUSE......Page 159
FINALLY-HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS......Page 160
ENTER ETHICS AND POLITICS......Page 161
ADULT STEM CELLS: BONE MARROW TO BRAIN, LIVER, MUSCLE, AND BEYOND......Page 164
BRAIN MARROW REVISITED......Page 168
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS......Page 170
CHAPTER 7: THE ROOTS OF CLONING......Page 174
THE AMPHIBIAN YEARS......Page 176
THE MOUSE, TAKE 1......Page 180
OF BOVINES AND OVINES-COWS AND SHEEP......Page 181
MEGAN AND MORAG PROVE THE PRINCIPLE OF CLONING—BUT ARE IGNORED......Page 184
SHEEP 6LL3: DOLLY......Page 188
HYPED REPORTING, CALLS FOR "NO CLONE ZONES," AND OTHER OVERREACTIONS......Page 189
AFTER DOLLY......Page 192
THE MOUSE, TAKE 2......Page 195
CALVES, REVISITED......Page 199
CLONED OTHERS......Page 200
HUMAN CLONING: WHEN AND WHY?......Page 201
CLONING COMES FULL CIRCLE......Page 203
CHAPTER 8: HOMOCYSTEINE AND HEART HEALTH......Page 206
OF LDL, HDL, AND HOMOCYSTEINE......Page 207
CYCLES AND PATHWAYS......Page 208
CLUES FROM SICK CHILDREN......Page 211
A KEY CONNECTION......Page 213
A FLOOD OF STUDIES LINKS HIGHER HOMOCYSTEINE LEVEL TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE......Page 218
THE VITAMIN CONNECTION: FOCUS ON FOLATE......Page 221
ESTABLISHING CAUSALITY AND MECHANISM......Page 222
THE BIGGER PICTURE......Page 225
CHAPTER 9: ON TECHNOLOGY: GENE THERAPY AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS......Page 230
THE FIRST REPORTED GENE THERAPY DEATH......Page 231
WILL GENE THERAPY FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TRANSPLANTS?......Page 236
A BUTTERFLY SYMBOLIZES TECHNOFEAR......Page 238
THE FUTURE......Page 244
INDEX......Page 248