How to Build a Dragon Or Die Trying: A Satirical Look At Cutting-Edge Science

Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 So, you want a dragon?
	Introduction
	The dragon or the egg?
	What is a dragon exactly?
		The Middle East and Africa
		Asia
		Ancient and Eastern Europe
		Central and Western Europe
		Dragon history: the big picture
	Why build a dragon?
	What kind of dragon should we make?
	What creatures to start with?
	Chimeras?
	Flying dragon
	Fire is fun for a dragon
	Brain and temperament
	Our dragon-building team
	Expect disasters
	Why write this book?
	References
Chapter 2 Let there be flight
	Weight versus flight
	Engineering flight: where to start?
	Lessons from two extinct giant fliers
	Patagia for flight
	Getting a lift
	Bird options
	Birds or dragons of a feather
	Genes and feathered flight
	Dragon size
	Where to call home?
	What could go wrong with dragon flight?
	How we could cheat on dragon flight
	Flying on
	References
Chapter 3 Fire!
	Kindling a fire-breathing dragon
	Fueling the flames
	Farts, burps, and other fuel sources
	Dragon moonshine?
		Cheats for fueling fire
	The dragon diet
	We have ignition (we hope)
		Electrical ignition
		How we could cheat on ignition
	Protecting the dragon from its own fire
	Lessons from a beetle’s butt
	Heat as a weapon
	What could go wrong and how might we die?
	Take-home on fire
	References
Chapter 4 Dragons on the brain
	Make up your mind
	A dragon’s brain
	Picking an unpickled starter brain
	How to grow a brain
		Growing a mini-brain or “brain organoid” in the lab
	Are brain architecture and intelligence linked?
	Too dumb
	Too smart
	Extra smart on purpose
	Walk the walk, and talk the talk
	Teach your dragon well
	Problems bringing up baby Dragon
	Cheating with a Cyborg Dragon
	What could go wrong – and yes, you’ve guessed – lead to our deaths?
	Trying to get the dragon brain just right
	References
Chapter 5 From head to tail, other dragon features and power-ups
	A whole menu of options
	A head (or heads) up?
	Taking our dragon by the horn
	Dragon color: it’s not black and white
	A shocking suggestion
	Before your very eyes
	Half a brain on and half off
	Dragon GPS
	Going swimmingly
	A leg or more to stand on
	And another thing to ruminate…
	Dragon skin
	Not just spitting into the wind
	Finding its voice
	Is it a girl or a boy or both?
	Power-ups
	Power downs
	What could go wrong and how might we die?
	Fun with features
	References
Chapter 6 Sex, dragons, and CRISPR
	Evolving a dragon at warp speed
	Dragon sex ed and parenting class
	The golden egg (and sperm)
	Stem cells
	No males or sex needed?
	Cloning class
	Chimeric embryos and chimeras
	CRISPR
		What exactly is CRISPR gene-editing and how does it work?
		Using CRISPR to make a dragon
	What could go wrong and how we might die?
	Dragon building technology
	References
Chapter 7 After a dragon: building unicorns and other mythical creatures
	Our next challenge: unicorns and other mythical creatures
	Unicorns
		A brief history of unicorns
		How would we create a unicorn?
	Taking wing with Pegasus
		A brief history of Pegasus
	How would we create a flying horse like Pegasus
	Hippogriffs and Griffins
		A brief history of hippogriffs and griffins
		How to build a hippogriff or griffin?
	A tail of Mermaids and Mermen
		A brief history of merpeople
		Hypothetically, how could we create a mermaid (not that we would ever try)?
		Why it would be unethical to create a Mermaid
	Make myths real
	Reference
Chapter 8 The ethics and future of engineering dragons and other new beasts
	Dragon ethics
	Too dangerous for humanity?
		Humans as friends or family, not food
	Would it be good for dragons if we made them?
		Risks of making malformed dragons along the way
		Short-lived or sickly dragon?
		Dragon blues?
		Dragon benefits?
	Benefits to the world?
	Endangering the already at-risk Komodo?
	What if our dragons outlive us?
	Ethics and government regulation
	Where do we get all the needed money without “selling out”?
	Where we go, will others follow?
	References
Glossary
Index