Fatal Flaws - Rilegato

Ingram, Jay

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1443412120 ISBN 13: 9781443412124

Casa editrice: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012

Riassunto

Most people have never heard of prions. Indeed, most are only barely aware of the diseases caused by them, except, perhaps, for mad cow disease. Yet prions are the stuff of a revolutionary science—a science that might lead to cures for some of humankind’s most devastating diseases.

Fatal Flaws is a scientific detective story about this elusive protein, starting with the discovery of kuru, a disease unique to New Guinea in the 1950s that baffled scientists and carried with it whispers of cannibalism. Kuru began a scientific stampede to seek out the agent of this mysterious disease—the prion—a misfolded protein whose existence some of the world’s top scientists still find difficult to accept. Today, the subject of prions remains controversial, yet the proteins might promise new treatments for some of the most intractable brain diseases, ones that affect millions around the planet, including Parkinson’s, ALS and Alzheimer’s.

In Fatal Flaws, Jay Ingram unties a complicated interweaving of biology, medicine, human tragedy, surprise and disbelief in the world of prions, and he unravels some of history’s most stunning revelations about disease, the brain and infection.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

JAY INGRAM was the host of Discovery Channel Canada’s Daily Planet from the first episode until June 2011. Prior to joining Discovery, Ingram hosted CBC Radio’s national science show Quirks & Quarks. He has received the Sandford Fleming Award from the Royal Canadian Institute, the Royal Society’s McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science and the Michael Smith Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. He is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Alberta, has received five honorary doctorates and is a member of the Order of Canada. He has written twelve books, including Theatre of the Mind and Fatal Flaws.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: HarperCollins Publishers
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1443412120
• ISBN 13: 9781443412124
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 272