A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain

A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain PDF Author: Sara Manning Peskin
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324002387
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Riveting stories of the brain on the brink, from an acclaimed cognitive neurologist. Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are gripping accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake. A college student cannot remember if she has eaten breakfast. By dinner, she is strapped to a hospital bed, convinced she is battling zombies. A man planning to propose marriage instead becomes violently enraged, gripped by body spasms so severe that he nearly bites off his own tongue. One after another, poor farmers in South Carolina drop dead from a mysterious epidemic of dementia. With an intoxicating blend of history and intrigue, Sara Manning Peskin invites readers to play medical detective, tracing each diagnosis from the patient to an ailing nervous system. Along the way, Peskin entertains with tales of the sometimes outlandish, often criticized, and forever devoted scientists who discovered it all. Peskin never loses sight of the human impact of these conditions. Alzheimer’s Disease is more than the gradual loss of a loved one; it can be a family’s multigenerational curse. The proteins that abound in every cell of our bodies are not simply strings of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon; they are the building blocks of our personalities and relationships. A Molecule Away from Madness is an unputdownable journey into the deepest mysteries of our brains.

A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain

A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain PDF Author: Sara Manning Peskin
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324002387
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Get Book Here

Book Description
Riveting stories of the brain on the brink, from an acclaimed cognitive neurologist. Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are gripping accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake. A college student cannot remember if she has eaten breakfast. By dinner, she is strapped to a hospital bed, convinced she is battling zombies. A man planning to propose marriage instead becomes violently enraged, gripped by body spasms so severe that he nearly bites off his own tongue. One after another, poor farmers in South Carolina drop dead from a mysterious epidemic of dementia. With an intoxicating blend of history and intrigue, Sara Manning Peskin invites readers to play medical detective, tracing each diagnosis from the patient to an ailing nervous system. Along the way, Peskin entertains with tales of the sometimes outlandish, often criticized, and forever devoted scientists who discovered it all. Peskin never loses sight of the human impact of these conditions. Alzheimer’s Disease is more than the gradual loss of a loved one; it can be a family’s multigenerational curse. The proteins that abound in every cell of our bodies are not simply strings of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon; they are the building blocks of our personalities and relationships. A Molecule Away from Madness is an unputdownable journey into the deepest mysteries of our brains.

The Pandemic Century

The Pandemic Century PDF Author: Mark Honigsbaum
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 1787382648
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Like sharks, epidemic diseases always lurk just beneath the surface. This fast-paced history of their effect on mankind prompts questions about the limits of scientific knowledge, the dangers of medical hubris, and how we should prepare as epidemics become ever more frequent. Ever since the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, scientists have dreamed of preventing catastrophic outbreaks of infectious disease. Yet, despite a century of medical progress, viral and bacterial disasters continue to take us by surprise, inciting panic and dominating news cycles. From the Spanish flu and the 1924 outbreak of pneumonic plague in Los Angeles to the 1930 'parrot fever' pandemic and the more recent SARS, Ebola, and Zika epidemics, the last 100 years have been marked by a succession of unanticipated pandemic alarms. Like man-eating sharks, predatory pathogens are always present in nature, waiting to strike; when one is seemingly vanquished, others appear in its place. These pandemics remind us of the limits of scientific knowledge, as well as the role that human behaviour and technologies play in the emergence and spread of microbial diseases.

Jews and Humor

Jews and Humor PDF Author: Leonard J. Greenspoon
Publisher: Purdue University Press
ISBN: 1612491553
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Jews and humor is, for most people, a natural and felicitous collocation. In spite of, or perhaps because of, a history of crises and living on the edge, Jews have often created or resorted to humor. But what is humor? And what makes certain types, instances, or performances of humor "Jewish"? These are among the myriad queries addressed by the fourteen authors whose essays are collected in this volume. And, thankfully, their observations, always apt and often witty, are expressed with a lightness of style and a depth of analysis that are appropriate to the many topics they cover. The scholars who contributed to this collection allow readers both to discern the common features that make up "Jewish humor" and to delight in the individualism and eccentricities of the many figures whose lives and accomplishments are narrated here. Because these essays are written in a clear, jargon-free style, they will appeal to everyone—even those who don't usually crack a smile!

The Modern School Movement

The Modern School Movement PDF Author: Paul Avrich
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400853184
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
In this comprehensive study of the Modern School movement, Paul Avrich narrates its history, analyzes its successes and failures, and assesses its place in American life. In doing so, he shows how the radical experimentation in art and communal living as well as in education during this period set the precedent for much of the artistic, social, and educational ferment of the 1960's and I970's. Originally published in 1980. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Marsalis On Music

Marsalis On Music PDF Author: Wynton Marsalis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393038811
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
A manual that uses examples from jazz greats to teach the fundamentals of jazz & the elements of improvisation. Includes a CD.

Space Is the Place

Space Is the Place PDF Author: John Szwed
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 1478012056
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Considered by many to be a founder of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra—aka Herman Blount—was a composer, keyboardist, bandleader, philosopher, entrepreneur, poet, and self-proclaimed extraterrestrial from Saturn. He recorded over 200 albums with his Arkestra, which, dressed in Egypto-space costumes, played everything from boogie-woogie and swing to fusion and free jazz. John Szwed's Space is the Place is the definitive biography of this musical polymath, who was one of the twentieth century's greatest avant-garde artists and intellectuals. Charting the whole of Sun Ra's life and career, Szwed outlines how after years in Chicago as a blues and swing band pianist, Sun Ra set out in the 1950s to impart his views about the galaxy, black people, and spiritual matters by performing music with the Arkestra that was as vital and innovative as it was mercurial and confounding. Szwed's readers—whether they are just discovering Sun Ra or are among the legion of poets, artists, intellectuals, and musicians who consider him a spiritual godfather—will find that, indeed, space is the place.

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This PDF Author: Luke Sullivan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470267712
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
In this new edition of the irreverent, celebrated bestseller, master copywriter Luke Sullivan looks at the history of advertising, from the good, to the bad, to the ugly. Updated to cover online advertising, this edition gives you the best advertising guidance for traditional media and all the possibilities of new media and technologies. You’ll learn why bad ads sometimes work, why great ads fail, and how you can balance creative work with the mandate to sell.

504 Absolutely Essential Words

504 Absolutely Essential Words PDF Author: Murray Bromberg
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780812037029
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
A self-help guide to the use of 504 words used regularly by educated people. Includes sentences, articles, exercises and word review sections using the new words.

Heroes of Early Black AA

Heroes of Early Black AA PDF Author: Glenn Chesnut
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781947519107
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
The stories of the first heroic black men and women who joined Alcoholics Anonymous, told wherever possible in their own words, recorded freely and frankly. The story begins with St. Louis (January 24, 1945); followed by Chicago (March 20, 1945), along with the factory and foundry towns which spread eastwards as suburbs. Later that same year (April 1945) came the story of Dr. James C. Scott, Jr., M.D., the black physician who founded the first black A.A. group in the nation¿s capital, and was the first black A.A. member to get his story in the Big Book. The book concludes with the story of Joe McQuany (March 10, 1962) of the Joe and Charlie tapes, the most famous black figure in A.A. History. The lives of thousands and thousands of alcoholics around the world were saved by listening to recordings of his careful page-by-page explanation of the message of the Big Book. The powerful spiritual messages of all these brave men and women struck the hearts of everyone who heard them speak.

Stanford

Stanford PDF Author: Gary Migdol
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781571671165
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Migdol has included easy-to-read stories about legendary football coaches Pop Warner and Bill Walsh; the exploits of the Vow Boys, the Thunderchickens, and the Immortal 21; basketball great Hank Luisetti; golfing phenom Tiger Woods; the world's greatest athlete, Ernie Nevers; Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett; the thrills generated by such Olympic champions as Bob Mathias, Pablo Morales, and Janet Evans; and the unforgettable moments made possible by such Cardinal greats as John Elway, Jennifer Azzi, Kim Oden, Paul Carey, Frankie Albert, and many more. Also included is a listing of Stanford University letter winners and Olympic champions.