The Least Likely Man

The Least Likely Man PDF Author: Franklin H. Portugal
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262323540
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
How unassuming government researcher Marshall Nirenberg beat James Watson, Francis Crick, and other world-famous scientists in the race to discover the genetic code. The genetic code is the Rosetta Stone by which we interpret the 3.3 billion letters of human DNA, the alphabet of life, and the discovery of the code has had an immeasurable impact on science and society. In 1968, Marshall Nirenberg, an unassuming government scientist working at the National Institutes of Health, shared the Nobel Prize for cracking the genetic code. He was the least likely man to make such an earth-shaking discovery, and yet he had gotten there before such members of the scientific elite as James Watson and Francis Crick. How did Nirenberg do it, and why is he so little known? In The Least Likely Man, Franklin Portugal tells the fascinating life story of a famous scientist that most of us have never heard of. Nirenberg did not have a particularly brilliant undergraduate or graduate career. After being hired as a researcher at the NIH, he quietly explored how cells make proteins. Meanwhile, Watson, Crick, and eighteen other leading scientists had formed the “RNA Tie Club” (named after the distinctive ties they wore, each decorated with one of twenty amino acid designs), intending to claim credit for the discovery of the genetic code before they had even worked out the details. They were surprised, and displeased, when Nirenberg announced his preliminary findings of a genetic code at an international meeting in Moscow in 1961. Drawing on Nirenberg's “lab diaries,” Portugal offers an engaging and accessible account of Nirenberg's experimental approach, describes counterclaims by Crick, Watson, and Sidney Brenner, and traces Nirenberg's later switch to an entirely new, even more challenging field. Having won the Nobel for his work on the genetic code, Nirenberg moved on to the next frontier of biological research: how the brain works.

The Least Likely Man

The Least Likely Man PDF Author: Franklin H. Portugal
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262323540
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Get Book

Book Description
How unassuming government researcher Marshall Nirenberg beat James Watson, Francis Crick, and other world-famous scientists in the race to discover the genetic code. The genetic code is the Rosetta Stone by which we interpret the 3.3 billion letters of human DNA, the alphabet of life, and the discovery of the code has had an immeasurable impact on science and society. In 1968, Marshall Nirenberg, an unassuming government scientist working at the National Institutes of Health, shared the Nobel Prize for cracking the genetic code. He was the least likely man to make such an earth-shaking discovery, and yet he had gotten there before such members of the scientific elite as James Watson and Francis Crick. How did Nirenberg do it, and why is he so little known? In The Least Likely Man, Franklin Portugal tells the fascinating life story of a famous scientist that most of us have never heard of. Nirenberg did not have a particularly brilliant undergraduate or graduate career. After being hired as a researcher at the NIH, he quietly explored how cells make proteins. Meanwhile, Watson, Crick, and eighteen other leading scientists had formed the “RNA Tie Club” (named after the distinctive ties they wore, each decorated with one of twenty amino acid designs), intending to claim credit for the discovery of the genetic code before they had even worked out the details. They were surprised, and displeased, when Nirenberg announced his preliminary findings of a genetic code at an international meeting in Moscow in 1961. Drawing on Nirenberg's “lab diaries,” Portugal offers an engaging and accessible account of Nirenberg's experimental approach, describes counterclaims by Crick, Watson, and Sidney Brenner, and traces Nirenberg's later switch to an entirely new, even more challenging field. Having won the Nobel for his work on the genetic code, Nirenberg moved on to the next frontier of biological research: how the brain works.

Concrete Planet

Concrete Planet PDF Author: Robert Courland
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 163388869X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
Concrete: We use it for our buildings, bridges, dams, and roads. We walk on it, drive on it, and many of us live and work within its walls. But very few of us know what it is. We take for granted this ubiquitous substance, which both literally and figuratively comprises much of modern civilization's constructed environment; yet the story of its creation and development features a cast of fascinating characters and remarkable historical episodes. Featuring a new epilogue on the Surfside condominium collapse and the current state of infrastructure in America, this book delves into this history, opening readers' eyes at every turn. In a lively narrative peppered with intriguing details, author Robert Courland describes how some of the most famous personalities of history became involved in the development and use of concrete-including King Herod the Great of Judea, the Roman emperor Hadrian, Thomas Edison (who once owned the largest concrete cement plant in the world), and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Courland points to recent archaeological evidence suggesting that the discovery of concrete directly led to the Neolithic Revolution and the rise of the earliest civilizations. Much later, the Romans reached extraordinarily high standards for concrete production, showcasing their achievement in iconic buildings like the Coliseum and the Pantheon. Amazingly, with the fall of the Roman Empire, the secrets of concrete manufacturing were lost for over a millennium. The author explains that when concrete was rediscovered in the late eighteenth century it was initially viewed as an interesting novelty or, at best, a specialized building material suitable only for a narrow range of applications. It was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that the use of concrete exploded. During this rapid expansion, industry lobbyists tried to disguise the fact that modern concrete had certain defects and critical shortcomings. It is now recognized that modern concrete, unlike its Roman predecessor, gradually disintegrates with age. Compounding this problem is another distressing fact: the manufacture of concrete cement is a major contributor to global warming. Concrete Planet is filled with incredible stories, fascinating characters, surprising facts, and an array of intriguing insights into the building material that forms the basis of the infrastructure on which we depend.

The Man Most Likely

The Man Most Likely PDF Author: Cindi Myers
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 142683294X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
With her voluptuous, plus-size figure, Angela Krizova knows she doesn't fit the male fantasy of the perfect woman. That's fine, because Bryan Perry isn't her idea of the ideal man, either. The gorgeous ski-bum-turned-corporate-exec is just the type she avoids like the plague. Except he won't take no for an answer. With Bryan pursuing her as if she's the most desirable woman in Crested Butte, Angela's starting to believe it just a little herself. Is the most irresistible guy in town really falling for her? Or is he the man most likely to break her heart?

Girl Least Likely To Marry

Girl Least Likely To Marry PDF Author: Amy Andrews
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0857998277
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 133

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Book Description
Samuel Tucker is absolutely the last person scientist Cassie Barclay would ever date. So when he asks her to dance at her friend Reese's non–wedding she's wondering why on earth she says yes! Tuck is used to people assuming he's all brawn and no brain, but when he finally takes her to bed, suddenly it's Tuck who can show Cassie a thing or two! Can he convince her that love and sex have nothing to do with logic but everything to do with chemistry?

The Least Likely. Memoirs of Judge Michael Ryan... from the Housing Projects to the Courthouse

The Least Likely. Memoirs of Judge Michael Ryan... from the Housing Projects to the Courthouse PDF Author: Michael John Ryan
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781533021038
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
This book was written to inspire anyone who has dealt with poverty, domestic violence, drug addiction, instability, foster care, hopelessness and death. It was also written to motivate people to reach their full potential who have experienced the latter mentioned things as well those who haven't endured the tragedies that befell this young man. This book could easily have been titled "No Excuses" because despite all the challenges this young man faced he rose from the Housing Projects to the Court House and gives a blueprint of how you can rise above expectations too!

The Least Likely Bride

The Least Likely Bride PDF Author: Jane Feather
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0307487385
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
The third novel in the captivating Brides Trilogy, in which three unconventional young women vow they will never marry—only to be overtaken by destiny. One moment Lady Olivia Granville is strolling along a path, her nose buried in a tome of Greek philosophy; the next she is plunging down a rocky cliff. When she regains consciousness, she is naked and unwittingly trapped on a pirate ship. Her captor, though, is no ordinary pirate. Wickedly handsome, disturbingly mysterious, the grey-eyed master of the Wind Dancer is both a physician and an artist, and admits to making his living from the sea. Most disconcerting of all, when he turns his glittering eyes on her, he sees not the stammering, hopelessly bookish young girl Olivia has always been, but a passionate, beautiful woman who can, if she chooses, embark on the adventure and the love of a lifetime. Don't miss the other novels in Jane Feather's captivating Brides Trilogy: THE HOSTAGE BRIDE | THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE | THE LEAST LIKELY BRIDE

Incredible Shrinking Son of Man

Incredible Shrinking Son of Man PDF Author: Robert M. Price
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615920285
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
"This book should be mandatory reading for all scholars concerned with Christian origins ... nothing of comparable importance has been written for at least a decade." - Freethinker For more than a century scholars have been examining the Gospels and other traditions about the life of Jesus to determine their historical accuracy. Although the results of these scholarly efforts are sometimes controversial, the consensus among researchers today is that the four Evangelists'' accounts cannot be taken at face value. In fact, a team of more than 100 scholars called the Jesus Seminar has come to the conclusion that on average only about 18 percent of the four Gospels is historically accurate.An active member of the Jesus Seminar, Dr. Robert M. Price presents the fruits of this important historical research in this fascinating discussion of early Christianity. As the title suggests, Price is none too optimistic about the reliability of the Gospel tradition as a source of accurate historical information about the life of Jesus. Indeed, he feels that his colleagues in the Jesus Seminar are much too optimistic in their estimate of authentic material in the Gospels. After an introduction to the historical-critical method for nonspecialists and a critique of the methods used by the Jesus Seminar, Price systematically discusses the narrative and teaching materials in the Gospel, clearly presenting what is known and not known about all of the major episodes of Jesus'' life. He also examines the parables for authenticity as well as Jesus'' teachings about the Kingdom of God, repentance, prayer, possessions and poverty, the Atonement, and many other features of the Gospels.Written for the general reading public in a lively and accessible style, Dr. Price''s highly informative discussion will be of interest to anyone who has wondered about the origins of Christianity.

Becoming Madison

Becoming Madison PDF Author: Michael Signer
Publisher: Public Affairs
ISBN: 1610392957
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Presents an investigation into the intellectual, psychological, and personal life of the least known Founding Father, shedding light on this leader who pushed the American state to achieve its potential no matter the obstacle.

The Reproductive System at a Glance

The Reproductive System at a Glance PDF Author: Linda J. Heffner
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405194529
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
This text explores the breadth of human reproductive biology and pathophysiology in separate sections, giving students the basic science required to understand the reproductive disorders of men and women they will encounter during their clinical training.

Girl Least Likely To

Girl Least Likely To PDF Author: Liz Jones
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471101959
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Liz Jones is Fashion Editor of the Daily Mail, and a columnist for the Mail on Sunday. She is the former editor of Marie Claire, which sounds quite an achievement, but she was sacked three years in. A psychotherapist once told her, 'What you brood on will hatch', and she was right. Nothing Liz ever did in life ever worked out. Nothing. Not one single thing. Liz grew up in Essex, the youngest of seven children. Her mother was a martyr, her dad so dashing that no other man could ever live up to his pressed and polished standards. Her siblings terrified her, with their Afghan coats, cigarettes, parties, sex and drugs. They made her father shout, and her mother cry. Liz became an anorexic aged eleven, an illness that continues to blight her life today. She remained a virgin until her thirties, and even then found the wait wasn't really worth it; it was just one more thing to add to her to do list. She was named Columnist of the Year 2012 by the British Society of Magazine Editors, but is still too frightened to answer the phone, too filled with disgust at her own image to glance in the mirror or eat a whole avocado. She lives alone with her four rescued collies, three horses and seventeen cats. Girl Least Likely Tois the opposite of 'having it all'. It is a life lesson in how NOT to be a woman.