Do No Harm (Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery):
Ferran's Rating: 9/10
In his memoir, Henry Marsh describes both the astonishing beauty and the harsh reality of brain surgery. Describing it as a “craftsmanship”, he remains humble whilst taking a look back at past cases, both good and bad, and he openly and honestly admits to us that neurosurgeons are not as omnipotent as we would like them to be. Henry Marsh takes us by the hand as he goes down memory lane, from his debut as a doctor to performing surgeries in post Cold War Ukraine to being a patient himself. Each chapter is a new story which enables us to understand further the implications of medicine, of neurosurgery and of the NHS. The medical terms are very well explained and the book can easily be followed, yet it is intelligently composed and allows for a great read and for further exploration down the field of neuroscience and medicine at large.
This Is Going To Hurt:
Karl's Rating: 9/10
This is an awesome book. In fact, it's the only science book that has ever made me laugh out loud. Adam Kay describes his time as a junior doctor (in obstetrics and gynaecology) with a series of diary entries; from his first day as a house officer to his last post as a senior registrar. This book sends a powerful message to the reader and to the NHS - that doctors are human too. Adam Kay's diary includes hilarious experiences with patients and peers, as well as heartbreaking stories of patient deaths. The medical terminology in this book is very well explained, making it easy to follow for non-scientific readers, too.
Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas
Karl's Rating: 9/10
Astonishingly funny and incredibly sad. A Christmas edition of Kay's debut book, Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas tells stories of medical practise during the festive period. Although most patients would choose to be home instead, the Christmas spirit creates a home to patients and practitioners in NHS hospitals throughout the UK.
How We Live and Why We Die:
Karl's Rating: 7/10
In this book, Lewis Wolpert describes many of the principles of Cell Biology, such as genetics and development, and talks us through the processes of ageing, disease and cell death. I particularly enjoyed his analysis of chemical and biological evolution, the latter of which begins with the origin of the very first cell (abiogenesis). Wolpert also touches on the ethical concerns behind the use of embryonic stem cells in medicine. This book requires a considerable amount of scientific knowledge to follow. Consequently, the scientific depth is profound, making this book more scientifically interesting and challenging than other popular science books.
The Sixth Extinction:
Karl's Rating: 7/10
Frogs are amphibians of the Anura family, the ancestors of which first crawled out of the water 400 million years ago. Modern amphibians have populated the planet for over 250 million years, and every day, they are a little closer to becoming extinct. The message that this book conveys is that human activity could give rise to a mass extinction on par with the five biggest ones in fossil records:
- The Ordovician mass extinction (455M to 430M years ago) killed 30% of marine animal genera. This was probably due to continental glaciation, cooling of oceans and a consequential drop in sea levels)
- The Devonian mass extinction (376M to 360M years ago) killed 50% of animal genera. This was due to drastic environmental changes, including anoxic oceans.
- The Permian mass extinction (~258M years ago) killed 96% of marine species and 70% of land vertebrate species. A likely explanation is an increase in carbon dioxide concentrations in oceans.
- The Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction (201.3M years ago) killed most archosaur species and is thought to be caused by gradual climate change, sea-level fluctuations and ocean acidifications.
- The Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction (66M years ago) killed 75% of all species on earth, including the dinosaurs. It most likely occurred as a result of a meteorite impact.
Humans are altering the planet in sixth gear, giving other species no time to adapt and evolve. This could lead to the collapse of entire ecosystems. Kolbert provides a 500 million year biological history of species and emphasises how resilient most of these are. This book is very much popular science and can be of interest to people without any scientific knowledge.
Being Mortal:
Karl's Rating: 8/10
This book discusses the inevitable end of all our lives. Gawande points out the tremendous success of modern health care - infections that would have killed us only decades ago are now considered a minor illness. Care for the elderly has improved substantially when compared to the conditions of nursing homes in the 60s. Cancer and heart diseases are being treated and controlled. A side effect of improved medical care is the longevity of our population. People live longer than ever before and consequently require more assistance towards the end of their lives. Through his experiences, Gawande has reached the conclusion that it is important not to treat old age in the same way as a regular disease. Sure, many of the symptoms of old age can be compared to other illnesses: neurodegeneration, increased blood pressure, arrhythmia, arthritis, muscular degeneration... However, elderly people suffer greatly during technologised deaths in intensive care units. For most, a peaceful death among family and friends is much more desirable. A very good read.
The Blind Watchmaker:
Karl's Rating: 7.5/10
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, well known for his strong atheist views. On the outside, a watch may seem like a simple device. Nonetheless, the gear systems inside of it are highly complex. The same is true for humans. Humans have been shaped by evolution, by means of natural selection. Those individuals with favourable characteristics survive and reproduce, while the 'weak' fall short. How will modern humans look in several million years time (almost certainly extinct)? We don't know, because evolution has no goal. Humans are the watch, and evolution the blind watchmaker. This is a great popular science book, highly recommendable to anyone who is keen on evolution. For my liking, it becomes to repetitive towards the end, perhaps dropping a point on my rating.
Sapiens:
Karl's Rating: 8.5/10
Sapiens is an amazing book that I would recommend to everyone. The initial chapters describe the biological journey of humans ('homo' species) from their origin to the modern age. Why is it that there is only one species of human, while there are more than 300 different species of hummingbirds? Why are human babies so incompetent compared to other species (I can tell you why - we are born extremely premature). What sets us apart from our simian cousins? How was modern society created based on imaginary orders? The core 'biological' chapters in this book are a bloody awesome piece of literature. The second half of the book becomes rather historical and, although I found it extremely interesting, it didn't grip me like the first half did.
The Seven Daughters of Eve:
Karl's Rating: 7/10
Most human cells contain a nucleus. Human diploid nuclei contain 46 chromosomes, arranged into 23 homologous pairs, with one chromosome being inherited from each parent in every pair. In contrast, mitochondrial DNA is arranged into a single circular chromosome and is inherited from the mother alone. Mitochondrial DNA analysis enables one to trace their maternal ancestry line 200'000 years back. Bryan Sykes argues that almost every European can trace their mitochondrial DNA back to seven female ancestors. Sykes assigns names to these seven common ancestors and speculates a story for each of their lives. This book isn't as scientific as many others summarised here. Nonetheless enjoyable.
Elon Musk:
Karl's Rating: 8/10
Elon Musk is an admired technological entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity. Musk's tough upbringing has shaped him into the ambitious and innovative character he is today; having had a difficult relationship with his family and his peers at school, Musk devoted the majority of his time into reading and studying. Elon Musk's personal life continues to be turbulent; he has married and divorced three times (twice to the same woman) and is known for berating his employees. On one occasion he demanded that an employee consider where his priorities lay, when he decided to be present a the birth of his own child instead of attending a company event. The way Musk sees it, you can either commit 100% to changing the history of the world, or not at all. Despite his unending passion for cars, solar panels and batteries, Elon's businesses are merely side projects. His main goal remains to ensure that humans start living sustainably now so that humanity has a future. In this way, all his endeavours are united by one ambitious goal.
In this biography, Ashlee Vance introduces us to the peculiar genius that is Elon Musk. Love him or hate him, this is a great read.
Einstein's Miraculous Year:
Andy's Rating: 7/10
In 1905, a young Austrian physicist called Albert Einstein published 5 papers that would change the way we understand physics:
- On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies
(Absolute time = speed of light)
- Does the Inertia of a Body Depend on Its Energy Content? (A classic, E = mc2)
- On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light
(Light could be both a wave and a particle)
- On the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in Stationary Liquids Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of Heat (Brownian Motion)
- A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions
(How to calculate Avogadro's number and the size of molecules)
The Elegant Universe:
Andy's Rating: 8/10
In this book, Brian Greene attempts to find a unified theory for quantum physics and general/special relativity in the form of the super string theory. The author explains the principles of the super string theory in depth and outlines that, within this new framework, quantum physics and general relativity require one another for the theory to make sense. This book requires a fairly advanced knowledge of physics for complete understanding. Highly recommendable.
Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction:
Ferran's Rating: 9/10
This book is a first look at what philosophy is, what it means, where it comes from, and rather subtly opens our minds to it, deepening our curiosity and furthering slightly our understanding of it. Thought-provoking and engaging, it explores many central philosophical questions. The author, Edward Craig, is honest from the very beginning. Philosophy is too vast to be summed up briefly, and so, it is for us to dive deeper into what interests us the most. Edward Craig explains the omnipresence of philosophy in our lives and in our cultures. Basing himself on ancient and contemporary views, ideologies and topics, he doesn’t hesitate to distance himself from the texts he explores and to give us his honest opinion. The questions he raises shine a light on the unanswerable questions of our world and on the complexity of philosophy, leaving us to reflect and to ponder upon them.
A Brief History of Time:
Andy's Rating: 9/10
I think this book speaks for itself. A Brief History Of Time has sold over 30 million copies and will always be regarded one of the great books in physics. Hawking really gets you thinking about light, the origin of the universe and black holes. This is definitely a popular science book, where the author attempts to share the beauty of physics with the general public. I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of the expanding universe and the accelerated expansion of dark energy. His major scientific findings are in his chapters on black holes - mind-blowing. Also, have you seen The Theory Of Everything? Awesome movie. You're welcome Eddie Redmayne.
your life in my hands:
Karl's Rating: 8/10
'I may not be a gynaecologist, but I know a Hunt when I see one', read one of the posters during the 2016 junior doctor strikes. Jeremy Hunt was the Secretary of State for Health from 2012-2018, and this book as as much a letter to Jeremy Hunt as it is an autobiography of Rachel Clarke. The author emphasises how drastically the NHS funding and staffing needs to change in order for this health service to survive. Severe understaffing in hospitals throughout the UK is taking the lives of many patients who don't receive sufficient or fast enough medical attention; such as the Stafford hospital scandal, where the mortality rate of patients admitted into A&E skyrocketed in 2008. In this book, Clarke tells us wonderful and heartbreaking tales about her patients in palliative care units. As a former journalist turned doctor, she shows excellent writing skills. Highly recommendable.
Life Ascending:
Karl's Rating: 9/10
This is my favourite biochemistry/cell biology book I've read. Nick Lane states the ten evolutionary inventions that, in his opinion, have had the greatest impact in shaping life on earth: The Origin of Life, DNA, Photosynthesis, the Complex Cell, Sex, Movement, Sight, Hot blood, Consciousness, and Death. What I enjoy the most about this book is that Lane writes with incredible scientific detail and yet narrates with exceptional ease. The level of scientific depth is definitely at the undergraduate level. Every chapter tells its own story, keeping you very interested throughout. Definitely one for keen life scientists.
The Origin of Species:
Karl's Rating: 9/10
This one speaks for itself. Published in 1859, The Origin of Species is the foundation of evolutionary biology. Charles Darwin presents the theory of natural selection based on his many findings, including the ones he made on his famous travels to the Galapagos Islands. Darwin seeked for an explanation to why animals and plants living in particular ecosystems had certain characteristics that enabled them to survive in these. Perhaps species slowly changed over many generations to adapt to their surrounding environment? Individuals that possessed traits which favoured and facilitated their survival in that environment would live, breed, and pass on their characteristics to their offspring, while those that lacked these traits would die. Natural Selection. Before anyone knew what DNA was or how inheritance worked. Genius.
The Body
Karl's Rating: 8.5/10
Here, Bill Bryson attempts to emphasise just how extraordinary and unlikely the course of evolution culminating in a Homo Sapiens body really is. A sequence of wonderful accidents with no end goal. "The only special thing about the elements that make you is that they make you". Our body is made up of more microbes (mainly bacteria) than human cells. Without these microorganisms we would die and we would have never even got here in the first place. Bacteria in our gut produce ten thousand digestive enzymes, while we alone can only produce 20. Our bodies are also inhabited by several hundred species of viruses, many of which remain unknown. Bryson explains the wonders of the brain, the circulatory and endocrine systems, and circadian regulation. Finally, he highlights the fact that lifestyle is becoming increasingly important in modern medicine; since 2011, more people die from non-communicable diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, genetic conditions, etc.) than from communicable diseases (pathogenic infections). This is particularly relevant in the developed world.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Karl's Rating: 8/10
Brain Mapping has given us new insights into the complex circuits that enable specific abilities in the human brain. In this book, Oliver Sacks describes the cases of patients with abnormal brain function following brain damage, caused by injury, poison (such as excess alcohol consumption), tumours, inflammation (e.g. Meningitis), or disease (such as a stroke). Brain damage often results in memory loss, shifts in perception and severe impairments. Sacks introduces us to Dr. P, an ex-music professor, who, following damage to his visual centre, began greeting grandfather clocks as people and mistook his wife's head for a hat. Another patient had suffered a stroke in her right temporal lobe, which caused her to experience auditory hallucinations. Some types of brain damage can be caused by over-stimulation of the brain. For example, excessive dopamine secretion may lead to Tourette's syndrome, which causes uncontrolled speech and body movements. Conversely, people with brain damage and disabilities have managed to achieve incredible things. A set of twins who suffered from severe autism and psychosis were unable to perform simple mental arithmetic, but had the capacity to 'see' rather than count numbers. For example, when matches were dropped out of a matchbox at once, they were instantly able to tell how many there were, even in the hundreds.