Blogcritics Category: Sci/Tech: Life Sciences

Book Review: Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Bekah Terry — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 03:26:09 EST

Before reading this, I never knew dead people could be so "lively."
Normally, a person dies at the conclusion of the book. End of life usually equals end of story. But, for author Mary Roach (Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex), death is just the beginning. Her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, released in 2003, takes kicking the bucket to a whole new...

Book Review - Myxomatosis: A History of Pest Control and the Rabbit by Peter W.J. Bartrip

Natalie Bennett — Thu, 6 Nov 2008 20:56:12 EST

Offers an insight into 50s Britain, its agricultural and official communities, and its ecological balance.
For an Australian who's studied agriculture, the sight of a book titled Myxomatosis at the London Library was irresistible. Subtitled "A History of Pest Control and the Rabbit", Peter W.J. Bartrip's monograph is in fact more of a political and economic study of the relationship between humans and rabbits in the second half of the 20th century than...

Book Review - The Score: How the Quest for Sex Has Shaped the Modern Man by Faye Flam

Gray Hunter — Thu, 6 Nov 2008 16:13:57 EST

Sex, sex, sex - is it all men think about? If so, why? And should you visit Iceland's penis museum?
When I saw the press release for this book, it had the title "Men Are Scum" or something along those lines. I thought it would be a humorous book, full of exaggerated stories of how men are foolish and inept, etc. I'd looked forward to mocking it relentlessly. Also, it had something about sex in the title. In my vanity, I figured...

Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?

Robert K. Blechman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:05:13 EDT

To our extra-terrestrial visitors: Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, alien, were no crime.
Today, October 14, 2008, is the full moon, and, according to many notes circulating the World Wide Web, the day when we will finally make first contact with extra-terrestrials. According to an "Australian channeler" whose claims are available here on YouTube, the "Federation of Light" will come in peace to elevate all of...

Salvia Divinorum: The Choice Hallucinogen of Generation Y

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:48:36 EDT

Should salvia divinorum, an herb used extensively for centuries in Mexico, be outlawed in the United States?
Salvia divinorum is not an unknown or new herb. It has been used extensively for centuries by the Mazatec Indians of Mexico in shamanic rituals. The shamans chew the leaves or make an infusion as a way to lead them towards spiritual enlightenment.At the 2008 World Psychedelic Forum in Basel, Switzerland, ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison described...

Theater Review (NYC): Taboos by Carl Djerassi

Ethan Stanislawski — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:59:56 EDT

Carl Djerassi, the inventor of the Pill, sees his scientific perspective conflict with his dramatic one in Taboos.
After seeing Taboos, Stanford chemistry professor/playwright Carl Djerassi’s play on the complications of modern parenthood, you can see how some are naturally inclined to accept only the nuclear family. Forget about believing in God’s will; imagine having to deal with twins borne to two mothers, a lesbian couple picking sides over...

Book Review: Homo Britannicus - The Incredible Story of Human Life in Britain by Chris Stringer

Natalie Bennett — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:41:58 EDT

What can the Gravettians of 27,000 years ago teach us about climate change? Quite a lot.
Reading Chris Stringer's Homo Britannicus is a bit like going down to the pub beer garden on a sunny Sunday afternoon and listening to an acquaintance who's fast becoming a friend setting out their life's work and passion - he wants you to grasp the excitement of the work, and understand what's going on, but he's also scrupulous...

Book Review: Mind to Mind - Infant Research, Neuroscience, and Psychoanalysis, edited by Elliot L. Jurist, Arietta Slade and Sharon Bergner

Ethan Stanislawski — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:20:13 EDT

Takes on the psychoanalytic concept of mentalization, one of the most difficult and most rewarding clinical practices.
What is the purpose of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis if not to reach an understanding of our own inner psychological workings? That goal is both the grandest and most difficult objective in clinical psychology, and not surprisingly most research has previously focused on the much safer study of habits, affects, and motivations. The ability to...

MSG and Obesity

Cataclysm Jane — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:07:49 EDT

Are you overweight? The culprit is certainly monosodium glutamate! Or not.
I am sure that many of you have received this charming e-mail forward, a “pseudo-scientific” look at MSG, a common and delicious food additive. The article states quite authoritatively the evils of MSG, and how MSG is singularly responsible for all the world's obesity problems. And prostitution, bank robbers, and the awful movie...

Alaska Reflections

Barbara Barnett — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:44:25 EDT

More than a simple week on a cruise ship, a voyage to Alaska beckons you into a magnificent wilderness.
There are no words, no pictures, no blogs or books that can adequately describe the beauty and grandeur of Alaska. It simply must be experienced. Whether you are a hearty and intrepid soul whose aim is to hike the Chilkoot Trail into the Yukon like the Klondike gold miners of days gone by, or aim to cruise the southeastern coast of Alaska by...