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Extreme Survivors: Animals That Time Forgot (How Nature Works #0)
By Kimberly Ridley. 2017
Selected for the 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best STEM Children’s Books of the Year What do the goblin…
shark, horseshoe crab, the “indestructible” water bear, and a handful of other bizarre animals have in common? They are all “extreme survivors,” animals that still look much like their prehistoric ancestors from millions of years ago. Meet ten amazing animals that appear to have changed little in more than 100 million years. They are the rare exceptions to the rule. More than 99 percent of all life forms have gone extinct during the 3.6-billion-year history of life on Earth. Other organisms have changed dramatically, but not our extreme survivors. Evolution may have altered their physiology and behavior, but their body plans have stood the test of time. How have these living links with Earth’s prehistoric past survived? The search for answers is leading scientists to new discoveries about the past—and future—of life on Earth. The survival secrets of some of these ancient creatures could lead to new medicines and treatments for disease. Written in a lively, entertaining voice, Extreme Survivors provides detailed life histories and strange “survival secrets” of ten ancient animals and explains evolution and natural selection. Extensive back matter includes glossary, additional facts and geographic range for each organism and a geologic timeline of Earth. F&P Level V Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. To explore further access options with us, please contact us through the Book Quality link. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.Selling Science: Polio and the Promise of Gamma Globulin
By Stephen E. Mawdsley. 2016
Today, when many parents seem reluctant to have their children vaccinated, even with long proven medications, the Salk vaccine trial,…
which enrolled millions of healthy children to test an unproven medical intervention, seems nothing short of astonishing. In Selling Science, medical historian Stephen E. Mawdsley recounts the untold story of the first large clinical trial to control polio using healthy children--55,000 healthy children--revealing how this long-forgotten incident cleared the path for Salk's later trial. Mawdsley describes how, in the early 1950s, Dr. William Hammon and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis launched a pioneering medical experiment on a previously untried scale. Conducted on over 55,000 healthy children in Texas, Utah, Iowa, and Nebraska, this landmark study assessed the safety and effectiveness of a blood component, gamma globulin, to prevent paralytic polio. The value of the proposed experiment was questioned by many prominent health professionals as it harbored potential health risks, but as Mawdsley points out, compromise and coercion moved it forward. And though the trial returned dubious results, it was presented to the public as a triumph and used to justify a federally sanctioned mass immunization study on thousands of families between 1953 and 1954. Indeed, the concept, conduct, and outcome of the GG study were sold to health professionals, medical researchers, and the public at each stage. At a time when most Americans trusted scientists, their mutual encounter under the auspices of conquering disease was shaped by politics, marketing, and at times, deception. Drawing on oral history interviews, medical journals, newspapers, meeting minutes, and private institutional records, Selling Science sheds light on the ethics of scientific conduct, and on the power of marketing to shape public opinion about medical experimentation.Weather Projects for Young Scientists: Experiments and Science Fair Ideas
By Mary Kay Carson. 2007
From the everyday phenomena of wind and clouds to the awesome, destructive power of lightning, tornados, and hurricanes, children can…
explore weather in detail with this fascinating science activity book. Throughout the text instructions for building weather-measuring tools--barometers, psychrometers, anemometers, wind vanes, rain gauges, and thermometers--allow the reader to assemble them into a working weather station. More than 40 weather projects are included, such as building a model of the water cycle, creating a tornado in a bottle, calculating dew point, and reading a weather map. Most of the experiments also include ideas for expanding them into full-fledged science fair projects. Weather-related environmental issues are also addressed, such as global climate change, ozone depletion, and acid rain, as well as profiles of scientists working in the field of meteorology.Survivor Kid: A Practical Guide to Wilderness Survival
By Denise Long. 2011
Counteracting the panic and fear associated with getting lost in the wild, this handbook equips children with practical tools for…
overcoming adverse wilderness experiences, even if they are endured alone. Compiled by a search-and-rescue professional, straightforward advice is offered on building shelters and fires, signaling for help, finding water and food, dealing with dangerous animals, learning how to navigate, and avoiding injuries. Practice projects are included to hone survival skills--such as starting a fire with a reflective surface, casting animal tracks, or using a treasure hunt to test navigational aptitude. Making a strong argument for danger prevention, each lesson is coupled with simple instructions and diagrams that will reassure and empower young adventurers.What if your cell phone could detect cancer cells circulating in your blood or warn you of an imminent heart…
attack? Mobile wireless digital devices, including smartphones and tablets with seemingly limitless functionality, have brought about radical changes in our lives, providing hyper-connectivity to social networks and cloud computing. But the digital world has hardly pierced the medical cocoon. Until now. Beyond reading email and surfing the Web, we will soon be checking our vital signs on our phone. We can already continuously monitor our heart rhythm, blood glucose levels, and brain waves while we sleep. Miniature ultrasound imaging devices are replacing the icon of medicine--the stethoscope. DNA sequencing, Facebook, and the Watson supercomputer have already saved lives. For the first time we can capture all the relevant data from each individual to enable precision therapy, prevent major side effects of medications, and ultimately to prevent many diseases from ever occurring. And yet many of these digital medical innovations lie unused because of the medical community's profound resistance to change. In The Creative Destruction of Medicine, Eric Topol--one of the nation's top physicians and a leading voice on the digital revolution in medicine--argues that radical innovation and a true democratization of medical care are within reach, but only if we consumers demand it. We can force medicine to undergo its biggest shakeup in history. This book shows us the stakes--and how to win them.Research Scientist (Careers With Character #18)
By Shirley Brinkerhoff. 2014
Find out what it takes to be a research scientist with character... Research scientists work to develop new products and…
techniques that improve human lives. These scientists can be: *Biochemists; *Botanists; *Marine biologists; *Microbiologists; *Physiologists; or *Zoologists. Whatever their field, researchers investigate ways to heal diseases, create new inventions, and explore the world around us. Professionals in this field need strong backgrounds in science and math--and equally strong characters. When researchers combine their desire to know more about the world with Integrity... Compassion... Diligence... And courage, they make the world a better place for us all to live. Find out about this exciting field. Read Research Scientist.Sexually Transmitted Infections (Young Adult's Guide to the Science of He)
By Miranda Hunter. 2014
Myth...or truth? 1.Only people who have sex with many partners get sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 2.If I always use a…
condom, I can't catch an STI. 3.Using two condoms is even safer than one. 4.Oral sex is safe without a condom. 5.If I don't have any symptoms, I don't have an STI. Do you know if these statements are true or false? Are you certain? Don't be too embarrassed to find out about STIs. These infections are avoidable--and most are treatable. This book will give you the information you need to make good decisions--and stay safe.Rx for Survival
By Hilts, Philip J.. 2005
In conjunction with PBS, Philip J. Hilts, longtime New York Times science and health reporter, has travelled the world to…
visit the sites of both the greatest disease peril – where the threat of runaway outbreaks is most severe – and places in which remarkably powerful new approaches are leading to astonishing success in combating the disease menace. Reporting on in-depth research and interviews with the dominant players, Hilts brings to life the crucial choice facing the world community. The leading nations and global organizations now have the means to win the fight against 'the coming plague' if they will only join together and devote the resources to doing so. By telling the moving stories of a host of individuals who have been plagued by the disease threat as well as the inspiring stories of the pioneers who are fighting the good fight Hilts brings the story of this crucial moment in world history to vivid life in a book that will be essential reading for all those concerned about this vital global challenge.Women in the Environmental Sciences (Major Women in Science #10)
By Shaina Indovino. 2014
Women have made major contributions to science throughout history, including in the environmental sciences. Learn about the lives of some…
of the most amazing women in environmental science, from Rachel Carson to Lena Ma, as well as their exciting and important work. Discover what it takes to work in the environmental sciences. Find out about the opportunities for women in the field. Read Women in the Environmental Sciences to see if following in the footsteps of the many brilliant women who have made their mark in environmental science is something you want to do.If you're like most people, you probably wish you could change at least one part of your body. Perhaps you…
think a makeover, a new you, will make all the difference in the world. Maybe you think that changing your looks will change your life. And if you believe the advertisements you see on television and in magazines, you might think it will be easy to achieve your beauty goals. But when it comes to makeovers, there's more to success than meets the eye. In this book, you'll learn about current trends in the makeover industry and the promises and risks that come with them. You'll also explore why we as a culture are so beauty-obsessed. Finally, you'll learn about the many options available that can help change the way you feel about yourself and others--not simply the way you look!Loose Threads
By Lorie Ann Grover. 2002
Seventh grader Kay Garber's happy home is made up of four generations of women: Great Gran Eula; Grandma Margie; Kay's…
mother, Karine; and Kay. But on the evening Grandma Margie tells her family she has a lump in her breast, Kay's world is changed forever. Struggling with issues of popularity in junior high school, trying to understand her too-perfect mother, dealing with her feelings about friends, and coming to terms with Grandma Margie's cancer diagnosis and illness, Kay is awhirl with questions that have no easy answers. But Kay is a survivor, and as she journeys through these difficult months she comes to a new understanding of the complexities and importance of faith and family. Told through forthright and perceptive poems in Kay's own voice, Loose Threads reverberates with emotion and depth and will leave no reader untouched.Bridge to the Wild: Behind the Scenes at the Zoo
By Caitlin O'Connell, Timothy Rodwell. 2016
Hear crisp sounds of the hornbill in the cool air. Listen to the morning symphony that greets you as you…
enter the front gate. Then, step onto a leafy path that leads to a secret world of animals, each of whom you won't want to forget, here at Zoo Atlanta. Over five days we meet a menagerie of magnificent animals--pandas, elephants, gorillas, meerkats, flamingos and more--alongside the longtime animal lover, scientist, and researcher Caitlin O'Connell. With inside access to the guidance and knowledge of their beloved zoo caretakers and with stunning photographs, we are able to see the day-to-day marvels--and sometimes misfortunes--behind the animals' enclosures that often go unseen by the everyday zoo visitor. In this example of narrative nonfiction at its best, O'Connell has created a bridge to wild, a rare chance to look beyond the zoo and to inspire guests to see for themselves just how special the animals we share our world with are.Cancer As a Turning Point
By Lawrence Leshan. 1994
Psychotherapist Lawrence LeShan has worked with cancer patients for more than thirty-five years and his research has led people with…
cancer to find new, effective ways to fight for their lives. He has put his findings--full of meaning and purpose--into this revised edition that shows how psychological change, along with medical treatment, mobilizes a compromised immune system for healing. Included is a life-transforming workbook of hands-on exercises designed to help readers evaluate their inner selves and teach them how to get the most out of their immune systems by leading fuller, richer lives.Why Is Brian So Fat?
By Lynne Adamson, Ph.D. Gary Solomon. 2012
Parks for the People
By Julie Dunlap. 2011
When Frederick Law Olmsted entered a contest to design the nation's first city park, his winning design became New York's…
Central Park and forever changed our nation's cities. Using historic photographs and a school resource section, award-winning children's author Julie Dunlap brings Olmsted to life in this biography of the United States' first landscape architect.Julie Dunlap is a freelance writer and researcher. Dunlap's books have been honored with a Teachers' Choice Award from Learning magazine, a Parents' Choice recommended selection, and a Junior Library Guild selection, among others.Nursing with a Message: Public Health Demonstration Projects in New York City
By Patricia D'Antonio. 2017
Mandated by the Affordable Care Act, public health demonstration projects have been touted as an innovative solution to the nation’s…
health care crisis. Yet, such projects actually have a long but little-known history, dating back to the 1920s. This groundbreaking new book reveals the key role that these local health programs—and the nurses who ran them—influenced how Americans perceived both their personal health choices and the well-being of their communities. Nursing with a Message transports readers to New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, charting the rise and fall of two community health centers, in the neighborhoods of East Harlem and Bellevue-Yorkville. Award-winning historian Patricia D’Antonio examines the day-to-day operations of these clinics, as well as the community outreach work done by nurses who visited schools, churches, and homes encouraging neighborhood residents to adopt healthier lifestyles, engage with preventive physical exams, and see to the health of their preschool children. As she reveals, these programs relied upon an often-contentious and fragile alliance between various healthcare providers, educators, social workers, and funding agencies, both public and private. Assessing both the successes and failures of these public health demonstration projects, D’Antonio also traces their legacy in shaping both the best and worst elements of today’s primary care system.Extreme Medicine: How Exploration Transformed Medicine in the Twentieth Century
By Kevin Fong. 2015
Anesthesiologist, intensive care expert, and NASA adviser Kevin Fong explores how physical extremes push human limits and spawn incredible medical…
breakthroughsLittle more than one hundred years ago, maps of the world still boasted white space: places where no human had ever trod. Within a few short decades the most hostile of the world’s environments had all been conquered. Likewise, in the twentieth century, medicine transformed human life. Doctors took what was routinely fatal and made it survivable. As modernity brought us ever more into different kinds of extremis, doctors pushed the bounds of medical advances and human endurance. Extreme exploration challenged the body in ways that only the vanguard of science could answer. Doctors, scientists, and explorers all share a defining trait: they push on in the face of grim odds. Because of their extreme exploration we not only understand our physiology better; we have also made enormous strides in the science of healing.Drawing on his own experience as an anesthesiologist, intensive care expert, and NASA adviser, Dr. Kevin Fong examines how cuttingedge medicine pushes the envelope of human survival by studying the human body’s response when tested by physical extremes. Extreme Medicine explores different limits of endurance and the lens each offers on one of the systems of the body. The challenges of Arctic exploration created opportunities for breakthroughs in open heart surgery; battlefield doctors pioneered techniques for skin grafts, heart surgery, and trauma care; underwater and outer space exploration have revolutionized our understanding of breathing, gravity, and much more. Avant-garde medicine is fundamentally changing our ideas about the nature of life and death.Through astonishing accounts of extraordinary events and pioneering medicine, Fong illustrates the sheer audacity of medical practice at extreme limits, where human life is balanced on a knife’s edge. Extreme Medicine is a gripping debut about the science of healing, but also about exploration in its broadest sense—and about how, by probing the very limits of our biology, we may ultimately return with a better appreciation of how our bodies work, of what life is, and what it means to be human.Muskrat for Supper
By Kenny Salwey. 2012
Muskrat for Supper inspires young people to explore nature's life cycles and understand the concept of the circle of life,…
as told through the tale of a family that embarks on a hunting and trapping adventure. It is an endearing story that weaves together such themes as sustainable living, our natural environment, and living closer to nature. The first book for children by this acclaimed storyteller and author, Muskrat for Supper includes questions young people have asked Kenny Salwey about his lifestyle as a river rat living off the land. The story will be illustrated with black-and-white photographs as well as nonfiction material to supplement the text. Kenny Salwey is the last of a breed of men whose lifestyle has all but disappeared in this fast-paced, high-tech digital world. For thirty years, this weathered woodsman eked out a living on the Mississippi River running a trapline, hiring out as a river guide, digging and selling roots and herbs, and eating the food he hunted and fished. Today Salwey is a master storyteller, environmental educator, keynote speaker, nature writer, and advocate for the Upper Mississippi River. He has presented his true-life adventures and words of natural world wisdom to both adult and young audiences across the upper Midwest. By sharing his hard-learned experiences, his respect for the Mississippi River, and his love of the natural world, Salwey hopes to inspire his audiences to protect this precious and fragile ecosystem.Toxic Exposures: Mustard Gas and the Health Consequences of World War II in the United States
By Susan L. Smith. 2017
Mustard gas is typically associated with the horrors of World War I battlefields and trenches, where chemical weapons were responsible…
for tens of thousands of deaths. Few realize, however, that mustard gas had a resurgence during the Second World War, when its uses and effects were widespread and insidious. Toxic Exposures tells the shocking story of how the United States and its allies intentionally subjected thousands of their own servicemen to poison gas as part of their preparation for chemical warfare. In addition, it reveals the racialized dimension of these mustard gas experiments, as scientists tested whether the effects of toxic exposure might vary between Asian, Hispanic, black, and white Americans. Drawing from once-classified American and Canadian government records, military reports, scientists' papers, and veterans' testimony, historian Susan L. Smith explores not only the human cost of this research, but also the environmental degradation caused by ocean dumping of unwanted mustard gas. As she assesses the poisonous legacy of these chemical warfare experiments, Smith also considers their surprising impact on the origins of chemotherapy as cancer treatment and the development of veterans' rights movements. Toxic Exposures thus traces the scars left when the interests of national security and scientific curiosity battled with medical ethics and human rights.Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean: Remembering Chinese Scientist Pu Zhelong
By Sigrid Schmalzer, Melanie Linden Chan. 2018
Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean tells its story through the memories of a farm boy who, inspired by Pu…
Zhelong, became a scientist himself. The narrator is a composite of people Pu Zhelong influenced in his work. With further context from Melanie Chan’s historically precise watercolors, this story will immerse young readers in Chinese culture, the natural history of insects, and the use of biological controls in farming. Backmatter provides context and background for this lovely, sophisticated picture book about nature, science, and Communist China. “The first time I saw a scientist in my village was also the first time I saw a wasp hatch out of a moth’s egg,” writes the narrator of this picture book about Chinese scientist Pu Zhelong. “In that moment I could not have said which was the more unexpected—or the more miraculous.” In the early 1960s, while Rachel Carson was writing and defending Silent Spring in the U.S., Pu Zhelong was teaching peasants in Mao Zedong’s Communist China how to forgo pesticides and instead use parasitic wasps to control the moths that were decimating crops and contributing to China’s widespread famine. This story told through the memories of a farm boy (a composite of people inspired by Pu Zhelong) will immerse young readers in Chinese culture, the natural history of insects, and sustainable agriculture. Backmatter provides historical context for this lovely, sophisticated picture book. The author, Sigrid Schmalzer, won the Joseph Levenson Post-1900 Book Prize for 2018 for her book Red Revolution, Green Revolution. This is the most prestigious prize for a book about Chinese history, and the book upon which Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean is based. Fountas & Pinnell Level U