Immortal
eBook - ePub

Immortal

Our Cells, DNA, and Bodies

  1. 204 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Immortal

Our Cells, DNA, and Bodies

About this book

In recent times, the boundary between living and non-living has been blurred by advances in genomics, cell biology, and molecular neuroscience, whereby humans are repaired, enhanced, or made anew. Scientists and physicians are now able to keep cells, organs, and bodies alive indefinitely and can return cells or DNA to our bodies and make new cells for the purpose of treating disease or growing new tissue. Meanwhile, transhuman technologies create illusions of immortality. Immortal: Our Cells, DNA, and Bodies synthesizes what we know about life and death from a genetic, molecular, and cellular perspective, demarcates limits of knowledge, and poses new questions. Award-winning researcher and writer David Goldman examines in-depth three keys to understanding the nature and continuity of life: 1) epigenetic (ephemeral) vs genetic (durable) transgenerational memory; 2) life's cellular nature, and the ability to make bodies from cells; and 3) the distinction between bodies and persons. Grounded in recent scientific evidence and real-life cases that test our historical understanding of life and death, Goldman probes the nature of molecular continuity in the face of mortal extinction, encompassing how changes to the DNA code can be both long-lasting and transgenerational, and the continuous nature of cellular and molecular information transmission. In tying these themes together, Immortal asks us to apply fresh scientific concepts to examine, for ourselves, the continuity of being in the face of mortality. - Applies recent genetic, molecular and cellular findings to examine the boundaries between living and non-living, and between person and non-person - Examines the significance of epigenetic memory and transgenerational inheritance and their uses in molecular and precision medicine - Written by a thought-leader in genetic and molecular medicine

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Yes, you can access Immortal by David Goldman in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Medicine & Genetics in Medicine. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Title of Book
  2. Cover image
  3. Title page
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. About the author
  8. Introduction
  9. 1 Death
  10. 2 HeLa: The resurrection of Henrietta Lacks
  11. 3 Persistence of memory
  12. 4 Hel: Goddess of death and life
  13. 5 Where self resides
  14. 6 Our diploid selves
  15. 7 Our cellular selves
  16. 8 From molecule to self
  17. 9 The ancient divide between molecule and self
  18. 10 Viruses and other half-life
  19. 11 Altruism, of cell and self
  20. 12 Shrines and museums
  21. 13 Robbing the grave
  22. 14 Birth
  23. 15 Anastasia
  24. Epilogue
  25. Index