Биология
Различные книги в жанре БиологияStories of the Great Turning
This book tells stories of how ordinary people in their everyday lives have responded to the challenges of living more sustainably. In these difficult times, we need stories that engage, enchant and inspire. Most of all, we need stories of practical changes, of community action, of changing hearts and minds. This is a book that takes the question, «What can I do?» and sets out to find some answers using one of our species' most vital skills: the ability to tell stories in which to spread knowledge, ideas, inspiration and hope. Read about the transformation of wasteland and the installation of water power, stories about reducing consumption and creating sustainable business, stories from people changing how they live their lives and the inner transformations this demands.
Vital Healing
The traditional medicines of Middle Asia are rich and varied – from the Ayurveda and Siddha medicines of India, to the Unani and Sufi healing practices of the Middle East. Dr. Marc S. Micozzi unfolds the compelling idea that vital energy, expressed as «prana» in the Indian practice of Ayurveda, is the unifying concept that underpins and connects all of these traditions. Describing the origins, health strategies, diagnostic approaches, and modern-day uses of each tradition, he also draws parallels to, and finds correlations with, mainstream Western concepts – and demonstrates how all these therapies fit within the context of their own cultures and ours. This groundbreaking book will be of interest to practitioners of all Middle Eastern and Asian medical traditions, complementary and alternative health practitioners, and anyone with an interest in Middle Eastern and Asian approaches to health and well-being.
Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation
Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation is a helpful, authoritative guide to negotiating the complex and emotive issues that arise for those considering whether or not to pursue egg donation. It presents information clearly and with compassion, exploring the practical, financial, logistical, social and ethical questions that commonly arise. This fully updated second edition also includes recent developments in the field, including travelling for egg donation and the emerging field of epigenetics. This book will be valued by all those considering or undergoing donor conception, as well as the range of professionals who support them, including infertility counsellors, psychologists, therapists and social workers.
Birds of Passage
Bird migration between Europe and Africa is a fraught journey, particularly in the Mediterranean, where migratory birds are shot and trapped in large numbers. In Malta, thousands of hunters share a shrinking countryside. They also rub shoulders with a strong bird-protection and conservation lobby. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, this book traces the complex interactions between hunters, birds and the landscapes they inhabit, as well as the dynamics and politics of bird conservation. Birds of Passage looks at the practice and meaning of hunting in a specific context, and raises broader questions about human-wildlife interactions and the uncertain outcomes of conservation.
The Memory We Could Be
<i>The Memory We Could Be</i> attempts to move beyond the sterile, technical language that has pervaded discussions around climate change and ecology. It seeks to counter the bureaucratic prose of our conversations, to humanise the abstraction of global warming, and bring different voices into the conversation. Drawing on a variety of sources – from anthropology to hydrology, botany to economics, agronomy to astrobiology, medicine to oceanography, physics to history – the author weaves a concise, lyrical and powerful story of our relationship with nature.
The book is divided into three sections: Past, Present, and Future.
Past is about memory. Our inability to comprehend our staggering present partly lies in our ignorance of our staggering past. We peer into the black box of our human past to understand how we got here. We go on a journey across the roots of our ecological crisis, from the Roman Empire to the forests of Burma, from Congolese rubber plantations to Colombian oil fields.
Present illustrates how climate change is shaping our world today. Climate change, so often associated with the future, is profoundly contemporary. By exploring how climate change relates to poverties and inequalities, this section hopes to equip the reader with a set of intuitive instruments to understand modern and future climate impacts.
Future is anchored around alternatives, and strives to illustrate in human terms the world we could lose and the world we can win. It also asks questions as to what we can do, and attempts to clarify a transformative vision of more ecological and equitable economy.
Critique of the Theory of Evolution
In this book, Walter Friedman exposes internal contradictions that nullify the theory of evolution. He also reveals the ways Charles Darwin falsified observation data to promote his pseudoscientific discovery.
In a variety of ways, Friedman aims to undercut the logical assumptions of evolutionary theory. First, he applies elementary probability theory to show that a random mutation cannot spread to an entire population, which means that the evolution of species is a myth. Friedman further contends that the centerpiece of Darwin's theory–the hypothesis of natural selection–is also a statistical impossibility, as simple arithmetic reveals. Third, he turns to genetics data to demonstrate that the idea of the evolution of species leads to ridiculous conclusions. Next, Friedman employs anthropological findings of so-called human ancestors to argue the reverse of what anthropologists believe to be true– that evolution never took place. Fifth, Friedman appeals to the laws of physics to explain why it is impossible, in principle, for inorganic matter to transform into organic matter with a DNA-like structure. Darwin's racist view of people of African descent and its legal implications for the teaching of the evolutionary theory in public schools are also investigated.
The last section of the book provides extensive criticism of the books written by prominent evolutionists, including Darwin.
Friedman points out that a vast majority of false scientific theories stumbled and fell not because they were replaced by new, more sophisticated theories, but simply because of an abundance of conflicting statements and disagreement with the experimental data. For the same reasons, he finally asserts, the theory of evolution is destined for oblivion.
The Acupuncturist's Guide to Conventional Medicine, Second Edition
Offering a systematic comparative approach to Western and Eastern medicine, this unique textbook enables students and practitioners of Chinese medicine to develop a core understanding of conventional medical language and treatments. Acupuncture practitioners increasingly find themselves working alongside Western healthcare professionals. Now in its second edition, this book is a guide to conventional medical diagnoses, symptoms and treatments, and using examples drawn from the author's experience and knowledge of TCM it encourages reflection on how these diagnoses may be interpreted from a more holistic medical perspective. It includes introductory sections on physiology, pathology and pharmacology, chapters devoted to the physiological systems of the body and the conventional approach to the treatment of diseases that can affect them, and information on dealing with patients in practice. Accompanying online material, including self-testing questions and answers and checklists for revision, is available for those wishing to use the text for systematic study.
The Descent of Man
First published in 1871 and considered his other great book alongside «The Origin of Species,» Darwin's «The Descent of Man» is a work that continues the scientist's theories on evolution. Divided into three parts, this book's purpose, as given in the introduction, is to consider whether or not man is descended from a pre-existing form, his manner of development, and the value of the differences between human races. Darwin goes on to systematically explore the evolution of man in terms of physical and mental traits, to condemn the debate on whether humans of different races were of different species, to expound his theory of sexual selection, and to address natural selection and its effect on civilized society, establishing some of the founding ideas on eugenics and what has come to be known as Social Darwinism. Still of great interest and importance in scientific thought today, «The Descent of Man» is a foundational text on the science of human evolution.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (illustrated)
"The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals" is Darwin's classic examination of behavior as can be witnessed through the outwardly visible expression of emotions. The timeless question of «nature vs. nurture» is one that has perplexed behaviorial scientists since the inception of the discipline. Is behavior a function of evolution or environment? Darwin's examination of the subject from the perspective of expression as a proxy for the visible evolution of character in man and animals makes for a detailed study on the subject. Presented here is the fully annotated and illustrated edition.
The Burgess Bird Book for Children
“This book was written to supply a definite need. Its preparation was undertaken at the urgent request of booksellers and others who have felt the lack of a satisfactory medium of introduction to bird life for little children. As such, and in no sense whatever as a competitor with the many excellent books on this subject, but rather to supplement these, this volume has been written. Its primary purpose is to interest the little child in, and to make him acquainted with, those feathered friends he is most likely to see. Because there is no method of approach to the child mind equal to the story, this method of conveying information has been adopted. So far as I am aware the book is unique in this respect. In its preparation an earnest effort has been made to present as far as possible the important facts regarding the appearance, habits and characteristics of our feathered neighbors. It is intended to be at once a story book and an authoritative handbook. While it is intended for little children, it is hoped that children of larger growth may find in it much of both interest and helpfulness. Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, artist and naturalist, has marvelously supplemented such value as may be in the text by his wonderful drawings. They were made especially for this volume and are so accurate, so true to life, that study of them will enable any one to identify the species shown.”—From the Preface. This edition includes a biographical afterword.