Биология
Различные книги в жанре БиологияSolving the riddle of cancer: new genetic approaches to treatment
As recently as the middle of this century, cancer was still a mysterious disease. It seemed to strike with reckless abandon, and once it had gripped its victim, doctors could do little more than relieve the pain, steady the pulse and ease the breathing. It is all too easy now to reflect on this sad state of affairs without realizing that cell biology itself was also a rudimentary science. In the past few years, a vastly different view of cancer has emerged. The highly sophisticated tools of genetic engineering have allowed biologists to look deep into the inner provinces of the cell, and what they have learned is taking biology and medicine in a completely new direction. Only a decade ago, the concept of gene therapy was unknown to most scientists and clinicians. The problems of such therapy were thought to be insurmountable and not given serious consideration. The striking advances in our understanding of cancer in the recent past have, however, changed all of this. It is astonishing how much progress has been made in such a short time; biology has moved from strength to strength, and what seemed daunting not so long ago can now be confidently tackled. The road to this new understanding of how a cell works and what makes it malignant has not always been easy, but the great achievements are undeniable. With today’s cell biology comes the promise of a totally new kind of treatment.
Encountering the Wild
Poison Ivy Acres, 250 acres of wilderness in Renfrew County, Ontario, long dedicated to the preservation of natural habitat, has been home to nature writer Carol Bennett McCuaig for many years. Her keen powers of observation, coupled with her insights into wildlife behaviour and her evocative writing style, have produced this captivating collection of stories. Whether noting the courtship rituals of turkey vultures and red foxes or finding a black bear on her roof, an ermine in her bedroom, and a cougar on her lawn, Carol is always surrounded by the delights and challenges of living in a wilderness setting. Even night visitors bring joy, including flying squirrels at the bird feeder, a whippoorwill peering in a window, and a midnight standoff between a porcupine and a skunk. Encountering the Wild is a delightful book that will appeal to country lovers in Canada and beyond.
Bears in the Bird Feeders
As well as fun and relaxation, cottage living throughout the seasons is a reminder that all of us, even the most urbanized individual, are part of the natural world. Listen carefully and you will hear cottage country whispering lessons that can make our lives less frenetic, less complicated. The mournful call of the loon, the wind sighing in the trees, the hammering of the pileated woodpecker remind us that we are a part of a more natural world too often lost in our urban societies. Reflections from a still lake and a flickering campfire help us to realize that things might go easier for humankind if more issues were examined in softer, reflective light and without heated debate. People gathered at campfires, soothed by nature’s tranquility, tend to listen and be more thoughtful before they speak. This book will bring you on a journey through four seasons of cottaging and show you that nature has a remarkable power to heal – it just needs the human race to give it a helping hand. Along the way it will introduce you to some tips and tricks for making cottage life more comfortable and enjoyable.
The View From Foley Mountain
My feet are practising their steps, gauging the slipperiness of wet lichen on rock and sounding each landing. As my stride shifts to a swing I realize I have a sharper sense of my place in the woods now. I am as taut and limber as a bow-string. I sense bears in the woods, weigh their threat and move on, glorying in the mosses beneath my feet … We in the woods share fear. By grace of my fear, I am closer to predators and prey. The View From Foley Mountain is a celebration of the joy of living in harmony with the natural world. The seasonal selections lead you through the fields, woods, rock outcroppings and shores of the conservation area which is the author's home. You will savour the fragrance of maple syrup boiling, share in a summer heron census, snowshoe to a beaver lodge, watch a snapping turtle laying eggs, witness the death of a starving deer, and see turkey vultures soar. Whether she is rejoicing in old barns, canoeing the Snake River, harvesting dye plants or stalking moths at night, Peri Phillips McQuay 's deep love and lyrical vision stimulate you to share her sense of wonder in her surroundings.
The Last Stand
The most ancient and least disturbed forest ecosystem in eastern North America clings to the vertical cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. Prior to 1988 it had escaped detection even though the entire forest was in plain view and was being visited by thousands upon thousands of people every year. The reason no one had discovered the forest was that the trees were relatively small and lived on the vertical cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. The Last Stand reveals the complete account of the discovery of this ancient forest, of the miraculous properties of the trees forming this forest (eastern white cedar), and of what is was like for researchers to live, work and study within this forest. The unique story is told with text, with stunning colour photographs and through vivid first-hand accounts. This book will stand the test of time as a testament to science, imagination and discovery.
The Rouge River Valley
The Rouge River Valley, eleven thousand acres of urban wilderness, is a unique, yet very fragile and transient natural phenomenon existing within the confines of a major North American city, Toronto. Fed by the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Rouge river system has, over generations of time, cut its identity into the land, shaping the habitat for a multitude of lifeforms, many of which are now either threatened or gone. Author James E. Garratt , a seasoned environmentalist, shares two decades of personal observation and ecological study to reveal the richness and flow of seasonal changes in this exceptional urban park. This «portrait» of a year in the Rouge Valley explores not only the diversity of life in its natural habitat but also the impact of urban sprawl and the inevitable conflict with development. Is it possible to be a true naturalist «grounded» in a modern city? The words of Ian McHarg, an urban planner, hold true: «We need nature as much in the city as in the country.»
A Place to Walk
What do experienced field naturalists discover when they explore the heavily populated Lake Ontario shoreline as if they were surveying a wilderness for the first time? In this beautifully illustrated book, Aleta Karstad takes you on a journey of discovery along the route of the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail. Listening for calling frogs in spring, turning stones, sampling shoreline drift, identifying plants and animals, Karstad and her husband, herpetologist Frederick W. Schueler, discover a wealth of natural life, sometimes in unexpected places. The expedition journal, illustrated by Aleta Karstad ’s elegant drawings and delicate watercolours, takes up where popular field guides leave off. It is a guide and inspiration for readers to explore their own region with fresh eyes, with an invitation to assist in monitoring animal communities.
The Lumberjacks
The 19th century spawned a unique breed of men who took pride in their woodsmen skills and rough codes of conduct. They called themselves lumberers, shantymen, timber beasts, les bucherron – and, more recently, lumberjacks, working in the vast forests of eastern Canada and British Columbia. Across the country, farm boys would go to the woods, lumbering being the only winter work available. Immigrants – Swedes and Finns more often than not – resumed the trades they had learned so well in the forests of northern Europe. They broke the cold, hard monotony of camp life with songs, tall tales and card games. Within these pages, author Donald MacKay allows us a glimpse into that moment in our heritage when men entered the virgin forest to carve out an industry from the seemingly endless array of pine, spruce, maple and balsam fir found there. «[Donald] MacKay's book has many virtues. His prose is clean. He lets the surviving pioneers talk for themselves when they have something to say, but never allows them to get too windy. He separates legends and half-truths from facts …» – The Montreal Star «… a superb marriage of text and pictures, a nostalgic but not sentimental discussion of one of Canada's primary industries, logging.» – The Globe and Mail «It's marvellous material of a type often ignored by historians … Such books may do more to help us understand ourselves than all the academic tomes together.» – Atlantic Insight
The Loghouse Nest
A charming account of the author's special relationship with the birds and wild creatures who shared her northern homesite at Pimisi Bay, near Mattawa, Ontario. The Loghouse Nest is another Natural Heritage classic by Canada's internationally acclaimed nature writer, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence. Delightfully illustrated throughout by no less than Thoreau MacDonald, with endpaper drawings by the author.
The Lovely and the Wild
Winner of the 1969 John Burroughs Medal From childhood Louise de Kiriline Lawrence dreamed of settling one day in an unspoiled, tranquil spot and living in harmony with nature. This beautifully written book is the story of her dream come true. Truly a labour of love, The Lovely and the Wild is the product of an exceptional woman’s profound joy at being part of the limitless world of nature. Louise de Kiriline Lawrence passes over in a single sentence a fascinating life «which does not belong to this book.» Born in Sweden, daughter of a naturalist, she served as a translator to an American military mission during the Russian Revolution, and was in charge of a Russian military hospital. She was a delegate of the Swedish Red Cross Expedition to the Volga region during the great famine of 1922 before emigrating to Canada.