Accomplished popular science in which the author, uniquely, refuses to conclude that a cure is just around the corner.
A study of the global effort to find a treatment for the pandemic of brain disease.
After describing the history of Alzheimer’s and its explosion into national consciousness 40 years ago, Yu, who teaches technical, engineering, and science writing at Kansas State University, delivers an expert account of the groundbreaking research that revealed the genetics and biochemistry of the disease. These advances led to the first drugs approved by the FDA, beginning with tacrine in 1993 and ending with memantine in 2003. “Since then,” writes the author, “no new Alzheimer’s drug has been approved. It is, however, important to note that neurotransmitter treatments are all palliative. That is, they do not cure Alzheimer’s, nor do they stop the progression of the disease.” Her optimism does not conceal the fact that these are only marginally effective, and the placebo effect may play a role. Once pathological exams revealed that brains of Alzheimer’s patients show abnormal plaques and tangles of fibers, researchers experimented with vaccines and antibodies aimed to dissolve them or prevent their formation. Many worked dramatically in lab animals but failed in humans. Yu takes no prisoners in describing desperate efforts by even established pharmaceutical firms. When expensive studies fail, researchers often pore over the results to discover smaller groups that seemed to benefit—e.g., those with a certain genetic profile or mild disease. Although a disreputable tactic—quipped one expert, “if you torture the data enough, it will confess”—the result is often major headlines and increased stock prices, but so far no breakthrough or FDA approval. The author reflects that “one gets the feeling that we are simply throwing all the available drugs at Alzheimer’s and hoping that something sticks.” Yu has no doubt that science will defeat Alzheimer’s, but matters will move more quickly once we understand it. So far, researchers are guided by theories.
Accomplished popular science in which the author, uniquely, refuses to conclude that a cure is just around the corner.Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-231-19870-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Columbia Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.
A duo of French mathematicians makes the scientific case for God in this nonfiction book.
Since its 2021 French-language publication in Paris, this work by Bolloré and Bonnassies has sold more than 400,000 copies. Now translated into English for the first time by West and Jones, the book offers a new introduction featuring endorsements from a range of scientists and religious leaders, including Nobel Prize-winning astronomers and Roman Catholic cardinals. This appeal to authority, both religious and scientific, distinguishes this volume from a genre of Christian apologetics that tends to reject, rather than embrace, scientific consensus. Central to the book’s argument is that contemporary scientific advancements have undone past emphases on materialist interpretations of the universe (and their parallel doubts of spirituality). According to the authors’ reasoned arguments, what now forms people’s present understanding of the universe—including quantum mechanics, relativity, and the Big Bang—puts “the question of the existence of a creator God back on the table,” given the underlying implications. Einstein’s theory of relativity, for instance, presupposes that if a cause exists behind the origin of the universe, then it must be atemporal, non-spatial, and immaterial. While the book’s contentions related to Christianity specifically, such as its belief in the “indisputable truths contained in the Bible,” may not be as convincing as its broader argument on how the idea of a creator God fits into contemporary scientific understanding, the volume nevertheless offers a refreshingly nuanced approach to the topic. From the work’s outset, the authors (academically trained in math and engineering) reject fundamentalist interpretations of creationism (such as claims that Earth is only 6,000 years old) as “fanciful beliefs” while challenging the philosophical underpinnings of a purely materialist understanding of the universe that may not fit into recent scientific paradigm shifts. Featuring over 500 pages and more than 600 research notes, this book strikes a balance between its academic foundations and an accessible writing style, complemented by dozens of photographs from various sources, diagrams, and charts.
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9789998782402
Page Count: 562
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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