Change the world? Perhaps not, but Sheldrake hopes that his proposed experiments will change the way science views the relationship of mind and matter. Former Cambridge University biologist Sheldrake (The Rebirth of Nature, 1991) groups his experiments into three categories. The first group (on pets that ``know'' when their owners are due to return home, on homing pigeons, and on the ``group mind'' of termite colonies) is in essence examinations of whether animals have extrasensory perception. A second group (on whether people can detect someone staring at them and on feeling in phantom limbs of amputees) looks at the same question in relation to human beings. A third group questions two fundamental assumptions of science itself: the possible variability of such constants of nature as the speed of light and the possible effect of a scientist's beliefs on the results of an experiment. Each experiment is prefaced with a description of the phenomenon in question; then Sheldrake proposes an experiment (or set of experiments) designed to test the existence of the phenomenon. Most (though not all) of the experiments could be done at fairly low cost by amateurs. While the author does not claim to know what the results will be, he clearly hopes that his experiments will produce evidence that the current scientific worldview has missed something important. Still, the one experiment he claims to have conducted (on pigeon homing) can hardly be called a success. And while Sheldrake presents himself as a genuine seeker after truth, he often appears to be taking potshots at scientific ``orthodoxy'' more on general principles than because he has a viable alternative. It is hard to deny that there are phenomena that current science cannot explain, although much of the evidence Sheldrake presents for them is on the level of anecdote or folklore. Maybe this book will spur someone to settle these questions once and for all.
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 1995
ISBN: 1-57322-014-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exposition of the revolutionary changes in medicine coming in the next century as well as discussion of some of the ethical problems these will create. The distinguished Clark, professor emeritus of immunology at UCLA (Sex and the Origins of Death, 1996, etc.), attempts to explain to nonscientists the biology underlying molecular medicine. This is no small undertaking, and Clark is only partly successful. For the layperson, his work requires careful reading of dense text, mastery of a mysterious new vocabulary—``recombinant plasmids,'' ``antisense mRNA''—and study of complex diagrams. After these demanding biochemistry lessons, Clark turns to a fascinating discussion of what it all means in terms of health. He details the current state of gene therapy in treating cystic fibrosis and severe combined immune deficiency (the Bubble Boy disorder), in which copies of normal genes are being successfully introduced into the living cells of individuals with defective genes. In cancer, the ultimate goal of gene therapy is to alter or kill every tumor cell, and in AIDS to neutralize the effects of HIV. Clark, who is optimistic about reaching these goals, then devotes a chapter each to the profound effects on public health that DNA vaccination (injecting a gene from a pathogen, which would be more effective than today's vaccines) will bring in the next century and to the significance of the Human Genome Project, due to be completed shortly after the turn of the century. He clearly sees an educated public as the best defense against misuse of genetic information, for instance, altering a fetus's genetic makeup with the best of medical intentions but without knowing all the consequences of doing so. Although Clark insists that if one is to understand molecular medicine, one must first understand molecular biology, those who find his biology lectures too academic for comfort can still savor the well-wrought medical and ethical discussions.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-19-511730-1
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1997
In 1270, one year before the start of Marco Polo's fabled adventure, a Jewish merchant from the Adriatic port of Ancona set sail for the Orient; over 700 years later, his recently discovered account affords a rare and fascinating glimpse into the peoples, commerce, and thought of the 13th century. Selbourne, a former Oxford professor with an interest in Judaica, presents a fully annotated, very readable translation from the medieval Italian. It reveals Jacob d'Ancona as a savvy businessman, a scholar, a knowledgeable healer—and someone who never shies from disputation. Jacob sails to the eastern Mediterranean; journeys overland to Basra, where he attends the wedding of his son to a wealthy merchant's daughter; crosses the Arabian Sea, alighting on India's Malabar Coast; and then via Sumatra sails north to the Chinese port of Zaitun, the ``City of Light.'' Readers may be surprised to learn that Europeans of all stripes, as well as Saracens, or Muslims, had already been engaged in thriving trade with the Chinese for perhaps hundreds of years, Jewish merchants being among the most prominent. Zaitun itself was a Sodom of sorts: Its ``light'' is a consequence of the all-night commerce in human pleasures, which the pious Jacob abhors. But it is also a center of learning and a great agglomeration of peoples from the known medieval world. During his five-month sojourn, Jacob becomes involved in the intellectual and practical debates swirling around the city, which faced imminent invasion by Kublai Khan, to whom Polo would shortly become an advisor. Jacob's somewhat prolix disquisitions on piety and religion, the relationships among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and the wisdom of confronting the Mongols earn him both admiration and enmity, and he must finally flee the city, though not without considerable financial success. An exciting, stimulating, and unique human document, and one that will no doubt become a much-trumpeted addition to the historical record. (50 b&w photos)
Pub Date: Nov. 13, 1997
ISBN: 0-316-17353-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
