Results for the keyword biology
Joël Bockaert
The Communication of living things
A unique theme, communication, which encompasses all the kingdoms of life: a great opportunity to see them in a different light. If living is about communication, how is hyper-communication shaping the human being of tomorrow?
Gerald M. Edelman, Giulio Tononi
Consciousness : How Matter Becomes Imagination
How do the physical occurrences which take place in our brains create the world of conscious experience ? Philosophers have long disputed this question but today, it is science which is in a position to formulate real answers. Gerald M.Edelman and Giulio Tononi demonstrate that the processes which lead to consciousness are not confined to the brain, but are actually dependant on the functioning of numerous areas. They also show that these interactions are not fixed processes, but are constantly adjusted and modified. This research represents one step further towards understanding our identity and our complexity. Gerald M.Edelman, who has received the Nobel Prize for medicine, heads the Institute of Neurosciences at La Jolla in California. Giulio Tononi is a researcher at the Institute of Neurosciences.
Antoine Danchin
The Delphic Boat What Genomes Tell Us
What is it that constitutes the unity and identity of a living creature ? This is the fundmental question of biology. The recent sequencing techniques provide a completely new response to this question, notably thanks to the knowledge of whole genomes. Antoine Danchin establishes a clear picture of this important biological discovery. He shows in particular that, just like the boat of Delphi, life is beyond prediction, and at the same time has an infinite capacity to create the unexpected. Antoine Danchin is the director of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the Institut Pasteur.
Antonio R. Damasio
Descartes' Error Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain
Being rational is not denying oneself emotions. The brain which thinks, calculates, and makes decisions is not a different entity to the one which laughs, cries, loves, and experiences pleasure and annoyance. The heart has reasons that reason itself is far from being ignorant of. In opposition to the old Cartesian dualism and to all those who wish to reduce the functioning of the human mind to detached calculations worthy of a supercomputer stands the results of the latest neurological research : the absence of emotions and sentiments prevents us from being really rational. Antonio R. Damasio heads the department of neurology at the University of Iowa, in the United States, and teaches at the Institute of Biological Studies of La Jolla.
Yves-Alain Fontaine
Eels and Man
In this book, the author, an expert in his field, describes the most fascinating stages in the eels biological cycle, its migrations and the modifications it undergoes during its life. Eels interest us not only because of their life and breeding cycles, but also because of the questions they raise concerning our ideas about evolution. Does the notion of adaptation suffice to explain everything the eel has become? Doesnt a living creature maintain a certain amount of independence in relation to the world that surrounds it? Or is the relationship between a living creature and the environment which surrounds it more complex that we have generally realised ?
