Biology All books
Philippe Kourilsky
A Game of Chance and Complexity
A fascinating history of the struggle for survival, which is central to our lives
Michel Fardeau
A Neurological Passion Jules and Augusta Dejerine
The pioneering couple in neurology. An atypical story of science (and love). Belated recognition of an unfairly ignored female scientist.
James Watson
A Passion for DNA Genes, Genomes and Society
In 1953, two young scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, began a scientific revolution when they discovered the double helix structure of the DNA molecule, the substance that is the basis of heredity. James Watson, who won Nobel Prize in 1962 at the age of 34, has continued to play a central role in the field of genetics. Throughout his long scientific career, he has constantly sought to explain the latest developments and findings. The present volume is a collection of articles and lectures reflecting his views during the past fifty years on such subjects as GM foods, cancer, the sequencing of the human genome, and the ethical and social consequences of biology. This is a thought-provoking, often optimistic and always spirited book, reflecting the life and work of one of the great minds of the twentieth century.
Francis Waldvogel
A Tableau of Life Exchanges, Emergences, Complexity
A strong thesis that is applied to the entire visible and invisible world: the exchange that is the essence of the living being.
Thierry Lodé
Amorous Biodiversity Sex and Evolution
A new approach to evolution, linked to sexuality, for a better understanding of the history of biodiversity
Alain Prochiantz
The Anatomies of Thought What do squid think about ?
When we watch a squid facing up to a predator, we see it recoil, agitate the tentacles, spray a jet of ink, and then make use of the temporary blindness of the predator in order to escape to a safe hiding place. Are we able to say what it is thinking ? Evidently, we know that this behaviour is not the result of a reflex unleashed by the sight of an enemy. The mollusc is not however conscious of its acts, at least not in the sense that we, as human beings, understand this term. It is true that we are the product of a evolution of species, and that, although this may not be welcome news for everyone, we share a common ancestry with the octopus, or even the fly. Even if the structure of our cortex, and the invention of language allows us to write about octopuses (or flies), and not the other way round, the fact remains that these evolutive roots, in the same way as other animal species, including invertebrates, have something to teach us about the nature of our thoughts. Alain Prochiantz
Albert Goldbeter
At the Heart of Life Rhythms Oscillating Life
A thorough review of all the mechanisms that regulate the principal life rhythms. In a jargon-free style this book examines the origin of various types of oscillation and shows what unites them, beyond their specific mechanisms.
Académie d'agriculture de France
The Big Book of Trees and Forests Draw a forest for me
In the same vein as the Grand livre de notre alimentation [The Big Book of Food], this book responds to all our questions on forests.
Alain Prochiantz
Biology in the Bedroom
Inspiring himself from La Philosophie dans le boudoir by Sade and the major philosophical works of the 18th century, Alain Prochiantz, who is a neurobiologist, explains by means of a dialogue, the progress of embryology and neurobiology and gives us the elements so that we can understand and measure the stakes of the recent discovery of the genes of development. Alain Prochiantz heads the Laboratory for the Development and Evolution of the Nervous System at the École normale supérieure. He is notably the author of Strategies of the Embryo, and Claude Bernard, the Physiological Revolution.
Gerald M. Edelman
The Biology of Consciousness
How do we think? What makes us beings that are endowed with conscience, capable of memory, of perceiving the surrounding world, of feeling passion? This book presents an ensemble of mechanisms that compose the human spirit and addresses the progress of the neuroscientific revolution: the biology of the brain and the study of its evolution are in the process of surrendering to us the key to conscience itself. Gerald. M. Edleman, winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine, heads the Institute of Neurosciences at La Jolla, California.
André Klarsfeld, Frédéric Revah
The Biology of Death
Why are most living organisms condemned to die a natural death, even if they are in a well-protected and highly favourable environment ? Is death a "useful" biological process or does it not correspond to any natural necessity ?
Hélène Merle-Béral
The Biology of Immortality Who wants to be immortal?
Immortality is no longer what it used to be. This brief history introduces the proponents and the implications of it. Life can be prolonged; medical science is constantly proving this; but it cannot thwart the great laws of biology.
Jean-Didier Vincent
The Biology of Passions
What is it to love? Can one explain the love of Romeo for Juliet? What are desire, pleasure and pain, the taste for power and domination? Moving beyond the traditional split between body and mind, Jean-Didier Vincent proposes a new theory of emotions which brings harmony to our concept of mankind. Jean-Didier Vincent is a neurobiologist and director of the Alfred Fessard Institute of CNRS at Gif-sur-Yvette.
Jean-Didier Vincent
The Biology of Passions (New Edition)
"A fascinating book, which demonstrates that the ensemble of the brain, neurons, and synapses is literally immersed in a chemical sea. We must rid ourselves of the notion that the brain is a supercomputer." Le Figaro
Michel Delseny
The Biology of Plants The genome of thale cress
A detailed account of a fascinating scientific adventure. Important food for thought: the genome of a plant is as complex as our own.
Claude Aron
Bisexuality and the Order of Nature
Our sex defines our identity before we are even named - "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" is the traditional welcome we receive in this world. Similarly, throughout our entire life, our gender defines our diverse social roles. Yet, this book shows how nature presents us with only one model, that of bisexuality. Endocrinian manipulations have shown that it is possible to change from one sexuality to another in a reversible manner. This book is key reading in the debate about the genetic character, or not, of homosexuality. Claude Aron, a specialist in in the physiology of reproduction, is also an honorary professor of the Louis-Pasteur University in Strasbourg.
Pierre Karli
The Brain and Freedom
What is the relationship of man with the world, the others, with himself? To this perpetual question, many answers have been given by the various, religious or philosophical systems of thought. Pierre Karli, a neurophysiologist, proposes to look in the direction of science. He shows, by synthesizing the most advanced scientific works, how individual freedom finds its roots at the very heart of the brain.