Genetic Politic

On his popular science blog, Pharyngula, PZ Myers has entertained millions of fans with his infectious love of evolutionary science and his equally infectious disdain for creationism, biblical literalism, intelligent design theory, and other products of godly illogic. This funny and fearless book collects and expands on some of his most popular writings, giving the religious fanaticism of our times the gleeful disrespect it deserves by skewering the apocalyptic fantasies, magical thinking, hypocrisies, and pseudoscientific theories advanced by religious fundamentalists of all stripes.

The Big Ratchet is the story of the ratchets: the technologies and innovations, big and small, that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. The Big Ratchet is the story of how it happened.

Bill McKibben, examines the dangers inherent in an array of technologies that threaten not just our survival, but our identity. Imagine a future where lab workers can reprogram human embryos to make our children "smarter" or "more sociable" or "happier." Enough examines such possibilities, and explains how we can avoid their worst consequences while still enjoying the fruits of our new scientific understandings.

Los genes no son los responsables de la desigualdad pero llevan impresas las marcas que ha dejado a lo largo de nuestra historia. La creciente desigualdad en el siglo XXI es un grave problema social y sus causas y consecuencias provocan debates y controversias que implican desde agentes sociales y políticos hasta economistas. En Desigualdad, Carles Lalueza-Fox ofrece una visión totalmente nueva de este tema al examinar las huellas genéticas dejadas por la desigualdad en los humanos a lo largo de su historia.

In the near future, an ambitious scientific experiment brings Abraham Lincoln back to life through his genetic clone, Abram Cocklin. "Clone of Liberty: A Journey to Presidential Destiny" by Frank Villavicencio intertwines historical legacy with futuristic innovation, exploring themes of leadership, ethics, and destiny. Abram, raised by Ethan and Lena Cocklin, carries the weight of his genetic heritage while navigating a world in political and social turmoil.

After ancient Rome fell to the barbarian hordes and its light went out, 500 years of economic and cultural deterioration followed in Europe - The Dark Ages. In the 14th century, the most brutal pandemic to ravage mankind finally pulled this part of the world out of the darkness. The Black Death decimated over 60 percent of the population, creating an immediate surplus of goods and land, which catapulted Europe into a new age of the rebirth: The Renaissance.

What makes us human? Why are we the only animals who wear clothes, drive cars, trawl the internet, and fly helicopters on Mars? It’s all because we’ve learnt to talk, yet remarkably, we still don’t know how we did it. Speech! suggests an answer that’s been hiding in plain sight - the simple yet radical shift that turned our analog grunts and shrieks into words. But, its consequences are far from simple: being able to share ideas through language was an evolutionary tipping point - it allowed us to link up our minds.

Thirty-year-old UNPOL officer Richard Warren has been embedded with the BBC, and not seeing eye-to-eye with journalist Sarah Dyer is just the start of his problems. News of an Ebola pandemic is being withheld, and when it’s discovered Sarah’s savant brother is involved, Richard’s determination to expose the truth takes an unexpected turn. But what if the truth must never be known?

MI7 is expecting an eccentric new recruit in the person of Chasha Jones, self-described (only partly tongue-in-cheek) as "the most intelligent woman in London". She's hard-working, insightful, and fun to work alongside. But the day she's due to begin, there's no sign of her. It turns out she's joined forces with an eccentric Brit called Hector Raynebow. Raynebow used to be an environmentalist, but he's rejected all that on the grounds that humanity, in its present form, is incapable of saving the world. He has the perfect solution: Humankind 2.0.

Settling into her new life as the only Diplomatic Spy trainee, Seraphina Waters is blindsided by crisis from every side. Phina uses her unique skills to make a shocking discovery. Drawing on her friends and her own inner strength, Phina has to move fast in order to save an entire species from extinction. Each day that passes brings death one step closer...not just for those she hopes to save, but for herself.

Welcome to the 11th novel in the Pseudoverse, Hellfire. Ripped from the headlines of a real-life cover-up, Hellfire is a fiery barrage of hell-bound robots, AI, and undercover spies sent to reign down hell on earth for reasons unknown to us until the climax. Our sarcastic and beautifully flawed protagonist is thrust upon this world from God-knows-where to begin a life in a world she knows nothing about. The CIA, NSA, and Israel acknowledged this inspirational cyberwarfare story that will have you clinging to the edge of your seat.

Im digitalen Zeitalter sind Informationen wertvoller als Gold. Doch Computer können gehackt und Files gestohlen werden. Nach einem massiven Cyberangriff fürchtet die britische Regierung um ihre Staatsgeheimnisse und entwickelt einen ebenso riskanten wie genialen Plan: Die brisantesten Informationen werden offline genommen, in einen genetischen Code umgewandelt und fünf Zivilisten implantiert. Dafür bekommen diese so genannten Wächter die Chance auf ein neues Leben, eine neue Identität und finanzielle Unabhängigkeit.

Chapter one in book one of the groundbreaking Lightning Brain action-adventure series that extrapolates the latest science, political intrigue, and contemporary lifestyles while tracing the twists and turns in the life of Electra “Kit” Kittner. She grows up in a frightened, intolerant America threatened by “Techno-Plague” and Middle East terrorism. The action builds relentlessly, from lighter childhood adventures to darker realities caused by America’s threats that are exacerbated by a harsh government that would treat her badly if it were to discover what she is.

Helena Greenwood, a doctor with a Ph.D. in chemical pathology, was working in biotechnology when she was the victim of sexual assault. She survived and was scheduled to testify against her attacker until she was found brutally murdered in her garden. Everyone believed the killer was her past attacker; but there was not enough evidence to convict him, until ten years later when a local District Attorney working the "cold cases" used Helena's own DNA research to finally bring her killer to justice.

In this fascinating exploration, geneticist Bryan Sykes turns his sights on the United States, one of the most genetically variegated countries in the world. From the blue-blooded pockets of old-WASP New England to the vast tribal lands of the Navajo, Bryan Sykes takes us on a historical genetic tour, interviewing genealogists, geneticists, anthropologists, and everyday Americans with compelling ancestral stories.

From the family to the workplace to the marketplace, every facet of our lives is shaped by cooperative interactions. Yet everywhere we look, we are confronted by proof of how difficult cooperation can be - snarled traffic, polarized politics, overexploited resources, social problems that go ignored. The benefits to oneself of a free ride on the efforts of others mean that collective goals often are not met. But compared to most other species, people actually cooperate a great deal. Why is this?

As you read these words, planet Earth teems with trillions of life-forms, all going about their own business: eating, reproducing, thriving.... Yet the life of almost every single organism draws nearer to certain death. On the other hand, "suicide" inside the mitochondria that live within us results in the death of millions of cells each second for our own good! Why is death such a universal companion to life on Earth? Why haven't animals evolved to break free of its shackles?

Violation of biological command has been the failure of social man. Vertebrates though we may be, we have ignored the law of equal opportunity since civilization's earliest hours. Sexually reproducing beings though we are, we pretend today that the law of inequality does not exist. And enlightened though we may be, while we pursue the unattainable we make impossible the realizable.

Unnatural Selection is the first book to examine the rise of the "technocentric being" - or geek - who personifies a distinct new phase in human evolution. People considered geeks often have behavioral or genetic traits that were previously considered detrimental. But the new environment of the Anthropocene period - the Age of Man - has created a kind of digital greenhouse that actually favors their traits, enabling many non-neurotypical people to bloom.

In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease?