Download or read book More Than Genes What Science Can Tell Us About Toxic Chemicals Development and the Risk to Our Children written by Dan Agin and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2009-11-02 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We are all shaped by our genetic inheritance and by the environment we live in. Indeed, the argument about which of these two forces, nature or nurture, predominates has been raging for decades. But what about our very first environment--the prenatal world where we exist for nine months between conception and birth and where we are more vulnerable than at any other point in our lives?In More Than Genes, Dan Agin marshals new scientific evidence to argue that the fetal environment can be just as crucial as genetic hard-wiring or even later environment in determining our intelligence and behavior. Stress during pregnancy, for example, puts women at far greater risk of bearing children prone to anxiety disorders. Nutritional deprivation during early fetal development may elevate the risk of late onset schizophrenia. And exposure to a whole host of environmental toxins--methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides, ionizing radiation, and most especially lead--as well as maternal use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or cocaine can have impacts ranging from mild cognitive impairment to ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders. Agin argues as well that differences in IQ among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups are far more attributable to higher levels of stress and chemical toxicity in inner cities--which seep into the prenatal environment and compromise the health of the fetus--than to genetic inheritance. The good news is that the prenatal environment is malleable, and Agin suggests that if we can abandon the naive idea of "immaculate gestation," we can begin to protect fetal development properly.Cogently argued, thoroughly researched, and accessibly written, More Than Genes challenges many long-held assumptions and represents a huge step forward in our understanding of the origins of human intelligence and behavior.
Download or read book More Than Genes written by Dan Agin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-02 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We are all shaped by our genetic inheritance and by the environment we live in. Indeed, the argument about which of these two forces, nature or nurture, predominates has been raging for decades. But what about our very first environment--the prenatal world where we exist for nine months between conception and birth and where we are more vulnerable than at any other point in our lives? In More Than Genes, Dan Agin marshals new scientific evidence to argue that the fetal environment can be just as crucial as genetic hard-wiring or even later environment in determining our intelligence and behavior. Stress during pregnancy, for example, puts women at far greater risk of bearing children prone to anxiety disorders. Nutritional deprivation during early fetal development may elevate the risk of late onset schizophrenia. And exposure to a whole host of environmental toxins--methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides, ionizing radiation, and most especially lead--as well as maternal use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or cocaine can have impacts ranging from mild cognitive impairment to ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders. Agin argues as well that differences in IQ among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups are far more attributable to higher levels of stress and chemical toxicity in inner cities--which seep into the prenatal environment and compromise the health of the fetus--than to genetic inheritance. The good news is that the prenatal environment is malleable, and Agin suggests that if we can abandon the naive idea of "immaculate gestation," we can begin to protect fetal development properly. Cogently argued, thoroughly researched, and accessibly written, More Than Genes challenges many long-held assumptions and represents a huge step forward in our understanding of the origins of human intelligence and behavior.
Download or read book Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-12-21 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment reviews advances made during the last 10-15 years in fields such as developmental biology, molecular biology, and genetics. It describes a novel approach for how these advances might be used in combination with existing methodologies to further the understanding of mechanisms of developmental toxicity, to improve the assessment of chemicals for their ability to cause developmental toxicity, and to improve risk assessment for developmental defects. For example, based on the recent advances, even the smallest, simplest laboratory animals such as the fruit fly, roundworm, and zebrafish might be able to serve as developmental toxicological models for human biological systems. Use of such organisms might allow for rapid and inexpensive testing of large numbers of chemicals for their potential to cause developmental toxicity; presently, there are little or no developmental toxicity data available for the majority of natural and manufactured chemicals in use. This new approach to developmental toxicology and risk assessment will require simultaneous research on several fronts by experts from multiple scientific disciplines, including developmental toxicologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians.
Download or read book Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk written by Suzanne H. Reuben and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though overall cancer incidence and mortality have continued to decline in recent years, cancer continues to devastate the lives of far too many Americans. In 2009 alone, 1.5 million American men, women, and children were diagnosed with cancer, and 562,000 died from the disease. There is a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer. The Pres. Cancer Panel dedicated its 2008¿2009 activities to examining the impact of environmental factors on cancer risk. The Panel considered industrial, occupational, and agricultural exposures as well as exposures related to medical practice, military activities, modern lifestyles, and natural sources. This report presents the Panel¿s recommend. to mitigate or eliminate these barriers. Illus.
Download or read book Leadership in Science and Technology A Reference Handbook written by and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2012 with total page 985 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This 2-volume set within the SAGE Reference Series on Leadership tackles issues relevant to leadership in the realm of science and technology. To encompass the key topics in this arena, this handbook features 100 topics arranged under eight headings. Volume 1 concentrates on general principles of science and technology leadership and includes sections on social-scientific perspectives on S&T leadership; key scientific concepts about leading and innovating in S&T; characteristics of S&T leaders and their environments; and strategies, tactics, and tools of S&T leadership. Volume 2 provides case studies of leadership in S&T, with sections considering leadership in informal communities of scientists and engineers; leadership in government projects and research initiatives; leadership in industry research, development, and innovation; and finally, leadership in education and university-based research. By focusing on key topics within 100 brief chapters, this unprecedented reference resource offers students more detailed information and depth of discussion than typically found in an encyclopedia entry but not as much jargon, detail or density as in a journal article or a research handbook chapter. Entries are written in language and style that is broadly accessible, and each is followed by cross-references and a brief bibliography and further readings. A detailed index and an online version of the work enhances accessibility for today's student audience"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Your Body Can Talk Revised 2nd Edition written by Susan Levy, D.C. and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2014-09-29 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, about the art and application of Clinical Kinesiology, introduces the energetic system that links mind and body. It shows how the body can “talk,” and therefore be used as a diagnostic tool, and to determine which healing approach will best suit an individual. Clinical Kinesiology allows us to interpret this new “body talk.” This method of muscle-testing “reads” the body’s innate wisdom; when “asked” a question, or presented with a stimulus, the muscles respond clearly, either strongly or weakly. This system, which expedites the application of acupuncture, also helps realign the body’s energy imbalances. Readers will find specific methods of fighting disease that emphasize the dangers of unnecessary drugs, antibiotics and immunization, and the need for a fortified immune system – especially through natural foods. Other topics include: rebuilding the body’s ecology after an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria or Candidiasis; how to maintain the integrity of the energy system through minimizing exposure to unhealthy electromagnetic fields or EMFs; optimal health for woman; and issues of men’s health. New material in this 2nd edition includes an extensive chapter on children’s health, which addresses pregnancy, birthing procedures and breastfeeding, and illustrates a road map for giving your children (and children yet to come) the best potential for optimal health.
Download or read book Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality Evolution Culture and Wisdom Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology written by Darcia Narvaez and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2014-10-20 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the William James Book Award Winner of the inaugural Expanded Reason Award A wide-ranging exploration of the role of childhood experiences in adult morality. Moral development has traditionally been considered a matter of reasoning—of learning and acting in accordance with abstract rules. On this model, largely taken for granted in modern societies, acts of selfishness, aggression, and ecological mindlessness are failures of will, moral problems that can be solved by acting in accordance with a higher rationality. But both ancient philosophy and recent scientific scholarship emphasize implicit systems, such as action schemas and perceptual filters that guide behavior and shape human development. In this integrative book, Darcia Narvaez argues that morality goes “all the way down” into our neurobiological and emotional development, and that a person’s moral architecture is largely established early on in life. Moral rationality and virtue emerge “bottom up” from lived experience, so it matters what that experience is. Bringing together deep anthropological history, ethical philosophy, and contemporary neurobiological science, she demonstrates where modern industrialized societies have fallen away from the cultural practices that made us human in the first place. Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality advances the field of developmental moral psychology in three key ways. First, it provides an evolutionary framework for early childhood experience grounded in developmental systems theory, encompassing not only genes but a wide array of environmental and epigenetic factors. Second, it proposes a neurobiological basis for the development of moral sensibilities and cognition, describing ethical functioning at multiple levels of complexity and context before turning to a theory of the emergence of wisdom. Finally, it embraces the sociocultural orientations of our ancestors and cousins in small-band hunter-gatherer societies—the norm for 99% of human history—for a re-envisioning of moral life, from the way we value and organize child raising to how we might frame a response to human-made global ecological collapse. Integrating the latest scholarship in clinical sciences and positive psychology, Narvaez proposes a developmentally informed ecological and ethical sensibility as a way to self-author and revise the ways we think about parenting and sociality. The techniques she describes point towards an alternative vision of moral development and flourishing, one that synthesizes traditional models of executive, top-down wisdom with “primal” wisdom built by multiple systems of biological and cultural influence from the ground up.
Download or read book Risk Assessment for Juvenile Violent Offending written by Anna Costanza Baldry and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-12 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is the result of an EU project involving two different European countries (Italy and Cyprus) on risk and needs assessment for juvenile violent offenders. The book is based on a longitudinal data base of juveniles who have committed violent crimes and who have been followed up after six months to measure their recidivism rate. The aim of this book is to provide practitioners who are dealing with juvenile (violent) offenders, with scientifically-based theories and knowledge derived from results about risk assessment. In particular it shows how a newly developed and tested instrument/approach, the EARN (European Assessment of Risk and Needs) works and how it can be used to help practitioners. Recidivism of violence in juveniles is based on several risk factors and is reduced on the basis of protective factors. Efficient legal intervention and treatment are more and more tailored according to the risk factors but also to the needs of juveniles. Juvenile Justice Systems in Europe tend to approach the juvenile who has committed a crime not only from a sanction point of view but more as an opportunity for the juvenile, his or her family and the social context in general, to reduce the risk of recidivism. This book will be of interest to researchers, students, social workers, police officers and lawyers.
Download or read book A History of Medicine written by Lois N. Magner and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-12-14 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed for survey courses in the field A History of Medicine presents a wide-ranging overview for those seeking a solid grounding in the medical history of Western and non-Western cultures. Invaluable to instructors promoting the history of medicine in pre-professional training, and stressing major themes in the history of medicine, this third edition continues to stimulate further exploration of the events, methodologies, and theories that have shaped medical practices in decades past and continue to do so today.
Download or read book The Rise of Fetal and Neonatal Physiology written by Lawrence D. Longo and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-09-15 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the mid- to late-twentieth century, study of the physiology of the developing fetus and newborn infant evolved rapidly to become a major discipline in the biomedical sciences. Initially of interest from a standpoint of function of the placenta and oxygenation of the fetus, the field advanced to explore both normal functional mechanisms as well as pathophysiologic aspects of their regulation. Examples include studying the role and regulation of circulatory vascular anatomic shunts in oxygenation, cardiac function, certain aspects of asphyxia in the fetus and newborn infant, the role of fetal “breathing” movements, cyclic electroencephalographic activity, and analysis of electronic monitoring of fetal heart rate variability and its significance. Included in this book are reminisces of several dozen individuals who played a vital role in these developments. Overall, this survey considers a number of aspects of the development of the science of fetal and neonatal physiology, and its role in the greatly improved care of pregnant women and their newborn infants. This book is published on behalf of the American Physiological Society by Springer. Access to APS books published with Springer is free to APS members.
Download or read book High Clear Bell of Morning written by Ann Eriksson and published by D & M Publishers. This book was released on 2014-03-07 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High Clear Bell of Morning is the gripping tale of a father’s love and the extent to which he will go to protect his daughter. Ruby’s life begins to unravel when she hears voices coming from her closet. It isn’t long before they are with her all the time. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, her treatment goes awry when she meets a drug dealer, Kenny, in group therapy. He introduces her to cocaine, and then heroin, and within a short space of time she is ready to do almost anything for a drug that makes her feel alive. Unwilling to let her go, her father, Glen, follows Ruby through the streets, catching glimpses of the horror-filled world in which his daughter now resides. Desperate to comprehend her illness, he finds parallels between Ruby and his job as a marine biologist, particularly in the mysterious death of a young whale, found with a body full of chemicals. In a struggle to get his daughter back, Glen commits an unthinkable act that could cause him to lose everything else that has ever mattered to him. Elegantly told and affecting, High Clear Bell of Morning illustrates the strain on families facing mental illnesses, and draws attention to the inadequate system that is meant to help. At the same time, it celebrates the natural world and sends a cautionary warning of what we all have to lose. High Clear Bell of Morning lives up to the high praise Ann Eriksson’s writing has received from Robert Kroetsch, Nino Ricci and many others.
Download or read book Big Data Analytics and Intelligence written by Poonam Tanwar and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Big Data Analytics and Intelligence is essential reading for researchers and experts working in the fields of health care, data science, analytics, the internet of things, and information retrieval.
Download or read book Anxiety Disorders written by Stephen M. Stahl and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-02-11 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drs. Stephen M. Stahl and Bret A. Moore have created an instant classic in Anxiety Disorders: A Guide for Integrating Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy. Anxiety Disorders is a comprehensive reference for the psychiatry and psychology student, intern, or resident, early career psychiatrist or psychologist, and the busy clinician. It distills the most important information regarding combined treatments for anxiety and presents the material in an easily accessible, understandable, and readable format. Each chapter addresses a specific type of disorder: PTSD, panic, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and other disorders, and is authored by prominent clinicians with years of experience in providing integrated, individualized treatments. With its thorough exploration of psychopharmacological treatments, psychosocial treatments, and, crucially, the integration of the two, Anxiety Disorders is a text no 21st-century clinician or student can afford to be without.
Download or read book Defensive Environmentalists and the Dynamics of Global Reform written by Thomas Rudel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-11 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rudel examines historical examples of environmental reform, arguing that reforms occur when defensive and altruistic environmentalists join forces.
Download or read book Epigenetic Epidemiology written by Karin B. Michels and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-01-02 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exploding field of epigenetics is challenging the dogma of traditional Mendelian inheritance. Epigenetics plays an important role in shaping who we are and contributes to our prospects of health and disease. While early epigenetic research focused on plant and animal models and in vitro experiments, population-based epidemiologic studies increasingly incorporate epigenetic components. The relevance of epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, genomic imprinting, and histone modification for disease causation has yet to be fully explored.This book covers the basic concepts of epigenetic epidemiology, discusses challenges in study design, analysis, and interpretation, epigenetic laboratory techniques, the influence of age and environmental factors on shaping the epigenome, the role of epigenetics in the developmental origins hypothesis, and provides the state of the art on the epigenetic epidemiology of various health conditions including childhood syndromes, cancer, infectious diseases, inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, psychiatric disorders, diabetes, obesity and metabolic disorders, and atherosclerosis. With contributions from: Peter Jones, Jean-Pierre Issa, Gavin Kelsey, Robert Waterland, and many other experts in epigenetics!
Download or read book Applications of Toxicogenomic Technologies to Predictive Toxicology and Risk Assessment written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-12-19 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new field of toxicogenomics presents a potentially powerful set of tools to better understand the health effects of exposures to toxicants in the environment. At the request of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Research Council assembled a committee to identify the benefits of toxicogenomics, the challenges to achieving them, and potential approaches to overcoming such challenges. The report concludes that realizing the potential of toxicogenomics to improve public health decisions will require a concerted effort to generate data, make use of existing data, and study data in new waysâ€"an effort requiring funding, interagency coordination, and data management strategies.
Download or read book From Neurons to Neighborhoods written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-11-13 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.
