|
Coming to Life is a remarkable journey
through development biology that reveals miraculous processes
in the microscopic world of cells. Through an accounting
of groundbreaking discoveries, Nobel laureate Christiane
Nüsslein-Volhard provides many answers to historical
and contemporary questions in science. For example, she
brings us the newest knowledge about embryonic forms, explains
the genetic mechanisms that influence development of animals,
and shares insights into the ethical standards society must
uphold in the face of new scientific discoveries such as
stem cell research, cloning, and genetic therapies.
One of the most important issues the author
writes about is the way gradients influence development.
Gradient research being conducted at Dr. Nüsslein-Volhard's
laboratory is among the world's leading efforts to explain
how complex life forms arise from simple egg cells. As she
leads us from laboratory research to its applications in
human beings, we also come to understand the many other
incredible influences that result in variety in life.
Complete with her own 55 hand-drawn illustrations,
Coming to Life provides the reader with a rare opportunity
to understand a Nobel laureate's passion for science in
concise, understandable language.
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard has
served since 1985 as Director of the Max Planck Institute
for Development Biology in Tübingen, Germany and also
leads its Genetics Department. Her current areas of research
include the investigation of molecular mechanisms of early
embryonic patterning in the fruit fly and genetic control
of the development of organs and structures of the adult
zebra fish.
She has received numerous awards and
prizes for her discovery of genes that guide the development
of animals, including humans. Among these awards are the
Leibniz-Prize (1986), the Albert Lasker Award (1991), and
the Nobel Prize for Medicine (1995).
She is a member of the National Academy
(USA), the Royal Society (Great Britain), and the Order
Pour le Mérite (Germany). In 2001 she joined the
national ethical committee of the German federal government
for the assessment of new developments in the life sciences
and their influence on the individual and society. Dr. Nüsslein-Volhard
is widely published in science journals around the world.
|
