Designing Our Descendants: The Promises and Perils of Genetic Modifications

Book Description

The Human Genome Project, discoveries in molecular biology, and new reproductive technologies have advanced our understanding of how genetic science may be used to treat persons with genetic disorders. Greater knowledge may also make possible genetic interventions to "enhance" normal human characteristics, such as height, hair or eye color, strength, or memory, as well as the transmittal of such modifications to future generations. The prospect of inheritable genetic modifications, or IGMs, whether for therapeutic or enhancement purposes, raises complex scientific, ethical, and regulatory issues.

Designing Our Descendants presents twenty essays by physicians, scientists, philosophers, theologians, lawyers, and policy analysts addressing these issues from diverse perspectives. In three sections, the authors discuss the short- and long-term scientific feasibility of IGM technology; ethical and religious issues related to safety, justice, morality, reproductive rights, and enhancement; and regulatory issues including the necessity of public input and oversight and the influence of commercialization. Their goal is to open a dialogue engaging not only scholars and scientists but also government officials and concerned citizens. The authors conclude that while IGM cannot be carried out safely and responsibly on humans utilizing current methods, it is important to begin public discussion now to determine whether, and if so how, to proceed.

Customer Reviews:

Good... If you know your biology, an Oklahoma State University Perspective.......2005-11-14

I had the joy of reading this book for my composition class at Oklahoma State University. The book is very nicely proportioned and quite informative; however, it has some minor drawbacks. The entire book (science section especially) is mired in heavily scientific verbiage. While this was not bad enough to make me dislike the book, it is unfortunate that as a science major I was still constantly reaching for my biology book to understand the chapters. Furthermore, I was also forced to review cellular theory to fully receive the book's intended effect. I recomend this book highly, just heed my warning about the terminology. The book's excellent organization and relevance to the topic help to make up for the fact that it would be a nightmare for a non-science lover.

Customer Reviews:

So vivid you feel like you're there..........2004-02-28

This book is an excellent addition to any library dealing with the civilizations of the Mediterranean, a chance to see what musty texts only describe. In a way that an academic text can't, this book brings back alive ancient Greece, Persia and Phoenicia, among many others. It's difficult to describe just how good the photography is in this book. There are hundreds of photographs here, all in color, many large, filling half-pages and whole pages, and the photography is so vivid you actually feel like you're standing before the ancient monuments and architecture, simply by turning the pages. That is a feeling that is rare in even the best photography books and it alone is worth buying this book.

Now for the text! As one reviewer mentioned, there probably was some political bias included in the selection of sights to be photographed for the book, often backed up by the remarks in the text. On the other hand, there are many other books that deal with those sites of Israel, while the cultures of Phoenicia and the others have long gone neglected. If you have any interest in these ancient cultures at all, you'll love this book. It's the next best thing to being there if you can't afford the plane fare.

A Great Book !!!.......2003-04-02

This book is one of the great additions to the Levant section in any scholarly library. It is well researched and very well illustrated. This reviewer is impressed by the rigour and the excellence of the research that went into this work. Especially commendable is the total absence of any and all the Biblical mythology that seems to permeate more vulgar works that appeal to the pseudo-literate.

Sins of Omission.......2002-11-13

First the good news: This book's production values are high, its photos are interesting and its text offers some interesting commentary on many obscure political entities which non-specialists rarely encounter in popular surveys of Levantine archaeology... Alas, something very odd is also afoot here: There is virtually no mention of the ancient - and obviously pivotal - kingdoms of Israel, Judea and Samaria... or the fascinating presence of Jewish communities in the late Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods which followed. This is like writing a survey of Mesoamerica up through the first centuries following the Spanish conquest - and willfully ignoring the very existence of, say, the Olmec. It produces a totally fractured and falsified pseudo-historical impression in the minds of unsophisticated readers, and it throws the entire work onto the heap of propaganda, rather than admitting it into the library of Science. The authors' affiliations with several so-called "universities" in Egypt and Lebanon suggests the reason why modern conflicts and the continuing Arab rejection of their Israeli neighbor seem to have trickled down into the historical realm, but such falsification is still disreputable and unworthy of either the authors or the EU publisher. Shame! Shame!

Egypt, the Aegean and the Levant : Interconnections in the Second Millennium Bc

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Egypt, the Aegean and the Levant : Interconnections in the Second Millennium Bc

Manufacturer: Trustees of British Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Egypt | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

AMAZING!!!.......2005-11-08

This book is one of the most amazing books i've ever read. it's got a great depth to it and explain in a discreet way about sociology and friendships. It's a page turner.

Best Book I've Ever Read!!! .......2005-04-25

This book is defianitely the best book out of all the Night World books, even though each of them are excellent in their own way! I think its just the way that Jez and Morgead's love is so pure and brilliant! Also Jez is so powerful! But Jez and Morgead are so different and them being together could never work, if Morgead knew her secret, that makes me never want to put the book down!

Great Heroine . . . Hero Needs a Little Work . . ........2005-04-18

I've been a fan of L.J. Smith's since I first read "Chosen" six years ago. I've read all of her books, including her little known play on the King Authur myth that involves the Fey. I've read all of her trilogies, and the NightWorld books at least twice a piece.

I've even gone back and reread the NightWorld books and have been pleased to see that they still hold up. Even though I'm not a 15 year old girl anymore. My mother even read them and enjoyed them.

The thing I like the most about the L.J Smith books are the heroines and the heroes. Both characters are somehow vastly appealing. Well, save the ones in "Spellbinder" and "Dark Angel".

In "Huntress" the heroine is no aception to L.J. Smith's rule. She's even more of an outsider than Rashel, and is a bit wiser than the Cat. However, she's got a bit of a wild streak, not to mention she's more cunning in her own fashion.

She's sypmathetic and strong at the same time.

However, her hero, Morgred isn't.

Usually, when L.J Smith writes "bad boys" they're so bad they're sinful. Morgred falls short of that. He seems to be a pale copy of Smith's previous heroes Ash and Quinn, except he falls short of their charisma, sympathy, and sheer sexiness. Not to mention he's lacking a personality.

The plot is good and the writing is excellent. However, Morgred keeps the book from getting a perfect rating. Sorry Jez, you tried your best.

"On From the Day World, Where Two Eyes are Watching...".......2004-05-19

"Huntress" is the seventh book in the "Night World" series, a range of books concerning the secret going-ons of vampires, witches and shapeshifters in our everyday world. Previously, the books were predominantly love stories between humans and Night World members, but "Huntress" is the book where things begin to get a bit more interesting...

Jez Redfern is confident in her abilities and her life - she spends her nights hunting down humans with her gang for fun, and alternatively flirting/fighting with her second-in-command Morgead Blackthorn. But then a vision disrupts this life forever: she is not a full-blooded vampire, but the daughter of a vampiric father and a human mother. As this knowledge endangers her very life, she abandons her gang, joins the benevolent Circle Daybreak and goes to live with her human relatives.

Several years later, Jez is leading a double-life: attending school by day with her annoying cousin Clare, and hunting her former allies at night under the instructions of the Circle. On this particular night she arrives home (in trouble with her family once more) to find another member of Circle Daybreak in her room: Hugh Davis. Hugh gives her the most important mission yet: a prophecy has risen that describes four "Wild Powers" that are destined to stop the coming apocalypse at the turn of the millennium.

And why has Jez been chosen to find the first of these Wild Powers? - (whose clue to their identity is used for my review's title) - Because someone has come forward claiming knowledge of the first Wild Power, and it's none other than Morgead. She must return to her gang and reclaim leadership, all the time knowing that if her true identity is found out then her life would be forfeit. And there are other darker powers looking for the Wild Power...

"Huntress" is one of the most rewarding books in the "Night World" series, concerning a desperate search, family ties, identity issues, Night World politics, and a growing sense of doom as the apocalypse ticks closer. However, don't get too involved in the characters and their situation - L. J. Smith has never published the last book in this series "Strange Fate" that wraps up the entire story (but as the millenium has come and gone without a hitch, I think we can assume that the good guys were successful).

L. J. gives some nice touches to the mix, with mentions of previous characters and events, plus the actual appearence of a character from "The Chosen", that has an unexplained burn mark that only readers of that previous book will understand. We also get another retelling of the Night World ancient history that fits in nicely to what we already know about Hellewise/Maya/the dragons and all the other eras of history.

At times it feels a bit rushed - Jez has found out her secret and moved in with her human family at the end of three very short chapters, and I'm getting increasingly amused at the ages of the vampires: despite the fact that they are immortal, all of her lamia characters just *happen* to be either seventeen or eighteen years old - where are all the grown-ups?!

-Huntress by L.J Smith.......2004-03-25

I think that Lisa Jane Smith is an exceptional author! behind Tolkien. Like Francine Pascale (author of fearless) she's got this thing that makes you want to go on reading until you've finished the book.Huntress like the rest of the series is a very original story...it's too cool

Book Description

While the subject of environmental stress in animals is broad, the available information is fragmentary and lacks an up-to-date overview and analysis. Environmental Stress and Cellular Response in Arthropods fills these knowledge gaps. Written by three experts from the same institution, the chapters have a consistency not often found in multi-authored or contributed books. The authors describe environmental stress in arthropods, specifically Drosophila and analyze the process in all its aspects, from biochemical mechanisms to effects on the whole organism. Incorporating new information that has become available in recent years, the authors explore hypotheses about the integrated response these systems often have. They explore topics ranging from disturbance of homeostasis, changes in metabolic processes, damage of cellular structures to acquired tolerance, effects on aging processes, and survival and cell death. By analyzing all these aspects in detail at the molecular, biochemical, and physiological level of the cell, the authors give you a thorough look at the relationship between an organism and its environment at the cellular level.

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Analytical Chemistry in the Exploration, Mining, and Processing of Materials: Plenary Lectures
A. And T. W. Steele Strasheim
Manufacturer: Pergamon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGQCFW

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Analytical chemistry in the exploration, mining, and processing of materials: Plenary lectures

Manufacturer: Pergamon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Petroleum, Mining & Geological | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books | Drilling Procedures | Offshore Drilling | Petroleum | Petroleum Exploration | Petroleum Geology | Petroleum Refining | Reservoir Engineering
General & Reference | Chemistry | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0080211992

Book Description

Sophocles (497/6-406 BCE), with Aeschylus and Euripides, was one of the three great tragic poets of Athens, and is considered one of the world's greatest poets. The subjects of his plays were drawn from mythology and legend. Each play contains at least one heroic figure, a character whose strength, courage, or intelligence exceeds the human norm—but who also has more than ordinary pride and self-assurance. These qualities combine to lead to a tragic end.

Hugh Lloyd-Jones gives us, in two volumes, a new translation of the seven surviving plays. Volume I contains Oedipus Tyrannus (which tells the famous Oedipus story), Ajax (a heroic tragedy of wounded self-esteem), and Electra (the story of siblings who seek revenge on their mother and her lover for killing their father). Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus (the climax of the fallen hero's life), Antigone (a conflict between public authority and an individual woman's conscience), The Women of Trachis (a fatal attempt by Heracles' wife to regain her husband's love), and Philoctetes (Odysseus's intrigue to bring an unwilling hero to the Trojan War).

Of his other plays, only fragments remain; but from these much can be learned about Sophocles' language and dramatic art. The major fragments—ranging in length from two lines to a very substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers—are collected in Volume III of this edition. In prefatory notes Lloyd-Jones provides frameworks for the fragments of known plays.

Customer Reviews:

Worth the investment. .......2006-09-14

If you haven't read anything by Sophocles and want to read him for fun, I'd suggest getting the Fagles translations of the Theban plays, followed by the Sophocles II volume published by University of Chicago. That will get you every complete play we have by him and is a good way to start.

However, if you've read one (or even all) of the plays in this volume, know some Greek, and want to go a bit deeper, this is the book you're looking for. The translations in this volume are extremely, almost unusually, literal. While the two most prominent translations (Fagles and Greene) waver from the text at times for poetic value, Lloyd-Jones does nothing of the sort. For the most part, what you see on the left side is as close as it gets in English to the Greek on the right side. This is really helpful for those who know enough Greek to be curious about what Sophocles is up to but not enough to actually read the text in the Greek without a lexicon.

I generally see Loeb books as investments, due to their high costs. This is one investment that has paid off for me. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Oedipus the King, Ajax, or Electra (although let's be honest: you probably want this more for Oedipus the King than for the other two plays).

Excellent edition.......2006-09-06

Very good translation and excellent hardbound edition of some of the best plays ever written.

oedipus tyrannus.......2005-07-10

This play is a fantastic view at what some ancient people in Athens thought about their leader Pericles. I love this play, and can only justify Loeb Classics as the best text. I challenge anyone to read this play and not feel a strange need to wickedly laugh out loud as the story unfolds.

Reading for Enjoyment.......2005-06-06

I honestly enjoyed reading these plays. Especially the first and third. The translation is easy to read and flows really well. I picked these up to supplement some lines of study that I'm pursuing but ended up enjoying them in their own right and for the purposes natural to them. These are not dusty old dry plays - exactly the opposite - these are vibrant introductions to the ancient greek world. I highly recommend you read these - and I recommend this edition and most especially the wonderful translation.

Excellent.......2002-06-01

Sophocles is the master of Greek drama and a master at contstructing a plot. Antigone is excellent and turns into an amazing story that leaves you rethinking just who the "tragic hero" of the play is. Oedipus at Colonus is perhaps the saddest play of the so called "Oedipus Cycle". Yet, in a way, it has a very redeeming end. This is a great edition because, of course like all the Loeb series, it also has the Greek.

Sophocles, 1 : Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes (Penn Greek Drama Series)

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hmmm.

Sophocles, 1 : Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes (Penn Greek Drama Series)
Sophocles , Smith Palmer Bovie , and Armand Schwerner
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Greek & Roman | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Tragedy | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classical & Early | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Greek | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0812234456

Customer Reviews:

hmmm........2000-02-16

These stroies are worth reading,but the translations in this book are fairly bland. In fact, the translation for Ajax is pretty bad. I don't think I've ever seen the word twinkie used in a Greek trajedy before. I would recomend picking up other versions of these plays.

Sophocles II : Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes

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Sophocles II : Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes
David; Lattimor, Richmond Sophocles ; Grene
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MX2E4K

Women of Trachis (Greek Tragedy in New Translations)

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New Translations
Thoughtful translation with exceptional additional material
Perhaps the poorest of Sophocles' plays.

Women of Trachis (Greek Tragedy in New Translations)
Sophocles
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Greek & Roman | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Greek | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0195070097

Book Description

Mutability; uncertainty; a universe of precipitous change: these themes are at the heart of Sophocles' tragic vision. But nowhere are they elaborated with more urgency than in Women of Trachis. There are no subtle shifts of Fortune's favors in this tragedy, only stunning and total reversals, a relentless spinning of her fickle wheel. Thesis moves to crushing antithesis with an unparalleled violence at the moment of transformation. Thought to have been written about 440 BC, midway through the poet's career, Women of Trachis has long suffered from neglect by scholars despite its sophistication and raw energy. This translation at last rescues the immense lyrical power and tragic grandeur of the play from obscurity, restoring the music of a poetry originally meant to be sung and danced collectively.

Customer Reviews:

New Translations.......2003-06-10

This is a stunningly beautiful translation of what is often thought to be Sophocles' weakest work. Captivating and lyrical, it paints beautifully the tragic tale of Hercules' death at the unwitting hands of his wife. The best, most poetic translation of a classic text I've ever read.

Thoughtful translation with exceptional additional material.......2000-04-08

Pound's translation is engaging, even if this is not the best of Sophocles's plays. This translation is historically important, however, in its advocation of drawing people back to the classics through lively and modern translations that go beyond strict literalism. Pound famously translates a line with a reference to concrete, and it works well in the play while being close to the ancient Greek. While not being literal, Pound captures the essence. This approach was more revolutionary in the 1950s than today, although it remains controversial.

For those interested in Pound, definer of the modern movement in literature, man who revised Eliot and brought Joyce to acclaim, this is a vital volume. The foreword, introduction, and two afterwords deal (along with Pound's radical philosophy of translation) with Pound's imprisonment following World War II, during which he was in Italy and speaking for the fascist government. How to interpret this and even the level of intensity of fascism are long-pondered questions. After the war, he was kept in a cage in Italy ("and when it rained, it rained on old Pound") and then in a mental hospital where he was treated poorly. The material additional to the play largely deals with his then-present situation in the hospital, and is at times quite moving as well as being historically informative.

This is not a volume for classical literalists; this is, however, a wonderful volume for humanistic readers of the classics as well as for those interested in this brilliant, though (or perhaps resultantly) mad, crucial (but increasingly overlooked) figure of the modern age.

Perhaps the poorest of Sophocles' plays........1999-06-17

In this play, considered by many critics to be the poorest of the seven extant plays of Sophocles (the speaches are too long and the development of the play is awkward), the wife of Heracles, Deianira, unknowingly sends a poisoned robe to her husband who has finally completed his labors. She is also concerned that she has allowed a rival for the affections of her husband to enter her household. Hercules has sent the captive Iole to Deianira. As Hercules lies dying, he orders his son Hyllus to marry Iole. Does Hercules truly love Iole? Even when dying, he is concerned for her future.

Sophocles II: Ajax; Trans. By David Grene. the Women of Trachis; Trans. By Michael Jameson. Electra; Trans. By David Grene. Philoctetes; Trans. By

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Sophocles II: Ajax; Trans. By David Grene. the Women of Trachis; Trans. By Michael Jameson. Electra; Trans. By David Grene. Philoctetes; Trans. By

Manufacturer: University of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Oresteia

ASIN: B000FMP48Q

Electra and Other Plays (Electra; Ajax; Women of Trachis; Philoctetes)

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Electra and Other Plays (Electra; Ajax; Women of Trachis; Philoctetes)
Sophocles
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M4T758

FOUR PLAYS BY SOPHOCLES Ajax Women of Trachis Electra Philoctetes

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FOUR PLAYS BY SOPHOCLES Ajax Women of Trachis Electra Philoctetes
Theodore Howard Sophocles; Banks
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PRK350

Four plays: Ajax; The women of Trachis; Electra; Philoctetes

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Four plays: Ajax; The women of Trachis; Electra; Philoctetes
Sophocles
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007DRICS

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Sophocles & Women of Trachis

Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GLTVTY

Sophocles ELECTRA And Other Plays Philoctetes, Women of Trachis, Electra, Ajax

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Sophocles ELECTRA And Other Plays Philoctetes, Women of Trachis, Electra, Ajax

Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I1Q3C0

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