Description
In recent times, the boundary between living and non-living has been blurred by advances in genomics, cell biology, and molecular neuroscience, whereby humans are repaired, enhanced, or made anew. Scientists and physicians are now able to keep cells, organs, and bodies alive indefinitely and can return cells or DNA to our bodies and make new cells for the purpose of treating disease or growing new tissue. Meanwhile, transhuman technologies create illusions of immortality. Immortal: Our Cells, DNA, and Bodies synthesizes what we know about life and death from a genetic, molecular, and cellular perspective, demarcates limits of knowledge, and poses new questions. Award-winning researcher and writer David Goldman examines in-depth three keys to understanding the nature and continuity of life: 1) epigenetic (ephemeral) vs genetic (durable) transgenerational memory; 2) life's cellular nature, and the ability to make bodies from cells; and 3) the distinction between bodies and persons. Grounded in recent scientific evidence and real-life cases that test our historical understanding of life and death, Goldman probes the nature of molecular continuity in the face of mortal extinction, encompassing how changes to the DNA code can be both long-lasting and transgenerational, and the continuous nature of cellular and molecular information transmission. In tying these themes together, Immortal asks us to apply fresh scientific concepts to examine, for ourselves, the continuity of being in the face of mortality.
About the Author
Dr. David Goldman received his B.S. from Yale University in 1974. He received his M.D. degree in 1978 and completed residency training in psychiatry in 1979, both at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Goldman joined the NIAAA in 1979 and has been chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics since 1991. Throughout his career, Dr. Goldman has focused on the identification of genetic factors responsible for inherited differences in behavior. His laboratory is currently exploring the genetics of alcoholism, substance abuse, and related health problems.
Reviews
"This would be an ideal volume for senior capstone courses in science and society courses in liberal arts colleges. He shows how an emergence arises as we shift life science from the molecule to the macromolecule, organelle, gene, chromosome, cell, individual, species, population, and to ecosystems and evolution. He explores the concepts of life and death through folklore, golems, vampires, androids, artificial intelligence, and literature (Franken-stein) as well as raises the inherent contradistinction of "killing the dead." Goldman also explores the problems of personhood as event or process, the struggles of theologians looking for distinctions between soul and self-awareness, and whether sperm and eggs are alive and thus have personhood or lack it. Unlike science, where components and processes are explained as excursions into physical reality, Goldman forces readers to reflect on the status of "half-life," as he designates viruses, prions, and transposons in biology." --The Quarterly Review of Biology "There is little to which to compare this book. It offers a uniquely modern perspective on age-old questions surrounding life and death, and treads new ground in terms of concepts of cellular mortality and immortality. It is as much moral philosophy as modern science from an author who is capable of writing from both perspectives. It is recommended for the contemplative thinker interested in exploring the meaning of life and death." -- (c)Doody's Review Service, 2021, Mark F. Sanders, PhD, reviewer, expert opinion "In his new book, Goldman - not only a first-rank neuroscientist but also a first-rank writer - provides a fresh and fascinating view on the self and the soul, the brain and the body. A must-read for scientists and society." --Katharina Domschke, Chair and Full Professor of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg, Germany "Reading David Goldman's Immortal is much like listening to a trusted older brother explaining how life, death, epigenetic research and a myriad of other things all tie together. It's full of color and anecdote but at the same time informed by science and a profound understanding of the subject. The tone is casual but still conveys a quiet sense of magic and wonder," --Rickard L Sjoeberg, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Umea University, "Dr. David Goldman tackles life's essential issues - the self, the meaning of life, and the inevitability of death - in this truly evocative and informative volume. Written by one of the nation's leading genomic scientists, the book combines personal vignettes with cutting edge scientific data to provide empathic yet highly rational perspectives on these complex and vexing questions. A tour de force by a brilliant and illuminating writer." --Anil K. Malhotra, M.D., The Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Book Information
ISBN 9780323856928
Author David Goldman
Format Paperback
Page Count 204
Imprint Academic Press Inc
Publisher Elsevier Science & Technology
Weight(grams) 430g
About the Author
Dr. David Goldman received his B.S. from Yale University in 1974. He received his M.D. degree in 1978 and completed residency training in psychiatry in 1979, both at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Goldman joined the NIAAA in 1979 and has been chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics since 1991. Throughout his career, Dr. Goldman has focused on the identification of genetic factors responsible for inherited differences in behavior. His laboratory is currently exploring the genetics of alcoholism, substance abuse, and related health problems.
Reviews
"This would be an ideal volume for senior capstone courses in science and society courses in liberal arts colleges. He shows how an emergence arises as we shift life science from the molecule to the macromolecule, organelle, gene, chromosome, cell, individual, species, population, and to ecosystems and evolution. He explores the concepts of life and death through folklore, golems, vampires, androids, artificial intelligence, and literature (Franken-stein) as well as raises the inherent contradistinction of "killing the dead." Goldman also explores the problems of personhood as event or process, the struggles of theologians looking for distinctions between soul and self-awareness, and whether sperm and eggs are alive and thus have personhood or lack it. Unlike science, where components and processes are explained as excursions into physical reality, Goldman forces readers to reflect on the status of "half-life," as he designates viruses, prions, and transposons in biology." --The Quarterly Review of Biology "There is little to which to compare this book. It offers a uniquely modern perspective on age-old questions surrounding life and death, and treads new ground in terms of concepts of cellular mortality and immortality. It is as much moral philosophy as modern science from an author who is capable of writing from both perspectives. It is recommended for the contemplative thinker interested in exploring the meaning of life and death." -- (c)Doody's Review Service, 2021, Mark F. Sanders, PhD, reviewer, expert opinion "In his new book, Goldman - not only a first-rank neuroscientist but also a first-rank writer - provides a fresh and fascinating view on the self and the soul, the brain and the body. A must-read for scientists and society." --Katharina Domschke, Chair and Full Professor of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg, Germany "Reading David Goldman's Immortal is much like listening to a trusted older brother explaining how life, death, epigenetic research and a myriad of other things all tie together. It's full of color and anecdote but at the same time informed by science and a profound understanding of the subject. The tone is casual but still conveys a quiet sense of magic and wonder," --Rickard L Sjoeberg, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Umea University, "Dr. David Goldman tackles life's essential issues - the self, the meaning of life, and the inevitability of death - in this truly evocative and informative volume. Written by one of the nation's leading genomic scientists, the book combines personal vignettes with cutting edge scientific data to provide empathic yet highly rational perspectives on these complex and vexing questions. A tour de force by a brilliant and illuminating writer." --Anil K. Malhotra, M.D., The Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Book Information
ISBN 9780323856928
Author David Goldman
Format Paperback
Page Count 204
Imprint Academic Press Inc
Publisher Elsevier Science & Technology
Weight(grams) 430g
