A short biography of a creature that changed science. There's a buzz in the air, the sound of a billion wings vibrating to the tune of scientific success. For generations, the fruit fly has been defining biology's major landmarks. From genetics to development, behavior to aging, and evolution to the origin of the species, it has been a key and, outside academic circles, an unaccredited player in some of the twentieth century's greatest biological discoveries. In fact, everything from gene therapy to cloning and the Human Genome Project is built on the foundation of fruit fly research. This witty, irreverent biography of the fruit fly provides a broad introduction to biology as well as a glimpse into how one short life has informed scientific views on such things as fundamentals of heredity, battle of the sexes, and memory.

Fly: The Unsung Hero of Twentieth-Century Science

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Brookes, Martin

Psychology & Counseling

Ecco

There's a buzz in the air, the sound of a billion wings vibrating to the tune of scientific success. In biology labs across the world, fruit flies are turning up answers to some of the basic questions of life. It's business as usual for the fly, which for generations has been defining biology's major landmarks. From genetics to development, behavior to aging, and evolution to the origin of species, the fruit fly has been a key player in some of the twentieth century's greatest biological discoveries.
Techniques to pinpoint genes that play a role in human disease depend on genetic mapmaking principles first established with the fly. It was experiments on fruit flies that opened our eyes to the dangers of radiation to human health. In fact, everything from gene therapy to cloning to the Human Genome Project is built on the foundation of fruit fly research. Despite its many achievements, the fruit fly remains an unsung hero in the history of science. At last, here is a book that gives the fly its long overdue credit.
In a highly original, witty, and irreverent style, Martin Brookes takes us through successive stages in the life cycle of the fly, each illustrating an important concept in biology. Some, such as the fundamentals of heredity, are well established; others, such as sexual warfare, learning, and memory, are still in their infancy. But whether flies are getting high on crack cocaine, enjoying the pleasures and pains of a boozy night out, being trained by punishment and reward, or struggling with insomnia, this book provides a glimpse of how one short life has informed almost every aspect of human existence. The result is a broad introduction to biology with insights into the practical realities of science.
Often dismissed as irrelevant outside academic circles, the fruit fly, through this distinctive biography, will come to be recognized for what it really is: an icon of twentieth-century science and a window on our own biological world.

Fly: The Unsung Hero of Twentieth Century Science

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Fly: An Experimental Life

Weidenfeld&Nicolson

Genetics (Get A Grip On ...)

Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Part of the What's the Big Idea? series focusing on popular current issues and ideas. The book explains both the scientific and the ethical sides of genetics, and aims to give an easy-to-grasp picture of this relatively new and developing science. It attempts to make the topic relevant to the individual reader and takes a global look at the social, political, and ethical issues involved. Topics covered include fertility and selection, cloning, genetically altered vegetables, gene therapy, and possible future outcomes of this controversial science.

Genetics (What's the Big Idea?)

Children's Books

Literature & Fiction

Hodder&Stoughton

First it was just the stuff of scifi, from Spiderman to Swarm. "Mutant" called to mind Frankenstein and Ninja Turtles. But with the successful cloning of Molly the sheep, genetics leapt from laboratories and Hollywood

Get a Grip on Genetics

Evolution

Time-Life Education

Extreme Measures : The Dark Visions and Bright Ideas of Francis Galton

BLOOMSBURY

FLY: THE UNSUNG HERO OF TWENTIETH CENTURY SCIENCE

Phoenix_Press

Fly: The Unsung Hero of 20Th-Century Science

Diane Pub Co.

"Count wherever you can" was the motto of Sir Francis Galton's extraordinary life. His measuring mind left its mark all over the scientific landscape. Explorer, inventor, meteorologist, psychologist, anthropologist, and statistician, Galton was one of the great Victorian polymaths. And his obsessive quest for knowledge extended far beyond conventional fields of learning. He turned tea-making into a theoretical science, counted the brush strokes on his portrait, and created a beauty map of the British Isles, ranking its cities on the basis of their feminine allure. But it was in the fledgling field of genetics that he made his most indelible impression. Galton kick-started the enduring nature/nurture debate and took hereditary determinism to its darkest extreme, dreaming of a future society built on a race of pure-breeding supermen. 
Through this colorful biography, Martin Brookes examines Galton's scientific legacy and takes us on a fascinating journey to the origins of modern human genetics.

Extreme Measures: The Dark Visions and Bright Ideas of Francis Galton

Bloomsbury USA

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