How to grow a human : adventures in how we are made and who we are
(Book)
Author
Published
Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2019.
ISBN
9780226654805, 022665480X
Status
Description
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Bloomingdale Public Library - Nonfiction | 612.028 BAL | On Shelf |
Prairie State College - Stacks | R857.T55 B35 2019 | On Shelf |
More Details
Published
Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2019.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xi, 372 pages ; 24 cm
Language
English
ISBN
9780226654805, 022665480X
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
Description
"Two summers ago, scientists removed a tiny piece of flesh from Philip Ball's arm and turned it into a rudimentary "mini-brain." The skin cells, removed from his body, did not die but were instead transformed into nerve cells that independently arranged themselves into a dense network and communicated with each other, exchanging the raw signals of thought. This was life--but whose? In his most mind-bending book yet, Ball makes that disconcerting question the focus of a tour through what scientists can now do in cell biology and tissue culture. He shows how these technologies could lead to tailor-made replacement organs for when ours fail, to new medical advances for repairing damage and assisting conception, and to new ways of "growing a human." For example, it might prove possible to turn skin cells not into neurons but into eggs and sperm, or even to turn oneself into the constituent cells of embryos. Such methods would also create new options for gene editing, with all the attendant moral dilemmas. Ball argues that such advances can therefore never be about "just the science," because they come already surrounded by a host of social narratives, preconceptions, and prejudices. But beyond even that, these developments raise questions about identity and self, birth and death, and force us to ask how mutable the human body really is--and what forms it might take in years to come." --,Provided by publisher.
Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Ball, P. (2019). How to grow a human: adventures in how we are made and who we are . The University of Chicago Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Ball, Philip, 1962-. 2019. How to Grow a Human: Adventures in How We Are Made and Who We Are. The University of Chicago Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Ball, Philip, 1962-. How to Grow a Human: Adventures in How We Are Made and Who We Are The University of Chicago Press, 2019.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Ball, Philip. How to Grow a Human: Adventures in How We Are Made and Who We Are The University of Chicago Press, 2019.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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