s-e-x and the Origins of Death (pa-perback)
by William R. Clark (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Despite its provocative title,
s-e-x & the Origins of Death is not as sensationalistic as it sounds. William R. Clark is a professor of immunology at UCLA, and his avowed intention is to enlighten his readers rather than to frighten or titillate. Drawing on his broad knowledge of the cellular systems that make up our bodies and the medical and ethical arguments on the nature of death, he presents a compelling tale of the evolution of s-e-x and death interwoven with a story of a man experiencing a heart attack. This juxtaposition humanizes the discussion and grounds the reader firmly in day-to-day reality, even when considering such bizarre topics as immortal bacteria and Sea Monkey spores. Clark covers the development of s-e-x in microorganisms and how this novelty may have guaranteed the inevitability of death (though perhaps not that of taxes). From this level of thinking, he changes quickly to 20th-century American law, which has pondered the question of death at great length as our scientific prowess has enabled us to maintain deeply traumatized individuals in persistent vegetative states, presumably free from conscious awareness of any kind. Now that death has become a matter of opinion, Clark insists that we pay careful attention to it, both as scientists and as human beings.
s-e-x & the Origins of Death is a great place to start.
--Rob Lightner
From Booklist
Billions of years ago, single cells lived, died, and disintegrated. As cells grew larger and multicellular creatures evolved, s-e-xual reproduction entered the picture, and somatic (body) cells had to protect the DNA in the germ cells until it could duplicate itself and continue to exist, at which point the particular somatic cells were no longer needed. Clark points out that there are two basic types of death, one caused by accident or necrosis, and the other caused by suicide or programmed cell death. The latter, apoptosis, was discovered and named just 24 years ago, and much of the information Clark draws on has been more recently discovered. Nature sees no difference between the deaths of brain, liver, or foot cells, but human beings evaluate their minds and bodies in a less impartial manner. Accordingly, Clark explores some of the social, philosophical, and religious aspects of human beings in his lucid, thought-provoking work that concludes that, in the long view, humans differ not at all from other living creatures.
William Beatty --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details
- pa-perback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 11, 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0195121198
- ISBN-13: 978-0195121193
- Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
