Discovery

The goal of Discovery: Science as a Window to the World isto relay the excitement of sciene by exploring selected topics inbiology and medicine in a way that reveals the process ofdiscovery. Each chapter will focus on the curiosity and creativitythat drives scientists to wonder, observe, question and experiment. One impetus for this project is the recognition of a growingdemand among instructors for a book that departs from fact-stuffedtextbooks and instead engages students in the discovery process ata personal level. * * Emphasizes the process of discovery through interviews and keyexperiments. * Written by a best-selling author. * Provides an in-depth, conversational look at the science behindseveral "hot topics" in biology. * Each chapter traces the beginnings of the field with stories ofhow serendipity and scientific inquiry intertwine. * Presents the background to a field by including the scientificliterature-so the reader does not have to do a literature search orplow through a review article. * Many essays introduce the work of overlooked scientists or"unsung heroes." Alexey Olovnikov (telomeres), Leroy Steven (stemcells), to name a few. * Also, well-known scientists are interviewed: Stanley Miller,Carl Woese, John Gearhart, and others. * The essays show how ideas interact and coalesce from differentlines of research. * Highlights the role of the media in interpreting science forthe public.