Like a Virgin
How Science is Redesigning the Rules of Sex
1st Edition
Published on 1. August 2012
288 pages
978-1-78074-067-6 (ISBN)
Description
Most cultures tell the tale of a maiden who gives birth untouched by a man, and in the wild there are plenty of creatures - turkeys, Komodo 'dragons', and the 'Jesus Christ' lizard (which even walks on water) - that take various approaches to making babies without having sex. Soon, humans will have that option, too.
In Like a Virgin, biologist and science writer Aarathi Prasad examines inconceivable ideas about conception, from a Renaissance recipe for creating a child (bury semen in manure for forty days) to the search for a real-life virgin mother in the 1950s. She then takes us to maverick, cutting-edge labs that are today inventing sex-less reproduction, from manufactured eggs to artificial wombs and beyond. Like a Virgin delivers an astonishing exploration of the mysteries of sex and evolution - past, present, and future.
In Like a Virgin, biologist and science writer Aarathi Prasad examines inconceivable ideas about conception, from a Renaissance recipe for creating a child (bury semen in manure for forty days) to the search for a real-life virgin mother in the 1950s. She then takes us to maverick, cutting-edge labs that are today inventing sex-less reproduction, from manufactured eggs to artificial wombs and beyond. Like a Virgin delivers an astonishing exploration of the mysteries of sex and evolution - past, present, and future.
Reviews / Votes
"Think of her as the female equivalent of Brian Cox making science accessible for the masses... Entertaining and provocative, this promises to change the way you think about sex." * Stylist * "A fascinating examination of a future that may not be too distant, as well as an account of historical misconceptions about conception." * Kirkus Reviews * "[Prasad's] elegantly written romp through the science and history of conception is conceivably as much fun as you'll ever have thinking about sex without working up a sweat." * Publishers Weekly *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
File size
0,40 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-78074-067-6 (9781780740676)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
08/2012
Oneworld Publications
€36.11
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Book
08/2012
Oneworld Publications
€36.11
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Aarathi Prasad is a biologist and science writer. She has appeared on TV and radio programmes, including as presenter of Channel 4's controversial Is It Better to Be Mixed Race? and Brave New World with Stephen Hawking. Previously a cancer genetics researcher at Imperial College London, she subsequently moved out of the lab and into the worlds of science communication and policy, in areas including the passage in the UK Parliament of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. A single mother, Dr Prasad lives in London.
Content
- Intro
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Dedication page
- Prologue: Conceiving the Inconceivable
- Part I. The Myth of the Natural Birth
- 1 Planting the Seed
- 2 The Story of Safe Sex
- 3 Desperately Seeking a Virgin Birth
- 4 The Concert in the Egg
- 5 Secrets of the Womb
- Part II. A New Way of Making Babies
- 6 Out of the Test Tube
- 7 Out of Time
- 8 Real Men Bear Children
- 9 Going Solo
- Epilogue: Next Generation
- Selected Bibliography
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
