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The Best American Science Writing 2007 (Best American Science Writing) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Gina Kolata, Jesse Cohen
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 47346
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0061345776
Dewey Decimal Number: 808
EAN: 9780061345777
ASIN: 0061345776
Publication Date: September 1, 2007
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Product Description
Provocative and engaging, this collection brings together the premiere science writing of the year. Featuring the imprimatur of bestselling author and New York Times reporter Gina Kolata, one of the nation's foremost voices in science and medicine, and with contributions from Atul Gawande, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Oliver Sacks, among others, The Best American Science Writing 2007 is a compelling anthology of our most advanced, and most relevant, scientific inquiries.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 If you're interested in . . . April 10, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
. . . advances in medical knowledge and therapies, then this is the book for you. Not surprisingly, the Internet is increasing knowledge of the conditions that beset us. One of these, once thought to be only another unfortunate result of strokes, is now known to be more widespread. Joshua David's article on prosopagnosia - "face blindness" - reveals how people who cannot recognise faces, any faces, need not be victims of strokes. Face blindness can be congenital, and one estimate puts its prevalence up to six million people in the US alone. Another condition, Alzheimer's, is also undergoing expanded study, as Stacey Burling's essay follows. Post-mortem brain examination has been the only way to develop diagnostic tools. Recent work is providing new ways of learning if the disease has become established, allowing earlier treatment. Depression victims are also being relieved of symptoms through a method related to heart pacemakers as described by David Dobbs in "Depression Switch".
. . . progress in basic physics or mathematics, there are articles on the latest thinking and experiments. Tyler Cabot's "Theory of Everything" relates the "fool's errand" by those on that seemingly hopeless quest. Another apparently fruitless task was the solution of the famous Poncaire's conjecture - a century-old proposition with implications for both mathematics and cosmology. In an article about a bizarre mathematician, David Gruber and Sylvia Nasar relate the story of Field Medal [mathematics' Nobel Prize] winner Grigory Perelman. Jonathon Keats finds another application for numeric calculations in his essay on a computer-based "invention machine". Yet another article on numbers, more practical and, to some, useful is presented by Patricia Gadsby in "Cooking for Eggheads".
. . . the latest discoveries on prehistoric life, then Barry Yeoman's article, "Schweitzer's Dangerous Discovery" will capture your attention. In the fossil bones of a long extinct Tyrannosaurus rex, Mary Schweitzer teased out remnants of soft tissue. The discovery raised questions about a real-life "Jurassic Park", but it also stirred the "Christian Creationist" community to declare the fossils weren't as ancient as palaeontologists had long declared. Attempts to discredit the "dangerous idea of" Charles Darwin are endemic in the US and in Dover, Pennsylvania those efforts came to a new head. In "God of Gorilla", Matthew Chapman relates the events surrounding an attempt to inject "creationism" into a local school system.
. . . just what science is all about, then Oliver Sacks, always a compelling read, explains some interesting studies on vision in "Stereo Sue". An unexpected relationship between economics and how we make decisions is explored in "Mind Games" by John Cassidy. An attention-grabbing mix of cognitive science and values, the article is worth anybody's review. A topic of increasing interest, climate change, is dealt with in two captivating articles. "Butterfly Lessons" relates how various forms of life are appearing in unexpected places due to warming trends. Yet, some of the research on climate change is being challenged as William J. Broad explains.
The "Best American Science Writing" series is always a fruitful addition to any library shelf. This volume is no exception. Gina Kolata is to be congratulated on her selection, as are each of the writers represented here. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
 Best American Science Writing 2007 March 10, 2008
BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE WRITING 2007 EDITED BY GINA KOLATA: Since this is the "best American science writing" of the year, you know it's going to be good. What's amazing is the variety of subject matter that just the term "science" covers. The result is a collection of incredible articles covering the latest discoveries and breakthroughs in the many different fields of science.
While this collection may not be for the average person who has little-to-no knowledge of science - some background is necessary - the beauty of a collection of articles, like a collection of short stories, is if you don't like the particular article or find it too complicated, you can simply skip to the next. The first article, "The Theory of Everything" by Tyler Cabot covers the completion next year of a vastly superior particle accelerator in Switzerland. With the results from this giant machine, physics and science may be advanced greatly, with astonishing discoveries made. Cabot talks about this new device, as well as providing a summary of the important theories in science right now proposing possible answers to the famous Unification Theory: the theory linking relativity and quantum mechanics, or in Douglas Adams's words: "Life, the Universe, and Everything."
Robin Marantz Henig provides the latest ideas and technology on telling whether someone is lying or not in "Looking for the Lie." Joshua Davis discusses the unique condition of prosopagnosia, or "face blindness." A lot of people don't even realize they have it; some develop it after a severe head wound or a stroke. It is a condition where the person simply does not recognize faces at all, as if they are blank pages that mean nothing to that person. The people suffering from this condition often have to use clues like clothes and the sound of a voice to recognize a person. But now with online groups linking these people together, breakthroughs are being made, as science goes one step closer to finding out the root cranial cause of this condition.
In "A Depression Switch," David Dobbs talks about a new technique for helping patients who suffer from a form of depression so severe that no medication will help, and they are left with no choice but to remain in a padded cell. The procedure involves implanting tiny electrodes to a specific point in the brain, known as Area 25, attached to a small pacemaker that emits a minute four-volt charge. Miraculously, patients feel the depression go away, and whatever was missing in their lives returns instantly. It really seems to act like a switch and be as simple as that. With almost twenty patients, the new procedure is very much still in its infant stages, but could one day be a successful cure to this form of severe depression.
Oliver Sacks, Elizabeth Kolbert, Sylvia Nasar and Atul Gawande are just a few of the authors whose articles are featured in this collection, running the gamut from space and the universe, to mathematics, to neuroscience, to global warming and environmental awareness, to what science aids on blockbuster movies like The Hulk actually do. The Best American Science Writing 2007 will teach you things you never even knew were being studied, as well as give you hope that there are still many people out there working to make this place a better world.
For more reviews, please to go www.alexctelander.com.
A good selection, somewhat skewed toward neurology. February 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I thought this year's volume was quite a bit better than usual - hence the fourth star. The selection is distinctly skewed in favor of various neurological topics, with relatively fewer environmental and ecological pieces, but the high quality of the results vindicates the chosen emphasis, in my view. Among the topics covered:
* neurological research pertaining to:
- lie detection
- face recognition
- stereoscopic vision
- Alzheimer's disease
- depression
- financial decision-making
* new surgical methods for the treatment of brain aneurysms
* medical ethics (3 articles by Jerome Groopman, Atul Gawande, and Lawrence Altman)
* climate change (2 articles by Elizabeth Kolbert and William Broad)
* the fallout from the falsification of data
* the Dover, Pa 'intelligent design' trial
* string theory
* genetic computing algorithms
* molecular gastronomy
* Hollywood's 'science guru'
* the unseemly squabbling for credit that lay behind the recent resolution of one of mathematics' deepest questions, the Poincare conjecture.
My top three choices: Robin Marantz Henig's excellent piece "Looking for the Lie", Matthew Chapman's "God or Gorilla", and the fascinating piece by Sylvia Nasar and David Gruber on the solution of the Poincare conjecture ("Manifold Destiny").
One might wish that the editor of this year's collection, Gina Kolata, had cast a wider net in soliciting articles - the great majority of contributions are from The New Yorker or The New York Times. But this is a minor criticism of an excellent, and stimulating, anthology.
 The selection is a bit disappointing... January 18, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was not so impressed with this book, for two reasons: (1) the science itself was not explained very well. Some of the essays had a "gee whiz" tone. (2) Many of the essays were more about the personal lives and politics of the university or field of study, than about the science itself. Finally, some of the essays were from picture-filled magazines, such as Discover, but this compilation had no pictures to wonder and marvel at.
I believe this book is drawn from Houghton-Mifflin's successful experience with The Best Short Stories... and The Best Essays. I found it lacking in specificity.
An exciting, eloquent, eclectic collection January 3, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
From the Theory of Everything to the perfect "boiled" egg and the pursuit of the infallible lie detector, this year's compilation of science essays carries, as usual, a high Wow factor.
Showcasing cutting-edge science for the curious reader, the pieces come mostly from general publications and cover the gamut of human innovation and discovery. What all these pieces have in common is fabulous, enthusiastic writing and a focus on the people driving the work.
Neurological science is heavily represented, as new brain imaging technologies allow greater insight into how the brain fires, misfires, and does what it does. Experiments testing what portions of the brain react during various emotions and activities allow scientists to develop new methods of treatment, directed at particular areas of the brain.
In "A Depression Switch?" David Dobbs ("New York Times Magazine") profiles a woman whose profound, resistant depression left her feeling disconnected from what mattered most in her life - her family. This feeling of loss was instantly lifted during brain surgery (yes, while awake!) involving electrical stimulation of a section of the brain. But don't throw away your Prozac just yet - the operation costs $40,000 and some doctors remain skeptical of its longterm benefits.
"Looking for the Lie," Robin Marantz Henig's ("New York Times Magazine") survey of state-of-the-art lie detection, explores the latest brain mapping techniques - which can actually expose a lie before the person speaks it - as well as the almost as scary, easily teacheable, low-tech system of reading involuntary "microexpressions" on anyone's face. This Facial Action Coding System was developed by psychologist Paul Eckman who insists he would never use his expertise on his family. But scarier yet is the response Eckman got when he offered his system to federal agencies after 9/11. He was turned down, one person stating, " ` I can't support anything unless it ends in a machine doing it.' "
Understanding the mind on money is the new province of neuroeconomists using brain imaging to track what happens when people make irrational economic choices. John Cassidy's first-person "Mind Games" ("The New Yorker") shows how emotions and logic battle each other from different corners of the brain.
Brain mapping is also helping doctors understand the strange disorder of prosopagnosia - the inability to recognize faces. In "Face Blind," Joshua Davis ("Wired") profiles several sufferers and their compensations as well as the researcher who all but stumbled on his life's work.
The amazing ability of the brain to go around hurdles is also apparent in "Stereo Sue," Oliver Sacks' ("The New Yorker") profile of a woman who suddenly began to see 3-D in mid-life, never having realized what she was missing.
In "The Score" ("The New Yorker," excerpted from his terrific book "Better"), Atul Gawande shows how the Apgar Score, by allowing nurses to rate a newborn's condition on a numbered scale, transformed infant health by allowing medical professionals to track procedures and their benefits. It also led to the rise in C-sections, often unnecessarily.
Lawrence K. Altman ("The New York Times") profiles the man and the ethical issues involved in 97-year-old heart surgeon Michael DeBakey's amazing recovery from risky heart surgery - a surgery his family insisted on despite his stated refusal to have it. DeBakey was, in the end, glad to have his wishes disregarded.
In "Truth and Consequences," Jennifer Couzin ("Science") shows what happens to the whistle blowers when a research leader falsifies data. In "Schweitzer's Dangerous Discovery" ("Discover"), Barry Yeoman profiles the paleontologist who captured the excitement of Creationists by discovering remnants of tissue in dinosaur bones.
There are two essays which explore global warming from different perspectives, a profile of the man bringing science to Hollywood, a look at the inventor of an inventing computer, a visit with the man who demonstrates that science belongs in the kitchen, an interview with the reclusive mathematician who believes his mind-boggling work is reward enough, and profiles of the scientists whose various theories, if proved, would unite all the contradictory theories of the universe.
Every essay focuses on the people behind the breakthroughs and each essay is seamlessly organized to bring the general reader into the full picture, including dissenting views and possibilities for the future.
This is an exciting, eloquent collection, which will be enjoyed by anyone with a glimmer of curiosity.
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