Sam Kean

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own DNA. In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In The Violinist's Thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future. Genes, freaks, DNA : how do living things pass down traits to their children? -- The near death of Darwin : why did geneticists try to kill natural selection? -- Them's the DNA breaks : how does nature read -- and misread -- DNA? -- The musical scores of DNA : what kinds of information does DNA store? -- DNA vindication : why did life evolve so slowly -- then explode in complexity? -- The survivors, the livers : what's our most ancient and important DNA? -- The Machiavelli microbe : how much human DNA is actually human? -- Love and atavisms : what genes make mammals mammals? -- Humanzees and other near misses : when did humans break away from monkeys, and why? -- Scarlet A's, C's, G's, and T's : why did humans almost go extinct? -- Size matters : how did humans get such grotesquely large brains? -- The art of the gene : how deep in our DNA is artistic genius? -- The past is prologue -- sometimes : what can (and can't) genes teach us about historical heroes? -- Three billion little pieces : why don't humans have more genes than other species? -- Easy come, easy go? : how come identical twins aren't identical? -- Life as we do (and don't) know it : what the heck will happen now? -- Epilogue : genomics gets personal

From the author of the bestseller The Disappearing Spoon, tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience. Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims' personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain's secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible.

It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell.In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe, and across time to tell the story of the air we breathe, which, it turns out, is also the story of earth and our existence on it.With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds on the Senate floor, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding; in fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might well bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation.Tracing the origins and ingredients of our atmosphere, Kean reveals how the alchemy of air reshaped our continents, steered human progress, powered revolutions, and continues to influence everything we do. Along the way, we'll swim with radioactive pigs, witness the most important chemical reactions humans have discovered, and join the crowd at the Moulin Rouge for some of the crudest performance art of all time. Lively, witty, and filled with the astounding science of ordinary life, Caesar's Last Breath illuminates the science stories swirling around us every second.

The gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research. Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses - dubbed the Alsos Mission - and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club.

Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold history of science's darkest secrets, “a fascinating book [that] deserves a wide audience” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn’t everything, it’s the only thing—no matter the cost. Bestselling author Sam Kean tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science, trampling ethical boundaries and often committing crimes in the process.The Icepick Surgeon masterfully guides the reader across two thousand years of history, beginning with Cleopatra’s dark deeds in ancient Egypt. The book reveals the origins of much of modern science in the transatlantic slave trade of the 1700s, as well as Thomas Edison’s mercenary support of the electric chair and the warped logic of the spies who infiltrated the Manhattan Project. But the sins of science aren’t all safely buried in the past. Many of them, Kean reminds us, still affect us today. We can draw direct lines from the medical abuses of Tuskegee and Nazi Germany to current vaccine hesitancy, and connect icepick lobotomies from the 1950s to the contemporary failings of mental-health care. Kean even takes us into the future, when advanced computers and genetic engineering could unleash whole new ways to do one another wrong.Unflinching, and exhilarating to the last page, The Icepick Surgeon fuses the drama of scientific discovery with the illicit thrill of a true-crime tale. With his trademark wit and precision, Kean shows that, while science has done more good than harm in the world, rogue scientists do exist, and when we sacrifice morals for progress, we often end up with neither.

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?* The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. "The Disappearing Spoon" masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, discovery, and alchemy, from the big bang through the end of time. * Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.

L'avvincente racconto di una missione bellico-scientifica tanto misconosciuta quanto decisiva. Solo in certe narrazioni ucronico-distopiche la seconda guerra mondiale viene vinta dalle forze dell'Asse. Ma forse, se la Germania e i suoi alleati fossero giunti a disporre della bomba atomica, l'esito sarebbe stato proprio questo. Non a caso, almeno sino a una certa fase del conflitto, gli Stati Uniti considerarono tale scenario tanto realistico da prestarvi un'attenzione quasi ossessiva, e si spinsero a indagare gli sviluppi del nucleare tedesco con una specifica missione, l'Operazione Alsos. Non meno decisiva che misconosciuta, quella missione viene ora raccontata da Sam Kean, che ne ricostruisce il contesto strategico e scientifico e, soprattutto, evoca con vividezza il team che la guidava: una «brigata» eterogenea e intraprendente composta da militari, scienziati geniali e professionisti vari convertiti in spie, il cui mandato – carpire informazioni e ostacolare i progressi dell'arma nucleare tedesca – non escludeva il ricorso a mezzi estremi, quali il sabotaggio e l'omicidio. Emerge così una galleria di figure memorabili, ognuna a suo modo eroica: dall'ex giocatore di baseball Moe Berg, poliglotta impiegato in alcune delle azioni più delicate, all'aviatore Joe Kennedy junior, fratello maggiore di John Fitzgerald; dal fisico olandese Samuel Goudsmit ai coniugi Irène e Frédéric Joliot-Curie, vincitori del Nobel nel 1935. Fra storia della fisica e spy story, Kean ci offre così il suo libro più serrato e avvincente – al punto che, per lunghi tratti, rischiamo di dimenticare la drammatica realtà storica che contribuisce a decifrare.

Un libro que revela cómo el desenlace de la guerra podría haber sido una nube de hongo sobre Londres, París o Nueva York. Raramente los secretos científicos han sido tan vitales como lo llegaron a ser durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En medio de la planificación del Proyecto Manhattan, la Oficina de Servicios Estratégicos de Estados Unidos ideó un plan secreto: la Operación Alsos, destinada a rastrear y entorpecer las investigaciones sobre energía nuclear llevadas a cabo por las Potencias del Eje. El resultado fue un complot digno del mejor thriller, basado en sabotajes, espionajes y asesinatos. En el corazón de esta misión se encontraba la llamada «brigada de los bastardos», un grupo de soldados, científicos y espías que se infiltraron entre los físicos, químicos y militares alemanes para detener la amenaza más aterradora de la guerra: la bomba nuclear ideada por Hitler. En esta fascinante historia de la batalla por la supremacía atómica destaca no solo el increíble elenco de personajes, sino la capacidad de Sam Kean para mostrarnos las mentes de esos hombres y mujeres que realizaron una de las labores de inteligencia más importante de todos los tiempos.

«Ojalá lo hubiera leído antes de empezar mis clases de química. El autor tiene una capacidad única para captar el lado divertido y fascinante de la disciplina.» Mark Kurlanksy, autor de La sal y El bacalao. La tabla periódica es uno de los logros científicos más importantes de la historia de la humanidad. Pero es, también, un acervo de historias apasionantes, aventuras y obsesiones. Los asombrosos relatos e increíbles sucesos que narra este libro tienen como protagonistas al carbón, el neón, el silicio o el oro, elementos que juegan un papel fundamental en la historia, las finanzas, la mitología, la guerra, la cultura y la vida de los (locos) científicos que los descubrieron. Sabremos que Marie Curie despertaba el recelo de las mujeres de sus colegas, cuando les invitaba al cuarto oscuro a presenciar los experimentos. O que Lewis y Clark fueron dejando cápsulas de mercurio a lo largo de su expedición, aún hoy detectables por el veneno que queda en el terreno. ¿Por qué Ghandi detestaba el yodo? ¿Por qué los japoneses introducían cadmio en los misiles que iban a matar a Godzilla? O, ¿por qué el telurio condujo a la más extraña fiebre del oro? Un libro fascinante que discurre entre la divulgación de la ciencia química y la historia de la humanidad. «Un trayecto idiosincrásico a través de la historia de la ciencia. El autor es un gran narrador con muchas historias que contar. Entretenido e ilustrativo.»