Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions--A New Biological Principle of Disease Hardcover – April 29, 2014
Author: Visit Amazon's Stanley B. Prusiner Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0300191146 | Format: PDF, EPUB
Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions--A New Biological Principle of Disease – April 29, 2014
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Review
"Perhaps not since James D. Watson’s 1968 memoir The Double Helix has the down and dirty business of world-class science been given such an airing . . . We are free to enjoy the spectacle of top gladiators at work in an utterly fascinating arena."—Abigail Zuger, M.D., New York Times
(Abigail Zuger, M.D. New York Times)“Stanley Prusiner is a brilliant scientist whose boldness and tenacity enabled him, against all odds and despite near-universal skepticism, to discover and prove the importance of a new class of disease-producing agents—prions—a discovery as fundamental as that of bacteria and viruses. Prions, by subverting the brain’s own proteins, may play a crucial role in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases—and perhaps afford a clue to their prevention. Madness and Memory is the story of one of the most important discoveries in recent medical history, and it is also a vivid and compelling portrait of a life in science.”—Oliver Sacks
(Oliver Sacks 2013-10-11)"A wonderful account of the multiple obstacles confronted by Stanley Prusiner as he transformed an unconventional hypothesis into one of the greatest discoveries of modern science."—Robert J. Alpern, M.D., Dean, Yale University School of Medicine
(Robert J. Alpern 2013-09-23)“A strikingly meticulous book and a powerful effort from the heart to tell a large truth in a personal tale.”—Herman Wouk, author of The Winds of War and War and Remembrance
(Herman Wouk 2013-10-01)“A unique story, yet many elements will be familiar to scientists in competitive fields. It is a cautionary tale about how vicious science can be, but . . . it could also encourage others to stick to their beliefs and rely on careful science as they meet obstacles.”— Ellen Daniell, author of Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists
(Ellen Daniell 2013-06-28)“Represents a unique and important contribution.”—Daniel P. Perl, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
(Daniel P. Perl 2013-08-28)“. . . the story hinges on Prusiner’s discovery of prions, ‘a new biological principle of disease’. It is a remarkable tale . . . [a] testament to the staggering intellect and courage involved in one of the most exciting discoveries since the DNA double helix.”—Giovanna Mallucci, Nature
(Giovanna Mallucci Nature)"Prusiner does not give us the idealistic, sanitized picture of modern scientific research where cooperation and collaboration are commonplace. Rather, the author shows science today as it really is: competitive, crowded with too many people trying to get funding, involving sometimes massive egos at play instead of the search for truth, and rife with naysayers’ refusal to accept new ideas in spite of the data. Prusiner shows the science game as it is too often played today, and we are all better for his sharing."—Donald F. Calbreath, New York Journal of Books
(Donald F. Calbreath New York Journal of Books)"Madness and Memory is a fascinating account of scientific research, discovery, and controversy that will be of interest to many readers within neurology and neuroscience, as well as anyone drawn to the creative process."—Neurology Today
(Christopher M. Filley Neurology Today) About the Author
Stanley Prusiner, M.D., is director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. The recipient of an array of scientific honors, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1997. He lives in San Francisco.
Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions--A New Biological Principle of Disease Hardcover – April 29, 2014
- Hardcover: 344 pages
- Publisher: Yale University Press; 1 edition (April 29, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0300191146
- ISBN-13: 978-0300191141
- Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Basic Sciences > Biochemistry
- #21 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Basic Sciences > Neuroscience
- #23 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Clinical > Diseases
The prion story changed our understanding of neurological disease, not only the infectious type {CJD, "mad cow"}, but also the common Alzheimer's dementia. The key to this revolution was realization of the importance of the folding of amino-acid chains for the correct function of proteins and how this could change in disease.
Looking back, it seems curious how resistant the scientific community was to this idea. The fact that proteins had four levels of structure {the amino-acid sequence coded by the gene, the hydrogen bonding, the folding, and the fitting together of separate chains into dimers, trimers, etc} was basic: I learned this in medical school 50 years ago. But the dogma insisted that if something pathologically significant was wrong with a protein, it could only come from the gene, the DNA coding for the amino-acid sequence. And dogma is very had to displace. Anyone advancing a radically new idea will not merely have their data and interpretations challenged: they will be subject to vilification and personal attack.
For the lay reader, this book will give telling insight into the pettiness, and downright viciousness, of scientists competing in a high-profile area. Those of us who are practising scientists ourselves will by-and-large be aware of the sabotage and dirty dealing which is commonplace in scientific politics, so the book will not shock us. Instead, it will give an inspiring insight into how a person with dogged persistence can eventually succeed by sticking to his convictions and answering every criticism with solid data from rigorous experiments.
The writing of the book has attracted comment from some reviewers. It is not up to the standard of literary fiction, but fully adequate to the task of conveying a tale about science.
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