The remarkable account of an extraordinary family of explorers who spurred innovation and accomplished incredible feats—even when the popular consensus was against them. On May 27, 1931, Auguste Piccard became the first human to enter the stratosphere, flying an experimental balloon he invented himself. Thirty years later, his son Jacques went to the bottom of the earth, descending to the Mariana Trench in a submarine built by him and Auguste. To this day, no one has gone deeper. Bertrand, the third generation, was the first person to fly around the world non-stop in a balloon. Now, he’s building his own craft: a solar-powered plane to circumnavigate the globe. In The Explorer Gene, Tom Cheshire asks how three generations of one family achieved such extraordinary feats, often with the consensus against them. None of the Piccards set out to explore: Auguste was a physicist, Jacques an economist and Bertrand a psychiatrist. Was it fate, a famous family name – or their explorer gene?

Originally published: Great Britain: Short Books, 2013.

What’s Your GenoType? GenoType 1 The Hunter Tall, thin, and intense, with an overabundance of adrenaline and a fierce, nervous energy that winds down with age, the Hunter was originally the success story of the human species. Vulnerable to systemic burnout when overstressed, the Hunter’s modern challenge is to conserve energy for the long haul. GenoType 2 The Gatherer Full-figured, even when not overweight, the Gatherer struggles with body image in a culture where thin is “in.” An unsuccessful crash dieter with a host of metabolic challenges, the Gatherer becomes a glowing example of health when properly nourished. GenoType 3 The Teacher Strong, sinewy, and stable, with great chemical synchronicity and stamina, the Teacher is built for longevity—given the right diet and lifestyle. This is the genotype of balance, blessed with a tremendous capacity for growth and fulfillment. GenoType 4 The Explorer Muscular and adventurous, the Explorer is a biological problem solver, with an impressive ability to adapt to environmental changes, and a better than average capacity for gene repair. The Explorer’s vulnerability to hormonal imbalances and chemical sensitivities can be overcome with a balanced diet and lifestyle. GenoType 5 The Warrior Long, lean, and healthy in youth, the Warrior is subject to a bodily rebellion in midlife.With the optimal diet and lifestyle, the Warrior can overcome the quick-aging metabolic genes and experience a second, “silver,” age of health. GenoType 6 The Nomad A GenoType of extremes, with a great sensitivity to environmental conditions—especially changes in altitude and barometric pressure, the Nomad is vulnerable to neuromuscular and immune problems. Yet a well-conditioned Nomad has the enviable gift of controlling caloric intake and aging gracefully. The author of the international bestseller Eat Right 4 Your Type again breaks new ground with the first diet plan based on your unique genetic code. With Eat Right 4 Your Type and additional books in the Blood Type Diet® series, Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo pioneered a new, revolutionary approach to dieting—one linked to a person’s blood type. In the GenoType Diet, he takes his groundbreaking research to the next level by identifying six unique genetic types. Whether you are a Hunter, Gatherer, Teacher, Explorer, Warrior, or Nomad, Dr. D’Adamo offers a customized program that compliments your genetic makeup to maximize health and weight loss, as well as prevent or even reverse disease. In simple, concise prose, Dr. D’Adamo explains how a host of environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle, dictate how and when your genes express themselves. He goes on to demonstrate precisely how, with the right tools, you can alter your genetic destiny by turning on the good genes and silencing the bad ones. Your health risks, weight, and life span can all be improved by following The GenoType Diet that’s right for you. Using family history and blood type, as well as simple diagnostic tools like fingerprint analysis, leg length measurements, and dental characteristics, Dr. D’Adamo shows you how to map out your genetic identity and discover which of the six GenoType plans you should follow. Without expensive tests or a visit to the doctor, The GenoType Diet reveals previously hidden genetic strengths and weaknesses and provides a precise diet and lifestyle plan for every individual. Based on the latest and most cutting-edge genetic research, this is a twenty-first-century plan for wellness and weight loss from a renowned healthcare pioneer.

In a book that promises to change the way we think and talk about genes and genetic determinism, Evelyn Fox Keller, one of our most gifted historians and philosophers of science, provides a powerful, profound analysis of the achievements of genetics and molecular biology in the twentieth century, the century of the gene. Not just a chronicle of biology’s progress from gene to genome in one hundred years, The Century of the Gene also calls our attention to the surprising ways these advances challenge the familiar picture of the gene most of us still entertain. Keller shows us that the very successes that have stirred our imagination have also radically undermined the primacy of the gene—word and object—as the core explanatory concept of heredity and development. She argues that we need a new vocabulary that includes concepts such as robustness, fidelity, and evolvability. But more than a new vocabulary, a new awareness is absolutely crucial: that understanding the components of a system (be they individual genes, proteins, or even molecules) may tell us little about the interactions among these components. With the Human Genome Project nearing its first and most publicized goal, biologists are coming to realize that they have reached not the end of biology but the beginning of a new era. Indeed, Keller predicts that in the new century we will witness another Cambrian era, this time in new forms of biological thought rather than in new forms of biological life.

The Gene Book: Explorations in the Code of Life is designed to introduce undergraduate college students to foundational concepts in genetics. The text provides in-depth coverage of the essential principles of genetics, from Mendel to molecular gene therapy, and reads like a story, guiding readers through each of these areas in an interesting, engaging, and enlightening way. Milestone scientific discoveries introduce conceptual topics in each of the 10 chapters. The significance of each genetics paradigm is reinforced by the meaningful research context in which it is placed, whether the focus is single gene inheritance of disorders such as PKU and cystic fibrosis, or more complex genetic phenomena. Chromosomes, cell division, and cytogenetic disorders, including Down Syndrome and leukemia, are presented in a riveting historical context. In addition, the principles of molecular genetics are a major focus of this book. Students learn about the double helix, DNA replication, gene expression, mutation, natural selection, genomics, and the tools of molecular DNA analysis. Approachable and effective, The Gene Book is a highly readable comprehensive text on genetics principles designed to highlight essential concepts that make up their very core. The text is well suited to undergraduate genetics courses and can also be used as a primer for more advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in medical or molecular genetics.

Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science

This impressive author team brings the wealth of advances in conservation genetics into the new edition of this introductory text, including new chapters on population genomics and genetic issues in introduced and invasive species. They continue the strong learning features for students - main points in the margin, chapter summaries, vital support with the mathematics, and further reading - and now guide the reader to software and databases. Many new references reflect the expansion of this field. With examples from mammals, birds ...