{"product_id":"embryos-under-the-microscope-jane-maienschein-9780674725553","title":"Embryos Under the Microscope: The Diverging Meanings of Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eToo tiny to see with the naked eye, the human embryo was just a hypothesis until the microscope made observation of embryonic development possible. This changed forever our view of the minuscule cluster of cells that looms large in questions about the meaning of life. \u003ci\u003eEmbryos under the Microscope\u003c\/i\u003e examines how our scientific understanding of the embryo has evolved from the earliest speculations of natural philosophers to today's biological engineering, with its many prospects for life-enhancing therapies. Jane Maienschein shows that research on embryos has always revealed possibilities that appear promising to some but deeply frightening to others, and she makes a persuasive case that public understanding must be informed by up-to-date scientific findings. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDirect observation of embryos greatly expanded knowledge but also led to disagreements over what investigators were seeing. Biologists confirmed that embryos are living organisms undergoing rapid change and are not in any sense functioning persons. They do not feel pain or have any capacity to think until very late stages of fetal development. New information about DNA led to discoveries about embryonic regulation of genetic inheritance, as well as evolutionary relationships among species. Scientists have learned how to manipulate embryos in the lab, taking them apart, reconstructing them, and even synthesizing--practically from scratch--cells, body parts, and maybe someday entire embryos. Showing how we have learned what we now know about the biology of embryos, Maienschein changes our view of what it means to be alive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jane Maienschein\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674725557\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674725553\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/20\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.12lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.48h x 5.92w x 1.16d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/24\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2014 pg. 118\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2014 pg. 474","brand":"Jane Maienschein","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43925565702399,"sku":"9780674725553","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_21e1504d-b946-4b95-9a98-ffed9789edc4.jpg?v=1681078027","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/embryos-under-the-microscope-jane-maienschein-9780674725553","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}