As the new millennium approaches, it is appropriate to ask how far medicine and the life sciences have brought us, and to wonder how specific fields will develop over the next decade or so.This volume gathers together a number of leading scientists to give a bird's eye view of their field. Much of the emphasis is on cancer, microbial infections and immunology, because these are some of the most rapidly advancing areas of research. However, the book is wide-ranging and interdisciplinary, and covers topics as diverse as reproductive health technology, animal-to-human transplants, drug...

This eloquent book takes us on a spell-binding journey into the workings of our bodies in health and disease. Dr. Charles A. Pasternak captivates us with his vivid and even poetic explanations of what keeps us healthy and vital, and what tears away at our health. He possesses the gift for rendering complex topics clear and lyrical, as in the ways our molecules interact with one another to decide the fate of our heart, brain, and lungs---whether we live or die.Why does disease rear its ugly head? Why does cancer take hold in some of us and pass by others? What roles do nutrition and stress...