Venomous

A thrilling tale of encounters with nature s masters of biochemistryFrom the coasts of Indonesia to the rainforests of Peru, venomous animals are everywhere and often lurking out of sight Humans have feared them for centuries, long considering them the assassins and pariahs of the natural world.Now, in Venomous, the biologist Christie Wilcox investigates and illuminates the animals of our nightmares, arguing that they hold the keys to a deeper understanding of evolution, adaptation, and immunity She reveals just how venoms function and what they do to the human body With Wilcox as our guide, we encounter a jellyfish with tentacles covered in stinging cells that can kill humans in minutes a two inch caterpillar with toxic bristles that trigger hemorrhaging and a stunning blue ringed octopus capable of inducing total paralysis How do these animals go about their deadly work How did they develop such intricate, potent toxins Wilcox takes us around the world and down to the cellular level to find out.Throughout her journey, Wilcox meets the intrepid scientists who risk their lives studying these lethal beasts, as well as self immunizers who deliberately expose themselves to snakebites Along the way, she puts her own life on the line, narrowly avoiding being envenomated herself Drawing on her own research, Wilcox explains how venom scientists are untangling the mechanisms of some of our most devastating diseases, and reports on pharmacologists who are already exploiting venoms to produce lifesaving drugs We discover that venomous creatures are in fact keystone species that play crucial roles in their ecosystems and ours and for this alone, they ought to be protected and appreciated.Thrilling and surprising at every turn, Venomous will change everything you thought you knew about the planet s most dangerous animals. Free Download [ Venomous ] Author [ Christie Wilcox ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Several reviews said Wilcox was no Mary Roach I agree that she s not quite as funny, but she is entertaining interesting I wasworried that I might get lost because of too many scientific terms, but didn t find this to be a problem most of the time The next to the last chapter got somewhat confusing, but the rest was very much at my level I m no scientist Most of the technical terms were used to make a pointp...Venomous How Earth s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry by Christie Wilcox, is a brief and interesting look at various venomous species of animals, how they operate, and how they interact with the human world Wilcox has written an interesting book examining many different and surprising species of deadly animal, from the Platypus, with its barbed hind legs, to snakes and jellyfish, to a caterpillar that makes one bleed to death These animals are strange and fascinating, and indeed have Venomous How Earth s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry by Christie Wilcox, is a brief and interesting look at various venomous species of animals, how they operate, and how they interact with the human world Wilcox has written an interesting book examining many different and surprising species of deadly animal, from the Platypus, with its barbed hind legs, to snakes and jellyfish, to a caterpillar that makes one bleed to death These animals are strange and fascinating, and indeed have always been of interest to humans throughout history Greeks wrote texts on venomous animals, and modern scientists still work hard to create antivenom to treat snake bites and deadly stings.This book was entertaining, light in tone, and breezy to read Wilcox has not written an in depth analysis of venom and its biochemical breakdown, buta look at various venomous species, how they create poison, and how they interact with the human world The book is separat...3.5 starsThe writing of this book won t appeal to everyone Wilcox kind of writes like she s one of your friends who s recounting a handful of interesting stories there will be some anecdotal moments and some technical things where you ll have to pause It s definitely a bit jarring but it worked for me because it s legible enough to get the point across and felt rather user friendly.The topic at hand is what I really enjoyed reading about It s not only a new subject but one I wouldn t have 3.5 starsThe writing of this book won t appeal to everyone ...I didn t plan for this to be a Halloween read, but Christie Wilcox s lively, engaging study of venomous animals gave me the creeps a time or two Wilcox is an excellent science writer, able to cogently distill complicated concepts for the lay reader while passing along her obvious love for the often unlovable snakes, spiders, wasps, ants, caterpillars, octopuses and...This was fascinating but it s not a book for someone without a basic grasp of biological terms On the other hand, if you re okay with skipping all the technical language and examples, it s greatI have a deep fascination with venomous creatures Thus, when I located this book at the Daviess County Library, I, of course, checked it out From the Coasts of Indonesia to the rainforests of Peru, venomous animals abound Humans have feared them and revered them from the beginning of recorded time when people from Turkey built a temple known today as Potbelly Hill, the oldest known religious site on earth ...This is a fun and educational read It covers a wide variety of animals, and goes into a lot of detail about the venom they produce, its effects on pray and would be predators, how such adaptations are thought to have evolved, etc The author is quirky and funny, which wasn t obnoxious to me, but this may turn off some readers.The author presents an overly credulous description of the practice of venom self immunization She repeats some of the practitioners dubious claims of increased health This is a fun and educational read It covers a wide variety of animals, and goes into a lot of detail about the venom they produce, its effects on pray and would be predators, how such adaptations are thought to have evolved, etc The author is quirky and funny, which wasn t obnoxious to me, but this may turn off so... This rating review is based on an ARC from the publisher sent to my work the public library.Mary Roach this is not There is definitely some really interesting and fun stuff in here, but also a ton of hard to follow stuff I think this book could really benefit from a non science editor to help clarify dumb down some of the content I wish there were footnotes instead of endnotes, and some of the figures used were unexplained and totally way above the scientific understanding of the intended This rating review is based on an ARC from the publisher sent to my work the public library.Mary Roach this is no...Fascinating read synergistic words and diagrams paint vivid picturesThis book is scientifically stimulating but, perhapsimportantly, it is vibrant and hopeful for humans and venomous creatures as well The biochemistry is artfully engaging and easy to follow The author uses a deft hand blending...This is a wonderful narrative non fiction book for anyone who loves science journalism Wilcox s writing doesthan just describe venomous animals, she paints a picture of the environment, people, and animals that transports you to an underwater cave or o...

• English
• 04 January 2018
Christie Wilcox
• ebook
• 256 pages
• 0374712212
• Christie Wilcox
• Venomous