Marc Zimmer

This book is very well done. Complex subject matter is broken down and explained in easy to understand terms. Before diving into the advances and new technology in brain science there is a complete yet not excessive explanation of brain anatomy and physiology. I think students will be fascinated to learn how scientists are taking light sensitive glowing proteins out of jellyfish and inserting them into the nerve cells of other organisms as a way to visualize the nerve cell and how it is working. The book discusses the different techniques for doing this along with the potential applications for this new technology. The hope is to make progress in treating and potentially curing diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Often times when testing this new technology animals are used and there is a discussion of the ethics of using animals in testing. There are lots of colorful pictures and diagrams which add to the text. The book does have a table of contents, source notes, a glossary, a bibliography and further information. I would recommend this book to any middle grade or high school student interested in science, research or medicine.… (más)

Let's start with the unfortunate facts.
This is a very poorly edited book littered with bizarre mistakes.
There are grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes, and incorrect elementary history (the introduction talks about 17th century Victorian ladies).
The writing style veers from something targeted at teenagers to something more adult and back again, sometimes in the same paragraph.

Having said that, this book really is worth reading, in spite of these issues, because the science it describes is riveting. I was vaguely aware of fluorescence as something used by biologists, but the author does a truly great job of covering the field. We learn the history, the various ways in which fluorescence is used, the ways in which the essential chemistry of the subject has been modified over the past few years.

I'm a sucker for science books but most of them are disappointing, wasting time rehashing material that any educated person should already know. It's rare to find one, like this, that not only is packed with material that I did not know but that also manages to weave it into a coherent narrative.… (más)