Jonathan WeinerRecensioni

a well written exploration of what science might do to prevent aging and promote immortality. Lots of nice references to philosophers and poets throughout . The author focuses on one eccentric engineer who somehow becomes an expert on this science and his quest for immortality.

This book was incredibly educational. For those who are super interested in science or biology, it probably will be a five star read. It is very detailed.

Weiner basically follows the work of evolutionary biologists, primarily focusing on the finches in the Galapagos, but also referencing the work of other biologists with other species. What struck me was the speed with which evolution can actually take place and that biologists have figured out experimental methods to track it. What ASTONISHED me was the infinite patience these scientists have for the minutia and tedium of the work it takes to make breakthroughs in this field. Honestly, it is mindblowing. After year one of catching finches, banding finches, measuring each finch body part, watching them mate, recording the results, - all in near isolation - I'd need mental health treatment. And these folks did this for twenty years straight.

My favorite part of the book is about an experiment run with these spotted guppies. The results were so fascinating.

Weiner makes all this material very accessible though some parts were certainly more interesting than others. There's various kinds of selection - natural and sexual - and when he discusses hybridization, he kinda lost me. Probably more out of boredom than him not explaining it well.

But overall, a really excellent read for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of evolution and how it works in the real world.

I couldn't put this down, or more accurately, I couldn't turn it off. Beyond being an amazing story of scientists and doing science, this crystallized so much biology for me. Weiner's writing is so deft I can't recall ever feeling it. Bevine's narration fits hand in glove with Weiner's perfect relation of the story to give an experience that is as close to having been there as I can recall in anything I've listened to.

De hydra verslaan: het onderzoek naar onsterfelijkheid
Jonathan Weiner. Eindeloos leven: De zonderlinge wetenschap van onsterfelijkheid

Onsterfelijkheid: het klinkt als een droom, een onbereikbaar iets, maar Jonathan Weiner laat in zijn boek ‘Eindeloos leven’ zien dat het wellicht niet zo onbereikbaar is als we denken. Onze levensverwachting wordt al steeds hoger, en in de twintigste en eenentwintigste eeuw raakt het onderzoek naar onsterfelijkheid in een hogere versnelling. Aan de hand van zijn gesprekken met Aubrey de Grey, een Britse gerontoloog en markant figuur, neemt Weiner de lezer mee op zijn ontdekkingstocht naar onsterfelijkheid; de feiten en de mythes, de dromen en het onderzoek. Weiner slaagt erin om ingewikkelde, soms ongrijpbare onderwerpen op een heldere manier uiteen te zetten en wisselt het feitelijke onderzoek naar de aftakeling van het lichaam en het bestrijden daarvan af met anekdotes over zijn gesprekken met Aubrey, wat het boek prettig maakt om te lezen. Hoewel Aubrey in het begin soms overkomt als een soort ‘maffe geleerde’, wordt al snel duidelijk (mede door de heldere structuur van zowel het boek als De Grey’s theorieën) dat hij weet waar hij het over heeft - en dat hij wellicht zelfs iets baanbrekends op het spoor is.
We hebben nog een lange weg te gaan als het gaat om het bereiken van onsterfelijkheid, maar door systematisch onderzoek is De Grey erin geslaagd om zeven zogenaamde ‘dodelijke factoren’ te isoleren, zeven oorzaken van ouderdom op het niveau van mitochondriën, DNA en intracellulair afval. Wanneer we bijvoorbeeld de degeneratie en mutatie van cellen kunnen bestrijden en het afval dat zich gedurende de jaren in de cellen ophoopt op kunnen ruimen, is het dan mogelijk om het verouderingsproces te vertragen of zelfs in zijn geheel te stoppen? De Grey is er heilig van overtuigd dat dit mogelijk is, en dat hij het nog zal meemaken ook. De zevende ‘dodelijke factor’ op het lijstje van De Grey is celmutatie of kanker. Dit lijkt op het eerste gezicht een onoplosbaar probleem, maar niet voor Aubrey: wanneer we onze cellen niet zelf naar eigen inzicht laten muteren en veranderen maar dat proces in handen nemen, is het in theorie mogelijk om kanker als het ware voor te zijn. En volgens De Grey is ook dit iets wat in de niet al te verre toekomst ontwikkeld zal worden.
In het voorlaatste hoofdstuk komt ook bekende bioloog Martin Raff aan het woord, ‘de grootste tegenpool van Aubrey die ik [Weiner] ooit ben tegengekomen’. Hij vertegenwoordigt de andere kant van het debat, de kant die ouderdom niet wil bevechten maar er vrede mee heeft en het zelfs geen bijster interessant wetenschappelijk probleem vindt. Deze opvatting is in zekere zin een verademing na het lezen van de eerdere hoofdstukken, omdat er nog altijd een vraag onbeantwoord blijft: stel dat we er inderdaad in slagen om ouderdom te bestrijden, willen we dat dan ook? Is het bereiken van een leeftijd van duizend jaar, of misschien wel nooit meer sterven, iets dat we na moeten streven?
Aan de lezer om deze vraag te beantwoorden, want hoewel het boek een duidelijke structuur heeft en het probleem en de mogelijke antwoorden helder uiteenzet, blijft de lezer achter met een dubbel gevoel. Aan de ene kant lijkt het bestrijden van ouderdom iets wat niet binnen onze mogelijkheden ligt, het is een proces waarvan we denken dat we het niet kunnen stoppen. Maar aan de andere kant is het betoog van Weiner en De Grey zo helder uiteengezet dat je ergens wel móet twijfelen: wat als onsterfelijkheid toch dichterbij is dan we denken, als we maar wisten wat we moesten bestrijden? Weiner kijkt ervoor uit geen definitief oordeel te vellen, maar presenteert slechts zijn verhaal; hij stelt weliswaar kritische vragen, maar staat ook open voor de mogelijkheden die Aubrey hem heeft voorgelegd. Echt sprake van een conclusie is er niet, maar wie weet zien we over enkele jaren welke kant van het betoog terrein wint: zullen we de hydra, het onsterfelijke mythologische monster met de vele onsterfelijke koppen waar Weiner meerdere malen aan refereert en dat symbool staat voor de vele aspecten van ouderdom die we moeten bestrijden, uiteindelijk weten te verslaan?

An interesting little book about real life study of evolution and the hard work and complexity of this research. It's a little dated by now, and a major downside for me was that it covers a lot of the same ground other books on evolution do.½

This book is dense! There are only 7 chapters (oceanography, earth formation, solar studies, climatology, future stressors, etc,) but it is not an easy read. I am not familiar with the old public television series but am sure it's a bit more accessible. A great book, nonetheless - take it slow. Of course some content is slightly out dated, but still very worthwhile.

This book was simply phenomenal. The only thing stopping me from making it five stars is that some parts of it were filler content, which is largely unavoidable. However, it was incredibly interesting.

The book follows researchers in the Galapagos who are studying Darwin's finches. The excellent writing style breaks down complex research of evolutionary biology into something a 19 year old (me) can understand. This book completely changes the perspective on nature and the idea of a species: showing evolution not as a linear change over time, but as a constant adaptation to a cruel world. Something as simple as a finch's beak can waver back and forth in size as these islands go between droughts and storms every couple of years. The progression of any given animal is not a straight line in a specific direction, but rather a wiggling line that might move a certain direction as a long term trend, but also is constantly changing.

Anybody who wants to know more about Darwin's research and how it's still being expanded upon today, this book is worthy of the Pullitzer Prize that it won. If this review was a turn-off for you, then the book wouldn't be your kind of entertainment. But overall I definitely recommend this. Any book can make you learn, but not many books can truly stimulate you to think about something you'd never considered.

I enjoyed this book and it had a lot of great insights, but I think it think it could greatly benefit from either a forward or an afterward about the changes that have taken place since it was written (1994). For example, the book includes a discussion of climate change and how it may affect the rate of evolution, but back then these ideas were much more speculative. There is also a discussion of the hole in the ozone layer, and how it is affecting the mutation rate of the species of algae that passed beneath it, but in 1994 the Montreal Protocol was only seven years old and its effectiveness was yet to be known. Twenty-three years later, there is evidence the ozone layer is beginning to self-heal and the hole is becoming smaller.

The context of 2017 also makes this quote all the more poignant: "We are altering the terms of the struggle for existence: changing the conditions of life for every species that is coeval with our own. Never before was such havoc caused by the expansion of a single species. Never before was the leading actor aware of the action, concerned about the consequences, conscious of guilt. For better and for worse, this may be one of the most dramatic moments to observe evolution in action since evolution began." (page 277).

I enjoyed this book and it had a lot of great insights, but I think it think it could greatly benefit from either a forward or an afterward about the changes that have taken place since it was written (1994). For example, the book includes a discussion of climate change and how it may affect the rate of evolution, but back then these ideas were much more speculative. There is also a discussion of the hole in the ozone layer, and how it is affecting the mutation rate of the species of algae that passed beneath it, but in 1994 the Montreal Protocol was only seven years old and its effectiveness was yet to be known. Twenty-three years later, there is evidence the ozone layer is beginning to self-heal and the hole is becoming smaller.

The context of 2017 also makes this quote all the more poignant: "We are altering the terms of the struggle for existence: changing the conditions of life for every species that is coeval with our own. Never before was such havoc caused by the expansion of a single species. Never before was the leading actor aware of the action, concerned about the consequences, conscious of guilt. For better and for worse, this may be one of the most dramatic moments to observe evolution in action since evolution began." (page 277).

Read while on Floreana Island in the Galapagos. At times the book was frustrating as all get out. I nearly gave up about 100 pages from the finish line, but glad I did not. The author does bring it all together, though not terribly neatly, in those last 100 pages or so. Negative: The main issues with the book are its redundancy and the ability of the author to wander off track, or so says the average (mas o menos) reader. There is much that is of use, however, and reading the book while in the Galapagos added another dimension to watching the little finches. Overall, tasty reading, if willing to put up with a meandering author.

Islands are the perfect laboratory for studying a species. In the case of the Galapagos archipelago, the islands are isolated like a fortress; no one can easily arrive or depart. Princeton University biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant, along with their daughters, take a small group of scientists to help them investigate Darwin's finches. By the beak of the finch they are able to track an evolutionary journey through time. Beak of the Finch is an extraordinary account of survival of the fittest as it happened then; as it is happening right now. Our world is constantly evolving and adapting and we aren't done yet.
Word to the wise - listen to this on audio. John McDonough does a fantastic job. Weiner's writing may be approachable science, but McDonough's reading makes it all the more enjoyable.
As an aside, I love books I like to describe as "rabbit holes." They take me to knowledge I never would have learned otherwise. I think people describe the internet that way sometimes. In this case, I learned that when a finch is ready to mate its beak turns black. Who knew?

Entertaining. If you really want to know the nuts and bolts of the science, this isn't the book to read, though. Weiner delves more into the personalities behind the science, particularly Aubrey de Gray. And Weiner is also interested in questions about why we would pursue immortality and whether it is even a good idea (his answer: probably not). The book is well worth reading, but don't expect a lot of science.

Nearly everyone has heard of the Galapagos Islands and the finches which sparked many of Darwin's theories of evolution.

This is an in depth look at the evolution of these finches and the continuing selective pressure they are under as they continue to evolve, season by season, as each year brings a bit different conditions to these islands.

Most of this is seen through the lens of Peter and Rosemary Grant, two dedicated scientists who have devoted their careers to the teasing out the secrets of evolution as shown by these birds.

It's not just about finches, though, as later chapters deal with topics such as climate change, pesticide and antibiotic resistance.

This classic book was first published in 1995 and won a Pulitzer. Nevertheless, while older, the information is still solid. I feel this book is accessible and downright fascinating.

As a researcher having being working on flies for nearly a decade, I found this book is still full of useful information. The stories also have been elegantly told, which is rare in scientific field.

I just have been bothered sometimes by the lack of biological or fly genetics common sense of the author, which is inevitable for a non-fly geneticist. Also, the author is too rumbling in some chapters.

paperback - good

When in 1859 Charles Darwin published The Origin of the Species, he launched a storm of controversy that roils to this day. Scientists of his day were hardly convinced of Darwin's theory of "natural selection". During his years of study, research, and contemplation, Darwin amassed a mountain of evidence that evolution has happened. But the fact is that he never saw it happen.

In a famous passage in his seminal book, Darwin wrote:

It may metaphorically be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinising, throughout the world, the slightest variations; rejecting those that are that bad, preserving and adding up all that are good; silently and insensibly working, whenever and wherever opportunity offers…. We see nothing of these slow changes in progress, until the hand of time has marked the lapse of ages, and then so imperfect is our view into long-past geological ages, that we see only that the forms of life are now different from what they formerly were.

[The Beak of the Finch], published in 1994, tells of a long-term (and still ongoing) research project that reveals evolution in action. Written by Jonathan Weiner, a teacher of science writing at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, the book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 1995. It's entirely readable. And it's an important report on what scientists now have observed about how natural selection works.

The project was launched in 1973, when Dr. Peter Grant and his wife and research partner Dr. Rosemary Grant, accompanied by several post-doctoral assistants, traveled to the Galápagos archipelago, and settled for a couple of months on a small, deserted, volcanic cone jutting from the ocean. Daphne Major, the Grants' island laboratory, has little vegetation but it's inhabited by frigatebirds, boobies, mockingbirds, hawks, and--most important--several species of finches, collectively known as Darwin's Finches. What the team did was capture, measure, and band every finch. The species of each finch was determined, and measurements of the birds were meticulously recorded in special waterproof notebooks. Meteorological data likewise was recorded daily. Close observation provided information about what the different finches ate, breeding preferences, longevity, and so on.

At the end of the season, the Grants returned home and keyed their data into a computer. They wrote scientific, academic papers describing their findings, gave lectures, taught in colleges. Most important, they repeated the enterprise year after year for two decades. They lived with and recorded the finches through the worst drought, a year in which many of the birds died of starvation. They collected data through the wettest year. And each fall, back at college, the Grants would transfer their handwritten records into the computer. A computer, of course, allows a massive database to be searched and sorted, and facts pertinent to questions, propositions, ideas, and theories are put at researchers' fingertips.

Alterations and variations in the beaks is telling. Weiner writes:

There are about nine thousand species of birds alive in the world today….Flamingos' beaks have deep troughs and fine filters, through which the birds pump water and mud with their tongues. Kingfishers' beaks have such stout inner braces and struts that a few species can dig tunnels in riverbanks by sailing headlong into the earth, over and over again, like flying jackhammers. Some finch beaks are like carpentry shops. They come equipped with ridges inside the upper mandible, which serve as a sort of built-in vise and help the finch hold a seed in place while sawing it open with the lower mandible.
   According to his [Darwin's] theory, even the slightest idiosyncrasies in the shape of an individual beak can sometimes make a difference in what that particular bird can eat. In this way the variation will matter to the bird its whole life…"

Evolution by natural selection works. The Grants and their cadre of assistants have seen it. They have documented it. Their work has, of course, inspired additional such research around the world, focusing on other species of birds, of fishes, of insects. Research using DNA is ongoing, and it is demonstrating the evolution is in the world's DNA.

Entertaining. If you really want to know the nuts and bolts of the science, this isn't the book to read, though. Weiner delves more into the personalities behind the science, particularly Aubrey de Gray. And Weiner is also interested in questions about why we would pursue immortality and whether it is even a good idea (his answer: probably not). The book is well worth reading, but don't expect a lot of science.

I've read books on evolutionary biology and other sciences, but for some reason found this one a little confusing. Maybe my natural biases of the role of genes in behavior influenced how I understood the progression of the research's varying interpretations of the nature-nurture debate. Still, not a difficult or long read, and recommended to anyone with a natural interest.

I have a science background but not in biology. I was amazed at hoe engrossed I became in this book as it described how the Grants show evolution in action by their finch observations on the Galapagos Islands. Who knew that millimeters of difference in beak size and depth affected the chances of survival of these birds.

The author reviews the research and conclusions of others doing similar research and how most of it fits together to enhance Darwin's work.

The information is revealed a little at a time but there is no lags in interest. This book revealed biological research to me in a manner I had never considered before.

If you are interested in Darwin and his work, I think you should read an amazing book on Darwin and Captain Fitzroy based on their diaries and the survey of the HMS Beagle as well as their lives in general. This book is a great companion read to this great work of non-fiction.

"This Thing of Darkness" by Harry Thompson
http://www.librarything.com/work/5107539/book/100912254½

A well-written look at contemporary evolutionary scholarship, mostly focused on the long-running detailed studies of Galapagos finches, but extending to work on guppies and moths and bacterial evolution as well. Weiner constantly brings the focus back to how the current work relates back to what Darwin himself thought and wrote about, which I thought a pretty effective stylistic device. Weiner ably conveys the way that evolution by natural selection actually works in practice, and that alone would make this book worth a read.

Interesting read, yet I plodded my way through the first 250 pages. Hmmm. Perhaps I just needed to get to the Big Picture outlined in the last 50 pages (i.e., what it all means in the present and for the future). Fascinating as it should be, the detailed tale of evolutionary biologists' Rosemary and Peter Grant and their colleagues' measurement of finch beaks and collection of 20 years of data about the 13 species of Darwin's finches on the islands of Daphne and Genovesa in the Galapagos becomes a bit tedious at times. The book presents a clear and generally comprehensive survey of the study of evolution, however; how it has worked and is working still, how it operates right now in real time and not only in the past or always in slow motion.

time, Love, Memory is Seymour Benzer's story. While Charles Darwin was obsessed with finding the origins of species, Benzer was obsessed with figuring out the origins of behavior. He dedicated his research to finding out the riddle of both animal and human behavior. He wanted to dig deeper into the concepts of nature and nurture, knowing that life was a balance of both. The the diea of reading a book about genes, fruit flies and DNA sounds boring, don't worry. Weiner's style of writing adds a warm and humorous texture to the otherwise scientific plot.

It is difficult to rate the book as a whole, for the first two of the three parts were excellent. I found it to be a faster-paced read than most fiction, yet I still learned quite a bit.

The writing style is that of a memoir. It is, essentially, a memoir of the parts of the author's life wherein he learned about gerontology. We begin by finding out that the reason aging is so hard to study is because, as opposed to our orderly and predictable development, aging is chaotic. Every person ages differently. This provides natural arguments for almost any theory, making it difficult to narrow down the field. We go on to learn several different theories and possible solutions to the problem of aging, which were fascinating. I liked how the author explains the theories in several different ways to ensure comprehension. I disliked how many references there were to the Bible and to Shakespeare. Referencing religious texts decreases the credibility of any science book.

The third part of the book was a huge disappointment. I thought the author would go further in depth into current research and findings, but instead he completely changed directions. The science book turned into a philosophy text, with the author discussing different opinions on the desirability and feasibility of immortality. The one part of this section that interested me as food for thought: hydra (multicellular creatures) live forever. They do that by constantly shedding old cells and growing new ones. The price they pay for living forever, then, is that their memories are replaced along with the old cells and they have no historical memory.

amusing, informative, and somewhat melancholy biography of Seymour Benzer; nice history of early genetics and genetic mapping

Endlessly fascinating!