Today's Curiosity is Tomorrow's Cure

The Case for Basic Biomedical Research

Steve Caplan

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000471007
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Biotechnology in Medicine

Basic curiosity-driven biomedical science has delivered many of today's most significant medical advances. This book provides clearly explained examples from recent biomedical history and includes convincing arguments for sustaining a robust portfolio of basic research. Intended as

an engaging read, which will delight undergraduate and graduate students, as well as scientific researchers, it is full-throated advocacy of basic science. Illustrations and examples include the discoveries of penicillin and insulin, and the breakthrough elucidation of the genetic code. Providing both compelling rationale in support of basic science, and a fascinating look through the history of modern biomedical research, this book highlights with stirring examples why basic biomedical research is so important, and how so many key advances in medicine are derived from basic research. The book also offers a rationale for scientific inquiry and a broader understanding of the history of modern biomedical research missing from today's classrooms.

Key Features

1) Provides clear explanations of great scientific discoveries

2) Illustrates connections between basic research findings and modern medicine

3) Includes compelling graphics/diagrams/illustrations

4) Accessible to the general public

5) Offers background for more specialized readers, including researchers as well as those with advanced degrees.

Related Titles

Staddon, J. Scientific Method: How Science Works, Fails to Work, and Pretends to Work (ISBN 978-1-1382-9536-0)

Helliwell, J. R. Skills for Scientific Life (ISBN 978-1-4987-6875-7)

MacRitchie, F. Scientific Research as a Career (ISBN 978-1-4398-6965-9)

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The Birth of Genetics*
• Chapter 2 The Dawn of DNA*
• Chapter 3 DNA as the Transforming Principle*
• Chapter 4 The Structure of DNA Lends Itself to a Model for Its Duplication**
• Chapter 5 Tying It All Together: tRNA, mRNA, Ribosomes, and the Genetic Code***
• Chapter 6 The Practicality of PCR: The Technology that Drove the Biotechnology and the Molecular Biology Revolution***
• Chapter 7 Genetic Engineering and Beyond: From Animal Models to Silencing RNA**
• Chapter 8 CRISPR, a New Technique for Gene Editing***
• Chapter 9 Connecting Mutations to Disease: Abnormal Proteins as a Cause of Disease**
• Chapter 10 Penicillin: The Dawn of a New Age of Antibiotics*
• Chapter 11 Easy to Stomach: The Gutsy Discovery that Helicobacter pylori Causes Ulcers*
• Chapter 12 Insulin: A Hormone Controlling Metabolism*
• Chapter 13 The Stem Cell: The Mother of All Cells**
• Chapter 14 Antibodies: A New Way to Harness the Immune Response**
• Chapter 15 Onto Oncogenes: Discovering the Molecular Basis of Cancer***
• Chapter 16 The Age of Angiogenesis: Discovering How Blood Vessels Are Generated*
• Chapter 17 Telling the Tale of the Telomere and Telomerase: The End of the End-Replication Problem***
• Chapter 18 The Primary Cilium: Novel Functions for an Old Organelle*
• Chapter 19 The Discovery of the Golgi Complex: A Pivotal Organelle with Multiple Functions**
• Chapter 20 The Lysosome: A Trash Bin and End of the Road for Many Cellular Molecules**
• Chapter 21 The Ubiquitin-Proteasomal Pathway: Targeted Protein Degradation and More***
• Chapter 22 Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis: Gateway to the Cell**
• Chapter 23 Mitochondria: The Metabolic Powerhouse of the Cell***
• Chapter 24 The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Discovery of the Green Fluorescent Protein*
• Conclusions
• Glossary of Terms
• Bibliography
• Index