Gopika RajanikanthBIOSC senior & pre-genetic counseling student With spring break and then summer (!!!) quickly approaching, maybe you want to spend some time away from class reading a book or two. I’ve compiled a list of books I’ve read that I think students in the biological sciences department would find interesting. There are both fiction and nonfiction books here, so hopefully, you’ll find something you’re interested in. Still Alice by Lisa Genova This fiction novel follows Alice Howland, a distinguished psychology professor at Harvard, who slowly realizes she’s beginning to forget things. She receives a terrifying diagnosis: Alzheimer’s Disease. This book follows Alice and her family through the progression of her disease and what challenges they face. This book is beautifully written and absolutely heartbreaking. It’s honestly one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. A Crack in Creation by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg As students in the biological sciences department, we all have learned about CRISPR in at least one of our classes. This book is written by Jennifer Doudna, one of the scientists who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. This book follows Doudna’s journey in the lab to develop this technology and also includes her thoughts about the ethical implications of CRISPR. Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones I actually read this book because it was assigned in one of my anthropology classes, but I found it very interesting. This book follows the story of the Opiate epidemic in the United States and just how many different factors came together to result in this. Quinones has woven all these different narratives together beautifully to make this a fascinating and informative read. I highly recommend this book to anyone thinking about pursuing a career in healthcare. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures- Anne Fadiman This nonfiction book follows the story of Lia Lee, the daughter of Hmong immigrants who develops symptoms, which western medicine defines as epilepsy. Fadiman discusses the conflict between Lia’s parents and her American doctors in how to best treat and care for Lia. This book is a good discussion of understanding culture relativism, and that western medicine is not inherently better than other beliefs. Have you read any good biology-related books? We would love to hear your recommendations!
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January 2022
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