Chrysalis

Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Physiology, Biography & Memoir, Reference
Cover of the book Chrysalis by Kim Todd, HMH Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kim Todd ISBN: 9780547538099
Publisher: HMH Books Publication: September 16, 2013
Imprint: Mariner Books Language: English
Author: Kim Todd
ISBN: 9780547538099
Publisher: HMH Books
Publication: September 16, 2013
Imprint: Mariner Books
Language: English

Today, an entomologist in a laboratory can gaze at a butterfly pupa with a microscope so powerful that the swirling cells on the pupa’s skin look like a galaxy. She can activate a single gene or knock it out. What she can’t do is discover how the insect behaves in its natural habitat—which means she doesn’t know what steps to take to preserve it from extinction, nor how any particular gene may interact with the environment. Four hundred years ago, a fifty-year-old Dutch woman set sail on a solo scientific expedition to study insect metamorphosis. She could not have imagined the routine magic that scientists perform today—but her absolute insistence on studying insects in their natural habitats was so far ahead of its time that it is only now coming back into favor. Chrysalis restores Maria Sibylla Merian to her rightful place in the history of science, taking us from golden-age Amsterdam to the Surinam tropics to modern laboratories where Merian’s insights fuel new approaches to both ecology and genetics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Today, an entomologist in a laboratory can gaze at a butterfly pupa with a microscope so powerful that the swirling cells on the pupa’s skin look like a galaxy. She can activate a single gene or knock it out. What she can’t do is discover how the insect behaves in its natural habitat—which means she doesn’t know what steps to take to preserve it from extinction, nor how any particular gene may interact with the environment. Four hundred years ago, a fifty-year-old Dutch woman set sail on a solo scientific expedition to study insect metamorphosis. She could not have imagined the routine magic that scientists perform today—but her absolute insistence on studying insects in their natural habitats was so far ahead of its time that it is only now coming back into favor. Chrysalis restores Maria Sibylla Merian to her rightful place in the history of science, taking us from golden-age Amsterdam to the Surinam tropics to modern laboratories where Merian’s insights fuel new approaches to both ecology and genetics.

More books from HMH Books

Cover of the book Retrograde by Kim Todd
Cover of the book The Crimson Petal and the White by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Machine Learning by Kim Todd
Cover of the book The Best American Comics 2012 by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Rumpelstiltskin (Read-aloud) by Kim Todd
Cover of the book I Will Not Read This Book by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Testament by Kim Todd
Cover of the book The Wind Done Gone by Kim Todd
Cover of the book The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Pillsbury The Big Book of More Baking with Refrigerated Dough by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Better Homes and Gardens Cupcakes by Kim Todd
Cover of the book The Real Minerva by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Who in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? by Kim Todd
Cover of the book Smoke and Mirrors by Kim Todd
Cover of the book CliffsNotes on American Poets of the 20th Century by Kim Todd
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy