{"product_id":"radium-and-the-secret-of-life-hardcover","title":"Radium and the Secret of Life - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLuis A. Campos\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore the hydrogen bomb indelibly associated radioactivity with death, many chemists, physicians, botanists, and geneticists believed that radium might hold the secret to life. Physicists and chemists early on described the wondrous new element in lifelike terms such as \"decay\" and \"half-life,\" and made frequent references to the \"natural selection\" and \"evolution\" of the elements. Meanwhile, biologists of the period used radium in experiments aimed at elucidating some of the most basic phenomena of life, including metabolism and mutation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From the creation of half-living microbes in the test tube to charting the earliest histories of genetic engineering, \u003ci\u003eRadium and the Secret of Life\u003c\/i\u003e highlights previously unknown interconnections between the history of the early radioactive sciences and the sciences of heredity. Equating the transmutation of radium with the biological transmutation of living species, biologists saw in metabolism and mutation properties that reminded them of the new element. These initially provocative metaphoric links between radium and life proved remarkably productive and ultimately led to key biological insights into the origin of life, the nature of heredity, and the structure of the gene. \u003ci\u003eRadium and the Secret of Life\u003c\/i\u003e recovers a forgotten history of the connections between radioactivity and the life sciences that existed long before the dawn of molecular biology.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLuis A. Campos\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of the history of science at the University of New Mexico.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.99 x 9.12 x 6.85 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 03, 2015\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42157043875975,"sku":"9780226238272","price":178.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/da0e9028de63bbd90b51d91b087cc227.webp?v=1733248229","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/radium-and-the-secret-of-life-hardcover","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}