Natural Obsessions
Encyclopedia
Natural Obsessions is a book written by American science author Natalie Angier
published in 1988. It chronicles a year in the laboratories of two prominent cancer biologists during a period where there was a race to discover and characterize some of the first cancer-causing and cancer-suppressing genes.
and Michael Wigler, during a period where there was a race to discover and characterize some of the first cancer causing and cancer-suppressing genes (oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, respectively). This book gives insight into the day to day working of a top scientific laboratory with no embellishment - both the excitement and thrill of discovery as well as the drudgery and politics can be found in Natural Obsessions. The story is told by a masterful storyteller as the pressure to find these genes mounts and everyone is scrambling to be the first to announce this major discovery which could have gone to several laboratories.
Of interest to students thinking of a career in science as well as practicing scientists who will relish in the honest portrayals and may personally know a number of the scientists who are now prominent in their fields.
As of 2001, the book has been used as a text in a cancer biology course at the University of Chicago
and the University of Houston
.
Natalie Angier
Natalie Angier is a nonfiction writer and a science journalist for the New York Times.- Life :...
published in 1988. It chronicles a year in the laboratories of two prominent cancer biologists during a period where there was a race to discover and characterize some of the first cancer-causing and cancer-suppressing genes.
Overview
It chronicles the time, about a year, that she spent in the labs of two very prominent cancer biologists, Robert WeinbergRobert Weinberg
Robert Allan Weinberg is a Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at MIT and American Cancer Society Research Professor; his research is in the area of oncogenes and the genetic basis of human cancer. Weinberg is also affiliated with the Broad Institute and is a founding member of the...
and Michael Wigler, during a period where there was a race to discover and characterize some of the first cancer causing and cancer-suppressing genes (oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, respectively). This book gives insight into the day to day working of a top scientific laboratory with no embellishment - both the excitement and thrill of discovery as well as the drudgery and politics can be found in Natural Obsessions. The story is told by a masterful storyteller as the pressure to find these genes mounts and everyone is scrambling to be the first to announce this major discovery which could have gone to several laboratories.
Of interest to students thinking of a career in science as well as practicing scientists who will relish in the honest portrayals and may personally know a number of the scientists who are now prominent in their fields.
Commercial and critical reception
Natural Obsessions was reviewed favorably in the New York Times and Smithsonian magazine in the months after its initial publication. The book was named a New York Times Notable Book for 1988.As of 2001, the book has been used as a text in a cancer biology course at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
.
Editions
- Natural Obsessions, Natalie Angier, Houghton MifflinHoughton MifflinHoughton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
, 1988, 394 pp. - Natural Obsessions, Natalie Angier, Warner BooksHachette Book Group USAHachette Book Group is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the second largest publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Group. HBG was formed when Hachette Livre purchased the Time Warner Book Group from...
, 1989, 420 pp. - Natural Obsessions, Natalie Angier, ViragoVirago PressVirago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
, 2000