Nine pints : a journey through the money, medicine, and mysteries of blood / Rose George.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : Metropolitan Books/ Henry Holt and Company, 2018Edition: First editionDescription: 353 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781627796378
- 1627796371
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 612.11 G348 | Available | 33111009274024 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
An eye-opening exploration of blood, the lifegiving substance with the power of taboo, the value of diamonds and the promise of breakthrough science
Blood carries life, yet the sight of it makes people faint. It is a waste product and a commodity pricier than oil. It can save lives and transmit deadly infections. Each one of us has roughly nine pints of it, yet many don't even know their own blood type. And for all its ubiquitousness, the few tablespoons of blood discharged by 800 million women are still regarded as taboo: menstruation is perhaps the single most demonized biological event.
Rose George, author of The Big Necessity , is renowned for her intrepid work on topics that are invisible but vitally important. In Nine Pints , she takes us from ancient practices of bloodletting to the breakthough of the "liquid biopsy," which promises to diagnose cancer and other diseases with a simple blood test. She introduces Janet Vaughan, who set up the world's first system of mass blood donation during the Blitz, and Arunachalam Muruganantham, known as "Menstrual Man" for his work on sanitary pads for developing countries. She probes the lucrative business of plasma transfusions, in which the US is known as the "OPEC of plasma." And she looks to the future, as researchers seek to bring synthetic blood to a hospital near you.
Spanning science and politics, stories and global epidemics, Nine Pints reveals our life's blood in an entirely new light.
Nine Pints was named one of Bill Gates recommended summer reading titles for 2019.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
My pint -- That most singular and valuable reptile -- Janet and Percy -- Blood borne -- The yellow stuff -- Rotting pickles -- Nasty cloths -- Code red -- Blood like Guinness : the future.
Explores the science, traditions, and myths surrounding blood, from ancient bloodletting practices to the development of mass blood donations during the Blitz and from researchers working on synthetic blood to the lucrative business of plasma transfusions.