About this item
Life is beautiful, ruthless, and very, very strange.. In the evolutionary arms race that has raged on since life began, organisms have developed an endless variety of survival strategies. From sharp claws to brute strength, camouflage to venom - all these tools and abilities share one purpose: to keep their bearer alive long enough to reproduce, helping the species avoid extinction. Every living thing on this planet has developed a time-tested arsenal of weapons and defenses. Some of these weapons and defenses, however, are decidedly more unusual than others.. In Strange Survivors, biologist Oné R. Pagán takes us on a tour of the improbable, the ingenious, and the just plain bizarre ways that creatures fight for life.. Inside this funny, fascinating field guide to natures most colorful characters, youll meet killer snails, social bacteria, and an animal with toxic elbows. But Strange Survivors is more than a collection of curiosities - it is a love letter to science and an argument for the continuing relevance of this evolutionary battle as we face the threat of resistant bacteria and the need for novel medical therapies. Whether discussing blood-thinning bats and electric fish or pondering the power of cooperation, Pagán reveals the surprising lessons found in some of lifes natural oddities and how the tactics they employ to live might aid our own survival.
About the Author
I am a husband and a father of three who also happens to be (I hope) a pretty good University Professor and Researcher. My undergraduate degree is in General Science, and my MS is in Biochemistry, both from the University of Puerto Rico. My PhD is in Pharmacology, with an emphasis on Neurobiology from Cornell University. I love science (as if I really need to say it) .My very first book, "The First Brain: The Neuroscience of Planarians", was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. This is a popular science book; you do not need any advanced science training to enjoy it, although I hope that it will also be enjoyed by scientists as well.Apparently, I got the writing bug. Bad. I published a science fiction story in Kindle format, "The voice of the heart - An autism science fiction story". You might like it!In February 2018, my popular science book "Strange Survivors: How Organisms Attack and Defend in the Game of Life" was published by BenBella Books. My Next popsci book, "Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins: A Trip Through the World of Animal Intoxication" is coming up in 2021, also from the good people at BenBella Books.I blog at baldscientist.wordpress.com.The opinions expressed in my blog, here, and elsewhere, are mine alone. They do not represent the views of my employer, my wife, my children, my parents & siblings, or Chuck Darwin...
