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The Making of You: The Incredible Journey from Cell to Human - Hardcover | Diverse Reads

The Making of You: The Incredible Journey from Cell to Human

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A quirky and inspired guide to your very own origin story.

This enlightening and irresistible book for adults explains how you were made—not with the standard euphemisms told to us as children, but with vivid, exacting prose that unveils all the complex processes we never knew produced human life.

With a brilliant talent for thoughtful, charming science writing, Katharina Vestre takes us from cell to human and shares surprising facts along the way—such as that sperm have a sense of smell and that hiccups were likely inherited from our ancient, underwater ancestors. She also shows why gender is more complicated than we think and reveals the questions scientists still ponder about how we came to be.

A miniature drama of cosmic significance, this is the incredible story of you.

ISBN-13: 9781771644921

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Greystone Books

Publication Date: 10-08-2019

Pages: 192

Product Dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)

Katharina Vestre is a doctoral research fellow at the Department of Biosciences at the Universityof Oslo, Norway. The Making of You is her first book.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This compact volume is an unconventional, entertaining look at the science of reproduction, perfect for those curious about their biological beginnings."
—Shelf Awareness

"Few dramas are as fascinating as the one that plays out in the human womb. Embryologist Katharina Vestre’s engrossing primer gives us the script, from the harrowing journey of sperm towards egg, to that first gulp of air in the dazzle outside. [Vestre] has the knack of sparking wonder.”
—Nature

“The Making of You is a delightful walk through pregnancy, as seen from the inside. Katharina Vestre acts as your knowledgeable and affable tour guide, showing how a single fertilized cell becomes the fascinating creature we call a newborn. You will be glad you took the trip.”
—Paul Raeburn, author of The Game Theorist’s Guide to Parenting and Do Fathers Matter?

Table of Contents

Preface vii

The Race 1

The Hidden Universe 9

The Recipe for a Human 15

The Invasion 23

Natural Clones and Unknown Twins 35

The Contours of a Body 43

Cell Language for Beginners 55

The Art of Building a Fruit Fly 63

An Heirloom from the Ocean 75

Fleshing Out the Plan 85

Sex and Sea Worms 95

Secret Preparations 105

The Brain's Inner Wanderings 113

The Senses 123

A Hairy Past 139

From Water to Air 145

The End - or The Beginning 159

References 171