Yale University Press

What You Need to Know to Make Informed DecisionsA diagnosis of breast cancer is among the most frightening moments in a person’s life—so frightening that even to formulate questions for the doctor may seem impossible. This helpful book is written as a guide for women and men facing breast cancer and for their caring families and friends....

How a Misfolded Protein Baffled Scientists and Changed the Way We Look at the BrainDiscovered and identified as the cause of mad cow disease only three decades ago, the prion is a protein molecule that, when misshapen in the brain, becomes fatal. Novel and controversial, prions have provoked a scientific revolution. They challenge the very...

Much as we take comfort in the belief that modern medicine and public health tactics can protect us from horrifying contagious diseases, such faith is dangerously unfounded. So demonstrates Mark Harrison in this pathbreaking investigation of the intimate connections between trade and disease throughout modern history. For centuries commerce has...

Investigating the Origins and Treatment of DiseaseThe press and other media constantly report news stories about dangerous chemicals in the environment, miracle cures, the safety of therapeutic treatments, and potential cancer-causing agents. But what exactly is actually meant by “increased risk”—should we worry if we are told that we are...

Advice for Patients by PatientsMillions of people—many of them younger than we care to believe—are living in the aftermath of a heart attack, and it is vital for them to learn how to reduce the risk factors for subsequent heart problems. This unique and important book offers advice to survivors of a heart attack and also to those trying...

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