A Is for Amoeba
The Story of Life in a Single Cell
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9 933 Ft
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Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
Not in stock at Prospero.
Why don't you give exact delivery time?
Delivery time is estimated on our previous experiences. We give estimations only, because we order from outside Hungary, and the delivery time mainly depends on how quickly the publisher supplies the book. Faster or slower deliveries both happen, but we do our best to supply as quickly as possible.
Product details:
- Publisher Princeton University Press
- Date of Publication 11 August 2026
- Number of Volumes Print PDF
- ISBN 9780691266985
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages240 pages
- Size 215x139 mm
- Language English
- Illustrations 10 b/w illus. 0
Categories
Long description:
A lively and engaging biography of amoebas that reveals why these tiny amorphous splotches with a spot in the middle have more to teach us than we ever imagined
Many of us are introduced to the amoeba in science class at school but know very little about the amazing life of this versatile, shape-shifting cell. A Is for Amoeba is packed with surprising stories that give readers a richer appreciation of these astonishing microbes, revealing what amoebas have to tell us about the natural world and ourselves. Along the way, this entertaining and informative book shows how amoebas influenced figures like Friedrich Nietzsche, who saw in them an expression of the will to power, and Sigmund Freud, who likened the movements of amoebas to the human ego.
Nicholas Money describes how amoebas are athletic predators with the rudiments of consciousness and how their sophisticated responses to injury help to explain the origins of pain and suffering in animals. Amoebas have the biggest genomes of any organisms, embodying monumental chronicles of their evolution and survival, and by splitting in half and making copies of themselves, they have mastered a form of genderless immortality. Money explains how white blood cells and metastatic cancer cells in the human body behave like amoebas, curing and causing a range of illnesses, and discusses how research using artificial amoebas has profound implications for AI, robotics, and bioengineering. He also looks at the outsized role of amoebas in pop culture, from movies like The Blob to the cartoons of Gary Larson.
A delightful portrait of an iconic microbe, A Is for Amoeba reveals why, from its graceful movements to its astounding problem-solving skills, the amoeba is the perfect guide to the business of being alive on Earth.
