Skin: A Natural History.Skin: A Natural History Nina G. Jablonski University of California Press "UC Press" redirects here, but this is also an abbreviation for University of Chicago Press University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720-1012 0520242815 $24.95 www.ucpress.edu Enhanced with the inclusion of 14 color photographs, 2 color maps See color palette. , 36 black/white photographs, and 13 line drawn illustrations, "Skin: A Natural History" by Nina G. Jablonski (Head of the Department of Anthropology at The California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is one of the ten largest natural history museums in the world, and one of the oldest in the United States of America. It is located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. ) is a thoroughly "reader friendly" and scholarly introduction to the biological and cultural functions of human skin. "Skin" addresses such questions and issues as how and when human skin came to look, fell, and function as we know it today; why we turn pale when anxious but red when we are embarrassed or angry; why touch is one of the fundamentally important senses of the body and relates to every aspect of human life; what is the real purpose of fingerprints; skin as a canvas for self-expression; the effects of aging, environmental stress, insect bites, burns, and diseases upon skin; advancing medical technologies relevant to skin issues, and so much more. Surveying more than 300-million-years of evolutionary development as it relates to the skin of homo sapiens Homo sapiens (Latin; “wise man”) Species to which all modern human beings belong. The oldest known fossil remains date to c. 120,000 years ago—or much earlier (c. , "Skin" addresses the critical role skin plays in human health (including processing sunlight for Vitamin D vitamin D Any of a group of fat-soluble alcohols important in calcium metabolism in animals to form strong bones and teeth and prevent rickets and osteoporosis. It is formed by ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) of sterols (see steroid) present in the skin. ), the role of melanin melanin (mĕl`ənĭn), water-insoluble polymer of various compounds derived from the amino acid tyrosine. It is one of two pigments found in human skin and hair and adds brown to skin color; the other pigment is carotene, which contributes in protecting us from the sun's rays, and the advances toward to the creation of artificial skin, gene therapies, reversing the aging process of skin, and other fascinating issues related to our skin. "Skin: A Natural History" is an informed and informative addition to medical school, academic library, and Anthropological Studies collections, as well as a very highly recommended study for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the biology and sociology of skin issues. |
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