Friday, October 12, 2007

Best American Science Writing 2007 – Gripping and Relevant

With a multitude of diverse stories about the latest discoveries in science, what ties them all together and stands out as the single unifying theme in the entire Best Science Writing 2007 collection is the humanistic angle within it all.

“The articles show what a human endeavor science is, and, in the hands of these skilled reporters, what memorable tales can be told,” said Editor Gina Kolata in her introduction to the the book.

The stories talk. Many of the descriptions are absolutely raw. Some even hair-raising.

The reader is lost deep in the middle of the story and a strong connection with the patients, scientists or doctors established.

The articles often leaves you with more uncertainty, and more questions, than answers.

Stereo Sue

Early into the book, world famous neurologist Oliver Sacks is introduced with his “Stereo Sue” story. Stereo Sue is the story of a neurobiologist who (believe it or not) having had two-dimensional impaired vision her entire life, just discovers that Nature meant vision to be three-dimensional when her sight is improved by surgery. As she watches her first snowfall in its right dimensions, and observes the air between chairs in a seminar room or the way a partially open door sticks out in a room when she is about to enter it, the reader travels with her in her journey from a flat to a “raised” world.

The Score

Well known doctor and acclaimed reporter for the New York Times, Atul Gawande’s “The Score”, bloody at places makes your blood freeze at places too. Not recognized for what it truly entails, the process of child-birth is unveiled for the reader, contraction by contraction. Gawande underscores something that is becoming increasingly more common knowledge, yet often escapes the attention of doctors and that of society as a problem – the number of mothers that die during delivery is enormous both in the country and in the world. To say nothing of the number of babies that are stillborn. As he describes the story of Elizabeth Rourke, an expecting mother who is almost 40 hours into labour with little chance of the baby coming out, she finally takes an epidural after prolonged abstinence, and when even that doesn’t help, she gets surgery to get the baby out, the reader is with Rourke the entire time. Her example is used well to illustrate the manifold complications and difficulties encountered in the journey of the baby from the uterus to the world.

Probing a Mind for a Cue

In an era where research is dominated by the mysteries of the mind and the unearthing of these mysteries, “Probing a Mind for a Cure” by Stacey Burling is apt. In talking about how a gentle professor who loved Mozart and ice cream slowly deteriorates to showing violent behavior and being delirious as he develops Alzheimer’s disease in his 60s, the surprise and dismay of his family and physicians is captured. The story takes the reader from the doctor that is slicing the professor’s brain after his death and looking for all the signs that could tell him what went wrong with it, to the family’s coping mechanisms with the illness which culminates in their gratitude when he finally dies.

A Depression Switch

As if these stories were not enough, the next story called “A Depression Switch” is by David Dobbs, and stands out in the entire collection as the single most horrifying and mysterious read. The human brain is remarkable. Until it stops working right. Neither do scientists really understand how the brain works when it does, nor do they understand what goes on exactly when it doesn’t. This given, the story of a healthy woman in her 40s who became irretrievably depressed for no apparent reason at all hits you hard with its highs, lows, uncertainties and hopelessness. Someone who lived a happy, stable and comfortable family and work life and had three kids and good money, suddenly becomes so emotionally numb that she doesn’t think she can go on. Anti-depressants don’t work on her and when her desperation crosses all limits, her brain is given mild electric shocks in a high risk, no guarantee procedure by drilling holes deep into her skull while she is awake under only local anesthesia so that she can describe to the doctor how she feels when the electrical stimulation is applied to her brain. The doctor tells her to report everything she feels without making judgments about what is trivial like the urge to scratch her nose. He has to gauge from her responses if the procedure is helping her regain her emotional disconnectedness. At some point, when “area 25” in a deep and central part of her brain is given a shock, she suddenly stops feeling the emotional numbness she has for years. With that, the surgery is declared a success, though a temporary one. Doctors say she will be back. This story is so compelling, that reading it without intensely wondering what the human mind really is, is a challenge.

The Man on the Table Was 97, But He Devised the Surgery

Late into the book, Lawrence Altman’s “The Man on the Table Was 97, But He Devised the Surgery” is presented. This story is that of a 97-year-old world-renowned heart surgeon who experiences an intense chest pain and thinks he is going to die, but ultimately diagnosis himself correctly and gets surgery using the same procedure he had devised decades ago. The professor, who later admits that he was in denial, refuses any treatment for several days and even lectures at a seminar with the condition. To add to the drama, the surgical team performing the surgery has to debate until the end whether or not it is ethical to go ahead with the procedure given his age which makes the procedure too risky to perform and the fact that he once signed an agreement saying he would rather die than have surgery performed on him. The team is divided on their opinion. The hospital’s anesthesiologist refuses to anesthetize the patient and a different one from another hospital has to be called for when the surgery is ultimately performed. The reader is on the edge of their seat waiting to find out whether or not he makes it. He does and even goes back to almost a full day’s worth of work the Friday after.

With Lasers and Daring, Doctors Race to Save a Young Man’s Brain

“With Lasers and Daring, Doctors Race to Save a Young Man’s Brain” by Denise Grady is a relevant addition to the collection and describes step-by-step the process of performing brain surgery. The story starts with the shaving of the skull of a patient to the painting of a bright purple line from the middle of the head down to the neck, to the anesthesia, and the four holes drilled into the patient’s head to attach him to a metal board so that the doctors get their “bearings” on the head right. It goes on to describe the anxious anticipation the chief surgeon experiences post-surgery and finally to the part when the patient is purposely startled and woken up from his deep sleep with a question by his surgeon to check if his basic reflexes still work, which is the only way to know how well the surgery went.

About the Contributors

An “About the Contributers” section serves well to satisfy readers’ curiosity about the writers which range from full-time doctors to reporters for the New York Times.

Editor Gina Kolata is an award-winning writer for the New York Times. She has also authored several books, including the bestselling Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It.



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