How Science Works: Evaluating Evidence in Biology and Medicine

Description
One week, red wine is good for the heart. The next week, new reports say it's bad for the health. So which is true? Anyone who's ever read science news with fascination, or who's ever been confounded by conflicting stories will appreciate this book. Taking a look at some true to life contemporary news stories, the author assesses recent studies on topics ranging from vitamin C and caffeine to pollution and cancer. With straight talk and a passion for the whole project of science, he demysifies the cult of the expert and sheds light on the nitty-gritty details of scientific processes. Any scientist loves a challenge, but the biggest challenge of all, observes Jenkins, is shared by scientists and nonscientitsts alike: how to make practical decisions in light of ambiguous evidence. Promising no simple answers, this book does offer excellent food for thought for people pondering that next glass of wine.
Features
An interesting writing style, sprinkled liberally with topical examples, e.g. studies on vitamin C, caffeine, causes of cancer, why frogs are in trouble, and why we age.
Will have wide appeal with lay readers and beginner scientists.
Reviews

"This book is a straight-forward, well-written, concise piece that skillfully covers…the methodologies of science in relationship to the life sciences. I highly recommend it to anyone who teaches these courses and places an emphasis, where it belongs, on 'how science works.'" –The Quarterly Review of Biology

"Though it might seem impossible to compress such a range of topics into about 200 very readable pages, Jenkins succeeds in providing a survey that might be of equal interest both for the curious reader in search for a popular state of the art discussion of the nine mentioned topics and for the methodologically-minded scholar looking for an introduction to the beauty and perplexities of biomedical research." –Metapsychology

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