Overview

Even the greatest minds in medicine have been terribly, terribly wrong. The inventor of the lobotomy won a Nobel prize in medicine for destroying his patients' brains. Another Nobel laureate thought malaria cured syphilis. The discoverer of anaphylactic shock also researched the spirit world and ESP. A pioneer of organ transplants was an ardent eugenicist, while the founder of sports physiology heroically spoke out against Nazism. Boneheads and Brainiacs profiles the winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine from 1901 to 1950 - a surprisingly diverse group of racists, cranks and opportunists, as well as heroes, geniuses, and selfless benefactors of humanity. Forget all the ivory tower stereotypes of white-coated doctors finding miracle cures. Boneheads and Brainiacs reveals the messy human reality behind medical progress, in a highly entertaining book written for the ordinary reader. Some were bad scientists; others were great scientists and lousy human beings. But the majority of these researchers produced knowledge that now saves millions of lives - priceless discoveries like the role of vitamins in nutrition, the dangers of radiation, treatments for diabetes and deadly infectious diseases, and more. Boneheads and Brainiacs showcases the enthralling, all-too-human personal lives that made modern medicine possible. AUTHOR: Moira Dolan, MD, is a graduate of the University of Illinois School of Medicine and has been a practicing physician for over 30 years. Dr. Dolan is a patient advocate and public speaker who educates patients on their rights and the need for a healthy skepticism of the medical profession. She is a contributor to the blog SmartMEDinfo and the author of three previous books: No-Nonsense Guide to Antibiotics: Dangers, Benefits & Proper Use; No-Nonsense Guide to Cholesterol Medications: Informed Consent and Statin Drugs; and No-Nonsense Guide to Psychiatric Drugs: Including Mental Effects of Common Non-Psych Medications. Dr. Dolan maintains a private medical practice in Austin, Texas. SELLING POINTS: . Outrageously entertaining: A fascinating, funny, and occasionally disturbing look at the all-too-human side of medical research, from the personal foibles of Nobel laureates to the sometimes dangerous pseudoscience embraced by medical practitioners. . Informative but not boring: A great introduction to the history and practice of medical research for the lay reader, written in an easy, entertaining style. . Humanises medicine: Challenging stereotypes of ivory tower academics pursuing pure truth, Boneheads and Brainiacs uncovers the human biases, politics, and sometimes tawdry personal motivations that drive researchers to advance medical science and practice.

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9781610353502

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Very entertaining but also very enlightening. We tend to think of Nobel Prize winners, especially in medicine, as some sort of gods, but they are merely fallible humans and some are quite offbeat. Get it and read it and be prepared to learn and be entertained! --Lauren DeWitt, B.S. Pharmacy I absolutely loved reading Boneheads and Brainiacs. I was alternately delighted, surprised, and dismayed ... very enlightening, extremely interesting and fun. --Eleanor McCulley, RN Boneheads and Brainiacs is a dynamite read! From the beginning, it takes you through a scientific journey that both entertains and educates. It eloquently tells the background story of our Nobel prize winners for medicine with no blinders on. --Priscilla J. Alfaro, MD

Very entertaining but also very enlightening. We tend to think of Nobel Prize winners, especially in medicine, as some sort of gods, but they are merely fallible humans and some are quite offbeat. Get it and read it and be prepared to learn and be entertained! --Lauren DeWitt, B.S. Pharmacy

Author Information

Moira Dolan, MD, is a graduate of the University of Illinois School of Medicine and has been a practicing physician for over 30 years. She is the author of three previous books: No-Nonsense Guide to Antibiotics, No-Nonsense Guide to Cholesterol Medications and No-Nonsense Guide to Psychiatric Drugs. Dr. Dolan maintains a private medical practice in Austin, Texas.

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