The Trembling Mountain by Robert Klitzman
Kuru, like Mad Cow disease, is caused by a rare, infectious crystal protein that invades and colonizes human cells, destroying the nervous system of its victims. There is no known cure. It flourished in one of the remotest places on earth, Papua New Guinea, among the Fore, a people living in the Stone Age, who until recently practiced ritual cannibalism, consuming the brains of their forebears during funerary feasts. Robert Klitzman helped establish the links between these rituals and kuru. What he discovered has provided keys to understanding the mysterious Mad Cow Disease, which may become the world's next major epidemic. Robert Klitzman was 21 years old when he was invited by the Nobel prize-winning scientist Dr. Carleton Gajdusek, then at the National Institutes of Health, to conduct original research on kuru. Seizing the chance to travel to the other end of the world, Klitzman embarked on an adventure that would change his life.Robert Klitzman, MD, is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Joseph Mailman School of Public Health, and the Director of the Masters of Bioethics Program at Columbia University. He has conducted research and written about a variety of bioethical
issues, and has authored or co-authored over 100 articles, and seven books, including Am I My Genes?: Confronting Fate and Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing; When Doctors Become Patients; Mortal Secrets: Truth and Lies in the Age of AIDS; Being Positive; A Year-long Night: Tales of a
Medical Internship; The Trembling Mountain: A Personal Account of Kuru, Cannibals, and Mad Cow Disease; and In a House of Dreams and Glass: Becoming a Psychiatrist. His work has appeared in JAMA, Science, and elsewhere, and also has written for the New York Times, Newsweek, The Nation, and other
publications. He has received several awards for his work, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Aaron Diamond Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund. He is a gubernatorial appointee to the
NY State Stem Cell Commission, and is member of the Research Ethics Advisory Panel of the US Department of Defense.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780306457920 |
| ISBN 10 | 030645792X |
| Title | The Trembling Mountain |
| Author | Robert Klitzman |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Hachette Books |
| Year published | 1998-05-01 |
| Number of pages | 326 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |