Luba Vikhanski

Daphna Joel

Das Märchen von männlichen und weiblichen Gehirnen Wissenschaft macht Politik – und formt die Gesellschaft. So hat die männlich dominierte Hirnforschung über Jahrhunderte wirkmächtig die Lüge von den strukturellen Unterschieden zwischen männlichen und weiblichen Gehirnen "bewiesen" – und damit die biologische Überlegenheit des Mannes manifestiert. Die israelische Neurowissenschaftlerin Daphna Joel deckt auf, warum sich dieser Mythos so hartnäckig hält und wer von ihm profitiert. Sie belegt anhand neuester Studien und ihrer eigenen Grundlagenforschung, dass Männer- und Frauengehirne nicht von Natur aus unterschiedlich ticken, und erklärt, was wirklich unser Denken und unser Handeln beeinflusst. Mit ihrem Manifest stellt Daphna Joel den neuen Feminismus auf wissenschaftliche Füße.

Wie die Neurowissenschaft die Genderdebatte revolutioniert

Das Gehirn hat kein Geschlecht

Prof. Daphna Joel

This timely manifesto calls for a future free from gender-based assumptions about human potential. Written by the internationally renowned neuroscientist whose game-changing research debunks the myth of male and female brains. For generations we've been taught that women and men differ in profound ways. Women are supposedly more sensitive and cooperative, whereas men are more aggressive and sexual because this or that region in the brains of women is larger or smaller than in the brains of men, or because they have more or less of this or that hormone. This story seems to provide us with a neat biological explanation for much of what we encounter in day-to-day life. It's even sometimes used to explain why, for example, most teachers are women and most engineers are men. But is it true? Using the ground-breaking results from her own lab and from other recent studies, neuroscientist Daphna Joel shows that it is not. Instead, argues Joel, every brain - and every human being - is a mosaic, or mixture, of 'female' and 'male' characteristics. With urgent practical implications for the world around us, this is a fascinating look at gender - how it works, its history and its future - and a sorely needed investigation into the false basis of our most fundamental beliefs. Perfect for readers of Mary Beard's Women & Power, Cordelia Fine's Testosterone Rex, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists and Gina Rippon's The Gendered Brain. 'Brilliantly accessible. Gender Mosaic takes you on a fascinating scientific journey that will transform how you think about sex, gender and the brain.' Cordelia Fine, author of Testosterone Rex

Beyond the Myth of the Male and Female Brain

The Gender Mosaic

Daphna Joel PhD

Gender Mosaic

In October 1882, while peering through a microscope at starfish larvae in which he had inserted tiny thorns, Russian zoologist Elie Metchnikoff had a brilliant insight: what if the mobile cells he saw gathering around the thorns were the same as white blood cells that traveled to the site of an injury or infection in a human or other animal? Was this some form of cellular defense? Metchnikoff’s theory of immunity, that phagocytes—white blood cells—formed the first line of defense against invading bacteria would eventually earn the scientist the unofficial moniker “Father of Natural Immunity” and a Nobel Prize, but first he had to convince his colleagues, including the skeptical Louis Pasteur. Author Luba Vikhanski chronicles Metchnikoff’s remarkable life, work, and discoveries in Immunity, the first modern biography of this hero of medicine. Metchnikoff was a towering figure in the scientific community of the early 20th century, a tireless humanitarian who also worked to curb outbreaks of cholera, rabies, syphilis, and other deadly diseases, and pioneered research into probiotics and gerontology. Though Metchnikoff is largely forgotten today, primarily because of the discovery of antibiotics, Vikhanski makes a compelling case that his work on natural immunity is finally receiving the long overdue attention it deserves.

How Elie Metchnikoff Changed the Course of Modern Medicine

Immunity

Around Christmas of 1882, while peering through a microscope at starfish larvae in which he had inserted tiny thorns, Russian zoologist Elie Metchnikoff had a brilliant insight: what if the mobile cells he saw gathering around the thorns were the same as white blood cells that traveled to the site of an injury or infection in a human or other animal? Was this some form of cellular defense? Metchnikoff's theory of immunity, that phagocytes—white blood cells—formed the first line of defense against invading bacteria would eventually earn the scientist the unofficial moniker "Father of Natural Immunity" and a Nobel Prize. But first, he had to convince his colleagues, including the skeptical Robert Koch. Author Luba Vikhanski chronicles Metchnikoff's remarkable life, work, and discoveries in Immunity, the first modern biography of this hero of medicine. Metchnikoff was a towering figure in the scientific community of the early 20th century, a tireless humanitarian who worked to curb cholera, syphilis, and other diseases, and pioneered research into probiotics and gerontology. Though Metchnikoff is largely forgotten today, Vikhanski makes a compelling case that his work on natural immunity is finally receiving the attention it deserves.

With profound implications for our most foundational assumptions about gender, Gender Mosaic explains why there is no such thing as a male or female brain. For generations, we've been taught that women and men differ in profound and important ways. Women are more sensitive and emotional, whereas men are more aggressive and sexual, because this or that region in the brains of women is smaller or larger than in men, or because they have more or less of this or that hormone. This story seems to provide us with a neat biological explanation for much of what we encounter in day-to-day life. But is it true? According to neuroscientist Daphna Joel, it's not. And in Gender Mosaic, she sets forth a bold and compelling argument that debunks the notion of female and male brains. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, including the groundbreaking results of her own studies, Dr. Joel explains that every human brain is a unique mixture -- or mosaic -- of "male" and "female" features, and that these mosaics don't map neatly into two categories. With urgent practical implications for the way we understand ourselves and the world around us, Gender Mosaic is a fascinating look at the science of gender, sex and the brain, and at how freeing ourselves from the gender binary can help us all reach our full human potential.

This timely manifesto calls for a future free from gender-based assumptions about human potential. Written by the internationally renowned neuroscientist whose game-changing research debunks the myth of male and female brains. For generations we've been taught that women and men differ in profound ways. Women are supposedly more sensitive and cooperative, whereas men are more aggressive and sexual because this or that region in the brains of women is larger or smaller than in the brains of men, or because they have more or less of this or that hormone. This story seems to provide us with a neat biological explanation for much of what we encounter in day-to-day life. It's even sometimes used to explain why, for example, most teachers are women and most engineers are men. But is it true? Using the ground-breaking results from her own lab and from other recent studies, neuroscientist Daphna Joel shows that it is not. Instead, argues Joel, every brain - and every human being - is a mosaic, or mixture, of 'female' and 'male' characteristics. With urgent practical implications for the world around us, this is a fascinating look at gender - how it works, its history and its future - and a sorely needed investigation into the false basis of our most fundamental beliefs. Perfect for readers of Mary Beard's Women & Power, Cordelia Fine's Testosterone Rex, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists and Gina Rippon's The Gendered Brain. 'Brilliantly accessible. Gender Mosaic takes you on a fascinating scientific journey that will transform how you think about sex, gender and the brain.' Cordelia Fine, author of Testosterone Rex 'A power-packed manifesto that envisions what our world might look like if we let go of tired gender stereotypes.' - Sarah Richardson, author of Sex Itself 'Gender Mosaic is the book I've been waiting for! Enlightening, funny and never dogmatic, Joel plumbs the science, offering great insights into how moving beyond that stale story of the male and female brain could improve medicine, education, careers and relationships.' - Rebecca Jordan-Young, author of Brain Storm 'Joel and Vikhanski offer a fascinating glimpse of what's possible when we liberate ourselves from the myth of pink and blue brains.' - Lise Eliot PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science 'This is a fantastic book. It is one of the best books about sex, gender, biology, and the brain - and the social implications of these issues - that I have ever read. The writing is clear, captivating, and concise - and the content is groundbreaking. This is a visionary and brave book.' - Rebecca S. Bigler, Professor Emeritx of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin

Luba Vikhanski

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