Rogue Genes
Middle-east terrorists capture polyploid boys from their village to fight as warriors in their country. At five, the boys look like diploid men, but will soon be nine-foot giants. Thanks to an influenza infection of their diploid parents, the boys carry genes for healing wounds and regenerating limbs, and for making vitamin C to keep them well. How did kidnappers enter Polysomia that night? Did the gate guard help them find the boys’ apartments? Will government agencies help in finding the boys? Meanwhile, the body of a diploid girl along with a large sum of money is found buried in the woods near the guardhouse. Did a polyploid kill the girl? Is the money a pay off from the kidnappers? Polyploids are quarantined, and with no from law enforcement must hire an investigator. He takes two polyploids with him on the search—a six-year old Iranian boy who speaks Farsi, a full grown polyploid with violent tendencies.
Why Water Plants Don't Drown
Flooding is a serious problem for plants. As with humans, when plants (and plant roots, in particular) that normally live out of water are submerged underwater, they suffocate. But plants that naturally live in wet places don't die! How are they able to survive in water when upland plants cannot? Sullivan explains how water plants have adapted strategies for overcoming the hazardous conditions of living in water.WHY WATER PLANTS DON'T DROWN begins with an introduction to the basic biological and ecological requirements of all plants (gas exchange, exposure to light, structural support, and reproduction). Sullivan goes on to describe how aquatic plants (Divers, Floaters, and Floating-Leaf Plants) meet those requirements. The second part of the book covers emergent wetland plants, which Sullivan refers to as Waders (plants that only get their "feet" wet).Adaptations for living in the water evolved at different times and from unrelated groups of upland plants. Sullivan's clear explanations and Elliott's lively illustrations make it effortless and fun to understand how plants adapted to living in water. Sullivan draws from her years of teaching and field experience to illuminate fascinating biological details of the many example species she includes for each category of water plants.The intriguing insights and colorful artistic interpretations will make any nature enthusiast eager to explore aquatic and wetland plant ecology.
Adoption
When six-year-old Mary's mother dies unexpectedly, she is "adopted" by her neighbors, Val and David. But nothing about Mary or her adoption is normal. She's a giant—nearly seven feet tall, brilliant and beautiful, the result of her mother's in vitro fertilization at a clinic in Vermilion, Louisiana. What happened? Did something go wrong? Or was it planned by doctors experimenting on humans? And if so, is it still happening in other fertility clinics in the United States, Russia, and North Korea? Val, a reluctant mother and professor of biology, becomes detective and protector. Her own research on the genetics of polyploid plants that have multiple sets of chromosomes give her insights and sympathy for this super, but outnumbered, new race of humans. A new race that is threatened by a fearful government and public, who want to eliminate them (and their differences) at any cost. Murder, mystery, speculative science, and a mother's love blend in a novel that asks us to consider what would happen if life were just a little bit different.
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