Now updated with groundbreaking research, this award-winning classic examines the construction of sexual identity in biology, society, and history. Why do some people prefer heterosexual love while others fancy the same sex? Is sexual identity biologically determined or a product of convention? In this brilliant and provocative book, the acclaimed author of Myths of Gender argues that even the most fundamental knowledge about sex is shaped by the culture in which scientific knowledge is produced. Drawing on astonishing real-life cases and a probing analysis of centuries of scientific research, Fausto-Sterling demonstrates how scientists have historically politicized the body. In lively and impassioned prose, she breaks down three key dualisms -- sex/gender, nature/nurture, and real/constructed -- and asserts that individuals born as mixtures of male and female exist as one of five natural human variants and, as such, should not be forced to compromise their differences to fit a flawed societal definition of normality.

Laboratory facilities are complex, technically sophisticated, and mechanically intensive structures that are expensive to build and to maintain. Hundreds of decisions must be made before and during new construction or renovation that will determine how successfully the facility will function when completed and how successfully it can be maintained once put into service. This book provides guidance on effective approaches for building laboratory facilities in the chemical and biochemical sciences. It contains both basic and laboratory-specific information addressed to the user communityâ€"the scientists and administrators who contract with design and construction experts. The book will also be important to the design and construction communitiesâ€"the architects, laboratory designers, and engineers who will design the facility and the construction personnel who will build itâ€"to help them communicate with the scientific community for whom they build laboratory facilities.