Explores the limits of human survival and the physiological adaptations that enable us to exist under extreme conditions. The author reviews limits to human life underwater, at high altitudes, at high speeds, at micro levels, and at freezing and hot temperatures.

From arid deserts to icy poles, outer space to the depths of the sea, this exciting new work studies the remarkable life forms that have made these inhospitable environments their home. Covering not only micro-organisms, but also higher plants and animals such as worms, fish and polar plants, this book details the ecological, biological and biogeochemical challenges these organisms face and unifying themes between environments. Equally useful for the expert, student and casual scientific reader, this book also explores the impact of climate change, rapid seasonal changes and pollution on these extraordinary creatures.

"Surviving the Extremes brings personal experience and scientific knowledge together beautifully, giving us narrative that are powerful, moving, and very real." -Oliver Sacks A true-life scientific thriller no reader will forget, Surviving the Extremes takes us to the farthest reaches of the earth as well as into the uncharted territory within the human body, spirit, and brain. A vice president of the legendary Explorers Club, as well as surgeon, explorer, and masterful storyteller, Dr. Kenneth Kamler has spent years discovering what happens to the human body in extreme environmental conditions. Divided into six sections—jungle, high seas, desert, underwater, high altitude, and outer space—this book uses firsthand testimony and documented accounts to investigate the science of what a body goes through and explains why people survive—and why they sometimes don’t.

Max Quinn's filmmaking career has taken him to the ends of the earth; from his native New Zealand to Alaska; Antarctica to the Arctic. A Life of Extremes is a personal account of his travel and work in these remote locations. It focuses on Max's polar filmmaking experiences, which started in 1991 when he spent 11 months filming the wildlife of Antarctica. The illuminating text and stunning images illustrate 20 years of subsequent adventures in polar climates. The stories in this book capture experiences that can only be had in the most extreme places on earth. Whether it be travelling 80 kilometres over crevassed ice to a lonely colony of Emperor penguins who have evolved to live and breed in temperatures as low as -50 degrees, or figuring out how to keep bodies and cameras warm in the coldest places on earth, Max Quinn has a story to tell about it. The historical background given to the tales will enthral any natural history buff, while filmmaking enthusiasts will wonder at the methods behind capturing life on the edge. Become inspired to leave the tourist trail behind with this unique book about what life is like behind the camera, beyond public transport and even human inhabitation. Learn about dog sled racing, the last great ice age, penguin colonies, and everything else that happens in the immensely beautiful landscapes where the temperature is permanently below freezing.

In anaesthetist Dr Kevin Fong's television programmes he has often demonstrated the impact of extremes on the human body by using his own body as a 'guinea pig'. So Dr Fong is well placed to share his experience of the sheer audacity of medical practice at extreme physiological limits, where human life is balanced on a knife edge. Through gripping accounts of extraordinary events and pioneering medicine, Dr Fong explores how our body responds when tested by the extremes of heat and cold, vacuum and altitude, age and disease. He shows how science, technology and medicine have taken what was once lethal in the world and made it survivable. This is not only a book about medicine, but also about exploration in its broadest sense - and about how, by probing the very limits of our biology, we may ultimately return with a better appreciation of how our bodies work, of what life is, and what it means to be human.

Ever since scientists first cloned Dolly, genetics has been a hot-button topic in the media and the political world. Authoritative texts that include interviews with experts, useful time lines, diagrams, glossaries, and more bring readers up to date on the latest findings of specific scientific issues and discoveries in the field of genetics, from the Human Genome Project to stem cell research to the National Geographic's own Genographic Project.