Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy

Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach

Various body parts can be replaced. These are sometimes replaced by using the same part from another person. (This is common in the west,  but not in China.) Other times parts are grafted from different parts of the body or from other animals. Sometimes things are fully created implements. Sometimes "new" can be seen by people as better. I found it interesting that people would pull their teeth in order to use dentures. This seems crazy. But then today we may pull half-healthy teeth in order to put implants in place. Sometimes surgeries are done arbitrarily. This book provides a number of anecdotes of various people engaged in replacing body parts. It is created as a "popular" story rather than providing details. Genitalia and implants are covered as are various types of cosmetic implants. There is not a whole lot of coverage of "boring" replacements.

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law

Are law system is based on humans. Alas,  animals are not always law-abiding citizens. There have been attempts to sue various critters for violation of statutes. Large animals have killed humans. Forensics experts come to the seen to identify the culprit, analyzing the bite marks and sampling DNA. The animals often receive the death penalty if caught. However, animals have been wrongly accused of human actions (and vice versa).

Managing wildlife can be challenging. Bear safe containers work great if everybody uses them. However, a few unlocked containers can lead to a bear feasting ground. Aspen, Colorado was given as an example of a location that didn't enforce it's ordinance, leading to bears in town. Then the humans will complain of bear presence, leading to their suffering.

While killing the animal in town can eliminate the immediate threat, non-lethal actions are more challenging. An animal may just return after being relocated. Or it could cause trouble in another area. Trying to scare an animal off may work for a short term, but they eventually learn that the "scarecrow" is not lethal. For populations, even death will not help much. The remaining members will often pick up the slack and reproduce more.

Controlling reproduction is one means attempted to control problem animals. However, it is not easy. A huge percentage of the population must be "fixed" to help have an impact. There have been attempts to do genetic manipulation to prevent reproduction, but this has a plethora of potential negative impacts.

Many animal problems were actually human problems. Rats travelled with humans on ships. An introduced animal such as rabbits may breed out of control. Another animal is introduced to cull that population, only to have it reproduce and attack other populations. People may move into animal habitats or not take proper precautions. Animals are doing what they want to do, not what we expect them to do.