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Like a Virgin by Prasad, Aarathi. (Oneworld Publications,2012) [Paperback]
Like a Virgin by Prasad, Aarathi. . Oneworld, 2012 .
- GenresScienceNonfictionMedical
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2012
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About the author
Aarathi Prasad
6 books34 followersAarathi Prasad was born in London to an Indian mother and a Trinidadian father and was educated in the West Indies and the UK. After a PhD in genetics she worked in research, science policy, and communication. She has presented documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. She is the author of Like A Virgin: How Science is Redesigning the Rules of Sex; and In the Bonesetter’s Waiting Room: travels through Indian Medicine. She works at University College London.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 6, 2016
Like A Virgin is an incredibly fascinating non-fiction book about how a virgin birth could be possible. Many ideas are explored, and are attempted to be explained. Many historical figures are also used, for example with the use of (William) Harvey in The Renaissance;
“Harvey believed that all life came from eggs: not just for birds, which was obvious, but for mammals too.”
Harvey offered a different approach than most other scientists, who, at the time, believed that all life came from sperm.
The tale of how Mary produced a child from a virgin birth (without the use of a man/sperm) was also attempted to be explained. No conclusive evidence will ever be made, however, because she has been dead for thousands of years.
We also learn about how men could ever bear children, which is completely fascinating, there are also case studies of where a womb is transplanted.
In order to read this, you need a little bit of knowledge about the human body, for example how the reproductive organs function (and other organs too). Although, if you don't you can still infer a lot of information from the explanations. But many things aren't explained.
While LaV is full of interesting information, it is written dully. Where you're interested in the topic, but the way it's delivered isn't very appealing, and I often found myself engaging in other activities while reading. I read a chapter a day, which is a fair pace for this type of book. However, I found myself becoming bored half-way through.
But, I have to say LaV is really fascinating book, filled with information about fertility, and twins, and many other items- There's even an index in the back. It is also written really well.
Although it's informative, it's very hard for the average person to understand.
I received a copy of Like a Virgin in exchange for an honest review
“Harvey believed that all life came from eggs: not just for birds, which was obvious, but for mammals too.”
Harvey offered a different approach than most other scientists, who, at the time, believed that all life came from sperm.
The tale of how Mary produced a child from a virgin birth (without the use of a man/sperm) was also attempted to be explained. No conclusive evidence will ever be made, however, because she has been dead for thousands of years.
We also learn about how men could ever bear children, which is completely fascinating, there are also case studies of where a womb is transplanted.
In order to read this, you need a little bit of knowledge about the human body, for example how the reproductive organs function (and other organs too). Although, if you don't you can still infer a lot of information from the explanations. But many things aren't explained.
While LaV is full of interesting information, it is written dully. Where you're interested in the topic, but the way it's delivered isn't very appealing, and I often found myself engaging in other activities while reading. I read a chapter a day, which is a fair pace for this type of book. However, I found myself becoming bored half-way through.
But, I have to say LaV is really fascinating book, filled with information about fertility, and twins, and many other items- There's even an index in the back. It is also written really well.
Although it's informative, it's very hard for the average person to understand.
I received a copy of Like a Virgin in exchange for an honest review
January 1, 2013
First sentence: "For most of human history, women have been given little credit when it comes to childbearing."
In this book, Aarathi Prasad chronicles reproductive technology from the fertility "treatments" of the middle ages and the Renaissance (eating powdered boar testicles, drinking sheep's urine and avoiding mules like the plague) to the first successful artificial insemination in 1776 to the first test tube baby in 1978 to surrogacy, egg donation, artificial wombs, ovary and uterus transplants, sperm and eggs made from stem cells, etc. The author looks toward a future in which conception, pregnancy, and birth happen in any and every way except the usual way.
This book made me think and feel lots of things. At first, I found it incredible that anyone even manages to reproduce with all of the things that can go wrong and everything against it. Secondly, it made me feel like I'm wasting all my good fertile years and should start having babies yesterday (thankfully no rash decisions were made :-P). Then the book made me squirm with its descriptions of ovarian teratomas and vesico-vaginal fistulas (believe me you do not want to know). The book was interesting to say the least. I felt the book was very approachable. The science is presented in a way that is easy to understand even if you've never taken a biology class in your life. I think the author does a good job presenting all sides of arguments regarding artificial reproductive technology and the things that could go wrong though she is ultimately hopeful that these technologies will do more good than harm. Much of the book sounds like science fiction, but it makes you think about science and childbirth in a whole new way.
I did feel that the book is somewhat biased against men. The author seems to be a bit of a radical feminist thinking that soon men won't be necessary to procreation at all. It seemed that she pushed this agenda more than necessary especially in early chapters, though she became more balanced in later chapters showing that these reproductive technologies can help men have children without women just as much as they will help women have children without men. The author also ended up repeating herself a lot throughout the book which became annoying at times.
I learned a lot of things from the book which is ultimately what I look for in books such as this; the gleaning of more useless knowledge. It was a quite interesting book and I recommend it to anyone interested in reproductive science.
In this book, Aarathi Prasad chronicles reproductive technology from the fertility "treatments" of the middle ages and the Renaissance (eating powdered boar testicles, drinking sheep's urine and avoiding mules like the plague) to the first successful artificial insemination in 1776 to the first test tube baby in 1978 to surrogacy, egg donation, artificial wombs, ovary and uterus transplants, sperm and eggs made from stem cells, etc. The author looks toward a future in which conception, pregnancy, and birth happen in any and every way except the usual way.
This book made me think and feel lots of things. At first, I found it incredible that anyone even manages to reproduce with all of the things that can go wrong and everything against it. Secondly, it made me feel like I'm wasting all my good fertile years and should start having babies yesterday (thankfully no rash decisions were made :-P). Then the book made me squirm with its descriptions of ovarian teratomas and vesico-vaginal fistulas (believe me you do not want to know). The book was interesting to say the least. I felt the book was very approachable. The science is presented in a way that is easy to understand even if you've never taken a biology class in your life. I think the author does a good job presenting all sides of arguments regarding artificial reproductive technology and the things that could go wrong though she is ultimately hopeful that these technologies will do more good than harm. Much of the book sounds like science fiction, but it makes you think about science and childbirth in a whole new way.
I did feel that the book is somewhat biased against men. The author seems to be a bit of a radical feminist thinking that soon men won't be necessary to procreation at all. It seemed that she pushed this agenda more than necessary especially in early chapters, though she became more balanced in later chapters showing that these reproductive technologies can help men have children without women just as much as they will help women have children without men. The author also ended up repeating herself a lot throughout the book which became annoying at times.
I learned a lot of things from the book which is ultimately what I look for in books such as this; the gleaning of more useless knowledge. It was a quite interesting book and I recommend it to anyone interested in reproductive science.
September 3, 2015
يذهلني تطور العلم في ال٢٠٠ سنة الماضية ، فبعد أن كنا نعتقد أن الحيوان المنوي ما هو إلا إنسان صغير وأن بويضات المرأة ما هي إلا بيت لتغذية الجنين ، صرنا نرى ملايين الحيوانات المنوية التي تغزو البويضة وعند اختراق واحد منها لها فإنها تتصلب منعا لدخول الآخرين ، فضلا عن وجود الكثير من العيوب التي تقلل من قوة الحيوان المنوي منها الرأس الصغير أو الكبير أو المدبب أو المشوه أو ذو الرأسين أو تحول ذيولاً ضعيفة أو مكسرة فلا تستطيع الزحف نحو هدفها.
وبعد أن ساد الاعتقاد أن المرأة هي من تحدد جنس الجنين ، اقتنع العلماء أن الذكر هو من يحدده لأنه يملك الكروموسوم y و x والذين يحدد أحدهما جنس الجنين ، لكن عاد الجدل مرة أخرى من كون البويضات مبرمجة تلقائيا لاستقبال أحد الكروموسومين وبالتالي تكون الأنثى هي من تحدد جنس المولود ، وهناك دراسة على الفئران تتحدث عن كون الأم التي تتناول غذاءا غنيا بالدهون يبدين ميلا لإنجاب الذكور.
لا يزال زواج الأقارب شائعا عند العرب واليهود والهنود واليابانيين وقد يكون لبعضها أسباب اجتماعية منها تكديس الثروة في العائلة مع كون المبدأ العام يقول أن زواج الأقارب أمر سيء صحيا وجينيا بسبب تراكم الجينات الحاملة للأمراض والأسقام في وعاء واحد ، لكن في بعض الحالات يلعب زواج الأقارب دورا كبيرا في مساعدة البشر على التكيف مع التهديدات ، فمثلا المصابون بالثلاسيميا يكونون محميين من مرض الملاريا الذي تتعلق طفيلته عادة بجزيئات الدم ، فزواج الأقارب يزيد من فرص تمرير نسختين من أشكال الجينات الواقية وبالتالي يزيد من عدد الأشخاص الذين لديهم مقاومة للملاريا.
يراهن بعض العلماء على إمكانية إنجاز الرحم الاصطناعي مع وجود الكثير من المضاعفات والصعوبات ، بل يراهنون على تحكم العلم بالتخلق الكامل للأجنة البشرية خلال مئة عام في رحم يخلو من النيكوتين والكحول و عقاقير خطيرة والأخطار الأخرى التي تحدق بالمرأة الحانل ، والملفت حصول أول عملية زراعة رحم بشري في جدة في عام ٢٠٠٠ ، وحصلت دورتان طمث طبيعيتين ثم تمت إزالة الرحم المزروع بسبب حصول خثرة في وعاء دموي رُبط جراحيا بالرحم ، ويوجد الكثير من حالات استئجار الأرحام في الهند ، لكن ذلك كله يثير جدلية أخلاقية ستجعل من حصول الاخصاب في صندوق مغلق أو في رحم امرأة أخرى أمراً يحمل العديد من التساؤلات الأخلاقية والثقافية.
October 1, 2012
This was an interesting book - approaching reproduction very much from a biological rather than human standpoint. However, I took issue with a number of things that were presented as 'fact' without any source references. Also, this is not a book to tackle when you're feeling tired as a lot of the sentences have a few too many clauses for comfort.
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December 14, 2012Whatever was there to say was said in the first 100 pages. Author repeats herself thereafter. Unfinished...
April 24, 2013
Modern humans about sorted their contraception, but the reproductive options are still limited to the variations on the “egg + sperm = baby”. The amazon review of Aarthy Prasad’s book has promised that it “delivers an astonishing exploration of the mysteries of sex and evolution past, present, and future” and I was mostly interested in the present research summary and the blue sky options.
Unexpectedly, I liked the historical account of research into reproductive biology. It’s interesting to realise how women’s role in reproduction was considered a passive receptacle of male “vital power” - a whole embryo had been found by some “scientists” curled up in the sperm head. At the same time inability to conceive or produce a male heir ( the story of Henry VIII and his 6 wives comes to mind) had been repeatedly blamed on women.
The “present” part of the book is full of truly astonishing facts about human and animal reproduction biology - I was very impressed by hyenas and a woman who accidentally got pregnant while lacking the vagina. ‘Like a Virgin’ contains the best description of three layers of embryo I've ever seen and description of epigenetic programming of placenta development is really fascinating.
But as the book approaches the modern pioneering research, the narrative is flagging, disintegrating into a patchwork description of different labs’ research in progress and other topics loosely connected to human reproduction in XXI century. It jumps from reproductive materials trafficking to surrogate agencies in Mumbai, to ovaries transplantation, to solo parents - individuals who choose to have and raise children without a partner. The true virgin birth in mice described on one page - the field of non-canonical reproduction is simply not mature enough to write a book about.
The question I expected to be covered, which Dr.Prasad doesn’t ask, is why do we want to have a virgin birth? The explanation proposed is that solo parents will ultimately want the sole (pun intended) source of genetic material. May be I am not narcissistic enough, but I wouldn’t want to produce a second generation copy of myself, either through cloning or a virgin birth - one of the joys of the sexual reproduction is the lottery of similar and new features of the child.
So if you are interested in a collection of amusing facts about reproductive biology, I recommend you to read the book, but if you interested in the state of art in the field of reproductive biology - try Nature reviews instead. And sorry but I can;' recommend anything comprehensible about the ethics of human reproduction.
Unexpectedly, I liked the historical account of research into reproductive biology. It’s interesting to realise how women’s role in reproduction was considered a passive receptacle of male “vital power” - a whole embryo had been found by some “scientists” curled up in the sperm head. At the same time inability to conceive or produce a male heir ( the story of Henry VIII and his 6 wives comes to mind) had been repeatedly blamed on women.
The “present” part of the book is full of truly astonishing facts about human and animal reproduction biology - I was very impressed by hyenas and a woman who accidentally got pregnant while lacking the vagina. ‘Like a Virgin’ contains the best description of three layers of embryo I've ever seen and description of epigenetic programming of placenta development is really fascinating.
But as the book approaches the modern pioneering research, the narrative is flagging, disintegrating into a patchwork description of different labs’ research in progress and other topics loosely connected to human reproduction in XXI century. It jumps from reproductive materials trafficking to surrogate agencies in Mumbai, to ovaries transplantation, to solo parents - individuals who choose to have and raise children without a partner. The true virgin birth in mice described on one page - the field of non-canonical reproduction is simply not mature enough to write a book about.
The question I expected to be covered, which Dr.Prasad doesn’t ask, is why do we want to have a virgin birth? The explanation proposed is that solo parents will ultimately want the sole (pun intended) source of genetic material. May be I am not narcissistic enough, but I wouldn’t want to produce a second generation copy of myself, either through cloning or a virgin birth - one of the joys of the sexual reproduction is the lottery of similar and new features of the child.
So if you are interested in a collection of amusing facts about reproductive biology, I recommend you to read the book, but if you interested in the state of art in the field of reproductive biology - try Nature reviews instead. And sorry but I can;' recommend anything comprehensible about the ethics of human reproduction.
May 16, 2014
I was gifted this book as part of the GoodReads giveaway.
"Like a Virgin" is, first, highly readable. As a happily childless woman I am not particularly interested in the ins and outs of the uterus (the reason I wanted to read this was the more science fictional aspects explored) but even the biology parts were made interesting by not overly complicated explanations that leave you with a good general idea of things going from DNA splitting to the consequences of assisted reproduction, both physical and cultural (eg. India is rife with young women becoming surrogate mothers for foreigners who can pay them a third of what they would pay a woman in their countries).
Since same sex couples were mentioned quite a bit (enough to be inclusive, let´s say). Interestingly, there´s a rat in Japan that has two mummies, one of which donated a younger egg that somehow was used to fertilize the mature egg of the first.
Y chromosomes are, many fear, on their way out, as they have only 80 genes to the 1000 or more of the X and since they have to partner with an X chromosome when an embryo is created, they cannot exchange genetic information to "update" themselves, being limited to reshuffling the genes internally. Of course, without Y chromosomes regular males cannot be produced (fertile XY males), making a possibility of the all female world like many proposed in sci-fi (are there any biologically all-male worlds? I know of some where women and men live separately but none were women have disappeared).
Very interesting, my only concern reading this in May 2014 is that the information might by now be slightly outdated or at least not fully updated. Such is the destiny of printed press, another disappearing model. Because of that and the fact that it´s not very in-depth (It´s not MEANT to be but I feel a little more would not have hurt the readability factor) I'm giving it 3.5 stars.
"Like a Virgin" is, first, highly readable. As a happily childless woman I am not particularly interested in the ins and outs of the uterus (the reason I wanted to read this was the more science fictional aspects explored) but even the biology parts were made interesting by not overly complicated explanations that leave you with a good general idea of things going from DNA splitting to the consequences of assisted reproduction, both physical and cultural (eg. India is rife with young women becoming surrogate mothers for foreigners who can pay them a third of what they would pay a woman in their countries).
Since same sex couples were mentioned quite a bit (enough to be inclusive, let´s say). Interestingly, there´s a rat in Japan that has two mummies, one of which donated a younger egg that somehow was used to fertilize the mature egg of the first.
Y chromosomes are, many fear, on their way out, as they have only 80 genes to the 1000 or more of the X and since they have to partner with an X chromosome when an embryo is created, they cannot exchange genetic information to "update" themselves, being limited to reshuffling the genes internally. Of course, without Y chromosomes regular males cannot be produced (fertile XY males), making a possibility of the all female world like many proposed in sci-fi (are there any biologically all-male worlds? I know of some where women and men live separately but none were women have disappeared).
Very interesting, my only concern reading this in May 2014 is that the information might by now be slightly outdated or at least not fully updated. Such is the destiny of printed press, another disappearing model. Because of that and the fact that it´s not very in-depth (It´s not MEANT to be but I feel a little more would not have hurt the readability factor) I'm giving it 3.5 stars.
February 21, 2015
"Male plus female equals baby will no longer be our only path forward. As we conceive the once inconceivable and take full control of how and when we bring the next generation into the world, we are sure to dislodge many notions of sex and gender along the way" - Aarathi Prasad.
The title is enticing and so are the first 150 pages. By that time, you are hooked on the book and regardless of how repetitive the author sounds, you finish the damn thing.
The best thing about this book? The simplicity of language used to explain VERY difficult biological processes specifically, sexual reproduction. Every chapter starts with a documented story, which makes it easier to relate the processes to an actual occurrence.
Very informative. The book is a birthing process. Starts off with speculations about natural virgin birth over the centuries, the discovery of sperms/eggs, ovaries/testes and then provides intricate biology of the egg, the womb, and the fertilization. The last few chapters change direction and look at artificial fertilization including egg/sperm donations, IVF, ART, AID & IUI. The book ends with discussing the ethics of being solo parents (via artificial means) and challenging the traditional ways of human sexual reproduction.
The title is enticing and so are the first 150 pages. By that time, you are hooked on the book and regardless of how repetitive the author sounds, you finish the damn thing.
The best thing about this book? The simplicity of language used to explain VERY difficult biological processes specifically, sexual reproduction. Every chapter starts with a documented story, which makes it easier to relate the processes to an actual occurrence.
Very informative. The book is a birthing process. Starts off with speculations about natural virgin birth over the centuries, the discovery of sperms/eggs, ovaries/testes and then provides intricate biology of the egg, the womb, and the fertilization. The last few chapters change direction and look at artificial fertilization including egg/sperm donations, IVF, ART, AID & IUI. The book ends with discussing the ethics of being solo parents (via artificial means) and challenging the traditional ways of human sexual reproduction.
September 20, 2016
A very well-researched book that looks at the developments in human reproduction and the direction in which it is proceeding. That's mainly towards removing the role of men and women as we know at present. According to Prasad, this is not a bad thing.
There are fascinating historical accounts of medical intervention in human reproduction right from antiquity to the present. Prasad sees current developments as helping women and men (in all permutations and combinations of relationships and those not in one as well) have children at any time in their life during and after the fertile years. it redefines what 'fertility' will mean in the future.
The title is rather a provocative one. I guess the marketing department had a hand in it.
Despite being a scientist, Prasad's writing is quite accessible. I enjoying reading the book except the last chapter or so where my attention flagged. That's probably more my fault than hers.
Read if you like to read about the future of reproductive science.
There are fascinating historical accounts of medical intervention in human reproduction right from antiquity to the present. Prasad sees current developments as helping women and men (in all permutations and combinations of relationships and those not in one as well) have children at any time in their life during and after the fertile years. it redefines what 'fertility' will mean in the future.
The title is rather a provocative one. I guess the marketing department had a hand in it.
Despite being a scientist, Prasad's writing is quite accessible. I enjoying reading the book except the last chapter or so where my attention flagged. That's probably more my fault than hers.
Read if you like to read about the future of reproductive science.
December 28, 2012
Aarathi manages to cover a range of areas associated with sex, sexual intercourse, fertilisation, implantation, genetics and artificial...you name it!
An eye-opening book which left me wondering...given how difficult it is to actually get pregnant, how is it that there are 7+ billion people in the world!
An eye-opening book which left me wondering...given how difficult it is to actually get pregnant, how is it that there are 7+ billion people in the world!
September 4, 2018
You should possibly leave morals, scruples, ethics etc at the door before reading this otherwise you may (as I did) get incensed at some of the experiments that are undertaken in the name of science and without comment from the author. However, this is a really interesting and relevant book which is definitely worth reading although the science lost me on a few occasions. Good to know that sperm swim faster in space though!! I would love to know how they found that out.
February 28, 2017
Very interesting. Talks about how a virgin brith could be possible. IE.: what if s fetus could be gestated entirely outside of a woman's body with the perfection of an artificial womb.
February 11, 2017
I received a free copy of this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
This book lay unread for several weeks as it seemed a bit daunting. I'm not sure that I want the rules of sex to be redesigned....everything has been fine the way it's been so far!
Anyway,although I found the book hard going in places, I was pleased that I persevered as I unexpectedly developed an interest in the subject. Despite my initial misgivings, I did take on board much of what was expounded and it certainly made me think about things in rather a different way. It seems pretty much anything is possible!
Overall a good read and recommended, but there seemed to be a fair bit of repetition and some strategic editing ( correction) would have further improved the work.
This book lay unread for several weeks as it seemed a bit daunting. I'm not sure that I want the rules of sex to be redesigned....everything has been fine the way it's been so far!
Anyway,although I found the book hard going in places, I was pleased that I persevered as I unexpectedly developed an interest in the subject. Despite my initial misgivings, I did take on board much of what was expounded and it certainly made me think about things in rather a different way. It seems pretty much anything is possible!
Overall a good read and recommended, but there seemed to be a fair bit of repetition and some strategic editing ( correction) would have further improved the work.
February 13, 2014
This was completely not what I was expecting. I was expecting an intimate glimpse into future science backed up by current research and lots of in-text citations.
Unfortunately, this book was mainly a recounting of the misconceptions of the past several centuries, peppered here and there with interesting tidbits about current research (with NO citations or footnotes), and tons of the author's own biased speculations about what the future holds.
Unfortunately, this book was mainly a recounting of the misconceptions of the past several centuries, peppered here and there with interesting tidbits about current research (with NO citations or footnotes), and tons of the author's own biased speculations about what the future holds.
September 10, 2016
An incredibly fascinating look at how humans are created--either naturally or through science. Prasad has an engaging way of writing about scientific concepts which is readable by a layperson, but not so dumbed down that you feel pandered and condescended to.
My one quibble with this book is that I wish she had raised, even perhaps in a conclusion, whether in an over-populated world, where billions live in poverty, we should be devoting immense resources to creating more people.
My one quibble with this book is that I wish she had raised, even perhaps in a conclusion, whether in an over-populated world, where billions live in poverty, we should be devoting immense resources to creating more people.
Read
May 4, 2020interesting but the writing was too dry to really grab me. I may come back to it next year.
May 18, 2014
Interesting resd, and fresh look at the future of human reproduction.
However, I would have wanted to see illustrations and photographs of the cases discussed. Also, better editing is needed.
However, I would have wanted to see illustrations and photographs of the cases discussed. Also, better editing is needed.
February 1, 2015
Started strong, ended with a flat tone.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews