Books in Secrets of Science series

The first patients to receive transplanted and artificial organs died, often after long periods of suffering. Despite these setbacks, the promise of saving a patient's life from an implanted organ was compelling enough to drive doctors and scientists to pursue transplants and artificial organs throughout the 20th century. Eventually, a number of medical pioneers succeeded in transplanting organs, including the heart. Man-made hearts have been less successful. This is the story of one man who has tried to overcome those odds. He is the son of a prominent surgeon and only became interested in medicine when heart disease nearly killed his father. Rejected by over a dozen medical schools, he left the United States to study in Italy and then worked in a New York medical supply house. His opportunity to be on the forefront of artificial heart development began when he was hired as a lab assistant earning just 100 dollars a week. He dreamed of creating an artificial heart. He hoped that someday a man-made heart could save the lives of people like his father. His name is Robert Jarvik and this is his story.

Written especially for young adult readers, this series helps place each significant invention, discovery, or development in historical perspective while exploring the life of the person responsible for each breakthrough. Readers will travel back in time to learn about each important scientific, medical, or technological discovery. No science fiction story even approximates the mystery and suspense contained in these true science biographies.Pioneering American geneticist best known for her discovery of "jumping genes."