Emily AnthesResenhas

while the first two chapters start out good, if afterwards turns into advertising for American architecture and technology companies. a bit too uncritical for my taste, particularly the last chapter about space settlements.

I received an ARC of this book at the ScienceOnline conference and immediately dove into it. I barely had time to finish it before my daughter stole the book from me and read it herself.

The book was a fantastically engaging look at the role the biotech revolution is beginning to play with multicellular lifeforms. For me, I couldn't stop thinking about where the early experiments being done now will lead us in the next 10, 20 or 50 years.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who desires a guide to the future of biological science and technology.

Nicht ganz das, was ich erwartet habe, es geht viel um Innenräume die nichts mit dem privaten Zuhause zu tun haben, Gefängnisse, Krankenhäuser, Leben auf dem Mars.....

A brief but interesting overview of biotechnology as it relates to animals, including genetic engineering and cloning. The prospects range from the altruistic (goats with elevated levels of lysozyme in their milk, aimed at preventing childhood diarrhea) to the dystopian (the theory of breeding animals with lower receptors for pain as a solution to modern farming's faults). Although Anthes looks at the potential negatives of the technology, as well as the ethical dilemmas it poses, the book ultimately comes off as biased due to her including a "vision" of a future where biotech (inc is used freely and positively. It's too easy to be starry eyed about technology that has not yet proven its utility.

I so enjoyed reading The Great Indoors. Every chapter was enlightening and interesting, the science made accessible and relevant. Emily Anthes wisely introduces readers to cutting-edge insights and ideas through a series of first person experiences of applied science.

I have been isolating in place since March 11, 2020. With very few trips into the world other than neighborhood walks; my life has been spent indoors. Our son, like millions of people, has worked from home. School closings meant our neighbor's children were educated from home.

Anthes begins her journey at home, the "indoor jungle" of microbial and insect species that we share our space with. Of course, many of these originate in our own bodies! Our personal bacteria, and those of our pets (who introduce outdoor microbes) create a personal, unique biome that we recreate wherever we take domicile.

Next, Anthes stops at the hospital. Those bacteria we share in our home get shared in the hospital rooms, persisting even after cleaning. Sure, we have come a long way; what more can be done? Anyone who has been overnight in a hospital knows the issues: sounds and lights that prevent sleep and raise stress; the awful views of roofs or walls from the windows. Studies prove that patients recuperate quicker and better when they have private rooms with a view.

Buildings themselves lead to the health issues that send us to hospital care in the first place. Giving people ways to exercise, encouraging the use of walking and stairs can help. Starting in elementary schools. Anthes visited a school built to encourage movement and good eating choices.

Finding the balance between privacy and communal interaction is a continuing workplace challenge. Cubicles are being replaced by unassigned workstations. I remember wearing a sweater in summertime air conditioning, and short sleeves in overheated winter offices. What is the best option--working in a crowded room or isolated in a private office?

The chapter on building to accommodate all people, including the disabled and handicapped, has broadened to include people on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Since every Autistic person has different needs, no one plant fits every need. We meet people seeking a space that allows independent living.

The history of prisons is a dark one, for even the 'improvements' were harsh. Quakers believed in reformation through isolation that allowed contemplation and repentance. The Philadelphia penitentiary built to enforce this isolation morphed into today's solitary confinement, which has proved to exacerbate mental health issues. Anthes visits a prison that feel home-like, with direct supervision and interaction between staff and inmates, have proven successful. Of course, the real solution to mass incarceration is investing in communities and addressing the root causes of crime.

Smart devices are all the rage. Some of us already are living a Jetsons life with high-tech homes. Robot vacuums and programmable appliances are fast becoming old technology. There are mirrors that can detect cardiovascular issues based on skin color. Senior residential floors that alert staff to falls. The implications are both comforting and disconcerting!

Soon after we moved into our retirement home, our community suffered a rare flood that destroyed thousands of home basements. It took years for most to haul out the damage and make repairs, with local contractors overwhelmed with work. We were lucky; situated on a hill, and having addressed basement cracks, we stayed dry. But for millions, flooding and rising water levels is a continual threat. It is amazing to read about floating homes and how houses can be retrofitted on a budget.

Last year I read about a woman's experience of live on Mars. Well, at least life in a biodome that recreated what it would be like to live in community on Mars. Scientists are studying what kind of buildings would be needed to live on the moon or on another planet. Even IKEA has been involved.

Every part of your life is addressed in The Great Indoors. Home, health, learning, independence, and the future.

I received a free book from the publisher through Goodreads.

I expected a dry read that would take me weeks but what a surprise! This book was fascinating and interesting. I like how she explained the biome in our houses and how it differed from other areas' homes biomes. She explained things so clearly.

I enjoyed as she explored the research into how architects are designing buildings better able to help us rather than hinder us. There was no favorite part for me but the stories of how people are using building design and bringing the outdoors indoors helped keep it interesting. As she is showing how schools, prisons, hospitals, accommodations for those with physical and mental disabilities, natural disaster areas, and outer space, she lets the architects, engineers, advocates, families, and users of these new designs explain the advantages over the traditional designs. Their voices add a level that makes it understandable. I hope that some of these design features (i.e. those in an assisted living facility, disaster areas, flood areas) come to an affordable fruition.

This is worth your time. Now when my mother asks me why I don't clean more often, I can say that I don't want to destroy an endangered species or an unknown species (Read chapter 1!) There is humor here and this is the most fun I've had reading non-fiction this month.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Emily Anthes' writing will make you take a deeper look at everything around you. As is obvious the vast majority of the things around you is indoors and there is a 99.99% chance you are reading this indoors. I came upon Emily's book at the cusp of the 2020 Quarantine on the west coast of the United States. I read this on my Kindle at Starbucks for a couple of days and then the quarantine took hold and the rest of the read happened at home. The majority of readers will be reading this book in quarantine as it comes out in June of 2020. Regardless of politics and places opening up for business the vast majority of people with common sense will be spending a lot more time indoors. When I read it as stated I was forced indoors which made the read all the more... enjoyable?... It is a great read but the circumstances around being forced to read it at home... not so much.

All this being said it made for great fun to read this book and then walk around the house and the front and back yard to really contemplate the research that Emily Anthes puts forward in The Great Indoors. The presentation of the research is engaging and accessible. It is organized fantastically and keeps you engaged. No part of this book 'goes on for too long' and the parts that are longer are fun to read. Emily guides you through the spaces you know best and it was really great to be surprised by the most familiar of spaces: my / your own four walls. Especially timely was the part on medical spaces. I very much hope that ahead of publication Emily can expand on this in some form to report on the front lines conditions of the impact COVID-19 has had either in the book or as some kind of additional digital release.

From your front door to public interiors to learning spaces healing spaces and even the future interior of outer spaces Emily Anthes brings forward how interiors shape all of us.

Good reading. I will be picking up the print book to hold onto and revisit the great research. Also the cover art! Totally beautiful cover art that I need to have in my library.½

Very interesting and easy to understand.

I guess if you really like the techy stuff....

Very thoroughly researched, Anthes examines the myriad biotechnology fields today from genetic engineering to cyborgs to prosthetics. I'm biased, but the opening chapters on genetics and cloning were well done (looked at other reviews and I am unsurprised to see people use that M word even if the science is doing). Re: genetic modification, she writes in the last chapter "The important thing is that we do not throw the genetically modified baby out with the bathwater. We spend so much time discussing the ethics of using our emerging scientific capabilities that we forget that NOT using them had ethical implications of its own." There are both good and bad ways tech can be used, but remember these are just tools- it is our responsibility to use them ethically and reasonably.

Short, interesting and lovely footnotes. If you're interested in science or the future, this is a very good read.

Good

How do you feel about the following?

Hypoallergenic cats - just as cuddly, but sniff free
A beagle who glows red in ultraviolet light
A goat whose milk contains antibodies to cure human ills
Salmon designed to grow to twice their normal size, even in winter
Enviropigs whose excrement contains 50% less phosphorous

Anthes takes a tour through the weird world of modified animals, be it via genetic engineering, cloning or robotics. We are coming on in leaps and bounds in what we can achieve with biotechnology and combining the electronics revolution with animals. Along the way Anthes raises ethical questions about whether we have the right to modify nature or if animals should have their own rights. There is a comprehensive set of notes if you want to explore more of the details she mentions. Anthes also gets to meet some of the movers and shakers in the fields she is investigating and also some of the animals, taking great delight to meet cloned cats and buys her own fluorescent fish. The possibilities for biotechnology are growing all the time and although Anthes makes clear that it is but a tool that can be used for good or ill you can’t help but feel a little trepidation about how it could be used for ill at the same time as being excited about how it could be used for good. The recent news of modified and highly armed dolphins escaping, with shades of [we3] http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/383961/Military-dolphins-trained-to-attack-u... shows one possible nightmare scenario and can we be comfortable with remote controlled insects in the hands of governments pursuing a surveillance society strategy? At the same time it’s exciting to see that experiments on paralysed rats may offer hope for people who have been paralysed through accidents or that animal prosthetics are finding uses in human prostheses and that there are some new exciting therapies for some brain diseases coming. Although reality is more prosaic than say [oryx and crake] or [the windup girl] we should be thinking hard about these issues and Anthes book is a great place to start. You can see Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail that Anthes spends some time with, here http://www.seewinter.com/ and it is inspiring to see that Winter is used to help children who have lost a limb come to terms with that.

Overall - Anthes writes with great intelligence and enthusiasm on her subject and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.