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Genes & Cells

Cellular suicide inspires new ways to kill harmful bacteria, plus test-tube sperm and insulin alternatives in this week’s news.

Loving + Hating Mathematics by Reuben Hersh and Vera John-Steiner

Tales of mathematicians’ engagement with their subject bring to life this examination of the human and cultural aspects of math. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 416 p., $29.95.

The Most Human Human by Brian Christian

The Turing test competition, an annual search for the most “human” computer, is the thread in this tour through the makings of human intelligence. Doubleday, 2011, 303 p., $27.95.

Letters

Water at the start, and later “Liquid acquisition” (SN: 1/15/11, p.