Ammon's Horn, or The Mystery of the Brain - A Novel

Informationen zum Autor Pierre Magistretti Klappentext "Spurred by his wife's Alzheimer's diagnosis and disenchanted with the slow progress of science in finding a cure, a rich Swiss businessman launches a contest for promising young neuroscientists who can think "outside the box." Five scientists compete for $100 million and the opportunity to head a new institute dedicated to research for the cure of Alzheimer's disease. Chosen on the basis of their scientific excellence and originality, they must travel throughout Europe in search of the answers to five fiendishly difficult riddles, each comprising an enigmatic neuroscientific question combined with a geographical and historical challenge. The personal stories of the competitors unfold while we follow and share with them their moments of elation and disappointment as they solve a riddle or reach a dead-end. Soon a conspiracy materializes to threaten and endanger the scientists in what seems at first a random way, but then becomes increasingly deliberate and targeted. The nature of the riddles and the talents of the competitors open a world of discovery for us, too, as we learn about some of the most pressing questions in current brain research, such as neurodegenerative diseases, stem cell grafts, artificial intelligence, drug addiction, genetics, and the mechanisms of memory. And as the candidates visit some of the great European cities-Prague, Vienna, Cordoba, Cambridge, Geneva, and Venice-we also step through a window into the past"-- Leseprobe “Ammon’s Horn,” is the name that ancient anatomists gave to the hippocampus, one of the brain areas involved in memory, and where the initial pathology of Alzheimer’s disease occurs. PROLOGUE OPERNHAUS, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND DECEMBER 14, 2017 Fred Lindenmayer was about to conclude the meeting of the Opernhaus board when he felt his phone vibrating inside his jacket. He looked at the caller ID, excused himself, and left the room. It was Heidi, his personal assistant. She knew he was in a meeting and would never call if not for a very good reason. “Fred, I’m so sorry to disturb your meeting, but this is an emergency.” Fred immediately thought about his wife. “Has something happened to Meg?” “Yes, Fred, I’m afraid so.” His heart skipped a beat. “What happened? Where is she?” “She is at Sprüngli’s, in the manager’s office. They couldn’t find your cell number, but they had the office number and—” “What the hell is going on?” Fred was getting impatient, and Heidi knew better than to drag out her explanations. “Apparently one of the saleswomen at the chocolate shop recognized her and called the manager. Meg has been wandering through the shop and the tearoom in a state of agitation asking everyone when the chocolate Easter eggs would be available. She is now having some tea and has calmed down, but she doesn’t remember her name and doesn’t seem to know where she is.” Heidi could not hear anything on the other end. “Fred, are you there?” “Yes, yes, Heidi, I’m listening,” he replied. He felt cold fear closing in on his heart as he paced up and down the corridor outside the meeting room while nervously rattling the keys in his jacket pocket. “Please tell them that I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, I’m leaving the meeting now.” Fred rushed back into the meeting room, whispered an excuse into the board secretary’s ear, grabbed his computer bag, and left without another look at the people around the table, who had stopped talking. He ran down the imposing staircase of the Opernhaus, holding on to the handrail as he felt his legs going wobbly. Upon reaching the ground floor, he bolted to the right, heading toward the side door. His driver was waiting and within seconds they were on their way. This was the moment he had been dreading ever since Meg had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago. Fro...

Product details

• Authors: Christine Magistretti, Pierre Magistretti
• Publisher: Other press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 24.10.2023
• EAN: 9781635423600
• ISBN: 978-1-63542-360-0
• No. of pages: 400
• Dimensions: 133 mm x 201 mm x 26 mm
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature