Feder, M. and W.W. Burggren: "Skin Breathing in Vertebrates," Scientific American, November 1985, pages 126–42. Many terrestrial vertebrates breathe though their skin. Indeed, some amphibians have dispensed with lungs altogether.

Mestel, R.: "The Secret Life of the Nose," New Scientist, vol. 138, April 17, 1993, page 13. Didn’t know it had one, did you? Poorly functioning or nonfunctioning noses play a critical role in difficulties such as asthma, lung diseases, and breathing problems.

Perutz, M.F.: "Hemoglobin Structure and Respiratory Transport," Scientific American, December 1978, pages 92–125. An account of how hemoglobin changes its shape to facilitate oxygen binding and unloading, by the man who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry for unraveling the structure of hemoglobin.

Randall, D.J., W.W. Burggren, A.P. Farrell, and M.S. Haswell: The Evolution of Air Breathing in Vertebrates, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1981. An account of the physiological changes in respiration that occurred during the evolution of the terrestrial vertebrates.

Schmidt-Nielsen, K.: "How Birds Breathe," Scientific American, December 1971, pages 73–79. A fascinating account of the discovery of unidirectional flow in avian lungs, by a great comparative physiologist.

Stone, R.: "New Radon Study: No Smoking Gun," Science, vol. 263, January 28, 1994, page 465. The last decade has seen rising alarm in a potential new killer: radon gas. How much of a link is there between this allegedly invisible, odorless, deadly gas and lung cancer? Maybe not much.

Storey, K. and J. Storey: "Frozen and Alive," Scientific American, December 1990, pages 92–97. Some animals survive the winter by freezing solid, using special proteins and antifreeze to avoid ice damage.

Travis, J.: "Helping Premature Lungs Breathe Easier," Science, vol. 261, July 23, 1993, page 261. One of the highest causes of infant mortality in premature babies is respiratory distress, caused by principally because the immature lung cannot yet secrete enough surfactant, a chemical that decreases surface tension in the lungs, allowing for gas transfer. Researchers are looking at a cost-effective way to reproduce a key protein required for the synthesis of surfactant.

Uterman, G.: "The Mysteries of Lipoprotein a," Science, vol. 246, November 1989, pages 904–10. Lipoprotein a, when present in high concentrations in the bloodstream, signals the likelihood of heart attack and stroke.