| The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life by Drew HarvellMarine biologist Drew Harvell amazes with a rich and descriptive catalog of ocean invertebrates, a group that outnumbers backboned species 30 to one and includes octopuses, jellies, crustaceans, and sea stars. Harvell details these creatures' superpowers, hardly an exaggeration given their potential benefits to the environment and human life. Those curious about exotic marine life should also check out The World Beneath by Richard Smith. |
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| White Light: The Elemental Role of Phosphorus -- in Our Cells, in Our Food, and in Our World by Jack LohmannIn this debut scientific history, Jack Lohmann explores civilization’s interaction with phosphorus, from before humans were even aware of the element. Once people understood its use as a fertilizer, we unfortunately began to mine and then overuse it, leading to pollution, reduced biodiversity, and less nutritive crops, errors we are only now beginning to correct. Try this next: Carbon: The Book of Life by Paul Hawken. |
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The secret life of the universe : an astrobiologist's search for the origins and frontiers of life
by Nathalie A. Cabrol
"One of the world's leading astrobiologists takes us on an awe-inspiring journey across the cosmos to investigate some of humanity's most profound questions: Are we alone in the universe? And, how did life on Earth begin? We are living in a golden age inastronomy and in the search for life the universe. Over the last few decades, space exploration has shown that not only are there habitable environments within our solar system, but there are millions of exoplanets within our galaxy that could support life. We are on the cusp of breakthroughs that will revolutionize our understanding of our place in the cosmos in. Yet a profound question remains: Are we alone in the universe? The Secret Life of the Universe is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the search for life, and a dazzling introduction to the latest discoveries. This is an exhilarating journey for anyone who has ever looked up at the stars and wondered what might be out there"
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| The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker by Suzanne O'SullivanAccording to neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan, a combination of expanding disease definitions and advances in medical screening is causing diagnoses to increase drastically, which taxes healthcare systems, feeds health anxiety in patients, and gives rise to the “nocebo effect,” where giving a patient a disease label can actually produce symptoms. Readers looking for other interesting books about physician-patient communication should try How Medicine Works and When It Doesn’t by F. Perry Wilson. |
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| Valley of Forgetting: Alzheimer's Families and the Search for a Cure by Jennie Erin SmithWhile researchers had long been aware of the alarmingly high rates of early-onset Alzheimer’s in one remote region of Colombia, the discovery that many of the patients were related sparked the search for a genetic cause. Journalist Jennie Erin Smith tells the moving story of how an inherited gene was eventually isolated, igniting hope for a cure. For other emotional narratives about genetics and disease, try My Father’s Brain by Sandeep Jauhar or A Fatal Inheritance by Lawrence Ingrassia. |
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| Eavesdropping on Animals: What We Can Learn from Wildlife Conversations by George BumannGeorge Bumann, an observant Yellowstone wildlife ecologist and artist, encourages us to listen in on the lively chatter among animals that we might usually tune out. With enthusiastic guidance that can apply to backyards as well as national parks and runs from birds to insects to coyotes, Bumann reminds us that a big part of nature appreciation is paying attention. Try this next: Meet the Neighbors by Brandon Keim. |
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| Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication by Arik KershenbaumUniversity of Cambridge zoologist Arik Kershenbaum has been in the field of animal communication for decades. His study of the speech-like sounds and songs emitted by creatures including wolves, parrots, dolphins, and chimpanzees runs afoul of the idea that humans are Earth’s sole language users, and posits that “animals have much to say to each other -- but also to us” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Voices of Nature: How and Why Animals Communicate by Nicolas Mathevon; illustrations by Bernard MathevonIn Nicolas Mathevon’s “exceptional” (Library Journal) debut, the biologist and neuroscientist looks at how different animal species decode the sounds made by creatures around them and respond (sometimes with sounds of their own) to aid in their survival. The result is a technical yet accessible panorama of ecological dynamics and cross-species interaction. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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