|
Nature and Science October 2017
|
|
|
|
| Zapped: From Infrared to X-Rays, The Curious History of Invisible Light by Bob BermanAlthough light is all around us, most of it can't be seen. Confused? Don't worry: science writer Bob Berman will explain. After giving an overview of the physics of light (including historical attempts to explain the phenomenon), Berman delves into the different types of invisible light -- including infrared and ultraviolet, microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays, and radio waves -- and describes how 19th-century scientists discovered and developed applications for them. For more illuminating books on electromagnetic radiation in all its forms, try Bruce Watson's Light: A Radiant History from Creation to the Quantum Age. |
|
|
Each year, Americans consume hundreds of food products that contain truly dangerous compounds, including heavy metals, pesticides, and other harmful additives--with the blessing of the FDA. Why is this happening and why haven't you heard about it? In Unsafe at Any Meal, Dr. Renee Dufault, former food investigator for the Food and Drug Administration, provides the startling answers. While at the FDA, Dr. Dufault discovered that mercury--a highly toxic metal--was contaminating the plumbing systems of many food manufacturing plants. Upon further examination, she discovered that the same mercury was also evident in a number of processed foods commonly sold in supermarkets. When Dr. Dufault revealed these disturbing findings to her superiors, she was told to stop her investigation. Her continued efforts to raise the issue always met with a dead end, so she chose to take an early retirement from the FDA. Dr. Dufault then devoted her energy to making the public aware of the insidious dangers that contaminate our food. In 2010, she founded an organization of scientists to study the scope of this problem and has published numerous research articles on the topic with little fanfare. To expose what still seems to be a well-kept secret by the FDA, she has written Unsafe at Any Meal to provide consumers with the information they need to know.
|
|
| Darwin's Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory by James T. CostaWe tend to think of Charles Darwin as a theorist, yet this book reveals that he was also a keen observer of the natural world (who frequently enlisted friends and acquaintances to collect specimens) and an experimenter who collaborated with his children (on projects ranging from serenading worms to raising carnivorous plants). Interweaving biographical information and descriptions of Darwin's home-based research, this engaging book also includes instructions for 18 DIY experiments aimed at readers who may find themselves inspired to follow in Darwin's footsteps. |
|
|
4th rock from the Sun : the story of Mars by Nicky Jenner Mars, the red planet, is ingrained in our culture, from David Bowie's extra-terrestrial spiders to Captain Scarlet to War of the Worlds. It has inspired hundreds of authors, scientists and science-fiction writers - but why? What is it about this particular planet that makes it so intriguing? Ancient mythologies defined Mars as a violent harbinger of war, star-gazers puzzled over its peculiar motion, and astrologers defined human personalities by its position and bizarre dance through the sky. And in more recent times, astronomers have explored Mars and its alien characteristics: its dusty red hue, its small moons, its atmosphere, how the planet formed and its mysterious past. Images sent back from various satellites showed startling faces, canals, and pyramids across its surface. Were there Martians, and were they civilized, intelligent, beings? Science-fact is now catching up with science fiction. Robot vehicles have trundled across the planet's surface, beaming back beautiful views of its rust-orange surface, and testing soil and atmosphere to get clues on how the planet has evolved, and whether it supported (or supports) life.There are many more Mars missions planned over the next decade. And while little green Martians are now firmly the preserve of literature, there is growing evidence that the now arid, frozen planet was once warm, wet, and possibly thronging with microbial life. And one day soon humans will set foot on the red planet. What are the challenges involved, and how are we preparing for them? Is there a long-term future for humans on Mars? Nicky Jenner's 4th Rock from the Sun reviews Mars in its entirety - its nature, attributes, and impact on 3rd Rock-culture, its environmental science and geology, and its potential as a human colony - everything you need to know about the Red Planet (and quite a few things you don't).
|
|
|
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
by Robert M. Sapolsky
As both a neurobiologist and a primatologist, author Robert Sapolsky can confidently state that human behavior is...complicated. To understand why we do what we do, he asserts, one must take an interdisciplinary approach. In Behave, Sapolsky explores the best and worst of human behavior by taking a single (re)action and examining what's going on in the brain and body in the seconds, minutes, hours, days, and even years before it occurs. It's an unusual but fascinating approach that will make you reconsider your own behavior.
|
|
| Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max TegmarkAre you ready for the AI revolution? If not, you're hardly alone. Although the issues surrounding artificial intelligence comprise "the most important conversation of our time," according to MIT professor Max Tegmark, we as a society have not devoted much attention to the political, economic, and social consequences of AI. Whether you're worried about automation eliminating your job (it probably will) or robot overlords destroying all humans (they probably won't), you'll want to read this book. |
|
|
Woolly : the true story of the quest to revive one of history's most iconic creatures
by Ben Mezrich
The best-selling author of The Accidental Billionaires traces the pioneering work of a group of young scientists under the guidance of brilliant geneticist George Church, who sequenced the DNA of a frozen woolly mammoth harvested from the Arctic circle to resurrect the extinct species as part of a larger effort to slow the advances of global warming.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|