| Immune: How your body defends and protects you by Catherine CarverWhat it's about: The "hidden army" that protects us from disease, better known as the human immune system.
Why you should read it: for answers to a myriad of questions you didn't know you needed answers to like do transplants ever reject their new bodies? What is pus? Why is cancer so hard for our immune system to fight? Why do flu outbreaks cause a spike in sleep disorders? And more. A title that should appeal to Mary Roach fans. |
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Encyclopedia of whales, dolphins and porpoises by Erich HoytIn the 'Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises', award-winning author and whale researcher Erich Hoyt takes readers into the field for an intimate encounter with some 90 species of cetaceans that make their homes in the world's oceans. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience and a comprehensive familiarity with the current revolution in cetacean studies, Hoyt provides unique insights into the life histories of these compelling marine mammals. Join the author and his fellow researchers as they share their discoveries about cetacean biology and behaviour, from the physical differences and adaptations among the baleen and toothed whales to their highly intelligent hunting and feeding methods.
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The lost species: Great expeditions in the collections of natural history museums by Christopher KempHiding in the cabinets and storage units of natural history museums is a treasure trove of discovery waiting to happen. With Christopher Kemp as our guide, we go spelunking into museum basements, dig through specimen trays, and inspect the drawers and jars of collections, scientific detectives on the hunt for new species. We discover king crabs from 1906, unidentified tarantulas, mislabelled Himalayan landsnails, an unknown rove beetle originally collected by Darwin, and an overlooked squeaker frog, among other curiosities. Sadly, some specimens have waited so long to be named that they are gone from the wild before they were identified, victims of climate change and habitat loss. As Kemp shows, these stories showcase the enduring importance of these very collections.
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| Reading the rocks: How Victorian geologists discovered the secret of life by Brenda MaddoxWhat it is: In brief but informative vignettes, biographer and science writer Brenda Maddox profiles the Victorian geologists who revolutionized our understanding of Earth's history and human evolution.
Contains: biographical portraits of notable figures such as Charles Lyell, Mary Anning, James Hutton, and Louis Agassiz, as well as historical context that puts their discoveries in perspective. |
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The joy of mathematics: Marvels, novelties, and neglected gems that are rarely taught in math class by Alfred S. PosamentierA presentation of geometric novelties reveals relationships that could have made your study of geometry more fun and enlightening. In the area of probability there is a host of interesting examples - from the famous Monty-Hall problem to the counterintuitive probability of two people having the same birthday in a crowded room. Finally, the authors demonstrate how maths will make you a better thinker by improving your organizing abilities and providing useful and surprising solutions to common mathematics problems.
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| The last man who knew everything: The life and times of Enrico Fermi, father of the nuclear age by David N. SchwartzWhat it is: the first English-language biography of Italian-born physicist Enrico Fermi to be published in nearly 50 years.
Why you should read it: Despite impressive accomplishments in experimental and theoretical physics, Fermi hasn't received nearly as much attention as some of his Manhattan Project peers.
Reviewers say: In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praises this "scrupulously researched and lovingly crafted portrait" of a brilliant scientist. |
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| The remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis by Thomas GoetzStarring: German physician Robert Koch, who isolated the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who applied his own medical training (and innate skepticism) to investigating the "cure" Koch subsequently claimed to have found.
For fans of: Medical histories with a dash of mystery, such as Steven Johnson's The Ghost Map, about a deadly cholera epidemic in Victorian London. |
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| Life on the edge: The coming of age of quantum biology by Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-KhaliliWhat it's about: the nascent field of quantum biology, which applies principles of quantum mechanics to biological processes, ranging from our sense of smell (olfaction) to bird migration, which relies on the ability to sense the Earth's magnetic field (magnetoreception).
Read it for: the way the authors -- a theoretical physicist and a molecular biologist -- make a complex and challenging topic accessible to non-scientists. |
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| The hidden half of nature: The microbial roots of life and health by David R. Montgomery and Anne BikléWhat it is: An engaging blend of science writing and memoir, written by a geologist and a biologist as they explore the roles played by complex microbial communities in everything from agriculture to human health.
Why you might like it: From vivid descriptions of the authors' quest to turn their barren Seattle backyard into a lush garden to reflections on Biklé's cancer diagnosis, The Hidden Half of Nature illuminates the intimate connections between humans and their environment. |
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| I contain multitudes: The microbes within us and a grander view of life by Ed YongIntroducing: the microbiome, a complex ecosystem of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microscopic organisms living in and on our bodies.
Why you should read it: Science writer Ed Yong's accessible field guide to microorganisms reveals that they're more than just germs to be wiped out -- they form communities that help our bodies function, making them a promising subject for medical research.
You might also like: Rodney Dietert's The Human Superorganism. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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