Science & Nature Books

Book SynopsisCould fungal pathogens outsmart us before we find ways to combat them?Humans and fungi share nearly 50 percent of the same DNA. Because we''re related, designing drugs to combat the varieties that attack us is a challenge. Meanwhile, in an ever hotter, wetter world, fungi may be finding new ways to thrive, queueing up global outbreak potentials for which no vaccine and woefully few medications exist; some fungi are already beginning to resist treatment. Among other lifeforms, bats, amphibians, and essential crops are also increasingly threatened by these pathogens. Enter fungal kingdom frontiersman Dr. Arturo Casadevall, an epidemiologist, professor, and inventor. Casadevall shares how the 1990s AIDS epidemic''s fungal complications drove his medical mycology work, how COVID-19''s fungal incidences underscore the continuing threat to the immunocompromised, and how he and his Johns Hopkins University laboratory team are discovering ways to counter the threats pos

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Book SynopsisWhat is 4% of 75?Can you calculate 60 + 60 x 0 + 1?Which is bigger, an 18-inch pizza or two 12-inch pizzas?Join award-winning maths presenter Kyle D Evans on an entertaining tour of viral maths problems that have gone wild on social media in recent years. From the infamous 'Hannah's sweets' exam question to percentages 'life-hacks', viral maths problems seem to capture the public's imagination without fail. In Maths Tricks to Blow Your Mind, Kyle presents over 50 viral maths problems with background information, explanations and solutions to similar problems, all in a humorous, accessible and inclusive manner. Want to dazzle and delight your friends and family? This book shows you how!Trade ReviewA chirpy guide to the most shared maths nuggets on the internet. -- Alex Bellos, author of ALEX'S ADVENTURES IN NUMBERLANDA cornucopia of numerical tricks and other quirky delights. I loved it. -- Tim Harford, author of HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD ADD UPWith wit and wisdom, Kyle Evans has compiled what is - literally - the most popular maths on the planet. And he's brought new insights and back stories to many old favourites. -- Rob Eastaway, author of MATHS ON THE BACK OF AN ENVELOPETable of Contentsi: Introduction 1: THIS ONE COOL MATHS TRICK WILL BLOW YOUR MIND: Maths tricks and 'life hacks' 2: IT WAS DIFFERENT IN MY DAY: Pre-internet viral maths 3: BACK TO SCHOOL: Viral exam questions and classroom conundrums 4: OUT OF ORDER: The trouble with BODMAS 5: BAD MATHS: When Facebook meets algebra 6: GET INTO SHAPE: Genius geometry problems vii: CONCLUSION: A better viral maths future? viii: Solutions

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Book SynopsisHow data surveillance, digital forensics, and generative AI pose new long-term threats and opportunities—and how we can use them to make better decisions in the face of technological uncertainty.In The Secret Life of Data, Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert explore the many unpredictable, and often surprising, ways in which data surveillance, AI, and the constant presence of algorithms impact our culture and society in the age of global networks. The authors build on this basic premise: no matter what form data takes, and what purpose we think it’s being used for, data will always have a secret life. How this data will be used, by other people in other times and places, has profound implications for every aspect of our lives—from our intimate relationships to our professional lives to our political systems.With the secret uses of data in mind, Sinnreich and Gilbert interview dozens of experts to explore a broad range of scenarios and contex

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Book SynopsisAn accessible but rigorous treatment of the theoretical foundations of population genetics.Population genetics—the branch of evolutionary biology concerned with understanding how and why populations’ genetic compositions change over time—rests on a well-developed theoretical foundation that draws on genetics, mathematics, and computer science. This textbook provides an approachable but rigorous treatment for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in building a quantitative understanding of the genetics of evolution. Existing texts either assume very mathematically advanced readers, or avoid much of the underlying theory, instead focusing on current methods of data analysis. In contrast, The Foundations of Population Genetics develops the theory from first principles. Requiring only confidence in algebra, this self-contained, student-friendly book illustrates the conceptual framework, terminology

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Book SynopsisIncludes photographs of workers of all 61 ant species of Britain and Ireland, together with comprehensive keys to workers, queens and males. There are quick-check keys to workers and nests, and distribution maps. An account of ant biology and ecology is supplemented by many action photographs.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAt once expansive and intimate, empirical and immanent, analytical and intuitive, material and spiritual—science and poetry get to dance joyfully together in these pages, allowing us to see and celebrate our fundamental kinship with all beings, united by the forces that propel life's improbable unfolding. In this time of crisis, we urgently need the planetary ethic that resists the degradation of the shimmering world. * Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants *I am so glad this important book is being revised for our time. It is wise, calm, and compassionate; it treats us as the mature, complex, and fascinating creatures that we are; and it helps point the way towards a future where we act together far better than at present. * Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org and author of The Flag, the Cross, and Wonders What the Hell Happened and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood *What a beautiful, lyrical, lively, fascinating, and outstanding book. Delightful to read. Awesome achievement. * Richard Wrangham, Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, author of The Goodness Paradox *Not since Loren Eiseley or Lewis Thomas has biology had such an eloquent spokesperson, nor one with so much heart. Finally, someone who can breathe life into molecules and make us feel it. * Terrence Deacon, Cognitive Science Program, University of California Berkeley, author of Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter *Goodenough's bridge between science and religion is both eloquent and elegant. She offers the poetry, power, and passion of her vision of nature, born from scientific knowledge and nurtured by religious sensibility, and she illumines the path to an ecomorality that is comprehensive and compelling. * Mary Evelyn Tucker, School of the Environment, Yale University, co-producer of the film Journey of the Universe *This book is a gem. Not only are the science passages an exquisite introduction to astronomy, cell biology and evolution, but her reflections on the meaning she personally derives from such knowledge leave the reader yearning for more. Her passages on the meaning of death--indeed, a celebration of death, for the kind of life and love only it can call forth--is unsurpassed by all the outpourings from the humanities. She is fully, intimately, restfully at home in the universe, in her version of divinity: the sacred depths of nature. And then, able to draw no more from either the science or her own soul, she offers up a poem or psalm from various of the world's wisdom traditions. * Connie Barlow, Eco-activist, author of Green Space, Green Time: The Way of Science *A truly fascinating, wide-ranging, beautifully written, and eye-opening book that considers the origins of earth, the origins of life itself, where we are now, where we are most likely heading, and the importance of developing a shared global cosmology and ecomorality that can benefit us all in the future. * Marc Bekoff, Ecology and Evolution, U. Colorado, author of Rewilding our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence *Ursula Goodenough argues passionately, wisely and even lyrically for a new, modern, scientifically-informed world view that can tell us both about the Universe we inhabit and the moral rules we need to inhabit it well. This is a wonderful account of the history of life by a great biologist. It invites us to find in modern science the profound sense of wonder and belonging, and the deep ethical sense present in all the world's religious traditions. * David Christian, History, Macquarie University, author of Origin Story: A Big History of Everything *Even better the second time around! Engagingly and clearly written, replete with striking metaphors—especially ones from music—and with conscientious respect for the scientifically untrained reader. A convincing demonstration of the integral relation between generously open-minded natural science and equally receptive, non-dogmatic religious thought. The two are shown to interact with, jointly inform, and mutually inspire one another in Goodenough's engrossing version of Religious Naturalism. Here the compelling sacredness of all of living and non-living nature is brought into sharp focus. * Donald Crosby, Philosophy, Colorado State University, author of Sacred and Secular: Responses to Life in a Finite World *What perfect timing for this revised edition of Ursula Goodenough's classic, The Sacred Depths of Nature. As we witness and experience, emotionally and socially, the unraveling of the biosphere and industrial civilization, a meaningful, reverential worldview grounded in evidence is more relevant than ever. An excellent introduction to the religious naturalist orientation! Only my wife, Connie Barlow's, Green Space Green Time, is even in the same league. Bravo, Ursula! * Michael Dowd, Eco-theologian, author of Thank God for Evolution *Tender, yet passionate, Goodenough immerses us in a collective spiritual vision, allowing us to discover and feel the numinous in science, synthesizing these understandings and the religious impulse without doing harm to either. Our best hope for a future. * Anne Druyan, Writer/director/producer of COSMOS and co-creator with Carl Sagan of the motion picture CONTACT *The Sacred Depths of Nature is both a spiritual exercise and a sophisticated, crystal clear, and lyrical primer on what science teaches us about this wondrous universe and the mysterious gift that is being here at all. * Owen Flanagan, Philosophy, Duke University, author of The Geography of Morals *No one speaks for Indigenous Peoples as a whole, nor does one person speak for any Indigenous lifeway. Yet indigenous elders do speak about their people's relationships with the cosmos, with our shared world. In The Sacred Depths of Nature, Ursula Goodenough presents an exquisite and informed view of life on Earth from the perspective of a "religious naturalist." By including appreciative attention to Indigenous ways of knowing, Ursula points towards ways of assent, attunement, and intimacy that elders also know from the standpoints of their lifeways. The depths of this vibrancy resonates in the fecundity of emerging life, speaking to both. * John Grim Forum On Religion and Ecology, Yale University, editor of Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community *Goodenough invites us to share her extraordinary personal experience of nature and its meaning, and encourages us to imagine that this can be our experience too. That's the great joy she gives us, the gift of herself and, with it, the gift of ourselves. It's irresistible. * Philip Hefner, Lutheran School of Theology, author of Human Becoming in an Age of Science, Technology, and Faith *Hosanna! Here, now, this! The New Revised Version of Sacred Depths of Nature is manna from heaven on Earth. Muons and neutrinos, eukaryotic sex and somatic death, covenant with mystery, Goodenough's Gospel of Life is the true myth we and our planet desperately need. * Michael S. Hogue, Meadville Lombard Theological School, author of American Immanence: Democracy for an Uncertain World *This book is a treasure for all those who seek to connect with a deeper meaning in the universe without jettisoning empirical scientific evidence. Ursula Goodenough dissolves the conventional split between science and religious orientation, showing with delightful prose and breathtaking examples how a deeply scientific investigation can naturally lead us to a 'covenant with mystery' and a 'credo of continuation.' * Jeremy Lent, Author, The Patterning Instinct and The Web of Meaning *Thank you, Ursula Goodenough, for telling us the science-based story of life on earth and the wonders of our universe in a way that brings them down to the level of our hearts, and deeper still, to the very place from where our prayers come. * Peter Mayer, Singer/songwriter, lyricist of "Blue Boat Home." *To experience the sacred, we need not ask the WHY question, which is, after all, unanswerable. In this absolutely amazing book, biologist Ursula Goodenough shows us that pondering the HOW of things brings us face to face with that which is sacred. Through science, poetry, and her own remarkable personal stories, Goodenough shares her profound religious stance as a Credo of Continuation. * Jennifer Morgan, President, Deeptime Network *An engaging, authoritative account of the evolution and molecular basis of life from the perspective of a religious naturalist who rejoices in the complexity and wonder of the natural world. A successful cell biologist and gifted writer, Goodenough weaves together our scientific understanding of the appearance, place and workings of life on earth in the context of the diversity of religious traditions. The book will inspire both scientists and non-scientists to appreciate the magic of our existence and the necessity to preserve that which makes it possible. * Thomas Pollard, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, co-author of textbook Cell Biology 4th Edition *Goodenough's masterpiece unites the beauty of biology and the wonders of evolution in a magnificent, heartfelt celebration of life. Like its author, this book is eloquent, vibrant, inspiring and truly one-of-a-kind. * Barbara Smuts, Psychology, University of Michigan, author of Sex and Friendship in Baboons *Incisive, comprehensive, witty, and beautiful, with paragraph after paragraph of lucidity and significance. We could be witnessing one of the most important cultural events of the last three centuries - the moment when scientists themselves take seriously their role in forging a planetary wisdom. * Brian Swimme, Evolutionary cosmologist, California Institute of Integral Studies, co-author of The Journey of the Universe *A delicious account of the grandeur and intricacies of natural reality that will have you falling in love with the beauty of scientific knowledge while honoring the grand wisdom of religious valuing. The new chapters on human evolution, human morality, and eco-morality reveal why The Sacred Depths of Nature remains a remarkable gift for our generation. Goodenough demonstrates, in her inimitable lucid, poetic style, a religious naturalist orientation that is uniquely positioned to address—all at once!—such urgent topics as systemic, structural racism, cultural imperialism, and environmental injustices. * Carol Wayne White, Bucknell University, author of Black Lives and Sacred Humanity Toward an African American Religious Naturalism *I have been waiting years for this paean to the universe. With lustrous turns of phrase, skillful explanations of nature, a profound vision of the past, and a prescient sense of the future, Ursula Goodenough reintroduces us to the present moment, the fulsome present, bursting with an invitation to gratitude and reverence. There's not a single person on this planet who doesn't need and deserve this book. * Wesley J. Wildman, School of Theology and Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, Boston University, author of Spirit Tech *The first edition of The Sacred Depths of Nature was a revelation to me. Before reading it, I had no idea that the workings of a single cell were so elaborate as to be awe-inspiring. This second edition has brought many more such revelations. Illustrated with lovely photos and poems from wise poets, this is a detailed short treatise on the science of life. It proves once again that a science book can be a page turner. I learned from every page and could not wait for the next one. * Paul Woodruff, Philosophy, U Texas Austin, author of Living Toward Virtue: Practical Ethics in the Spirit of Socrates *Extensively revised with full-color photos and diagrams, each chapter begins with a story about the dynamics of Nature, including the origins and evolution of the universe and life on Earth. The book's construction is like a science-based "daily devotional" and can best be read as such. It is rich and detailed enough that you may want to read it over time. Like the first edition, each topic is carefully yet poetically examined objectively through the lens of science, followed by the author's personal reflections on each. * Harold Wood, Universal Pantheist Society *Table of ContentsPersonal 1997 (first edition) Personal 2022 (second edition) Introduction How This Book Is Put Together 1 Origins of the Earth 2 Origins of Life 3 How Life Works 4 How an Organism Works 5 How Evolution Works 6 The Evolution of Biodiversity 7 Awareness and the I-Self 8 Interpretations and Feelings 9 Sex 10 Intimacy 11 Multicellularity and Death 12 Human Evolution 13 Human Morality and Ecomorality Epilogue: Emergent Religious Principles The Religious Naturalist Orientation Endnotes: Legends for Cover Image and Chapter Frontispieces Endnotes: References and Further Reading/Resources

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Book Synopsis**Finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2022 **From the Costa Award winner, a highly inventive and and humane novel about our relationship with technology and our addiction to innovation.This is the tale of a new technology, an alternative history that unfolds over many decades. It is a fable told through a constantly shifting cast of characters, all drawn into the world of a machine that slowly alters every life it touches.But in this unending quest for progress, what will happen to the things that make us human: the memories, the fears, the love, the mortality? As we push towards a brave new world, what do we stand to lose?'Such a super novel' Wendy Erskine'A clever book...that will have you thinking about the machines in your own life' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewAppliance is a work of peculiar genius that gives the truth about modern technology. * The Times, *Sci-Fi Book of the Year* *A serious-minded examination of the instinctive human ambivalence towards innovation. * Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2022* *Smart, subtle and blissfully jargon-free sci-fi stories from one of Britain's most acclaimed poets. * Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2022* *[With] poetic precision... Appliance most succeeds is in its little riot of the real in the face of digital abstraction. * Times Literary Supplement *A clever book, delivered confidently, that will have you thinking about the machines in your own life. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisA riveting new exploration of the octopus from the world-leading scientific expert. For fans of Netflix's 'My Octopus Teacher' and Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith.'Enchanting.' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Abounds with wonders.' KATHLEEN JAMIE, NEW STATESMAN'Brings the world of the octopus vividly alive... a sense of what it might be like to live in their skins.' FINANCIAL TIMES'The deepest of octopus books.' PETER GODFREY-SMITHAS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4'S TODAY PROGRAMME_________________What is it like to be an octopus?The octopus is a highly intelligent and deeply mysterious creature. It can change colour as quickly as it can move, 'think' with its tentacles and communicate in sophisticated ways.Marine biologist David Scheel's lifelong preoccupation with these animals has led to a career of groundbreaking research, from finding previously unknown species to the discovery of signaling communication. In Many Things Under a Rock, Scheel shares his deep scientific understanding of octopuses and recounts his intrepid adventures with these mysterious, charismatic creatures.He investigates four major mysteries about octopuses: what can we know about such elusive and camouflaged creatures? Why are they so extraordinarily resilient? How do their bodies work? And what kind of relationships do they have? In unravelling these mysteries, Dr Scheel shows octopuses to be complex emotional beings and reveals what they can teach us about ourselves.Trade Review"Scheel brings the world of the octopus vividly alive. The best nature books do not just describe animals: they give us a sense of what it might be like to shape-shift ourselves and live in their skins." * Financial Times *Fascinating. Scheel's unique perspective on these animals makes this the deepest of octopus books. * Peter Godfrey-Smith, author of Other Minds *David Scheel's astonishing observations make him one of the most important octopus ethologists working today. He is also, fortunately for us, a sensitive and lyrical writer, bringing knowledge and stories from native cultures to bear on the science he describes. I was agog at some of his accounts: severed arms wincing with pain; octopuses throwing things at each other; and octopuses seemingly standing sentinel over their octopus neighbourhoods. This book is mind-blowing and soul-expanding. You'll be thinking and talking about Many Things Under a Rock for a long time. * Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus *Enchanting... This is just one of the fascinating factoids that marine biologist David Scheel shares with us in this clever book, based on his 25 years as one of the leading octopus researchers in the world... It is enough to melt the stoniest of hearts. * Mail on Sunday *Octopuses are deeply, gloriously weird... The book abounds with wonders. -- Kathleen Jamie * New Statesman *Scheel offers fascinating glimpses of octopus life [...] that may thrill and surprise even those of us who have read The Soul of an Octopus or watched My Octopus Teacher... excellent. * Times Literary Supplement *Scheel has been studying cephalopods for 25 years. His fascination is infectious in Many Things Under a Rock, which sets out to address an interesting question: what is it like to be an octopus? ... How wonderfully weird and weirdly human. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisHow herbaria illuminate the past and future of plant scienceTrade Review“This book opens a window on a fascinating, rarely explored subject.”—Jack Watkins, Country Life“Access to most herbaria is restricted: biologist Maura Flannery knew ‘almost nothing’ about them until 2010, when a US curator took her behind the scenes at one and she fell in love with them. Her history dramatizes this revelation, discussing global collections and collectors using fine period drawings.”—Andrew Robinson, Nature“This book is the fruit of [Flannery’s] exploration into [plant’s] vital importance but also what they tell us about history, culture, aesthetics and ethnobotany.”—Ursula Buchan, The Spectator“An enchanting travelogue ranging across centuries of plant collecting, In the Herbarium is also an urgent reminder of the value of natural history collections to science, the humanities, and art.”—Yota Batsaki, Dumbarton Oaks“In this engaging, never-before-told story, Maura Flannery shows us how the herbarium has been at the center of our centuries-long quest to understand the world of plants.”—Peter Crane, author of Ginkgo and president, Oak Spring Garden Foundation“Maura Flannery’s love of all things botanical permeates through her writing, creating a story of botany past, present, and future seen through the lens of the herbarium.”—Caroline Cornish, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew“A stimulating and informative book to be read (and re-read) from cover to cover as a source of enjoyment, enlightenment and inspiration.”—D. S. Ingram, joint lead author/editor of Science and the Garden“A very useful and timely overview of the long history of engagement with botanical knowledge.”—Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, author of Unifying Biology: The Evolutionary Synthesis and Evolutionary Biology

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In Conchophilia seven scholars dissect why Renaissance-era collectors braved maritime hazards to beachcomb. Finding the pearliest treasures at shorelines called for avoiding crocodiles, spiny urchins and ‘burning sea slime’. . . . Painters depicted shells, with names as wonderful as ‘precious wentletrap’ and ‘speckled episcopal miter,’ arrayed on banquet tables or in the hands of exulting deities. Metalsmiths set nautiluses on gold pedestals sculpted with mermaid and sea foam motifs. Collectors had favorite shells cemented onto grotto walls, sometimes in the bristly shapes of pine cones and artichokes."---Eve M. Kahn, New York Times"This richly illustrated collection of essays conceptualises the shell and how it was used in material and visual culture, philosophy, and aesthetics as a ‘vessel’ to comprehend early modern society, primarily in a Dutch and German context. . . . [A] well-produced and beautiful book, even its softly glowing endpapers reminiscent of polished shells and nacre. Of interest to art historians, historians of science, and historians of visual and material culture, the essays are also clearly written and approachable, offering many pearls of wisdom. I highly recommend it."---Anna Marie Roos, Early Modern Low Countries"The exquisitely illustrated, thought-provoking book examines the complicated provenances, varied uses, and key role of shells in shaping this period’s visual and aesthetic culture."---Lauren Moya Ford, Hyperallergic"[Conchophilia does] an excellent job in surveying both art history and the history of science to discuss the uses of shells in art. . . . The lavish illustrations alone are worth the price of purchase. . . . Truly a feast for the eyes."---Alan R. Kabat, American Conchologist"Conchophilia is well-designed and beautifully illustrated, a book that deploys wonderful narratives about the love of shells in early modern Europe. . . . A captivating combination of the material and the social, of shells and people."---Marlise Rijks, Early Science and Medicine"A very handsome book replete with full-color photographs, Conchophilia is a joy to read, as appealing and stimulating as the curiosities it considers."---James Clifton, Historians of Netherlandish Art Reviews"All the studies in this beautiful book command respect: they are distinctly original and relevant and unfold with keen intelligence. With a novel, methodical approach, and by means of very subtle and magnificently illustrated analyses, they illuminate European collections of the first modern era."---Myriam Marrache-Gouraud, Renaissance and Reformation"A thought-provoking and beautifully produced book. . . . [A]s all authors convincingly show in their chapters, a case can be made for the particular poignant love of shells from the early sixteenth century onward. Both as literal and metaphorical vessels, it is argued, shells prompted reflection, contemplation, and discussion, as material manifestations of exoticness, (natural and divine) craftmanship, and aesthetics."---Marika Keblusek, Renaissance Quarterly"A fascinating book."---Christopher Stocks, Country Life

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Book SynopsisJohn Forrester’s passionate yet probing engagement with Freud and psychoanalysis is legendary. Here, in six introductory lectures delivered to his students at the University of Cambridge, his range and lucidity bring the evolution of Freud’s thinking and the nature of Freud’s discoveries into sharp focus. With an historian’s eye for context, Forrester explores Freud’s biography, the scientific moment, the radical subject matter of the field itself – sex, dreams, desire, the unconscious, childhood, language – as well as Freud’s development of a new clinical practice. Forrester also explores both the growth of the psychoanalytic movement and the question of what kind of beast it might be as it travels through time and geography. He illuminates the cultural and revolutionary impact of psychoanalytic thinking – not only Freud’s, but that of some of his progeny in the many places where the movement flourished. Freud and Psychoanalysis takes us from Vienna to London, from Paris to New York and Hollywood, from the lab to the couch, to the campus, to film and to literature. This is a slim book that packs a big punch. It invites any curious reader into a field and a way of thinking that shaped the twentieth century.Trade Review"Clear and compelling, these lectures are at once more than accessible and often startlingly informative. In his characteristically lucid and incisive way, Forrester makes Freud new and intriguing. This book is that rare thing: a collection as much for the curious as for the knowledgeable, and the best book on Freud for many years."Adam Phillips“[Psychoanalysis is] our inheritance. It will always be there for us. To understand it, we can do no better than to look to Forrester.” Chronicle of Higher EducationTable of ContentsEditor’s Preface Lisa AppignanesiForeword Darian LeaderLecture One: A Whole Climate of OpinionLecture Two: The Historical Foundations of PsychoanalysisLecture Three: Dreams and SexualityLecture Four: Psychoanalysis as a Theory of CultureLecture Five: Psychoanalysis as a MovementLecture Six: The Significance of Psychoanalysis in the Twentieth CenturyEndnotesFurther Reading

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Book SynopsisThis fully revised second edition of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Viruses leads students on an exploration of viruses by supporting engaging and interactive learning. All the major classes of viruses are covered, with separate chapters for their replication and expression strategies, and chapters for mechanisms such as attachment that are independent of the virus genome type. Specific cases drawn from primary literature foster student engagement. End-of-chapter questions focus on analysis and interpretation with answers being given at the back of the book. Examples come from the most-studied and medically important viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV, and influenza. Plant viruses and bacteriophages are also included. There are chapters on the overall effect of viral infection on the host cell. Coverage of the immune system is focused on the interplay between host defenses and viruses, with a separate chapter on medical applications such as antiviral drugs and vaccine develop

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Book SynopsisOn 21 December 1872, HMS Challenger set sail from Portsmouth, England, to begin a global voyage of deep-sea exploration, unique for the scale of its ambition and scope. Made possible by technological and scientific developments, extensive international cooperation and supported by a team of researchers and naval officers, the expedition was part of a concerted nineteenth-century drive to map the ocean floors and search for life in the abyss. By the time the ship returned to Britain in 1876, the scientific team on board had amassed what was then the largest collection of examples of life from the deep sea. But their work was not finished and over the next two decades a global network of researchers prepared the results for publication, culminating in a 50-volume series that is considered the intellectual foundation of modern oceanography.

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Book SynopsisA New York Times–bestselling astrophysicist and a Nobel laureate take us on 'a mesmerizing exploration' (Jennifer Doudna) to discover how and where the universe breathed itself into life  For a long time, scientists have wondered how life has emerged from inanimate chemistry, and whether Earth is the only place where it exists. Charles Darwin speculated about life on Earth beginning in a warm little pond. Some of his contemporaries believed that life existed on Mars. It once seemed inevitable that the truth would be known by now.    It is not. For more than a century, the origins and extent of life have remained shrouded in mystery. But, as Mario Livio and Jack Szostak reveal in Is Earth Exceptional?, the veil is finally lifting. The authors describe how life’s building blocks—from RNA to amino acids and cells—could have emerged from the chaos of Earth’s early existence. They then apply the knowle

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Book SynopsisAuthored by leading experts in the enzymology of natural product biosynthesis, this completely revised and updated edition provides a description of the types of natural products, the biosynthetic pathways that enable the production of these molecules, and an update on the discovery of novel products in the post-genomic era. Although some 500 000 – 600 000 natural products have been isolated and characterized over the past two centuries, there may be a 10-fold greater inventory awaiting immediate exploration based on biosynthetic gene cluster predictions. The approach of this book is to codify the chemical logic that underlies each natural product structural class as they are assembled from building blocks of primary metabolism. This second edition integrates many new findings into the sets of principles of the first edition that parsed categories of natural product chemistries into the underlying enzymatic mechanisms and the catalytic machinery for building the varied and complex end product metabolites. New chapters include evaluation of a core set of thermodynamically activated but kinetically stable metabolites that power both primary and secondary metabolic pathways. Also, after decades of uncertainty about the existence of various pericyclase classes, a series of genome mining, heterologous expression, and enzymatic activity characterization have validated a plethora of pericyclases over the past decade. The several types of pericyclases are involved in biosynthetic complexity generation of almost every major category of natural products. This text will serve as a reference point for chemists of every subdiscipline, including synthetic organic chemists and medicinal chemists. It will also be valuable to bioinformatic and computational biologists, pharmacognocists and chemical ecologists, and bioengineers and synthetic biologists.Table of ContentsMajor Classes of Natural Product Scaffolds and Enzymatic Biosynthetic Machinery; The Chemical Logic for Major Reaction Types; Polyketide Natural Products; Peptide Natural Products I: RiPPs; Peptide Natural Products II: Nonribosomal Peptides; Isoprenoids/Terpenes; Alkaloids I; Purine- and Pyrimidine-derived Natural Products; Phenylpropanoid Natural Product Biosynthesis; Alkaloids II: Indole Terpenes; Natural Product Oligosaccharides and Glycosides; Oxygenases, Thwarted Oxygenases, and Oxygen-dependent Halogenases; S-Adenosylmethionine; Pericyclases in Natural Product Biosynthesis; Natural Products Isolation and Characterization: Gene-independent Approaches; Natural Products in the Post Genomic Era

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Book SynopsisThe Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th century’s greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time. Though scientists of his era often collected natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665–1736) was unrivalled in his passion. His amazing collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned careful and often scenic illustrations of every specimen. With these meticulous drawings, he arranged for the publication of a four-volume catalog, covering the entire collection from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, birds, and butterflies, as well as now extinct creatures. This reproduction is taken from a rare, hand-colored original. The introduction supplies background information about the fascinating tradition of natural collections to which Seba’s curiosities belonged.Trade Review“A powerful testament to nature’s beauty and diversity.” * Chicago Tribune *“The eye-popping displays leave us in awe of the diversity of the natural world, as well as the engravers’ skill in producing these beautifully detailed plates.” * The Huffington Post *"Snakes alive! What a cabinet of creepy-crawly curiosities." * The Independent *

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Humanure Handbook, an expert guide to compost toilets you can build yourself The Compost Toilet Handbook is an illustrated instructional manual explaining how to make, use, and manage compost toilets, which are waste-free toilets that rely on the biological process of composting to recycle toilet material. It is based on the author’s 40+ years of first-hand experience with “composting as a sanitation alternative.” The 254-page indexed book has 161 pages of color photos including 203 photos or illustrations from 13 countries where compost toilet systems are in use. The 2nd half of the book includes case study reviews of compost toilet projects in African prisons and schools; Haitian schools, orphanages, and villages; schools in Mozambique; neighborhoods in Mongolia; a school and village in Nicaragua; and an ecovillage in the US. Along with the nuts and bolts of compost toilet construction, use, and management, the book covers emergency preparedness, cold weather composting, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, health, and safety.

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Book SynopsisThis delightful celebration of the dahlia reads like a “very smart love letter to cultivating beauty” and features 60+ vintage-inspired full-color botanical illustrations (Seattle Times).“Next time you are lucky enough to be someone’s houseguest, consider arriving with a bouquet of either one of the Little Book of Flowers.”—The New York TimesDahlias are the showboats of the flower world—colorful, flamboyant, and spectacular. They're also one of the most satisfying flowers to grow, with a long season, plentiful blooms, and are adaptable to most climates with proper care. They're very easy to propagate, and can be hybridized. There are numerous dahlia flower forms and more than 50,000 recognized cultivars!This charming little hardcover book includes: 60+ full-color botanical illustrations basic botany and history everything you need to know to grow gorgeous blooms in the garden (including dividing tubers to propagate more flowers) tips for creating beautiful arrangements and preserving flowers quotes, lore, and notable gardens and growers Like a bouquet of dahlias, this book is an affordable little luxury for gardeners and flower lovers—the perfect hostess gift or Mother's Day present. It’s part of the collectible mini gift book series Little Book of Natural Wonders.Trade Review"Next time you are lucky enough to be someone’s houseguest, consider arriving with a bouquet of either one of the Little Book of Flowers. . . Each book includes snappy discussions of the origins of the species, cultivation techniques and suggestions for display. The charm lies in Poole’s art. . . there’s a distinctly retro appeal to the watercolors here, which slow you down to linger over crinkled petals and bombshell flower heads. These books don’t pretend to be encyclopedic; rather, Weaver is discerning in her choices."—New York Times"In 'A Little Book of Flowers,' a new series of single bloom titles, author Tara Austen Weaver weaves together basic botany and culture. Each posey-size volume reads like a very smart love letter to cultivating beauty. . . Charming illustrations by Emily Poole and numerous quotes tug at our horticultural heartstrings, while a serviceable glossary and resource section at the back of each book indulge our yearning to grow more flowers and deepen our knowledge of the natural world."—Seattle Times, Pacific NW Magazine"If the words "hidden gem" make you sit up and pay attention, this just may be the perfect book for the nature lover on your list!...It’s a must for flower fans. If you wanted to give a lavish gift, pair this with a fresh flower subscription."—Modern Mrs. Darcy

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Book SynopsisThe topic of stem cells has a high profile in the media. We''ve made important advances in our scientific understanding, but despite this the clinical applications of stem cells are still in their infancy and most real stem cell therapy carried out today is some form of bone marrow transplantation. At the same time, a scandalous spread of unproven stem cell treatments by private clinics represents a serious problem, with treatments being offered which are backed by limited scientific rationale, and which are at best ineffective, and at worse harmful. This Very Short Introduction introduces stem cells, exploring what they are, and what scientists do with them. Introducing the different types of stem cells, Jonathan Slack explains how they can be used to treat diseases such as retinal degeneration, diabetes, Parkinson''s disease, heart disease, and spinal trauma. He also discusses the important technique of bone marrow transplantation and some other types of current stem cell therapy, used for the treatment of blindness and of severe burns. Slack warns against fake stem cell treatments and discusses how to distinguish real from fake treatments. He also describes the latest scientific progress in the field, and looks forward to what we can expect to happen in the next few yearsVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsPreface 1: What are stem cells? 2: Embryonic stem cells 3: Personalised pluripotent stem cells 4: Therapy using pluripotent stem cells 5: Tissue-specific stem cells 6: Therapy using tissue-specific stem cells 7: Expectations: realistic and unrealistic Glossary Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisFrom a long-term planning lead for the Mars Exploration Rover Project comes this vivid insider account of some of NASA's most vital and exciting missions to the Red Planet, illustrated with full-colour photographsa wondrous chronicle of unprecedented scientific discovery and the search for evidence of life on Mars.There are probably just a few of moments in human history when a small group of humans stood on the margins of a vast new world, and it is no stretch of the romantic imagination that the arrival of two rovers on the surface of another planet was surely one of them.'Human exploration of Mars is the most ambitious and exciting scientific goal of the 21st century, and few people on earth know as much about this fascinating planet as Dr Larry Crumpler. As one of the long-term planning leads for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, he helped control the daily communications between NASA and the rovers roaming the planet to gather scientific data.In this magnificent compendium, Dr.

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Book SynopsisWhat the f*ck is the Dark Web, and how does it even work?Whether it's from dodgy acronym-titled crime shows to news stories designed to terrify you down to your socks we've all heard about sites like Silk Road and the ways criminals use cryptocurrency online. But did you know that among the various shady corners of the dark web you can also find portals to the BBC and Facebook?The thing is even the way the everyday internet works is a mystery to us and its darkest corners are, of course, more deeply shrouded. So, let's go on a journey from the birth of the Net through the strangest dark services - need a hitman to bump off your superfluous...er...beloved spouse? - to the surprisingly positive uses of dark technology, including dodging the watchful eye of oppressive censors.Over half of us can't remember a time before the internet - and for the rest it's increasingly difficult to imagine life without the damn thing! It's about time we understood more about it and we can start with the question: What The Fuck is The Dark Web?

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Book SynopsisThe biography of a mathematical genius. Paul Erdos was the most prolific pure mathematician in history and, arguably, the strangest too. ’A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdos was totally obsessed with his subject – he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until he died. He travelled constantly, living out of a plastic bag and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art – all that is usually indispensible to a human life. Paul Hoffman, in this marvellous biography, gives us a vivid and strangely moving portrait of this singular creature, one that brings out not only Erdos’s genius and his oddness, but his warmth and sense of fun, the joyfulness of his strange life.’ Oliver Sacks For six decades Erdos had no job, no hobbies, no wife, no home; he never learnt to cook, do laundry, drive a car and died a virgin. Instead he travelled the world with his mother in tow, arriving at the doorstep of esteemed mathematicians declaring ‘My brain is open’. He travelled until his death at 83, racing across four continents to prove as many theorems as possible, fuelled by a diet of espresso and amphetamines. With more than 1,500 papers written or co-written, a daily routine of 19 hours of mathematics a day, seven days a week, Paul Erdos was one of the most extraordinary thinkers of our times.Trade Review"Hoffman's playful, plainspoken and often hilarious biography of a monkish, impish, generous genius is purest pleasure." Mail on Sunday "Paul Hoffman's wittily articulated life of the mathematical genius Paul Erdos opens a door to a sunlit upland of pure logic, populated by bungee-bouncing, bearded maniacs and absurdly intelligent men who never learnt to tie their own shoelaces...Anyone with an interest in the science of numbers should read this." Observer "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is one of the most accessible and engaging introductions to the world of pure mathematics you are ever likely to come across." Graham Farmelo, Sunday Telegraph "A wonderful, playful, insightful life of this century's most unusual mathematician." Ian Stewart, Independent

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Book SynopsisA deep dive into the science behind the creative ways Shakespeare killed off his characters.William Shakespeare found dozens of different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions shock, sadness, fear that they did more than 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. But how realistic are these deaths, and did Shakespeare have the knowledge to back them up?In the Bard's day death was a part of everyday life. Plague, pestilence and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theatre were high. It was also a time of important scientific progress. Shakespeare kept pace with anatomical and medical advances, and he included the latest scientific discoveries in his work, from blood circulation to treatments for syphilis. He certainly didn't shy away from portraying the reality of death on stage, from the brutal to the mundane, and the spectacTrade ReviewHarkup’s enjoyable and informative survey presents this somatic Shakespeare for the Horrible Histories generation. * Times Literary Supplement *Were I a school-teacher introducing phone-addicted teens to Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet, I'd go in big on Shakespeare's 'violent delights'. * Daily Mail (4 stars) *Well-written and intriguing, the book provides a rich behind-the-scenes look at science and historical fact, using the focus on death to deepen understanding of Shakespeare’s life and work. * Historical Novel Society *The author of A Is for Arsenic and Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein continues her macabre cultural musings with an immensely readable roundup of Shakespearean death. * Smithsonian Magazine *Death By Shakespeare is a macabre but fascinating read, rich in historical context, scientific insight, and intriguing asides. * Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine *Harkup serves a delectable stew of history, science and wit that is sure to sate the appetite of any Anglophile. * Booklist *Serious scholarship meets horrid histories. Kathryn Harkup located Death by Shakespeare within the contexts of science and medicine, health and safety, crime and punishment, and in the process gives us tour de force descriptions of Juliet's deep coma, Cleopatra's asp, Ophelia's drowning and the carnage at Agincourt, among other celebrated exits. It's a good read – never morbid, and full of insights into the Tudor way of death and how far we've come. -- Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, cultural historian, writer and broadcasterLight enough to be a quick read for fun but hefty enough to educate, this is a book that any student would be happy to study for a class, and it’s a solid addition to any nonfiction or Shakespearean fan’s collection. Yet again, Harkup has delivered a satisfying, sterling examination of an iconic figure’s literary contributions to history. * Criminal Element *Table of ContentsI shall offend, either to detain or give it. The contents, as in part I understand them, are to blame. King Lear, Act 1, Scene 2 Prologue Chapter 1: Our Humble Author Chapter 2: All the World’s a Stage Chapter 3: Will You Be Cured of Your Infirmity? Chapter 4: Off With His Head! Chapter 5: Murder, Murder! Chapter 6: The Dogs of War Chapter 7: A Plague O’both Your Houses! Chapter 8: Most Delicious Poison Chapter 9: To Be, or Not to Be Chapter 10: Excessive Grief the Enemy to the Living Chapter 11: Exit Pursued by a Bear Epilogue Appendix Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

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Book Synopsis**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**A ground-breaking investigation into the oil and gas industry, international corruption and world politics. Oil. Corrupt? Yes. Unimaginably lucrative? Of course. But, the enemy of democracy? Blowout is the oil and gas industry as we've never seen it before, as told by America's most incisive political journalist, Rachel Maddow. A blackly comic journey from Washington to Siberia, to deep within the earth's crust and the icy Arctic seas, it reveals not just the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas but why the Russian government hacked the 2016 U.S. election. This is our final wake-up call: to stop subsidizing oil and gas, to fight for transparency, and to check the influence of the world's most destructive industry before it destroys our democracy 'Each page in Blowout is a revelation into the depth of corruption and greed that is infused into the international economy' David Lammy, MPTrade ReviewIt takes enormous talent to balance brutal honesty with scorching wit. Rachel Maddow has it in spades; exposing the truth about how the fossil fuel industry threatens our existence both as a democratic people and as an entire species. Each page in Blowout is a revelation into the depth of corruption and greed that is infused into the international economy. We should be grateful that Maddow has found herself on the frontline of resistance -- David Lammy, MPFulminating comes easy to Rachel Maddow. What sets her apart from other serial fulminators is that she does it with facts – and sardonic wit * Washington Post *[Rachel Maddow] may be a popular, progressive news-and-commentary anchor on MSNBC, but it's not to be forgotten that she holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford and seems to devour whole libraries of data before breakfast each day... Expect a tweetstorm as Maddow's indictment of a corrupt industry finds readers - and it deserves many * Kirkus Reviews *Radiates zing, intelligence, and black humour. Much like its author * In Style *All fans of Maddow, and even her detractors, will learn something new from this highly readable yet impressively detailed book. Anyone interested in the covert deals that change the nature of the global environmental and political landscape will devour. A must-have for all collections * Library Journal *Blowout is a compelling read, fuelled by righteous anger and anecdotes that would be utterly unbelievable were they not documented -- Kieran Pender * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisWritten primarily for 16-19 year old students, this primer aims to extend students'' knowledge and inspire them to take their school-level learning further. It explores topics that are familiar from the curriculum and also introduces new ideas, giving students a first taste of the study of biology beyond school-level and demonstrating how concepts frequently encountered at school are relevant to and applied in current research. This is the ideal text to support students who are considering making the transition from studying biology at school to university. This is a concise, stimulating introduction to the fundamental biomolecules in cells and organisms, and the exciting ways biochemistry could be used to solve global problems, both now and in the future.Table of Contents1: Carbohydrates: Why life is sweet 2: Lipids and Proteins: the building blocks of a cell 3: Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids: Biology's information stores 4: Metabolism: Transforming energy and biomolecules 5: Maintaining a Metabolic Balance 6: Solving Tomorrow's Problems with Natural Products 7: Solving Tomorrow's Problems: Bioenergy and the environment

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Book SynopsisWhen we look into the future, we imagine economic collapse, environmental disaster and the zombie apocalypse. But what if we are wrong? John Higgs takes us on a journey past the technological hype and headlines to discover why we shouldn''t trust the predictions of science fiction, why nature is not as helpless as we assume and why purpose can never be automated. In the process, we will come to a better understanding of what lies ahead and how, despite everything we can build a better future.Trade ReviewA magnificent book - you should read all of it -- Rufus HoundBrilliant, incisive and superbly written with humour, humanity and an intellectual honesty rarely found these days, The Future Starts Here is the best book I've read this year. An antidote to the disease and cynicism we are surrounded by, and a hymn to the future. A must read

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Book SynopsisAI expert Jerry Kaplan explains how generative AI will revolutionize virtually every human activity. Highly recommended. - Francis Fukuyama, Political scientist and author of The End of History and the Last Man Advances in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) have created a new class of computer systems that exhibit astonishing proficiency on a wide variety of tasks with superhuman performance, producing novel text, images, music, and software by analyzing enormous collections of digitized information. Soon, these systems will provide expert medical care; offer legal advice; draft documents; write computer programs; tutor our children; and generate music and art. These advances will accelerate progress in science, art, and human knowledge, but they will also bring new dangers. Have we finally discovered the holy grail of AI - machines that match or exceed human intelligence? Which industries and professions will thrive, and which will wither? What risks and dangers will it pose? Ho

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Book SynopsisFull of fascinating and bizarre cases of genetic mutation and irregularity, ‘Mutants’ is an amazing exploration of the human form in all its beautiful and unique guises.Trade Review‘Armand Leroi combines meticulous historical research, brand-new genetic understanding and consummate skill with words to tell an absorbing tale.’ Matt Ridley, author of ‘Genome’ and ‘Nature Via Nurture’ ‘Erudite, gracefully crafted…Enriching his observations and insights with examples drawn from science, medicine, history, philosophy and the arts, Leroi lifts us to a profound sense of wonder.’ Sunday Times ‘Poetic, philosophical, profound, witty and challenging.’ Guardian ‘“Mutants” thrills and repels and informs us of the delicacy and wonder of growth and development. It is written with great grace.’ Richard Fortey, author of ‘The Earth’ ‘Leroi writes beautifully, charging his case histories with drama and pathos.’ Time Out ‘Dr Leroi’s book is genuinely instructive and enlightening, a brilliant admixture of curious historical anecdote and up-to-date science, written in excellent and often elegant prose.’ Spectator

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Book SynopsisExam Board: Edexcel, AQA, OCR & WJEC EduqasLevel: GCSE 9-1Subject: Maths FoundationSuitable for the 2025 examsComplete revision and practice to fully prepare for the GCSE grade 9-1 examsRevision that Sticks! Collins GCSE 9-1 Maths Foundation Complete All-in-One Revision and Practice uses a revision method that really works: repeated practice throughout.A revision guide, workbook and practice paper in one book!With clear and concise revision for every topic, plus seven practice opportunities, Collins offers the best revision at the best price.Includes:quick tests as you goend-of-topic practice questionstopic review questions later in the bookmixed practice questions at the end of the bookmore topic-by-topic practice in the workbooka complete exam-style paperfree Q&A flashcards to download onlinefree ebook version

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Book SynopsisExam Board: AQALevel: GCSE Grade 9-1Subject: ChemistrySuitable for the 2024 examsComplete coverage of the GCSE grade 9-1 courseRevision that Sticks! Collins AQA GCSE 9-1 Chemistry Revision Guide uses a revision method that really works: repeated practice throughout.This revision guide contains clear and concise revision notes for every topic covered in the curriculum, plus five practice opportunities to ensure the best results.Includes:quick tests to check understandingend-of-topic practice questionstopic review questions later in the bookmixed practice questions at the end of the bookfree Q&A flashcards to download onlinean ebook version of the revision guideTrade Review“Generally excellent. Attractive layout, clear and easy to access. There is necessary focus on exam skills, but presented in an interesting, step-by-step format.” Susan Stirrup, King’s Ely “I like the clear layout, especially the spacing of the questions – it is very accessible.” Fiona Hall, Sheringham High School “Colourful and informative.” Jane Hamilton, Alsager School

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Book SynopsisExam Board: AQALevel: GCSE Grade 9-1Subject: ChemistrySuitable for the 2024 examsComplete revision and practice to fully prepare for the GCSE grade 9-1 examsRevision that Sticks! Collins AQA GCSE 9-1 Chemistry Complete All-in-One Revision and Practice uses a revision method that really works: repeated practice throughout.A revision guide, workbook and practice paper in one book!With clear and concise revision for every topic, plus seven practice opportunities, Collins offers the best revision at the best price.For even more practice QR codes link directly from the topics in the revision guide to online interactive quick recall quizzes and to worked solution videos in the workbook.Includes: grading guidance on the page to indicate different levels quick tests as you go end-of-topic practice questions topic review questions later in the book mixed practice questions at the end of the book more topic-by-topic practice in the workbook a complete exam-style paper online quick recall quizzesTrade Review“Generally excellent. Attractive layout, clear and easy to access. There is necessary focus on exam skills, but presented in an interesting, step-by-step format.” Susan Stirrup, King’s Ely “I like the clear layout, especially the spacing of the questions – it is very accessible.” Fiona Hall, Sheringham High School “Colourful and informative.” Jane Hamilton, Alsager School

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Book SynopsisExam Board: AQALevel: GCSE Grade 9-1Subject: Combined Science: TrilogySuitable for the 2024 examsComplete coverage of the GCSE grade 9-1 courseRevision that Sticks! Collins AQA GCSE 9-1 Combined Science Trilogy Revision Guide uses a revision method that really works: repeated practice throughout.This revision guide contains clear and concise revision notes for every topic covered in the curriculum, plus five practice opportunities to ensure the best results.Includes:quick tests to check understandingend-of-topic practice questionstopic review questions later in the bookmixed practice questions at the end of the bookfree Q&A flashcards to download onlinean ebook version of the revision guideTrade Review“Generally excellent. Attractive layout, clear and easy to access. There is necessary focus on exam skills, but presented in an interesting, step-by-step format.” Susan Stirrup, King’s Ely “I like the clear layout, especially the spacing of the questions – it is very accessible.” Fiona Hall, Sheringham High School “Colourful and informative.” Jane Hamilton, Alsager School

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Book SynopsisChallenge yourself at home with word and number puzzlesThese are previously unpublished quality Su Doku grids from The Times, and help to develop you to take on Extreme Su Doku.The 200 puzzles in this collection of treacherously difficult puzzles will stretch even the most advanced Su Doku enthusiast. You will need to use all of your best solving techniques to get to the end of this testing challenge.The puzzles in the collection are of the highest quality and are perfect for the advanced solver in need of a constant supply of ultra-difficult puzzles.Guaranteed to provide hours of mind-stretching entertainment.

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Book SynopsisA virologist's insight into how viruses evolve and why global epidemics are inevitableIn 1993 a previously healthy young man was drowning in the middle of a desert, in fluids produced by his own lungs. This was the beginning of the terrifying Sin Nombre hantavirus epidemic and the start of a scientific journey that would forever change our understanding of what it means to be human.After witnessing the Sin Nombre outbreak, Dr Frank Ryan began researching viral evolution and was astonished to discover that it's inextricable from the evolution of all life on Earth. From AIDS and Ebola to the common cold, Ryan explores the role of the virus within every ecosystem on the planet. His gripping conclusions shed new light on the natural world, proving that what doesn't kill you really does make you (and your species) stronger.Trade ReviewPraise for Virusphere: ‘A fascinating book that is well structured … absorbing … [and] makes an engrossing and fervent argument’ The Inquisitive Biologist Praise for Frank Ryan: 'Extremely well written … Frank Ryan has the page-turning and spine-chilling ability of a good novelist'Sunday Telegraph 'Ryan is very good at making technical matters comprehensible to the lay reader, but more impressive still is the away he conveys the intellectual excitement and elation of scientific discovery'Literary Review ‘Dr Ryan writes well in a difficult technical field, weaving the technicalities of scientific history, medicine, molecular biology and evolution into the human narratives … Very readable and disturbing’New York Times…

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Book SynopsisA definitive account of the bright-eyed assassins of the British countryside.Stoats, weasels, martens and polecats belong to the mustelid family, along with badgers and otters, and feral American mink, which are a recent addition to the UK countryside, following escapes and releases from fur farms.This new volume in the New Naturalist Library focuses on the four small mustelids', all highly specialised predators, ubiquitous assassins to be marvelled at. There is a family likeness, the rather pointed snout, powerful jaws and sharp fangs and the long sinuous slender body with short legs. These small mustelids are also possessed of dense fur, which once led to their being hunted nearly to extinction. Some can kill prey larger than themselves, in some cases much larger, and they are uniquely adapted to hunt their rodent prey. They also have extraordinary lives some in total seclusion, some in large, related groups now brought into the light by one of the UK's leading small mustelid experts.Dr Jenny MacPherson, who managed the Pine Marten Recovery Project for England and Wales, introduces readers to Britain's small mustelid species in delightfully rich text, covering the animals' physiology, daily lives and distribution, as well as their significance in UK history and folklore. And she shares her experiences from the forefront of the work to conserve these amazing animals.

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Book SynopsisHumans are the only mammals to walk on two, rather than four, legs. From an evolutionary perspective, this is an illogical development, as it slows us down. But here we are, suggesting there must have been something tremendous to gain from bipedalism.First Steps takes our ordinary, everyday walking experience and reveals how unusual and extraordinary it truly is. The seven-million-year-long journey through the origins of upright walking shows how it was in fact a gateway to many of the other attributes that make us humanfrom our technological skills and sociality to our thirst for exploration.DeSilva uses early human evolution to explain the instinct that propels a crawling infant to toddle onto two feet, differences between how men and women tend to walk, physical costs of upright walking, including hernias, varicose veins and backache, and the challenges of childbirth imposed by a bipedal pelvis. And he theorises that upright walking may have laid the foundation for the traits of comTrade Review‘A book that strides confidently across complex terrain, laying out what we know about how walking works, who started doing it and when … DeSilva is a genial companion on this stroll through the deep origins of walking … Illuminating’ New York Times ‘This is breezy popular science at its best, interweaving anecdotes from the field and lab with scientific findings and the occasional pop culture reference … compelling’ Science News ‘Before our ancestors thought symbolically, before they used fire, before they made stone tools, or even entered the open savanna, our ancestors walked upright. In one way or another, this odd locomotory style has underwritten the whole spectrum of our vaunted human uniquenesses, from our manual dexterity to our hairless bodies, and our large brains. In the modern world it even influences the way other people recognise us at a distance, and it is crucial to our individual viability. In this authoritative but charmingly discursive and accessible book, Jeremy DeSilva lucidly explains how and why.’ Ian Tattersall, author of Masters of the Planet and The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack ‘Master anatomist and paleontologist Jeremy DeSilva makes no bones about the fact that when looking at fossils “I let myself be emotional …” Thus does this world expert and gifted story teller take us on a tour through the sprawling, complicated, saga of human origins. Drawing on his personal knowledge of topics ranging from sports medicine to childcare and his acquaintance with a host of colourful characters –whether lying inert in museum drawer, sitting behind microscopes or feuding with one other – DeSilva adds flesh and projects feelings onto the bones he studies, a tour de force of empathic understanding.’ Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, author of Mother Nature and Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding

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Book SynopsisExam Board: SQALevel: HigherSubject: Chemistry Two books in one! Combining a revision guide and a full set of practice test papers, this fantastic resource is all you need to revise for the exam.The revision guide Covers all of the topics in the CfE Higher Chemistry curriculum, broken down into manageable chunks for easy revision Clearly explains key concepts, research evidence and real-life applications Contains Quick Tests to let students check their knowledge and understanding as they go alongThe practice test papers Are in the format and the style of the SQA exam, giving students an opportunity to practice taking the Higher Chemistry examMarking instructions and sample answers are provided online, so students can check their progress.

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Book SynopsisFrom skincare to cocktails, and energy boosts to allergies, honey is a magic potion in an everyday bottle.Honey has been prized by humans for thousands of years for its sweetness, nutrition, and medicinal properties. Honey collection is one of the oldest known human activities with home beekeeping never more popular than today. Contemporary hives can be found on top of Paris' Notre Dame, the Whitney Museum in NYC, the urban farms of Detroit, and chances are your neighbor's backyard.Honey's benefits have been known by homeopaths for centuries, but honey has seen its star rise in the last decade, as its cure-all benefits have been rallied by health food stores and cosmetics trade. Honey is one of the world's only natural sweeteners. It also contains nutrients, enzymes, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids a true super food. From allergies to baking, hangover cures to haircare, honey's applications are endless discover how to use it to its full potential!Charming, engaging, and coTrade ReviewSelected by East Anglian Daily Times as a top ten cookery book (8 May 2021)

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Book SynopsisBig Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised has been developed in collaboration with Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School. It comprises classroom resources to support the SSP programme and a range of phonic readers that together provide a consistent and highly effective approach to teaching phonics.There are all sorts of stars and constellations that make patterns in the night sky. See if you can spot some of these patterns and maybe you can even find and make up some of your own patterns!

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Book SynopsisPo Bronson and Ashley Merryman's New York Magazine articles on the science of children have won the magazine journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as the Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications. Their articles for Time Magazine have won the award for outstanding journalism from the Council on Contemporary Families. Bronson has authored five books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller What Should I Do With My Life?Trade ReviewAn explosive new book... Many of the findings in Nurtureshock are not what we parents expect or want to hear, but we have to hear it * Daily Mail *A wake-up call for parents... the Freakonomics of child-rearing... a fantastic read * Good Morning America *The least touchy-feely [parenting book] ever... hard to put down and easy to take seriously. * A.V. Club,The Onion *

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Book SynopsisDescribed by Oliver Sacks as ''one of the best scientist-writers of our time'', Robert M. Sapolsky here presents the human animal in all its quirkiness and diversity.In these remarkable essays, Sapolsky once again deploys his compassion and insights into the human condition to tell us who, why and how we are. Monkeyluv touches on themes such as sexuality, aggression, love, parenting, religion, ageing, and mental illness. He ponders such topics as our need to seek out beauty; why our preferences in food become fixed; why we are sexually attracted to one another; why Alzheimer''s disease tends to be a post-menopausal phenomenon; and why grandmothers buying groceries for their grandchildren are part of nature''s Darwinian logic.Trade ReviewThe prose is perfectly pitched: Sapolsky writes in a jocular, entertaining style without ever pandering to the presumed ignorance of his readers. And he expresses infectious enthusiasm, especially when he is reporting on new experiments performed by colleagues in his field -- Steven Poole * Guardian *Sapolsky, who has a weakness for Martian jokes, is a bona fide boffin, but he looks beyond the lab for his case studies, assembling a cast that includes Sandra Bullock and a love-struck baboon named Jonathan. This highly readable book will both inform and enlarge your appreciation of the mystery of existence * Mail on Sunday *The author of Monkeyluv, an entertaining collection of essays about humans and animals, is also a luminary among that rare breed - the funny scientist. These essays on genetic wars between men and women, dreams, bad moods, ambiguity and stress are...a combination of Oliver Sacks and David Foster Wallace * Los Angeles Times *Sapolsky gives us these and many more intriguing gene factoids, but he also explains the elaborate nature/nurture interactions in which they are embedded...the book is a witty blend of anecdote and analysis -- Rita Carter * Daily Mail *Fascinating * Sunday Times *

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