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The Reality Bubble provides a vivid picture of what stalks our blind spots and reveals how the way we look…
at the world has the power to shake civilization. With all of the curiosity and flair that drives her broadcasting, Tong takes us on a journey from the smallest nanoparticle to the very ideas of time and space, pausing along the way to consider the implications of research as diverse as the nature of animal languages, and the consequences of artificial fertilizers on your DNA. She'll explain fascinating science applications, such as the way police linked American nuclear testing to a murder mystery in Vienna. Throughout, what she discovers is that much of what we don't see is deliberately hidden from us. Although we live in a culture of increasingly intrusive surveillance, significant parts of the global system that sustains us are closely guarded secrets: where our food comes from, where our energy comes from, and where our waste goes. 2019.The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
By Timothy C. Winegard. 2019
“Hugely impressive, a major work.”--NPRA pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the…
history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power. The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village. Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming
By David Wallace-Wells. 2019
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical…
prose about our pending Armageddon.”—Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday DemonNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New Yorker • The New York Times Book Review • Time • NPR • The Economist • The Paris Review • Toronto Star • GQ • The Times Literary Supplement • The New York Public Library • Kirkus ReviewsIt is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible—food shortages, refugee emergencies, climate wars and economic devastation. An “epoch-defining book” (The Guardian) and “this generation’s Silent Spring” (The Washington Post), The Uninhabitable Earth is both a travelogue of the near future and a meditation on how that future will look to those living through it—the ways that warming promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and nature in the modern world, the sustainability of capitalism and the trajectory of human progress. The Uninhabitable Earth is also an impassioned call to action. For just as the world was brought to the brink of catastrophe within the span of a lifetime, the responsibility to avoid it now belongs to a single generation—today’s.LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD“The Uninhabitable Earth is the most terrifying book I have ever read. Its subject is climate change, and its method is scientific, but its mode is Old Testament. The book is a meticulously documented, white-knuckled tour through the cascading catastrophes that will soon engulf our warming planet.”—Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times“Riveting. . . . Some readers will find Mr. Wallace-Wells’s outline of possible futures alarmist. He is indeed alarmed. You should be, too.”—The Economist“Potent and evocative. . . . Wallace-Wells has resolved to offer something other than the standard narrative of climate change. . . . He avoids the ‘eerily banal language of climatology’ in favor of lush, rolling prose.”—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times“The book has potential to be this generation’s Silent Spring.”—The Washington Post“The Uninhabitable Earth, which has become a best seller, taps into the underlying emotion of the day: fear. . . . I encourage people to read this book.”—Alan Weisman, The New York Review of BooksCanadarm and Collaboration: How Canada’s Astronauts and Space Robots Explore New Worlds
By Elizabeth Howell. 2020
With interviews from Chris Hadfield and Marc Garneau, the tale of Canada’s involvement in international space exploration from the 1960s…
to the present day Canada is a small but mighty power in space exploration. After providing the Canadarm robotic arm for the space shuttle in 1981, Canada received an invitation to start an astronaut program — a program that quickly let its people accumulate skill and prestige. Canadian astronauts have since commanded the International Space Station, flown as co-pilots on spacecraft, and even held senior roles within NASA. This book traces how Canada grew from small beginnings into a major player in international space policy. You will hear about Canada’s space program from the words of its astronauts, from Canadian celebrity Chris Hadfield to Liberal cabinet minister Marc Garneau to Governor General Julie Payette. You will experience the excitement and challenges of reporting on a rocket launch in Kazakhstan, as Canada sent its latest astronaut to space in preparation for possible moon missions in the 2020s. And you will learn from the people who work behind the scenes on Canadian space technology and space policy about why we are doing this — and what we plan to do next.The inside story of one woman’s quest to bring transparency and accountability to Big Tech, by the Facebook whistleblower who…
is determined to help us all retake control of our lives. In 2021, when news outlets feasted on “the Facebook Files,” Frances Haugen went public as the former employee who blew the whistle on the company by copying tens of thousands of pages of documents. She testified to Congress and spoke to the media. She was hailed at President Biden’s first State of the Union Address. She made sure everyone understood exactly what the documents revealed: Facebook knew it had accidentally changed its algorithm to reward extremism and refused to fix it; it knew that its customers were using the platform to foment violence, to spread falsehoods, to diminish the self-esteem of young women, and more. But how was it that Haugen was the only employee at the company who dared to step forward? The answer to that question is an inspiring tale of one young woman’s life and the choices she made. From an isolated childhood in Iowa to an unaccredited college, to one among the few women at Google in its heyday, Frances Haugen learned how to focus on what mattered, and to ignore her critics. To harness the strength of standing in the truth. The Power of One is equally inspiring—the story of a woman who went against the grain, again and again, and changed the world—and horrifying, as the culture and practices of Facebook are brought into the bright light of day, for the first time.Nuclear Power: A Reference Handbook
By Harry Henderson. 2000
Provides background information needed to understand nuclear power issues and guides readers toward accessible resources. Overviews developments in nuclear energy…
from the discovery of radiation to the present, then provides a chronology of events, biographical sketches of key figures, and tables, charts, and maps that explain how nuclear reactors work, how much energy they produce, where they are located, and plans for waste disposal. Reviews regulations, agencies, and court cases, provides statements from antinuclear groups, and lists government, academic, and industrial groups, and antinuclear groups. Also lists print and online resources, and includes a glossary of scientific and technical terms. Henderson is a science writer.In the Interests of Safety
By Michael Hanlon. 2014
Does an airline pilot really need to surrender his tweezers at airport security when he's about to board an aircraft…
equipped with an axe on the back of the cockpit door? Can a mobile phone really cause a major explosion at a gas station? And is there really a good reason why you should be prevented from swimming in a lake more than a foot deep? These rules exist, and they exist in the name of our own protection. But in this engrossing dissection of global health, safety and security regulations, authors Tracey Brown and Michael Hanlon dig a little deeper to discover the real reasons behind many of the instructions we obey without questioning their creators' motives. Their conclusions range from the startling to the staggering, and in presenting them the authors seek to empower readers to question the people and organisations who come up with them in the first place.The Heart: Our Circulatory System
By Seymour Simon. 1996
You know your heart beats, but did you know it beats over two billion times in a lifetime? You know…
you have veins, but did you know that the upper vena cava is as wide as a pencil and brings blood from your brain and upper body back to your heart? You know blood flows, but did you know your veins have valves like parachutes that open and close to keep blood from flowing backwards? You know you have red blood cells, but did you know that if they were stacked on top of each other they'd make a column thirty thousand miles high? Blood flows through arteries and veins. Do you know the difference between them? Discover what jobs the white and red blood cells do to keep you alive. Learn the parts of your heart and the blood vessels that let your blood flow to every part of your body. You'll learn new, big words like: septum, hemoglobin, atria, valve, ventricles, plasma, cells, pulmonary, veins, arteries, marrow, venules, alveoli, neutrophils, capillaries, sinoatrial node, and upper and lower vena cava. Find how a muscle the size of a large sweet potato keeps you alive. You'll be interested and learning as you read and you'll become smart about your heart. Read other books by this author from Bookshare including The Brain, Mars, Muscles and Bones.The Praxis of Product Design in Collaboration with Engineering
By Wayne C. Chung. 2019
This book reveals how a generative design process capitalizes on understanding humans in context to deliver appropriate innovation A…
repertoire of design actions and output allows designers to work dynamically in order to create a cascade of new ideas and insights The Design Matrix a visual team tool provides a prescriptive and descriptive guide enabling a range of users to work through a problem and also reflect on past decisions Several case studies from prior industry collaborative projects show the complexities and tensions that can be tackled through the design process and matrix Case studies include design and engineering development and production of an 8 Tesla MRI biomedical projects medical devices and consumer products Other cases with Ford Motor Company and Cognizant Technologies illustrate how using a human-centered design process can shift the business paradigm for new products services systems and social innovations Each story shows different and distinct aspects that span classic design and engineering problem solving to generative contextual processes which lead to innovative solutions Describes a studio-based product development pedagogy so readers can understand through past examples how to operationalize their own design engineering and innovation processes Provides specific stories that showcase details of the project work the contextual insights and proposed solutions as a result of applying tangible visualizations collaborative work methods and framing and reframing of the problem Uses case studies to demonstrate how to use divergent and convergent design thinking and actions from multiple stages of the design process so this can lead to critical team integration and new contextual insightsMammal Societies
By Tim Clutton-Brock. 2016
The book aims to integrate our understanding of mammalian societies into a novel synthesis that is relevant to behavioural ecologists,…
ecologists, and anthropologists. It adopts a coherent structure that deals initially with the characteristics and strategies of females, before covering those of males, cooperative societies and hominid societies. It reviews our current understanding both of the structure of societies and of the strategies of individuals; it combines coverage of relevant areas of theory with coverage of interspecific comparisons, intraspecific comparisons and experiments; it explores both evolutionary causes of different traits and their ecological consequences; and it integrates research on different groups of mammals with research on primates and humans and attempts to put research on human societies into a broader perspective.Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation
By Igor Krupnik, Douglas Nakashima, Jennifer Rubis. 2018
This unique transdisciplinary publication is the result of collaboration between UNESCO s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems LINKS …
programme the United Nations University s Traditional Knowledge Initiative the IPCC and other organisations Chapters written by indigenous peoples scientists and development experts provide insight into how diverse societies observe and adapt to changing environments A broad range of case studies illustrate how these societies building upon traditional knowledge handed down through generations are already developing their own solutions for dealing with a rapidly changing climate and how this might be useful on a global scale Of interest to policy-makers social and natural scientists and indigenous peoples and experts this book provides an indispensable reference for those interested in climate science policy and adaptationThe Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean
By Susan Casey. 2010
From Susan Casey, bestselling author of The Devil's Teeth, an astonishing book about colossal, ship-swallowing rogue waves and the surfers…
who seek them out. For centuries, mariners have spun tales of gargantuan waves, 100-feet high or taller. Until recently scientists dismissed these stories--waves that high would seem to violate the laws of physics. But in the past few decades, as a startling number of ships vanished and new evidence has emerged, oceanographers realized something scary was brewing in the planet's waters. They found their proof in February 2000, when a British research vessel was trapped in a vortex of impossibly mammoth waves in the North Sea--including several that approached 100 feet. As scientists scramble to understand this phenomenon, others view the giant waves as the ultimate challenge. There are extreme surfers who fly around the world trying to ride the ocean's most destructive monsters. The pioneer of extreme surfing is the legendary Laird Hamilton, who, with a group of friends in Hawaii, figured out how to board suicidally large waves of 70 and 80 feet. Casey follows this unique tribe of people as they seek to conquer the holy grail of their sport, a 100-foot wave. In this mesmerizing account, the exploits of Hamilton and his fellow surfers are juxtaposed against scientists' urgent efforts to understand the destructive powers of waves--from the tsunami that wiped out 250,000 people in the Pacific in 2004 to the 1,740-foot-wave that recently leveled part of the Alaskan coast. Like Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, The Wave brilliantly portrays human beings confronting nature at its most ferocious.Kill the Cowboy: A Battle of Mythology in the New West
By Sharman Apt Russell. 1993
The Last Lobster: Boom or Bust for Maine's Greatest Fishery?
By Christopher White. 2018
From the author of Skipjack The Melting World comes a mystery the curious boom in America …
s beloved lobster industry and its probable crashMaine lobstermen have happened upon a bonanza along their rugged picturesque coast For the past five years the lobster population along the coast of Maine has boomed resulting in a lobster harvest six times the size of the record catch from the 1980s an event unheard of in fisheries In a detective story scientists and fishermen explore various theories for the glut Leading contenders are a sudden lack of predators and a recent wedge of warming waters which may disrupt the reproductive cycle a consequence of climate change Christopher White s The Last Lobster follows three lobster captains Frank Jason and Julie one the few female skippers in Maine as they haul and set thousands of traps Unexpectedly boom may turn to bust as the captains must fight a warming ocean volatile prices and rough weather to keep their livelihood afloat The three captains work longer hours trying to make up in volume what they lack in price As a result there are 3 million lobster traps on the bottom of the Gulf of Maine while Frank Jason and others call for a reduction of traps This may in boost prices The Maine lobstering towns are among the first American communities to confront global warming and the survival of the Maine Coast depends upon their efforts It may be an uphill battle to create a sustainable catch as high temperatures are already displacing lobsters northward toward Canadian waters out of reach of American fishermen The last lobster may be just aheadDeleuzian Intersections
By Casper Bruun Jensen, Kjetil Rodje. 2012
Science and technology studies, cultural anthropology and cultural studies deal with the complex relations between material, symbolic, technical and political…
practices. In a Deleuzian approach these relations are seen as produced in heterogeneous assemblages, moving across distinctions such as the human and non-human or the material and ideal. This volume outlines a Deleuzian approach to analyzing science, culture and politics.The Naked Scientist: Everyday Life Under the Microscope
By Chris Smith. 2012
Why use expensive beauty products when you can moisturise with jellyfish? Have you ever suspected pollution was to blame for…
your children's plummeting IQ? Ready to take a sea change . . . on Mars? And how about chopping an onion that doesn't make you cry? This is the perfect present for enquiring minds. Compelling, quirky and packed fully of curious facts, The Naked Scientist: Life Under the Microscope is a treasure trove of cutting-edge research, far-flung factoids and the ability to see into our scientific future, answering those fascinating questions you never thought to ask.Flow Cytometry Protocols
By Robert G. Hawley, Teresa S. Hawley. 2004
Flow cytometry has evolved since the 1940s into a multidisciplinary field incorporating aspects of laser technology, fluid dynamics, electronics, optics,…
computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. Innovations in instrumentation, development of small lasers, discovery of new fluorochromes/fluorescent proteins, and implementation of novel methodologies have all contributed to the recent rapid expansion of flow cytometry applications. In this thoroughly revised and updated second edition of Flow Cytometry Protocols, time-proven as well as cutting-edge methods are clearly and comprehensively presented by leading experimentalists. In addition to being a valuable reference manual for experienced flow cytometrists, the editors expect this authoritative up-to-date collection to prove useful to investigators in all areas of the biological and biomedical sciences who are new to the subject. The introductory chapter provides an eloquent synopsis of the principles and diverse uses of flow cytometry, beginning with a historical perspective and ending with a view to the future. Chapters 2-22 contain step-by-step protocols of highly practical and state-of-the-art techniques. Detailed instructions and helpful tips on experimental design, as well as selection of reagents and data analysis tools, will allow researchers to readily carry out flow cytometric investigations ranging from traditional phenotypic characterizations to emerging genomics and proteomics applications. Complementing these instructive protocols is a chapter that provides a preview of the next generation of solid-state lasers, and one that describes a rapid means to validate containment of infectious aerosols generated during high-speed sorting (Chapters 23-24).The Genetics of Obesity
By Struan F.A. Grant. 2014
In the past four years, many genetic loci have been implicated for BMI from the outcomes of genome-wide association studies…
(GWAS), primarily in adults. Insulin-induced gene 2 (INSIG2) was the first locus to be reported by this method to have a role in obesity but replication attempts have yielded inconsistent outcomes. The identification of the second locus, the fat mass- and obesity-associated gene (FTO), h has been more robustly observed by others. Studies from both FTO knock out and FTO overexpression mouse model support the fact that FTO is directly involved in the regulation of energy intake and metabolism in mice, where the lack of FTO expression leads to leanness while enhanced expression of FTO leads to obesity. Along with numerous other studies, a number of genetic variants have been established robustly in the context of obesity, giving us fresh insights into the pathogenesis of the disease. This book will give a comprehensive overview of efforts aimed at uncovering genetic variants associated with obesity, which have been particularly successful in the past 5 years with the advent of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). This book will cover this state of the art technology and its application to obesity in great detail. Topics covered will include genetics of childhood obesity, genetics of syndromic obesity, copy number variants and extreme obesity, co-morbidities of obesity genetics, and functional follow-up of genetic variants. Getting Started with Soldering not only teaches new makers and experimenters the core principles of soldering, it also functions as…
an excellent reference and resource for beginners and more advanced makers alike. The book guides readers through the fundamentals of soldering, explains the tools and materials, demonstrates proper techniques, and shows how to fix mistakes or broken connections. It even includes guidance on more advanced techniques such as surface-mount soldering for electronics. From choosing the right soldering iron to making perfect connections, readers will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to form a strong foundation for a lifetime of making.Soldering is a core concept in making, electronics prototyping, and home repairsThe many different types of soldering -- requiring different materials and tools -- are explained with easy-to-follow instructionsFull-color photographs and illustrations throughout create a visually engaging format for learningPricing and technical considerations help readers select the best tools for their budgets and needsTroubleshooting guidelines show how to repair solder connections that have failed from improper technique or from ageIsaac Newton, The Asshole Who Reinvented the Universe: The Asshole Who Reinvented The Universe
By Brian Taylor, Florian Freistetter. 2018
A blunt and humorous profile of Isaac Newton focusing on his disagreeable personality and showing that his offputting qualities were…
key to his scientific breakthroughs.Isaac Newton may have been the most important scientist in history, but he was a very difficult man. Put more bluntly, he was an asshole, an SOB, or whatever epithet best describes an abrasive egomaniac. In this colorful profile of the great man--warts and all--astronomer Florian Freistetter shows why this damning assessment is inescapable.Newton's hatred of fellow scientist Robert Hooke knew no bounds and he was strident in expressing it. He stole the work of colleague John Flamsteed, ruining his career without a second thought. He carried on a venomous battle with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz over the invention of calculus, vilifying him anonymously while the German scientist was alive and continuing the attacks after he died. All evidence indicates that Newton was conniving, sneaky, resentful, secretive, and antisocial. Compounding the mystery of his strange character is that he was also a religious fanatic, a mystery-monger who spent years studying the Bible and predicted the apocalypse.While documenting all of these unusual traits, the author makes a convincing case that Newton would have never revolutionized physics if he hadn't been just such an obnoxious person. This is a fascinating character study of an astounding genius and--if truth be told--an almighty asshole as well.