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Programmable matter is probably not the next technological revolution, nor even perhaps the one after that. But it's coming, and…
when it does, it will change our lives as much as any invention ever has. Imagine being able to program matter itself-to change it, with the click of a cursor, from hard to soft, from paper to stone, from fluorescent to super-reflective to invisible. Supported by organizations ranging from Levi Strauss and IBM to the Defense Department, solid-state physicists in renowned laboratories are working to make it a reality. In this dazzling investigation, Wil McCarthy visits the laboratories and talks with the researchers who are developing this extraordinary technology, describes how they are learning to control it, and tells us where all this will lead. The possibilities are truly astonishing.Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time And The Beauty That Causes Havoc
By Arthur J. Miller. 2001
The most important scientist of the twentieth century and the most important artist had their periods of greatest creativity almost…
simultaneously and in remarkably similar circumstances. This fascinating parallel biography of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso as young men examines their greatest creations-Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Einstein's special theory of relativity. Miller shows how these breakthroughs arose not only from within their respective fields but from larger currents in the intellectual culture of the times. Ultimately, Miller shows how Einstein and Picasso, in a deep and important sense, were both working on the same problem.Water Histories and Spatial Archaeology
By Michael J. Harrower. 2016
This book offers a new interpretation of the spatial-political-environmental dynamics of water and irrigation in long-term histories of arid regions.…
It compares ancient Southwest Arabia (3500 BC–AD 600) with the American West (2000 BC–AD 1950) in global context to illustrate similarities and differences among environmental, cultural, political, and religious dynamics of water. It combines archaeological exploration and field studies of farming in Yemen with social theory and spatial technologies, including satellite imagery, Global Positioning System (GPS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping. In both ancient Yemen and the American West, agricultural production focused not where rain-fed agriculture was possible, but in hyper-arid areas where massive state-constructed irrigation schemes politically and ideologically validated state sovereignty. While shaped by profound differences and contingencies, ancient Yemen and the American West are mutually informative in clarifying human geographies of water that are important to understandings of America, Arabia, and contemporary conflicts between civilizations deemed East and West.Mass Spectrometry: Developmental Approaches to Answer Biological Questions
By Gwenael Pottiez. 2015
The understanding of the events taking place in a cell, a biological fluid or in any biological system is the…
main goal of biology research. Many fields of research use different technology to assess those events. Mass spectrometry is one of those techniques and this undergoes constant evolution and adaptation to always enhance the accuracy of the information provided. Proteomics provides a large panel of data on protein identity and protein expression that were made possible by mass spectrometry. For several years now mass spectrometry has become central to performing proteomic research, however this powerful tool is under constant evolution to be more sensitive and more resolute. More importantly mass spectrometry became a field of research focusing on new applications. Indeed, the complexity in biological systems relies on the changes of expression of transcription of proteins but also on the post-translational modification of proteins, the structure of proteins and the interaction between proteins, amongst others. As of now, several investigations tried to improve the quantification of proteins by mass spectrometry, the determination of post-translational modifications, the protein-protein and protein-nucleic acids interaction or the proteins structures. This book is structured as follows: after a brief introduction of the usual and most popular applications for mass spectrometry in proteomics, the most recent research and developments in mass spectrometry-based methodologies will be explored.A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
By Michael Allaby. 1998
This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date paperback dictionary of botany available. Fully revised for this new edition, with over…
5500 clear and concise entries, it will be invaluable to students, amateur botanists and naturalists, and everyone with an interest in plants and their environments. Wide coverage including biochemistry, plant physiology, cytology, ecology, genetics, evolution, biogeography, Earth history, and the Earth sciences. World-wide coverage of taxonomic groups - one-third of the entries are devoted to taxa, from bacteria and fungi to the main groups of flowering and non-flowering plants. Many new entries added from the field of molecular biology.Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origins of Species
By Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan. 2002
How do new species evolve? Although Darwin identified inherited variation as the creative force in evolution, he never formally speculated…
where it comes from. His successors thought that new species arise from the gradual accumulation of random mutations of DNA. But despite its acceptance in every major textbook, there is no documented instance of it. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan take a radically new approach to this question. They show that speciation events are not, in fact, rare or hard to observe. Genomes are acquired by infection, by feeding, and by other ecological associations, and then inherited. Acquiring Genomes is the first work to integrate and analyze the overwhelming mass of evidence for the role of bacterial and other symbioses in the creation of plant and animal diversity. It provides the most powerful explanation of speciation yet given.Rethinking Energy Security in Asia: A Non-Traditional View of Human Security
By Mely Caballero-Anthony, Youngho Chang, Nur Azha Putra. 2011
Traditional notions of security are premised on the primacy of state security. In relation to energy security, traditional policy thinking…
has focused on ensuring supply without much emphasis on socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Non-traditional security (NTS) scholars argue that threats to human security have become increasingly prominent since the end of the Cold War, and that it is thus critical to adopt a holistic and multidisciplinary approach in addressing rising energy needs. This volume represents the perspectives of scholars from across Asia, looking at diverse aspects of energy security through a non-traditional security lens. The issues covered include environmental and socioeconomic impacts, the role of the market, the role of civil society, energy sustainability and policy trends in the ASEAN region.Distributed Computing and Monitoring Technologies for Older Patients
By Thomas B. Moeslund, Juris Klonovs, Mohammad A. Haque, Volker Krueger, Kamal Nasrollahi, Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Erika G. Spaich. 2016
This book summarizes various approaches for theautomatic detection of health threats to older patients at home living alone. Thetext begins…
by briefly describing those who would most benefit from healthcaresupervision. The book then summarizes possible scenarios for monitoring anolder patient at home, deriving the common functional requirements formonitoring technology. Next, the work identifies the state of the art oftechnological monitoring approaches that are practically applicable to geriatricpatients. A survey is presented on a range of such interdisciplinary fields assmart homes, telemonitoring, ambient intelligence, ambient assisted living,gerontechnology, and aging-in-place technology. The book discusses relevantexperimental studies, highlighting the application of sensor fusion, signalprocessing and machine learning techniques. Finally, the text discusses futurechallenges, offering a number of suggestions for further research directions.Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman
By Richard P. Feynman. 1939
A Nobel Prize-winning physicist, a loving husband and father, an enthusiastic teacher, a surprisingly accomplished bongo player, and a genius…
of the highest caliber---Richard P. Feynman was all these and more. Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track--collecting over forty years' worth of Feynman's letters--offers an unprecedented look at the writer and thinker whose scientific mind and lust for life made him a legend in his own time. Containing missives to and from such scientific luminaries as Victor Weisskopf, Stephen Wolfram, James Watson, and Edward Teller, as well as a remarkable selection of letters to and from fans, students, family, and people from around the world eager for Feynman's advice and counsel, Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track not only illuminates the personal relationships that underwrote the key developments in modern science, but also forms the most intimate look at Feynman yet available. Feynman was a man many felt close to but few really knew, and this collection reveals the full wisdom and private passion of a personality that captivated everyone it touched. Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track is an eloquent testimony to the virtue of approaching the world with an inquiring eye; it demonstrates the full extent of the Feynman legacy like never before. Edited and with additional commentary by his daughter Michelle, it's a must-read for Feynman fans everywhere, and for anyone seeking to better understand one of the towering figures--and defining personalities--of the twentieth century.Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting, and the Discovery of the New World
By Brian M. Fagan. 2006
What gave Christopher Columbus the confidence in 1492 to set out across the Atlantic Ocean? Fish on Friday tells the…
story of the discovery of America as a product of the long sweep of history: the spread of Christianity and the radical cultural changes it brought to Europe, the interaction of economic necessity with a changing climate, and generations of unknown fishermen who explored the North Atlantic in the centuries before Columbus. A fascinating and multifaceted book, Fish on Friday will intrigue everyone who wonders how the vast forces of climate, culture, and technology conspire to create the history we know.Staging Science
By Martin Willis. 2016
This book considers scientific performances across two centuries, from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Performances include demonstrations…
of technologies, experiments that look like theatre, theatre that looks like science, tourist representations and natural history film-making. Its key aim is to open debate on how scientific activity, both historical and contemporary, might be understood in the context of performance studies and the imaginative acts required to stage engaging performances. Scientific performances have become increasingly of interest to historians of science, literature and science scholars, and in the field of science studies. As yet, however, no work has sought to examine a range of scientific performances with the aim of interrogating and illuminating the kinds of critical and theoretical practices that might be employed to engage with them. With scientific performance likely to become ever more central to scholarly study in the next few years this volume offer a timely, and early, intervention in the existing debates, and aims, too, to be a touchstone for future work.Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop--from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication
By Neil Gershenfeld. 2005
What if you could someday put the manufacturing power of an automobile plant on your desktop? According to Neil Gershenfeld,…
the renowned MIT scientist and inventor, the next big thing is personal fabrication-the ability to design and produce your own products, in your own home, with a machine that combines consumer electronics and industrial tools. Personal fabricators are about to revolutionize the world just as personal computers did a generation ago, and Fab shows us how.The Digital Galactic Complex
By Trevor Brown. 2016
This Brief discusses the current policy environment in which the United States space program operates and proposes an industry-government partnership…
as a long-term policy solution. Since the Reagan administration, American space policy has increasingly sought to involve private sector operators for space. The culmination of this trend has been the Obama administration's policy of private sector transportation of crew and cargo to the International Space Station on behalf of NASA. This book proposes that future administrations extend this policy to other areas of space, including energy, in orbit manufacturing, asteroid mining, and the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The book further demonstrates how these activities can stabilize the global political system and lead to a dramatic increase in global economic growth. Finally, the book addresses one of the most important and critical issues currently facing humanity--the need for a viable, baseload, and unlimited supply of totally clean energy. An extremely cogent analysis of the interrelationship between space activity and the terrestrial economy, this book showcases the political and economic potential of the medium of space and adds greatly to the existing literature in the field. This book will be of interest to students of political science and strategic studies as well as members of the military, government space agencies, and the international aerospace industry.Looking for Earths: The Race to Find New Solar Systems
By Alan Boss. 1998
A popular science treatment of the personalities, projects, and theories, that have gone into the continuing attempt to find planetary-size…
objects orbiting nearby stars. The story is told chronologically from Peter van der Kamp's 1963 announcement of a planet orbiting Barnard's star to the 1996-97 confirmed discoveries of a number of planets. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)Infectious Agents and Cancer
By Anton G. Kutikhin, Elena B. Brusina, Arseniy E. Yuzhalin. 2012
Over the years of cancer investigation a lot of discoveries in this field were made, and many associations between various…
biological carcinogens and cancer were revealed. Some of them are credibly determined, thus these infectious agents (human papilloma virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpes virus 8, human T-cell lymphotropic virus 1, human immunodeficiency virus, Merkel cell polyomavirus, Helicobacter pylori, Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis, Schistosoma haematobium) are recognized as carcinogens and probable carcinogens by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The problem is of large importance, since share of infectious agents-related cancer cases is steadily increasing, reaching 25% according to certain estimates. It is worth noting that many of cancer cases are caused by infectious agents other than «conventional ones» like HPV, EBV, HBV, HCV, H.pylori etc. In recent years, a number of significant breakthroughs in the field were performed, such as the discovery of the microbiota role in cancer causation.Metabolic Engineering for Bioprocess Commercialization
By Stephen Van Dien. 2016
This volume reviews the current metabolic engineering tools and technologies from a practical point of view, and guides researchers as…
they overcome challenges at various stages of organism and bioprocess development. Microbes have been engineered to produce a variety of industrial products such as fuels, basic chemicals, fine chemicals, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical intermediates, and new tools such as gene synthesis, advanced cloning techniques, 'omics' analysis, and mathematical modeling have greatly accelerated the pace of innovation in the field. Written by leading experts in the field from both academia and industry, key topics include synthetic biology, pathway engineering, metabolic flux manipulation, adaptive evolution, and fermentation process scale-up. It is suitable for non-specialists, and is a valuable resource for anyone embarking on the exciting path to harnessing the metabolic potential of microorganisms.Systems Engineering Principles and Practice
By Sam Seymour, William N. Sweet, Steven M. Biemer, Alexander Kossiakoff. 2011
Systems Engineering Principles and Practice is a national standard textbook for the study of traditional systems engineering for advanced undergraduate…
and graduate students. It addresses the need for an introductory overview, first-text for the development and acquisition of complex technical systems. The material is well organized, readable and fundamental to learning how to think like a systems engineer and carry out best practices in the field. Since systems engineering is still developing as a discipline, there have been new concepts and practices that have entered the field since the text was published in 2003. As an increasing number of students have used the text, topics have been discovered that would benefit from expansion, integration and clarification.The proposed second edition will be developed by colleagues of the original authors to upgrade this unique interdisciplinary guide to systems engineering to maintain relevance and currency in this rapidly changing and demanding field.The Metaphysics of Henry More
By Jasper Reid. 2011
The book surveys the key metaphysical contributions of the Cambridge Platonist, Henry More (1614-1687). It deals with such interwoven topics…
as: the natures of body and spirit, and the question of whether or not there is a sharp ontological division between them; the nature of spatial extension in relation to each; the composition and governance of the physical world, including More's theories of Hyle, atoms, vacuum, and the Spirit of Nature; and the life of the human soul, including its pre-existence. It approaches these topics and the systematic connections between them both historically and analytically, and seeks to do justice to the ways in which More's system developed and changed--sometimes quite dramatically--over the course of his long career. It also explores More's intellectual relations with both his own inspirations (Plotinus, Origen, Ficino, Descartes, etc.) and with those who responded, whether positively or negatively, to his work (Leibniz, Locke, Boyle, Newton, etc.).Resilience Training for Firefighters
By Karen F. Deppa, Judith Saltzberg. 2016
Developing resilience skills has the potential to shield firefighters and other emergency responders from the negative effects of stressful incidents…
and situations. Drawing on cutting-edge research, this SpringerBrief proposes strategies to prevent firefighter behavioral health issues using the proactive approach of resilience training. Further, resilience training aims to develop mental toughness and support overall well-being in all facets of the responder's life. This book emphasizes lessons and research from Positive Psychology. A new branch in the science of how the mind operates, Positive Psychology focuses on developing emotional wellness and preventing behavioral health problems. It does so in part by teaching habits and skills that promote self-efficacy, social support, and realistic optimistic thinking. The program outlined in this book supplements current approaches addressing emotional and behavioral health problems that afflict the emergency response community. Such problems include PTSD, anxiety, burnout, alcoholism, depression, and suicide. The authors present interventions and measures for resilience training backed by research and demonstrated results within education, the military, and other communities. Drawing on her more than 25 years' experience in working with fire service representatives at all levels, Ms. Deppa understands the importance of considering the fire service culture. Dr. Saltzberg, a practicing psychologist, has taught resilience skills to a wide range of populations, including students, teachers, counselors, and U. S. Army officers. Together, they present a compelling approach to preventing behavioral health problems before they occur.Building Energy Simulation: A Workbook Using DesignBuilder™
By Vishal Garg, Surekha Tetali, Jyotirmay Mathur, Aviruch Bhatia. 2017
This book describes various components and systems of a building and their effect on energy consumption, with the help of…
an energy simulation tool. The book explains simulation input parameters, along with how to do analysis of the simulation output. With minimal use of mathematical equations, the basics of building physics and energy simulation are explained using words, illustrative examples, charts, tables, and figures.