Everyone is familiar with the dodo and the wooly mammoth, but how many people have heard of the scimitar cat and the Falkland Island fox? "Extinct Animals" portrays over 60 remarkable animals that have been lost forever during the relatively recent geological past. Each entry provides a concise discussion of the history of the animal--how and where it lived, and how it became extinct--as well as the scientific discovery and analysis of the creature. In addition, this work examines what led to extinction--from the role of cyclical swings in the Earth's climate to the spread of humans and their activities. Many scientists believe that we are in the middle of a mass extinction right now, caused by the human undermining of the earth's complex systems that support life. Understanding what caused the extinction of animals in the past may help us understand and prevent the extinction of species in the future.

"Extinct Animals" examines the biology and history of some of the most interesting creatures that have ever lived, including: The American Terror Bird, which probably became extinct over 1 million years ago, who were massive predators, some of which were almost 10 feet tall; the Rocky Mountain Locust, last seen in 1902, formed the most immense animal aggregations ever known, with swarms estimated to include over 10 trillion insects; the Giant Ground Sloth, which was as large as an elephant; and the Neandertals, the first Europeans, which co-existed with prehistoric Homo sapiens. "Extinct Animals" includes illustrations--many created for the work--that help the reader visualize the extinct creature, and each entry concludes with a list of resources for those who wish to do further research.

From the gene that causes people to age prematurely to the "bitter gene" that may spawn broccoli haters, this book explores a few of the more exotic locales on the human genome, highlighting some of the tragic and bizarre ways our bodies go wrong when genes fall prey to mutation and the curious ways in which genes have evolved for our survival. Lisa Seachrist Chiu offers here a smorgasbord of stories about rare and not so rare genetic quirks-the gene that makes some people smell like a fish, the Black Urine Gene, the Werewolf Gene, the Calico Cat Gene. We read about the Dracula Gene, a mutation in zebra fish that causes blood cells to explode on contact with light, and suites of genes that also influence behavior and physical characteristics. The Tangier Island Gene, first discovered after physicians discovered a boy with orange tonsils (scientists now realize that the child's odd condition comes from an inability to process cholesterol). And Wilson's Disease, a gene defect that fails to clear copper from the body, which can trigger schizophrenia and other neurological symptoms, and can be fatal if left untreated. On the plus side, we read about the Myostatin gene, a mutation which allows muscles to become much larger than usual and enhances strength-indeed, the mutations have produced beefier cows and at least one stronger human. And there is also the much-envied Cheeseburger Gene, which allows a lucky few to eat virtually anything they want and remain razor thin. While fascinating us with stories of genetic peculiarities, Chiu also manages to explain much cutting-edge research in modern genetics, resulting in a book that is both informative and entertaining. It is a must read for everyone who loves popular science or is curious about the human body.

The newest way to think about the universe becomes engaging and personal in Big History, Small World: From the Big Bang to You by Cynthia Stokes Brown. Her clear introduction to big history, divided into eight thresholds of time, is the perfect starting point for any reader intrigued by this rich blend of history and science. Big History, Small World is also the first book about big history specifically designed to be used in high school courses and with the free curriculum available from the Big History Project cofounded by Bill Gates and David Christian.

Someday soon (if it hasn't happened in secret already), the first cloned human being will be born and mankind will embark on a scientific and moral journal whose destination cannot be foretold. In A Clone of Your Own? Arlene Judith Klotzko describes the new world of possibilities that can be glimpsed over the horizon. In a lucid and engaging narrative, she explains that the technology to create clones of living beings already exists, inaugurated in 1996 by Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from a single adult cell. Dolly was the culmination of a long scientific quest to understand the puzzle of our development from one cell into a complex organism - the outcome of a 'fantastic experiment' envision six decades before her birth. Scientists have since cloned mice, cows, goats, pigs, rabbits, horses, rats, a cat, and a mule. Using the same laboratory tools and techniques, South Korean researchers were able to grow thirty human embryos. Their goal was not to make copies of existing people, but to derive stem cells, the infinitely malleable raw materials from which they hope to design therapies for currently untreatable diseases and the afflictions of old age. extraordinary medical implications. In riveting prose, full of allusions to literature, psychology, art, music and the cinema, Klotzko shows why the prospect of human cloning triggers our dearest hopes and especially our darkest fears, forcing us to ponder anew what it means to be human. And what it would be like to have 'a clone of your own.'

Why do smart people make irrational decisions every day? The answers will surprise you. Predictably Irrational is an intriguing, witty and utterly original look at why we all make illogical decisions. Why can a 50p aspirin do what a 5p aspirin can't? If an item is "free" it must be a bargain, right? Why is everything relative, even when it shouldn't be? How do our expectations influence our actual opinions and decisions? In this astounding book, behavioural economist Dan Ariely cuts to the heart of our strange behaviour, demonstrating how irrationality often supplants rational thought and that the reason for this is embedded in the very structure of our minds. Predicatably Irrational brilliantly blends everyday experiences with a series of illuminating and often surprising experiments, that will change your understanding of human behaviour. And, by recognising these patterns, Ariely shows that we can make better decisions in business, in matters of collective welfare, and in our everyday lives from drinking coffee to losing weight, buying a car to choosing a romantic partner.

An overview of the processes that drive social cohesion. The text offers a quick guide to Complex Systems, and how communication technologies have shaped the cohesion of society.

Few scientists are as recognizable as Stephen Hawking. Despite having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease)--an affliction that many experts expected to have killed him decades ago--Hawking remains a vital and influential voice in the scientific community. One of the leading cosmologists studying the celestial phenomenon known as black holes, Hawking has also led the way in popularizing science with his best-selling work A Brief History of Time. This biography of Hawking, written by a physicist, provides an accessible introduction to the life and work of an inspirational figure. Stephen Hawking: A Biography provides an overview of the life and work of this brilliant scientist that can be read and appreciated by students and lay people alike. The author examines many aspects of his fascinating career: DT Hawking's childhood and early education, and the shocking diagnosis of his disease. DT His early scientific work on black holes that cemented his reputation as a scientist. DT How Hawking managed to remain a productive scientist and scholar despite having a debilitating illness. DT The publication and success of the best-selling book A Brief History of Time, which changed the face of popular science publishing. The book includes a list of resources for further information, and a timeline of important events in the life of Hawking. Several appendices explain the details of Hawking's scientific work in more detail for those students seeking more information.

An A-to-Z overview of eugenics - one of the most controversial scientific and cultural movements of the last century Eugenics - the theory that we can improve future generations of humans through selective breeding - was one of the most controversial movements of the early 20th century. Often tied to racist beliefs and nativist desires to limit immigration, the eugenics movement attracted some of the most prominent scientists and social reformers of the day. This encyclopedia brings into one place concise descriptions of the leading figures, organizations, events, legislation, publications, concepts, and terms of this vitally important historical movement. Although focused on the United States during the heyday of the movement, the encyclopedia includes material on international events as well as connections to important contemporary issues such as genetic engineering, family balancing, and the possibility of human cloning. 250 entries on such topics as: inherited conditions such as alcoholism, prostitution, poverty, and criminality that eugenicists thought could be eliminated by following eugenic methods; concepts such as feeblemindedness, race degeneracy, and race suicide that were pervasive during the era of the eugenics movement; tools that eugenicists relied on, such as laws that allowed forced sterilizations of the unfit; organizations that encouraged the fit to produce more children; the continued acceptance of attempts to improve future generations through genetic testing and treatment. The book includes photographs, a chronology of events, and an extensive bibliography of works for further information.. Examines a controversial aspect of scientific history. Discusses how contemporary controversies over genetic engineering relate to the eugenics theories of the past

From the wooden teeth of George Washington to the Bly prosthesis, popular in the 1860s and boasting easy uniform motions of the limb, to today's lifelike approximations, prosthetic devices reveal the extent to which the evolution and design of technologies of the body are intertwined with both the practical and subjective needs of human beings.

The peculiar history of prosthetic devices sheds light on the relationship between technological change and the civilizing process of modernity, and analyzes the concrete materials of prosthetics which carry with them ideologies of body, ideals, body politics, and culture.

Simultaneously critiquing, historicizing, and theorizing prosthetics, Artificial Parts, Practical Lives lays out a balanced and complex picture of its subject, neither vilifying nor celebrating the merger of flesh and machine.

In Pi ( ) in Nature, Art, and Culture Marcel Danesi revisits the importance of as a pattern in the structure of reality, fitting in with the Pythagorean view of Order. Pi has cropped up in formulas that describe natural and physical structures which, on the surface, seem to have nothing to do with a circle, but might harbor the archetype of circularity as a principle. Through , this book thus revisits the implicit ancient Greek view that geometry was a 'hermeneutic science,' a discipline aiming to investigate the connectivity among numbers, shapes, and natural phenomena. It also examines its manifestations in aesthetic, symbolic and cultural structures, which point to an abiding fascination with the circle as an unconscious archetype. Hermeneutic geometry is ultimately about the exploration of the meanings of geometric-mathematical notions to science and human life.

An expert palaeoarchaeologist reveals how our understanding of the evolution of our species has been transformed by momentous discoveries and technological advancements. Who are we? How do scientists define Homo sapiens, and how does our species differ from the extinct hominins that came before us? This illuminating book explores how the latest scientific advances, especially in genetics, are revolutionizing our understanding of human evolution. Paul Pettitt reveals the extraordinary story of how our ancestors adapted to unforgiving and relentlessly changing climates, leading to remarkable innovations in art, technology and society that we are only now beginning to comprehend. Drawing on twenty-five years of experience in the field, Paul Pettitt immerses readers in the caves and rockshelters that provide evidence of our African origins, dispersals to the far reaches of Eurasia, Australasia and ultimately the Americas. Popular accounts of the evolution of Homo sapiens emphasize biomolecular research, notably genetics, but this book also draws from the wealth of information from specific excavations and artefacts, including the author's own investigations into the origins of art and how it evolved over its first 25,000 years. He focuses in particular on behaviour, using archaeological evidence to bring an intimate perspective on lives as they were lived in the almost unimaginably distant past.

What on earth do bananas have to do with quantum mechanics? From a modern perspective, quantum mechanics is about strangely counterintuitive correlations between separated systems, which can be exploited in feats like quantum teleportation, unbreakable cryptographic schemes, and computers with enormously enhanced computing power. Schro?dinger coined the term "entanglement" to describe these bizarre correlations. Bananaworld - an imaginary island with "entangled" bananas - brings to life the fascinating discoveries of the new field of quantum information without the mathematical machinery of quantum mechanics. The connection with quantum correlations is fully explained in sections written for the non-physicist reader with a serious interest in understanding the mysteries of the quantum world. The result is a subversive but entertaining book that is accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers, with the novel thesis that quantum mechanics is about the structure of information. What we have discovered is that the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information are very different than we thought.

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ALL BIBLIOMANIACS A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND DAILY MAIL A WATERSTONES BEST POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK 2022 Plunge into this rich and surprising A-Z compendium to discover how our fixations have taken shape, from the Middle Ages to the present day, as bestselling author Kate Summerscale deftly traces the threads between the past and present, the psychological and social, the personal and the political. 'Fascinating ... Phobias and manias create a magical space between us and the world' Malcolm Gaskill, author of the No. 1 bestseller The Ruin of All Witches 'Fascinating' Observer 'An endlessly intriguing book ... All the bibliomanes (book nutters) I know will love it' Daily Mail

This book is a selective and fascinating history of scientific speculation about intelligent extraterrestrial life. From Plutarch to Stephen Hawking, some of the most prominent western scientists have had quite detailed perceptions and misperceptions about alien civilizations: Johannes Kepler, fresh from transforming astronomy with his work on the shape of planetary orbits, was quite sure alien engineers on the moon were excavating circular pits to provide shelter; Christiaan Huygens, the most prominent physical scientist between Galileo and Newton, dismissed Kepler's speculations, but used the laws of probability to prove that "planetarians" on other worlds are much like humans, and had developed a sense of the visual arts; Carl Sagan sees clearly that Huygens is a biological chauvinist, but doesn't see as clearly that he, Sagan, may be a cultural/technological chauvinist when he assumes aliens have highly developed technology like ours, but better.
Basalla traces the influence of one speculation on the next, showing an unbroken but twisting chain of ideas passed from one scientist to the next, and from science to popular culture. He even traces the influence of popular culture on science--Sagan always admitted how much E. R. Burroughs' Martian novels influenced his speculations about Mars. Throughout, Basalla weaves his theme that scientific belief in and search for extraterrestrial civilizations is a complex impulse, part secularized-religious, and part anthropomorphic. He questions the common modern scientific reasoning that life converges on intelligence, and intelligence converges on one science valid everywhere. He ends the book by agreeing with Stephen Hawking (usually asafe bet) that intelligence is overrated for survival in the universe, and that we are most likely alone.

From Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan 'Beyond superb' Bill Bryson 'A wonderful book' Ian McEwan Everyone knows about DNA, the essence of our being, the molecule where our genes reside. But DNA by itself is useless without a machine to decode the genetic information it contains. The ribosome is that machine. Venki Ramakrishnan tells the story of the race to uncover its enormously complex structure, a fundamental breakthrough that resolves an ancient mystery of life itself.

This is a superbly written and engaging journey into the fascinating world of genetics. Why are some of us male and others female? What makes us short or tall, blond or brunette, light-skinned or dark? What causes defects in our biochemistry that lead to debilitating illnesses and physical or other handicaps? The answer is genetics. Written by a highly respected geneticist, "The Wonder of Genetics" provides readers with a refreshingly clear overview of this seemingly complex but incredibly diverse and fascinating area of science. This volume also debunks many of the most commonly-held myths surrounding genetics, and examines how the science of genetics has the potential for improving human civilization.

Provides an overview of the complex history of the interaction of science and religion. Can science and religious belief co-exist? Many people - including many practicing scientists - insist that one can simultaneously follow the principles of the scientific method and believe in a particular spiritual tradition. But throughout history there have been people for whom science challenges the very validity of religious belief. Whether called atheists, agnostics, skeptics, or infidels, these individuals use the naturalism of modern science to deny the existence of any supernatural power. This book chronicles, in a balanced and accessible way, the long history of the battle between adherents of religious doctrines and the nonbelievers who adhere to the naturalism of modern science. Science and Nonbelief provides a nontechnical introduction to the leading questions that concern science and religion today: what place does evolution hold in the arguments of nonbelievers?; what does modern physics tell us about the place of humanity in the natural world?; how do modern neurosciences challenge traditional beliefs about mind and matter?; what can scientific research about religion tell us and psychics? The volume also addresses the political context of debates over science and nonbelief, and questions about the nature of morality. It includes a selection of provocative primary source documents that illustrate the complexity and varieties of nonbelief. Part of the Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion series, this book includes a discussion of scientific attitudes to pseudo-science and the paranormal. A primary source section illustrates views on the relationship between science and belief. It adopts a balanced approach to the questions raised.

In this sweeping book, applied mathematician and popular author David Orrell questions the promises and pitfalls of associating beauty with truth, showing how ideas of mathematical elegance have inspired-and have sometimes misled-scientists attempting to understand nature. Orrell shows how the ancient Greeks constructed a concept of the world based on musical harmony; later thinkers replaced this model with a program, based on Newton's "rational mechanics," to reduce the universe to a few simple equations. He then turns to current physical theories, such as supersymmetric string theory-again influenced by deep aesthetic principles. The book sheds new light on historical investigations and also recent research, including the examinations ongoing at the Large Hadron Collider. Finally, broadening his discussion to other fields of research, including economics, architecture, and health, Orrell questions whether these aesthetic principles reflect an accurate way to explain and understand the structure of our world.

In 1859, an amateur British naturalist published a book of findings that shook the scientific community to its core and changed the structure of religion and science as we know them. The product of over 20 years of research, The Origin of Species challenged the popular belief that species could not evolve and argued that species can adapt to their environment and develop accordingly. Although other scientists had observed some of the phenomena that Charles Darwin addressed, he was the first to theorize that natural selection, and later, evolution, were viable explanations for the origins of life. The implications of Darwin's findings still reverberate today, in the classroom, in the courtroom, and at the highest legislative levels. Lively thematic chapters explore how Darwin came to the conclusions published in The Origin of Species-and in later works such as The Descent of Man-from his early years at Cambridge, to his observations of species on the HMS Beagle voyages, through the 20 years of research that culminated in Origin. Also included is an insightful discussion of Darwin's impact as it is felt today, from movies and popular culture to the current Intelligent Design controversy. Biographies of influential figures, primary source letters and selections from Origin, a glossary of terms, and an extensive annotated bibliography round out this accessible work.

Learn about quantum physics, cloning, exoplanets, the number 137 and all of modern science's biggest questions through the crazy adventures of Rick and Morty, the international Netflix success, now airing on Channel 4. What is concentrated Dark Matter? Can we hack memory? Are you living in a simulation operating at 5% capacity? Rick and Morty may seem like the most idiotic show on TV today, but a lot of its crazy adventures are actually based on real-life scientific theories and cutting-edge academic research. Using the biology, chemistry and physics of the series, expert science writer Matt Brady explains the biggest questions occupying the greatest minds today, including: can we have cool cybernetic implants, will we ever be able to alter our basic intelligence, how far will we be able to go with cloning, could we travel to parallel universes, what energy could you get from a microverse battery and can you control a cockroach's nervous system with your tongue? So, become more Rick and less Morty with this wander through the portal of modern-day science. Or just go back to laughing at the stupid jokes.

From the 1950s to the digital age, Americans have pushed their childrento live science-minded lives, cementing scientific discovery and youthfulcuriosity as inseparable ideals. In this multifaceted work, historian RebeccaOnion examines the rise of informal children's science education in thetwentieth century, from the proliferation of home chemistry sets after WorldWar I to the century-long boom in child-centred science museums. Onionlooks at how the United States has increasingly focused its energies over thelast century into producing young scientists outside of the classroom. Sheshows that although Americans profess to believe that success in the sciencesis synonymous with good citizenship, this idea is deeply complicated inan era when scientific data is hotly contested and many Americans have aconflicted view of science itself. These contradictions, Onion explains, can be understood by examiningconnections between the histories of popular science and the developmentof ideas about American childhood. She shows how the idealised concept of"science" has moved through the public consciousness and how the drive tomake child scientists has deeply influenced American culture.

From the 1950s to the digital age, Americans have pushed their childrento live science-minded lives, cementing scientific discovery and youthfulcuriosity as inseparable ideals. In this multifaceted work, historian RebeccaOnion examines the rise of informal children's science education in thetwentieth century, from the proliferation of home chemistry sets after WorldWar I to the century-long boom in child-centred science museums. Onionlooks at how the United States has increasingly focused its energies over thelast century into producing young scientists outside of the classroom. Sheshows that although Americans profess to believe that success in the sciencesis synonymous with good citizenship, this idea is deeply complicated inan era when scientific data is hotly contested and many Americans have aconflicted view of science itself. These contradictions, Onion explains, can be understood by examiningconnections between the histories of popular science and the developmentof ideas about American childhood. She shows how the idealised concept of"science" has moved through the public consciousness and how the drive tomake child scientists has deeply influenced American culture.

AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY COLLOQUIUM PUBLICATIONS VOLUME XXXI FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND SEMI-GROUPS BY EINAR HILLE PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS YALE UNIVERSITY PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY 531 WEST 116iH STREET, NEW YORK CITY 1948 To KIRSTI And each man hears as the twilight nears, to the beat of his dying hearty The Devil drum on the darkened pane You did it, but was it Art FOREWORD The analytical theory of semi-groups is a recent addition to the ever-growing list of mathematical disciplines. It was my good fortune to take an early interest in this disci pline and to see it reach maturity. It has been a pleasant association I hail a semi-group when I see one and I seem to see them every where Friends have observed, however, that there are mathematical objects which are not semi-groups. The present book is an elaboration of my Colloquium Lectures delivered before the American Mathematical Society at its August, 1944 meeting at Wellesley College. I wish to thank the Society and its officers for their invitation to present and publish these lectures. The book is divided into three parts plus an appendix. My desire to give a practically self-contained presentation of the theory required the inclusion of an elaborate introduc tion to modern functional analysis with special emphasis on function theory in Banach spaces and algebras. This occupies Part One of the book and the Appendix these portions can be read separately from the rest and may be used as a text in a course on operator theory. It is possible to cover most of the material in these six chapters in two terms. The analytical theory of one-parameter semi-groups occupies Part Two while Part Three deals with theapplications to analysis. The latter include such varied topics as trigonometric series and integrals, summability, fractional integration, stochastic theory, and the problem of Cauchy for partial differential equations. In the general theory the reader will also find an alternate approach to ergodic theory. All semi-groups studied in this treatise are referred to a normed topology semi-groups without topology figure in a few places but no details are given. The task of developing an adequate theory of trans formation semi-groups operating in partially ordered spaces is left to more competent hands. The literature has been covered rather incompletely owing to recent war conditions and to the wide range of topics touched upon, which have made it exceedingly difficult to give the proper credits. This investigation has been supported by grants from the American Philosophical Society and from Yale University which are gratefully acknowledged. On the personal side, it is a great pleasure to express my gratitude to the many friends who have aided me in pre paring this book. J. D. Tamarkin, who read and criticized my early work in the field and who vigorously urged its inclusion in the Colloquium Series is beyond the reach of my grati tude. I am deeply indebted to Nelson Dunford and to Max Zorn who have contributed extensively to the book, the former chiefly to Chapters II, III, V, VIII, IX, and XIV, the latter to Chapters IV, VII, and XXII. Both have given me generously of their time and special experience. Various portions of the manuscript have been critically examined and amended by Warren Ambrose, E. G. Begle, H. Cramdr, J. L. Doob, W. Feller, N. Jacobson, D. S. Miller, II. Pollard, C.E. Rickart, and I. E. Segal. To all helpers, named and un named, I extend my warmest thanks. EINAK HILLE New Haven, Conn., December, 1946 CONVENTIONS Each Part of the book starts with a Summary, each Chapter with an Orientation. The chapters are divided into sections and the sections, except orientations, are grouped into paragraphs. Cross references are normally to sections, rarely to paragraphs. Section 3.10 is the tenth section of Chapter III it belongs to 2 which is referred to as 3.2 when necessary...

The astonishing story of twentieth-century physics, told through the twelve experiments that changed our world A 2022 BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: NEW SCIENTIST * WATERSTONES * SUNDAY TIMES 'A splendid idea, vividly carried out: I enjoyed this book enormously’ PHILIP PULLMAN 'A rich history of beautiful discoveries' ROBIN INCE 'An all-action thriller, laced with some of the most profound ideas humans have ever had’ BRIAN ENO ----------- How did a piece of gold foil completely change our understanding of atoms? What part did a hot air balloon play in the discovery of cosmic rays? How did the experiments in the run-up to the Large Hadron Collider lead to the invention of the World Wide Web? Asking questions has always been at the heart of physics, our unending quest to understand the Universe and how everything in it behaves. How do we know all that we know about the world today? It’s not simply because we have the maths – it’s because we have done the experiments. Accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the creative and curious people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged the ground-breaking experiments of the twentieth century. From the serendipitous discovery of X-rays in a German laboratory, to the scientists trying to prove Einstein wrong (and inadvertently proving him right), The Matter of Everything takes us on a journey through the history of experiments that transformed our world.