As humans adapt to a changing climate and planet, there is a pressing need for wild plant seed banks, and an urgent effort to conserve all plant diversity. Kew's Millennium Seed Bank is a unique, global asset. The largest seed bank of its kind in the world dedicated to wild plant species, it contains the world's most diverse seed collections. Over the past 10 years more than 3.5 billion seeds from nearly 25,000 species have been collected and stored in seed banks both in their country of origin and in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. In October 2009 Kew's Millennium Seed Bank celebrated collecting, banking and conserving 10% of the world's wild plant species and the partnership now spans more than 120 institutions in 54 countries. The Last Great Plant Hunt describes the importance of seed collecting and the work of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the process of collecting and taking care of seeds, the uses of banked seed, and the future of seed conservation worldwide. Beautifully illustrated and engagingly written.

Are menopausal women happier if they have hormone replacement therapy? Does testosterone make men more aggressive than women? Are hormones responsible for homosexuality? Is fatness caused by hormones? Hormones - the very word conjures images of distraught women suffering from premenstrual tension or menopausal instability. Can a man blame his behavior on the fact that he's a man - 'the testosterone made me do it'. The belief that our hormones control how we behave runs deep in both scientific and popular culture. Now Gail Vines examines this enduring belief, and her timely study illuminates the differences in the perceived role of hormones in women and men's lives. Sexual deviance, stress, athletic prowess, criminal behavior, eating disorders - these and other conditions are commonly linked to the effects of hormones. Circadian rhythms, light, sleep, as well as social environment, can influence the intricate chemical flow within our bodies. Vines looks at the many ways that hormones are now being used to gain control over our lives. She discusses hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women and the current notions that homosexuals are born with a 'hormonally imprinted gay brain'. Being at the mercy of certain hormones, and thus potentially out of control, is part of the popular image of 'being a woman'. The issue of control and the anxieties surrounding difference and equality form the leitmotif of "Raging Hormones". In questioning the easy promise of a 'hormonal fix', Gail Vines alerts us to one of the most challenging arenas of contemporary social and scientific debate.