Søgeresultater: 6

Summary: With Broeker as his guide, award-winning science writer Robert Kunzig looks back at Earth's volatile climate history so as to shed light on the challenges ahead. Ice ages, planetary orbits, a giant 'conveyor belt' in the ocean ... it's a riveting story full of maverick thinkers, extraordinary discoveries and an urgent blueprint for action. Likening climate to a slumbering beast, ready to react to the smallest of prods, Broecker shows how assiduously we've been prodding it, by pumping 70 million tonnes of CO2 into the air each year. Fixing Climate explains why we need not just to reduce emissions but to start removing our carbon waste from our atmosphere. And in a thrilling last section of the book, we learn how this could become reality, using 'artificial trees' and underground storage

Summary: This text tells the story of cells as the units of life in a colorful and student-friendly manner, taking an "essentials only" approach. By using the successful model of previously published "Short Courses," this text succeeds in conveying the key points without overburdening the reader with secondary information. The authors (all active researchers and educators) skillfully present concepts by illustrating them with clear diagrams and examples from current research. Special boxed sections focus on the importance of cell biology in medicine and industry today. This text is completely updated from the successful "Cell Biology, A Short Course, 2e," includes new chapters and now has a supporting website with tests and animations for students and power point slides and supplemental material for instructors: http://www.wileyshortcourse.com/cellbiology/default.asp

Summary: Devastating natural disasters have profoundly shaped human history, leaving us with a respect for the mighty power of the earth—and a humbling view of our future. Paleontologist and geologist Donald R. Prothero tells the harrowing human stories behind these catastrophic events. Prothero describes in gripping detail some of the most important natural disasters in history: • the New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes of 1811–1812 that caused church bells to ring in Boston • the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people • the massive volcanic eruptions of Krakatau, Mount Tambora, Mount Vesuvius, Mount St. Helens, and Nevado del Ruiz His clear and straightforward explanations of the forces that caused these disasters accompany gut-wrenching accounts of terrifying human experiences and a staggering loss of human life. Floods that wash out whole regions, earthquakes that level a single country, hurricanes that destroy everything in their path—all are here to remind us of how little control we have over the natural world. Dramatic photographs and eyewitness accounts recall the devastation wrought by these events, and the people—both heroes and fools—that are caught up in the earth's relentless forces. Eerie, fascinating, and often moving, these tales of geologic history and human fortitude and folly will stay with you long after you put the book down

Summary: AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'A GOOD READ' THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'GAWANDE'S MOST POWERFUL, AND MOVING, BOOK' MALCOLM GLADWELL ' BEING MORTAL IS NOT ONLY WISE AND DEEPLY MOVING; IT IS AN ESSENTIAL AND INSIGHTFUL BOOK FOR OUR TIMES' OLIVER SACKS For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do. Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end

Summary: 'Be prepared to be amazed' Guardian Can anyone get a perfect memory? Joshua Foer used to be like most of us, forgetting phone numbers and mislaying keys. Then he learnt the art of memory training, and a year later found himself in the finals of the US Memory Championship. He also discovered a truth we often forget: that, even in an age of technology, memory is the key to everything we are. In Moonwalking with Einstein he takes us on an astonishing journey through the mind, from ancient 'memory palace' techniques to neuroscience, from the man who can recall nine thousand books to another who constantly forgets who he is. In doing so, Foer shows how we can all improve our memories. 'Captivating ... engaging ... smart and funny' The New York Times 'Delightful ... uplifting ... it shows that our minds can do extraordinary things' Wall Street Journal 'Great fun ... a book worth remembering' Independent 'A lovely exploration of the ways that we preserve our lives and our world in the golden amber of human memory' New Scientist

Summary: From the international best-selling author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter is the fascinating story of the relationship between the great Italian scientist Galileo and his daughter, Virginia. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was the foremost scientist of his day, 'the father of modern physics – indeed of modern science altogether' in the words of Albert Einstein. Though he never left the Italy of his birth, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. His telescopes allowed him to reveal a new reality in the heavens and to defend the astounding proposition that the Earth actually moves around the Sun. For this belief he faced the Holy Office of the Inquisition and was subsequently tried for heresy and threatened with torture. Galileo is brought to life here as never before – a man boldly compelled to explain the truths he discovered, human in his frailties and faith, devoted to family and, especially, to his daughter. Since there could be no hope of marriage for his illegitimate daughter Galileo placed her, aged thirteen, in a convent near him in Florence. She proved to be his greatest source of strength through his most difficult years. Through letters, contemporary writings, their voices are brought to vivid life and woven into Dava Sobel's compelling narrative. Galileo's Daughter tells the story of the most dramatic collision in history between science and religion. Dava Sobel illuminates an entire era, when the flamboyant Medici Grand Dukes became Galileo's patrons, when the Bubonic plague destroyed a generation and prayer was the most effective medicine, when one man fought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. Galileo's Daughter is a rich and unforgettable story. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version