Alice's Adventures in Water-land


Book Description

This highly illustrated book describes the properties of liquid water and the relevance of these properties to life, in a way that makes the content accessible to anyone. It will raise the awareness of the reader on the vital importance of water to all life on earth. It is a book of science interwoven into the fabric of a story. There are very few books on water aimed at the general public. This volume will appeal to both adults and students with its superb delivery of scientific knowledge in highly accessible prose.




An Introduction to Molecular Biology


Book Description

This book explains molecular biology concepts clearly and in practical terms. It represents an invaluable introduction to molecular biology for undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers, lecturers, medics, nurses, teachers, scientists, editors




The Four Laws That Do Not Drive The Universe


Book Description

This book provides a clear and mystery-free presentation of the central concepts in thermodynamics — probability, entropy, Helmholtz energy and Gibbs energy. It presents the concepts of entropy, free energy and various formulations of the Second Law in a friendly, simple language. It is devoid of all kinds of fancy and pompous statements made by authors of popular science books who write on this subject. The book focuses on the Four Laws of Thermodynamics. As it is said in the dedication page, this book is addressed to readers who might have already been exposed to Atkins' book having a similar title. It challenges both the title, and the contents of Atkins' book, Four Laws That Drive The Universe. One can glean from the title of this new book that the author's views are diametrically opposed to the views of Atkins. The book is addressed to any curious and intelligent reader. It aims to tickle, and hopefully to satisfy your curiosity. It also aims to challenge your gray matter, and to enrich your knowledge by telling you some facts and ideas regarding the Four Laws of Thermodynamics.




Plant Omics


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of plant omics and big data in the fields of plant and crop biology. It discusses each omics layer individually, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and covers model and non-model species. In a section on advanced topics, it considers developments in each specialized domain, including genome editing and enhanced breeding strategies (such as genomic selection and high-throughput phenotyping), with the aim of providing tools to help tackle global food security issues. The importance of online resources in big data biology are highlighted in a section summarizing both wet- and dry-biological portals. This section introduces biological resources, datasets, online bioinformatics tools and approaches that are in the public domain. This book is for students, engineers, researchers and academics in plant biology, genetics, biotechnology and bioinformatics.




Merchants of Immortality


Book Description

A Discover Best Science Book of the Year: “A fascinating, accurate and accessible account of some of [the] contemporary efforts to combat aging” (The New York Times). Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist Named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, San Jose Mercury News, and Library Journal An award-winning writer explores science’s boldest frontier—extension of the human life span—interviewing dozens of people involved in the quest to allow us to live longer, better lives. Delving into topics from cancer to stem cells to cloning, Merchants of Immortality looks at humankind’s quest for longevity and tackles profound questions about our hopes for defeating health problems like heart attacks, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. The story follows a close-knit but fractious band of scientists as well as entrepreneurs who work in the shadowy area between profit and the public good. The author tracks the science of aging back to the iconoclastic Leonard Hayflick—who was the first to show that cells age, and whose epic legal battles with the federal government cleared the path for today’s biotech visionaries. Among those is the charismatic Michael West, a former creationist who founded the first biotech company devoted to aging research. West has won both ardent admirers and committed foes in his relentless quest to promote stem cells, therapeutic cloning, and other technologies of “practical immortality.” Merchants of Immortality breathes scintillating life into the most momentous science of our day, assesses the political and bioethical controversies it has spawned, and explores its potentially dramatic effect on the length and quality of our lives. “Timely and engrossing . . . This is top-drawer journalism.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “A carefully documented examination of how society deals with life-and-death matters.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “An important survey of the entire landscape of the science aimed at extending human life.” —Newsday “[This] highly readable and important book . . . provide[s] new insights into the intersection of science and politics.” —The Washington Post




The Long Tomorrow


Book Description

Equally important, Rose surveys the entire field, offering colorful portraits of many leading scientists and shedding light on research findings from around the world. We learn that rodents given fifteen to forty percent fewer calories live about that much longer, and that volunteers in Biosphere II, who lived on reduced caloric intake for two years, all had improved vital signs. Perhaps most interesting, we discover that aging hits a plateau and stops - at least, it does so in fruit flies."--Jacket.




50 Years of DNA


Book Description

Crick and Watson's discovery of the structure of DNA fifty years ago marked one of the great turning points in the history of science. Biology, immunology, medicine and genetics have all been radically transformed in the succeeding half-century, and the double helix has become an icon of our times. This fascinating exploration of a scientific phenomenon provides a lucid and engaging account of the background and context for the discovery, its significance and afterlife, while a series of essays by leading scientists, historians and commentators offers uniquely individual perspectives on DNA and its impact on modern science and society.




Molecules and Morphology in Evolution


Book Description

Papers presented at the Third International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, held at the University of Sussex, 4-11 July 1985.




Biological Systematics


Book Description

Understanding the history and philosophy of biological systematics (phylogenetics, taxonomy and classification of living things) is key to successful practice of the discipline. In this thoroughly revised Third Edition of the classic Biological Systematics, Andrew V. Z. Brower and Randall T. Schuh provide an updated account of cladistic principles and techniques, emphasizing their empirical and epistemological clarity. Brower and Schuh cover: -the history and philosophy of systematics -the mechanics and methods of character analysis, phylogenetic inference, and evaluation of results -the practical application of systematic results to: -biological classification -adaptation and coevolution -biodiversity, and conservation -new chapters on species and molecular clocks Biological Systematics is both a textbook for students studying systematic biology and a desk reference for practicing systematists. Part explication of concepts and methods, part exploration of the underlying epistemology of systematics, This third edition addresses why some methods are more empirically sound than others.




How Molecular Forces and Rotating Planets Create Life


Book Description

A reconceptualization of origins research that exploits a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces that stabilize living prokaryotic cells. Scientific research into the origins of life remains exploratory and speculative. Science has no definitive answer to the biggest questions--"What is life?" and "How did life begin on earth?" In this book, Jan Spitzer reconceptualizes origins research by exploiting a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces and covalent bond formation--a physicochemical approach propounded originally by Linus Pauling and Max Delbrück. Spitzer develops the Pauling-Delbrück premise as a physicochemical jigsaw puzzle that identifies key stages in life's emergence, from the formation of first oceans, tidal sediments, and proto-biofilms to progenotes, proto-cells and the first cellular organisms.




Recent Books