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The Heavens on Earth: Observatories and Astronomy in Nineteenth-Century Science and Culture
by David Aubin Charlotte Bigg H. Otto SibumThe Heavens on Earth explores the place of the observatory in nineteenth-century science and culture. Astronomy was a core pursuit for observatories, but usually not the only one. It belonged to a larger group of "observatory sciences" that also included geodesy, meteorology, geomagnetism, and even parts of physics and statistics. These pursuits coexisted in the nineteenth-century observatory; this collection surveys them as a coherent whole. Broadening the focus beyond the solitary astronomer at his telescope, it illuminates the observatory's importance to technological, military, political, and colonial undertakings, as well as in advancing and popularizing the mathematical, physical, and cosmological sciences. The contributors examine "observatory techniques" developed and used not only in connection with observatories but also by instrument makers in their workshops, navy officers on ships, civil engineers in the field, and many others. These techniques included the calibration and coordination of precision instruments for making observations and taking measurements; methods of data acquisition and tabulation; and the production of maps, drawings, and photographs, as well as numerical, textual, and visual representations of the heavens and the earth. They also encompassed the social management of personnel within observatories, the coordination of international scientific collaborations, and interactions with dignitaries and the public. The state observatory occupied a particularly privileged place in the life of the city. With their imposing architecture and ancient traditions, state observatories served representative purposes for their patrons, whether as symbols of a monarch's enlightened power, a nation's industrial and scientific excellence, or republican progressive values. Focusing on observatory techniques in settings from Berlin, London, Paris, and Rome to Australia, Russia, Thailand, and the United States, The Heavens on Earth is a major contribution to the history of science. Contributors: David Aubin, Charlotte Bigg, Guy Boistel, Theresa Levitt, Massimo Mazzotti, Ole Molvig, Simon Schaffer, Martina Schiavon , H. Otto Sibum, Richard Staley, John Tresch, Simon Werrett, Sven Widmalm
The Heaviest Metals: Science and Technology of the Actinides and Beyond (EIC Books)
by William J. Evans Timothy P. HanusaAn authoritative survey of the science and advanced technological uses of the actinide and transactinide metals The Heaviest Metals offers an essential resource that covers the fundamentals of the chemical and physical properties of the heaviest metals as well as the most recent advances in their science and technology. The authors – noted experts in the field – offer an authoritative review of the actinide and transactinide elements, i.e., the elements from actinium to lawrencium as well as rutherfordium through organesson, the current end of the periodic table, element 118. The text explores the history of the metals, their occurrence and issues of production, and covers a broad range of chemical subjects including environmental concerns and remediation approaches. The authors also offer information on the most recent and emerging applications of the metals, such as in superconducting materials, catalysis, and research into medical diagnostics. This important resource: Provides an overview of the science and advanced technological uses of the actinide and transactinide metals Describes the basic chemical and physical properties of the heaviest metals, and discusses the challenges and opportunities for their technological applications Contains accessible information on the fundamental features of the heaviest metals, special requirements for their experimental study, and the critical role of computational characterization of their compounds Highlights the most current and emerging applications in areas such as superconducting materials, catalysis, nuclear forensics, and medicine Presents vital contemporary issues of the heaviest metals Written for graduate students and researchers working with the actinide and transactinide elements, industrial and academic inorganic and nuclear chemists, and engineers, The Heaviest Metals is a comprehensive volume that explores the fundamental chemistry and properties of the heaviest metals, and the challenges and opportunities associated with their present and emerging technological uses.
The Hebridean World: Its Human Ecology Through Time (Historical Geography and Geosciences)
by Robert DodgshonThe Hebrides has long been seen as an area that, when considered over time, was slow to absorb change. Indeed, from the nineteenth century onwards, it attracted the attention of scholars for being seen as having not just the oldest rocks in Europe but also, some of its oldest cultural practices and institutional forms. This unchanging ‘archaic’ character has continued to attract a great deal of research but, over recent decades, a counter view has emerged that highlights the changes that the region did experience. This book argues the case for the latter by drawing out how the institutional forms around which the region and its farming communities were organised changed over time. As background. It highlights the importance of understanding two key inter-related features that underpinned these changes: the low output of Hebridean farming with its high frequency of poor harvests and the range of environmental hazards that beset the region. Brought together, the interaction between these two features makes the survival strategies adopted by communities an important part of the region’s history. Because society/environment interactions are at the heart of the problem, the book’s discussion is presented as a study in human ecology. One of the benchmark studies of the region in modern times, or Sir Fraser Darling’s The West Highland Problem: A Study in Human Ecology (OUP, 1955) adopted such an approach. This book gives this human ecological perspective on the region a greater time-depth. In addition to a Preface and an Epilogue, it is divided into 12 chapters: Title: The Hebridean World: Its Ecological History Through Time Preface 1: The Hebrides: Their Physical Endowment and Its Challenges 2: The Oldest Cultural Landscapes 3: The Hebridean Mix: Picts, Scots and Vikings 4: How Land was Occupied Before Crofting 5: How the Land was Farmed before Crofting 6: Landscapes of Summer: the Shielings 7: The Inter Tidal and Beyond: the Harvest of Shore and Sea 8:Survival on the Margins 9: The Landscapes of Crofting 10: The Harvesting and Processing of Grain 11: The Clearances for Sheep and Deer 12: Hebridean Housing and Settlement Epilogue
The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Magister's Pox: Mending the Gap Between Science and the Humanities
by Stephen Jay GouldIn his final book and his first full-length original title since Full House in 1996, the eminent paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould offers a surprising and nuanced study of the complex relationship between our two great ways of knowing: science and the humanities, twin realms of knowledge that have been divided against each other for far too long. To establish his two protagonists, Gould draws from a seventh century b.c. proverb attributed to the Greek soldier-poet Archilochus that said roughly, "The fox devises many strategies; the hedgehog knows one great and effective strategy." While emphatically rejecting any simplistic attempt to assign either science or the humanities to one or the other of these approaches to knowledge, Gould uses this ancient concept to demonstrate that neither strategy can work alone, but that these seeming opposites can be conjoined into a common enterprise of tremendous unity and power. In building his case, Gould shows why the common assumption of an inescapable conflict between science and the humanities (in which he includes religion) is false, mounts a spirited rebuttal to the ideas that his intellectual rival E. O. Wilson set forth in his book Consilience, and explains why the pursuit of knowledge must always operate upon the bedrock of nature's randomness.The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Magister's Pox is a controversial discourse, rich with facts and observations gathered by one of the most erudite minds of our time.
The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa
by Getzel M. CohenA geographically organized survey of all the Greek cities founded or re-founded during the Hellenistic period (323-327 BCE) in the areas named.
The Helmholtz Curves: Tracing Lost Time (Forms of Living)
by Henning SchmidgenThis book reconstructs the emergence of the phenomenon of “lost time” by engaging with two of the most significant time experts of the nineteenth century: the German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz and the French writer Marcel Proust.Its starting point is the archival discovery of curve images that Helmholtz produced in the context of pathbreaking experiments on the temporality of the nervous system in 1851. With a “frog drawing machine,” Helmholtz established the temporal gap between stimulus and response that has remained a core issue in debates between neuroscientists and philosophers.When naming the recorded phenomena, Helmholtz introduced the term temps perdu, or lost time. Proust had excellent contacts with the biomedical world of late-nineteenth-century Paris, and he was familiar with this term and physiological tracing technologies behind it. Drawing on the machine philosophy of Deleuze, Schmidgen highlights the resemblance between the machinic assemblages and rhizomatic networks within which Helmholtz and Proust pursued their respective projects.
The Henry Drummond Reader
by Henry DrummondHenry Drummond was one of the first writers to try to reconcile religion and science. His evangelical lectures drew standing-room-only crowds in the biggest and smallest venues throughout the world. His messages are as inspiring today as they were when he first delivered them. This omnibus edition contains all of his most important works. Here are dozens of his lectures, papers, addresses and books. Included are Stones Rolled Away and Other Addresses, The New Evangelism and Other Papers, The Ideal Life and Other Unpublished Addresses, The Ascent of Man, Natural Law in the Spiritual World, The Greatest Thing in the World and Other Addresses, A Life for A Life and Other Addresses, The Changed Life, The City Without a Church, Beautiful Thoughts From Henry Drummond, The Program of Christianity, and much, much more.
The Herbal Internet Companion: Herbs and Herbal Medicine Online
by David J OwenThis valuable and timely book (Winner of the International Herb Association's 2002 Book Award!) will help you navigate the sea of information about herbs and herbal remedies on the Internet. Besides listing hundreds of reliable Internet sites and what you'll find there, it discusses criteria for assessing the quality of health information on the Internet. This book will show you how to find: mailing lists, chat rooms, and newsgroups providing herbal information; answers to specific consumer/patient questions; information about laws, standards, and regulations governing herbal products; organizations dealing with herbal medicine; consumer protection, health fraud, and quackery; Internet resources in specialized health areas such as cancer and AIDS; online indexes and databases such as MEDLINE; and much more! Complete with easy-to-read tables and charts as well as a glossary of terms you'll encounter on these Web sites, The Herbal Internet Companion: Herbs and Herbal Medicine Online is the resource that puts the power of the Internet in your hands!To view an excerpt online, find the book in our QuickSearch catalog at www.HaworthPress.com.
The Heredity Hoax: Challenging Flawed Genetic Theories of Human Development
by Richard M. Lerner Gary GreenbergThis innovative and thought-provoking book integrates both new, authored material and reprints of existing literature that, together, provide a compelling narrative that reveals the fatally flawed science associated with genetic reductionist accounts of human behavior and development.Through an interdisciplinary lens, it illuminates the dynamic nature of human development, empowering readers to question established notions, and embrace the complexity of our potential. Across the book, the work of top-tier scientists, from developmental, comparative, educational, and biological science illuminates theory and research converging on the conclusion that the multiple egregiously flawed work of genetic reductionists should be expunged from research pertinent to human development. The book challenges the prevailing reductionist narratives and their application to social policies, programs, and uses in media. Theoretically based and empirically rigorous, this multidisciplinary approach to human development will shine a light on the inequities in individuals or groups that suggest that specific genes do not enable them to succeed in life.The Heredity Hoax invites graduate programs and advanced undergraduate courses on human development, human potential, epigenetics, and more to delve into the intricate interplay between genes, environment, and personal growth. This will also serve as an unimpeachable source of evidence for researchers, educators, and social policymakers.
The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace
by Ross A. SlottenThe Heretic in Darwin's Court explores the controversial life and scientific contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace-Victorian traveler, spiritualist, and scientist who proposed the theory of natural selection with his noted colleague, Charles Darwin. In this biography, Ross A. Slotten recounts Wallace's twelve years of harrowing travels in the western and eastern tropics, which place him in the pantheon of the greatest explorer-naturalists of the nineteenth century. The remaining fifty years of Wallace's life were just as controversial. In addition to diverging from Darwin on two fundamental issues-sexual selection and the origin of the human mind-Wallace pursued topics that most scientific figures of his day conspicuously avoided, including spiritualism, phrenology, mesmerism, environmentalism, and life on Mars.The Heretic in Darwin's Court casts new light on Wallace's intellectual investigations into the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe itself. His achievements remain some of the most inspired scientific accomplishments in history.
The Heretic in Darwin’s Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace
by Ross SlottenDuring their lifetimes, Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin shared credit and fame for the independent and near-simultaneous discovery of natural selection. Together, the two men spearheaded one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in modern history, and their rivalry, usually amicable but occasionally acrimonious, forged modern evolutionary theory. Yet today, few people today know much about Wallace.The Heretic in Darwin's Court explores the controversial life and scientific contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace—Victorian traveler, scientist, spiritualist, and co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of natural selection. After examining his early years, the biography turns to Wallace's twelve years of often harrowing travels in the western and eastern tropics, which place him in the pantheon of the greatest explorer-naturalists of the nineteenth century. Tracing step-by-step his discovery of natural selection—a piece of scientific detective work as revolutionary in its implications as the discovery of the structure of DNA—the book then follows the remaining fifty years of Wallace's eccentric and entertaining life. In addition to his divergence from Darwin on two fundamental issues—sexual selection and the origin of the human mind—he pursued topics that most scientific figures of his day conspicuously avoided, including spiritualism, phrenology, mesmerism, environmentalism, and life on Mars.Although there may be disagreement about his conclusions, Wallace's intellectual investigations into the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe itself remain some of the most inspired scientific accomplishments in history. This authoritative biography casts new light on the life and work of Alfred Russel Wallace and the importance of his twenty-five-year relationship with Charles Darwin.
The Hermetic Code in DNA: The Sacred Principles in the Ordering of the Universe
by Colin Wilson Michael HayesAn examination of the precise code that connects ancient spirituality with modern science • Shows how the numerical patterns in ancient philosophies are evident in both the structure of the universe and the helical structure of DNA • Reveals that music theory comes from an intuitive understanding of the resonant harmony of the cosmos Many have observed the distinct numerical patterns embedded in ancient philosophies and religions from all over the world; others have noted that these same patterns are apparent in many of the theories of groundbreaking science. Michael Hayes reveals that there is a precise code, the Hermetic Code, that connects these patterns--information once known to ancient cultures but apparently lost over time. Mirrored in the structure of this code are the ordering principles of the universe and, intriguingly, also the harmonic ratios of music. Our notions of what is harmonious in music may therefore arise not from an abstract aesthetic sense but as a response to an intuition of a fundamental cosmic harmony.The resonance between biology and cosmology shows that life is music, complete with “overtones”--nowhere more strikingly present than in the helical structure of life itself: DNA.
The Heroes Return (Bounders #4)
by Monica TeslerJasper and Mira must escape the Rift and deliver the Youli’s message to Earth Force before it’s too late in this action-packed fourth novel in what Shannon Messenger calls the “richly detailed, highly imaginative” Bounders series!After escaping the Youli’s attack on Alkalinia, Jasper and Mira find themselves trapped with the lost aeronauts in the rift, a rip in space where time moves differently. For every minute they spend in the rift, they are losing days back home. Just when Jasper fears they’ll be stuck in limbo forever, the most unlikely ally shows up: the Youli. The Youli promise to rescue everyone in the rift, but their help comes at a price. First, Jasper must tell Earth Force that the Youli want peace. And second, Mira can’t return with Jasper. She has to leave with the Youli. Back home, almost a year has passed. The Youli war is public, Bounders are in space full-time, and Jasper’s pod is divided. Cole and Lucy have been promoted. Marco and Addy are missing. Jasper delivers the Youli’s message, but the admiral isn’t interested in peace talks. Instead, she sends Jasper and the aeronauts on a publicity tour of Earth to build support for the war. At first, Jasper revels in the spotlight. But it soon becomes clear that if Jasper doesn’t convince Earth Force to stop fighting—and soon—there won’t be an Earth left to fight for, and he may never see Mira again.
The Hidden Beauty of the Microscopic World: What the tiniest forms of life can tells us about existence and our place in the universe
by James WeissThe videographer behind the Journey to the Microcosmos YouTube channel (386K subscribers) James Weiss presents a beginner's guide to the extremely small and utterly strange life that surrounds us.James Weiss was feeling lost in life when he first discovered his interest in the microscopic world. With his own microscope and a little homespun ingenuity, he began to capture thousands of hours of stunning footage of the creatures that he found around him: the local pond, at the beach, in a puddle. What he found astounded him, and it became his mission to reveal the beauty of the microcosmos to everyone.In his fun and accessible style, interspersed with otherworldly photographs, James presents this beginner's guide to the invisible life that surrounds us. From the most simple single-celled life, to complex micro-animals, James reveals the secrets of a world that we rarely consider. Navigating the births, feasts, tragedies, idiosyncracies and deaths of a cast of tiny characters, learn how these lifeforms work and what lessons they can teach us about our own existence. Mixing scientific detail with thoughtful musings that betray the fascination at the heart of his topic, James has created a way of looking at microorganisms in an empathetic and engaging style.You'll discover fascinating absurdities: that a cell can be both its own daughter and its own mother. That immortality really does exist, and it comes in the form of a teeny, tentacled medusa. And that seeing the wonder of nature from a new perspective can literally save your life.
The Hidden Company That Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips
by James B. NardiA spectacularly illustrated journey into the intimate communities that native trees share with animals, insects, fungi, and microbesYou can tell a lot about a tree from the company it keeps. James Nardi guides you through the innermost unseen world that trees share with a wondrous array of creatures. With their elaborate immune responses, trees recruit a host of allies as predators and parasites to defend against uninvited advances from organisms that chew on leaves, drain sap, and bore into wood. Microbial life thrives in the hidden spaces of leaf scales, twigs, and bark, while birds, mammals, and insects benefit from the more visible resources trees provide. In return, animals help with pollination, seed dispersal, and recycling of nutrients. The Hidden Company That Trees Keep blends marvelous storytelling with beautiful illustrations and the latest science to reveal how the lives of trees are intertwined with those of their diverse companions.Features a wealth of richly detailed drawings accompanied by breathtaking images of microscopic landscapes on leaf, bark, and root surfacesIncludes informative fact boxesDraws on new discoveries in biology and natural historyWritten by one of the world’s leading naturalists
The Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth
by Gerald L. SchroederGerald Schroeder, an MIT-trained scientist who has worked in both physics and biology, has emerged in recent years as one of the most popular and accessible apostles for the melding of science and religion. He first reconciled science and faith as different perspectives on a single whole in The Science of God. Now, in The Hidden Face of God, Schroeder takes a bold step forward, to show that science, properly understood, provides positive reasons for faith. Recent research in biology, chemistry, physics, and neuroscience contains unmistakable hints about the ultimate nature of reality. Simply put, we now know not only that behind matter lies energy, but also that behind energy lies wisdom. Scientists have touched on this wisdom in the laboratory, and its implications are awesome. From the wisdom encoded in DNA and analyzed by information science, to the wisdom unveiled in the fantastic complexity of cellular life, to the wisdom inherent in human consciousness, The Hidden Face of God offers a tour of the best of modern science. Schroeder makes no attempt to "prove" the existence of God. Yet his interpretations of the work of his fellow scientists touch on life's ultimate mysteries. His wise observations on the organization of organic life, on the power of humans to make sense of their sensory inputs, and on the complexities of the code of DNA all show that life has a direction and purpose that cannot be explained in purely physical terms. Throughout, he addresses three great themes: the question of first causes (i.e., where do the laws of nature come from?); the inseparability of mind and matter; and the philosophical problem of design. To believe that a designer must have been involved, he reminds us, we need not insist on perfection or on our view of perfection in the design. The Hidden Face of God will open a world of science to religious believers, and it will cause skeptics to rethink some of their deepest beliefs.
The Hidden Geometry of Life: The Science and Spirituality of Nature
by Karen L. FrenchEncompassing nature, science, art, architecture, and spirituality, and illustrated with over 700 photographs and line drawings, "The Hidden Geometry of Life" illuminates the secret underpinnings of existence. In her trademark easy-to-understand style, mathematician Karen French shows how sacred geometry permeates every level of being, manifesting itself in simple shapes and numbers, music and sounds, light and color, even in the mysteries of creation itself. But these geometrical archetypes are more than the building blocks of reality: they are gateways to profound new levels of awareness.
The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health
by David R. Montgomery Anne BikléA riveting exploration of how microbes are transforming the way we see nature and ourselves--and could revolutionize agriculture and medicine. Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself and microbes. Good health--for people and for plants--depends on Earth's smallest creatures. The Hidden Half of Nature tells the story of our tangled relationship with microbes and their potential to revolutionize agriculture and medicine, from garden to gut. When David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé decide to restore life into their barren yard by creating a garden, dead dirt threatens their dream. As a cure, they feed their soil a steady diet of organic matter. The results impress them. In short order, the much-maligned microbes transform their bleak yard into a flourishing Eden. Beneath their feet, beneficial microbes and plant roots continuously exchange a vast array of essential compounds. The authors soon learn that this miniaturized commerce is central to botanical life's master strategy for defense and health. They are abruptly plunged further into investigating microbes when Biklé is diagnosed with cancer. Here, they discover an unsettling truth. An armada of bacteria (our microbiome) sails the seas of our gut, enabling our immune system to sort microbial friends from foes. But when our gut microbiome goes awry, our health can go with it. The authors also discover startling insights into the similarities between plant roots and the human gut. We are not what we eat. We are all--for better or worse--the product of what our microbes eat. This leads to a radical reconceptualization of our relationship to the natural world: by cultivating beneficial microbes, we can rebuild soil fertility and help turn back the modern plague of chronic diseases. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals how to transform agriculture and medicine--by merging the mind of an ecologist with the care of a gardener and the skill of a doctor.
The Hidden Half: The Unseen Forces that Influence Everything
by Michael BlastlandWhy does one smoker die of lung cancer but another live to 100? The answer is "The Hidden Half"—those random, unknowable variables that mess up our attempts to comprehend the world. We humans are very clever creatures—but we're idiots about how clever we really are. This entertaining and ingenious book reveals how in our quest to make the world more understandable, we lose sight of how unexplainable it often is. The result, from GDP figures to medicine, is that experts know a lot less than they think. Filled with compelling stories from economics, genetics, business, and science, The Hidden Half is a warning that an explanation which works in one arena may not work in another. Entertaining and provocative, it will change how you view the world.
The Hidden Language of Cats: How They Have Us at Meow
by Sarah BrownDescended from shy, solitary North African wild cats, domestic cats set up homes with devoted owners all over the world by learning how to talk to us. This book translates—in case you missed anything.A renowned cat behavior scientist of over thirty years, Dr. Sarah Brown has been at the forefront of research in the field, discovering how cats use tail signals to interact with each other and their owners. Now, she reveals the previously unexplored secrets of cat communication in a book that is both scientifically grounded and utterly delightful.Each chapter dives into a different form of communication, including vocalizations, tail signals, scents, rubbing, and ear movements. The iconic meow, for example, is rarely used between adult cats—cleverly mimicking the cries of a human infant, the meow is a feline invention for conversing with people. Through observing the behavior of two cat colonies in rural England, readers will also have the opportunity to glimpse into the lives of some of the cats behind Dr. Brown's science.Can we understand what cats&’ meows and other signals mean? How do cats actually perceive us? And how can we use this information to inform how we talk back to our feline friends? Referencing historical records, exploring modern scientific studies of cat-human communication, and including simple, elegant line drawings, The Hidden Language of Cats is perfect for any cat lover who wants to learn more about their companion.
The Hidden Life of Life: A Walk through the Reaches of Time (Animalibus)
by Elizabeth Marshall ThomasAn iconoclast and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing, thinking, and writing about the cultures of animals such as lions, wolves, dogs, deer, and humans. In this compulsively readable book, she provides a plainspoken, big-picture look at the commonality of life on our planet, from the littlest microbes to the largest lizards.Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things.A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. This joyfully written book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.
The Hidden Life of Life: A Walk through the Reaches of Time (Animalibus: Of Animals and Cultures #13)
by Elizabeth Marshall ThomasAn iconoclast and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing, thinking, and writing about the cultures of animals such as lions, wolves, dogs, deer, and humans. In this compulsively readable book, she provides a plainspoken, big-picture look at the commonality of life on our planet, from the littlest microbes to the largest lizards.Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things.A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. This joyfully written book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate --Discoveries from a Secret World
by Tim Flannery Peter Wohlleben<P>In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group.<P><P> Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him. As he says, a happy forest is a healthy forest, and he believes that eco-friendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Hidden Life of a Toad
by Doug WechslerIn jaw-dropping photos, Doug Wechsler captures the life cycle of the American toad from egg to tadpole to adult. To get these images, Wechsler sat in a pond wearing waders, went out night after night in search of toads, and cut his own glass to make a home aquarium. The resulting photos reveal metamorphosis in extreme close-up as readers have never seen it before. Budding naturalists will be transfixed by this unprecedented peek into the secrets of tadpole transformation. Demystifying
The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia: At the Base of Brain and Mind
by Hagai BergmanThe anatomy and physiology of the basal ganglia and their relation to brain and behavior, disorders and therapies, and philosophy of mind and moral values.The main task of the basal ganglia—a group of subcortical nuclei, located at the base of the brain—is to optimize and execute our automatic behavior. In this book, Hagai Bergman analyzes the anatomy and physiology of the basal ganglia, discussing their relation to brain and behavior, to disorders and therapies, and even to moral values. Drawing on his forty years of studying the basal ganglia, Bergman presents new information on physiology and computational models, Parkinson&’s disease and other ganglia-related disorders, and such therapies as deep brain stimulation. Focusing on studies of nonhuman primates and human basal ganglia and relying on system physiology and in vivo extra-cellular recording techniques, Bergman first describes the major brain structures that constitute the basal ganglia, the morphology of their cellular elements, their synaptic connectivity and their physiological function in health and disease. He discusses the computational physiology of the healthy basal ganglia, describing four generations of computational models, and then traces the computational physiology of basal ganglia–related disorders and their treatments, including Parkinson&’s disease and its pharmacological and surgical therapies. Finally, Bergman considers the implications of these findings for such moral concerns as free will. Explaining this leap into domains rarely explored in neuroscientific accounts, Bergman writes that the longer he studies the basal ganglia, the more he is convinced that they are truly the base of both brain and mind.