Science & Nature Books

Lignocellulosic Biomass Production and Industrial Applications

Lignocellulosic Biomass Production and Industrial Applications

Science & Nature

This book covers the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production as well as other industrial applications such as in biotechnology, paper and pulp, chemical and bioplastics.Lignocellulosic materials such as agricultural residues (e.g., wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, corn stover), forest products (hardwood and softwood), and crops such as switchgrass and salix, are becoming a potent source for generating valuable products.Lignocellulosic Biomass Production and Industrial Applications describes the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for various applications. Although there have been numerous reports on lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel application, there have been very few other applications reported for lignocellulosic biomass-based biotechnology, chemicals and polymers. This book covers both application areas. Besides describing the various types of biofuel production, such as bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel and biogas from lignocellulosic biomass, it also presents various other lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery applications for the production of enzymes, chemicals, polymers, paper and bioplastics. In addition, there are chapters on valorization of lignocellulosic materials, alkali treatment to improve the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of lignocellulosic natural fibers, and a discussion of the major benefits, limitations and future prospects of the use of lignocellulosic biomass.

Origens

Origens

Science & Nature

É impossível imaginar alguém melhor do que Neil deGrasse Tyson para explicar o cosmos. As nossas origens não são apenas humanas, nem terrestres, mas também cósmicas. Com base nas mais recentes descobertas científicas, e no cruzamento de conhecimentos de geologia, biologia, astrofísica e cosmologia, Origens explica as etapas acidentadas da nossa compreensão do cosmos. Da primeira imagem do nascimento da galáxia à exploração de Marte e à descoberta de água numa das luas de Júpiter, os autores conduzem-nos numa viagem galvanizante pelo cosmos.

Il canto della cellula

Il canto della cellula

Science & Nature

Nella seconda metà del Seicento, un solitario mercante di stoffe olandese, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, e un poliedrico quanto eterodosso scienziato inglese, Robert Hooke, guardando nei loro microscopi fecero una scoperta rivoluzionaria. Ossia che gli organismi viventi complessi sono aggregati di minuscole unità biologiche indipendenti e autoregolate. Un concetto radicale che modificò per sempre biologia e medicina.Il canto della cellula, dell'oncologo e ricercatore Siddhartha Mukherjee, è la storia di questa scoperta. Ma non solo. È un racconto scientifico ed epico al tempo stesso che arriva fino ai giorni nostri. Perché la rivoluzione della biologia cellulare è tuttora in corso e rappresenta uno dei progressi più significativi nel mondo della scienza. Attingendo ad articoli e testimonianze, colloqui con medici, biologi e pazienti, esperienze di laboratorio e fonti storiche, Mukherjee descrive l'anatomia, la fisiologia, il comportamento delle cellule, le loro interazioni, il modo in cui esse si aggregano, cooperano, creano tessuti, apparati e organi. E spiega cosa succede quando l'alterazione di questi «mattoni della vita» dà luogo a malattie gravi e potenzialmente letali.La nostra comprensione delle patologie cellulari ha inaugurato l'era della manipolazione terapeutica delle cellule, che ha reso possibili gli antibiotici e le trasfusioni di sangue, la fecondazione in vitro e i trapianti di midollo osseo, l'immunoterapia nella lotta contro il cancro e l'infusione di cellule staminali modificate nella cura del diabete. Ma oggi il futuro appare pieno di incognite: grazie alla selezione e all'editing genetici, la creazione di «nuovi esseri umani» rigenerati mediante l'ingegneria è tutt'altro che una remota possibilità, e il confine tra naturale e artificiale si fa sempre più incerto.Con rigore scientifico, un'empatia rara e una straordinaria capacità divulgativa, Mukherjee consegna al lettore un'erudita incursione nella storia della medicina e al contempo uno sguardo illuminante sul prossimo futuro.

Le métier de chercheur

Le métier de chercheur

Science & Nature

Deux mythes symétriques traversent nos sociétés. Selon le premier, entretenu par les chercheurs eux-mêmes, il est nécessaire de protéger l’activité scientifique de toute pollution par les idéologies, les intérêts, les passions, les modes... Selon le second, véhiculé par nombre d’autorités morales, intellectuelles ou religieuses, c’est au contraire la société et ses valeurs qu’il convient de protéger contre les conséquences des progrès incontrôlés de la science et de la technologie.La science, répond Bruno Latour, n’est ni hors ni contre la société, elle est tout simplement dans la société. Démontant au passage les rouages du capitalisme scientifique, qui constitue le premier ressort du dynamisme de la recherche, l’auteur montre comment les scientifiques sont engagés dans des réseaux socio-techniques qui se jouent des frontières classiquement établies entre science et politique, entre humains et non-humains.Tiré d’une conférence donnée à l’Inra, ce texte décapant constitue une excellente introduction à l’œuvre de Bruno Latour et plus généralement à la sociologie des sciences.Destiné en priorité aux chercheurs, cet ouvrage très accessible s’adresse aussi à un large public.

Introducción a la historia de la biología

Introducción a la historia de la biología

Science & Nature

Rostand nos muestra en esta obra que la historia de la biología es, como la historia de la ciencia, una suma de errores rectificados en un camino que, lejos de ser recto, racional y lógico, está lleno de rodeos, de incoherencias. Aunque el progreso técnico amplíe las posibilidades de la investigación, las ideas preconcebidas, los prejuicios imponen resistencias que frenan la aparición de nuevas interpretaciones, de nuevas «verdades» hasta el momento ocultas. Éstas aparecen claras, obvias y sólidas cuando lo son también unos hechos que, antes inconexos y contradictorios, pasan a ser «pruebas». Este bosquejo de la historia de la biología comienza con el método científico en el siglo XVI y termina a comienzos del siglo XX (poco antes de la síntesis evolutiva moderna, que emergía entre los años treinta y cuarenta). Se centra, de manera necesariamente concisa, en los considerados sus problemas centrales: la generación de los seres vivos y su evolución. Indudablemente son estas cuestiones fundamentales las que tenían que ser elucidadas, sus debates internos tenían que ser resueltos, para que la biología se consolidara como ciencia.

Le monde a-t-il été créé en sept jours ?

Le monde a-t-il été créé en sept jours ?

Science & Nature

Confrontant science et religion, Pascal Picq fait le point sur ces questions et met ici en perspective les débats actuels qui divisent l'humanité.Comment la croyance peut-elle aller à l'encontre de ce que l'on sait ? Derrière cette question, volontairement provocante, Pascal Picq interroge les origines de l'Univers (le Big Bang), de la Vie, et de l'Homme sur la Terre. S'appuyant sur la longue histoire des sciences - une découverteen entraînant une autre -, il montre en creux la résistance de nos esprits modernes à comprendre le monde hors des sentiers sacrés. Les questions sur les commencements, nous dit-il, importent autant que leurs réponses, variées et riches, à l'instar de ces cosmogonies imaginées depuis des centaines de milliers d'années...La Bible en donnant une place particulière à l'Homme dans l'ordre de la Création - le sixième jour - a imposé durablement sa vision du monde. Longtemps, les scientifiques éviteront la délicate question des origines : pour un Galilée qui s'en sort, combien connaîtront le bûcher, l'excommunication, plus tard même l'autocensure ?Il n'empêche, l'insatiable curiosité humaine ne se tarit jamais. Charles Darwin puis Albert Einstein ont repoussé les limites du monde. Ces deux visionnaires conscients - et inquiets aussi - de briser des tabous ont ouvert des voies essentielles à la recherche moderne : on sait depuis que rien n'est éternel, que tout évolue : l'Univers, la Vie et l'Homme...

Sonnige Zukunft

Sonnige Zukunft

Science & Nature

Ein aktueller Blick auf die erneuerbaren Energien zeigt Licht und Schatten. In den letzten Jahren haben grüne Energien erfreuliche Fortschritte erzielt: Die Technik hat sich verbessert, und die Erzeugungskosten sind gesunken.Dennoch ist der Weg in eine wirklich saubere Zukunft noch weit.Dr. Fatih Birol, Exekutivdirektor der Internationalen Energie-Agentur, sieht die erneuerbaren Energien trotz aller Fortschritte noch lange nicht am Ziel. Wenn wir wollen, dass alle Menschen Zugang zu Energie haben, wenn wir den Klimawandel bremsen, die Umweltverschmutzung reduzieren und die Welt auf Nachhaltigkeitskurs bringen wollen, dann müssen wir noch wesentlich mehr tun.Dieser Essay ist der fünfte aus der Reihe "Big Ideas" der Europäischen Investitionsbank.

Learn to Think in Systems

Learn to Think in Systems

Science & Nature

Would you like to have better solutions to your problems? Struggling to understand why things went wrong when you did everything right?Learn to Think in Systems can help you with these problems. Systems surround us and we might not even be aware of it. Your household is a system. The bakery on the corner is a system. Your class at school, your department at work, and your weekend soccer team made of wholehearted dads is a system too. You are a vital part of more complex systems like your country, the economy, or the world; learn about their changing nature, and find optimal solutions to problems related to them. The world is more connected than ever thanks to innovations like telephone, television, computers, and internet. The way we sense reality changed significantly. Using conventional thinking to understand the world as it functions today is not enough. We need to know the elements of systems thinking to see beyond simple cause-effect connections. This book will help you to find strategic solutions to every complex, modern problem.Learn To Think in Systems focuses on the nine fundamental system archetypes; our mental models related to them, and the step-by-step implication methods to fix them. Learn to use systems archetypes to solve your problems at work, in your business, in your relationship, and social connections. See through the motivations and understand the drives of contemporary politics, economics, and education. Widen your perspective, think critically, analyze deeply, clear your vision, be more logical and rational just by applying systems thinking. Think differently and get different results.•Learn the language of systems thinking.•Apply the best systems thinking ideas, models, and frameworks in your cognitive and decision-making process. •Learn to understand, design, and find solutions to the main system problems called ‘archetypes.’Complexity, organizational pathways, and networks gain more and more importance in our interconnected world. Learn To Think in Systems gives you real-life examples to make the adoption process of this type of thinking smooth. Define your problems more accurately, find better, long-lasting solutions to your problems, learn to create strategic plans using systems diagrams, and understand your place and power over the world.

Una red viva

Una red viva

Science & Nature

Un fascinante viaje a la infinita capacidad de aprendizaje, remodelación y autorregeneración del cerebro.El cerebro y sus misterios, el cerebro y sus maravillas. David Eagleman, prestigioso neurocientífico y profesor de la Universidad de Stanford, nos ofrece en este libro una nueva exploración sobre este órgano: un recorrido fascinante en torno a la plasticidad del cerebro, capaz de mudar para adaptarse a condiciones cambiantes.Expone, por ejemplo, el caso de un niño al que deben extirparle la mitad del cerebro y se comprueba cómo la mitad restante se reconfigura para amoldarse a la nueva situación. O el caso del cerebro de las personas ciegas, que se adecua a esta limitación y potencia los otros sentidos. O el de las personas con una prótesis a cuya presencia se acomoda el cerebro. La actividad cerebral se reacondiciona de forma permanente para afrontar nuevas circunstancias y nuevos aprendizajes.Con la ya contrastada capacidad del autor para explicar de manera clara y apasionante el complejo mapa cerebral, este libro presenta casos históricos (como el del miembro fantasma del almirante Nelson) y contemporáneos, y explica experimentos punteros que nos hablan de los últimos avances en la ciencia del cerebro. Incluso se adentra en el futuro, con los sorprendentes progresos en las conexiones entre cerebro y robótica.

Production of Biobutanol from Biomass

Production of Biobutanol from Biomass

Science & Nature

PRODUCTION of BIOBUTANOL from BIOMASS The book covers all current technologies of lignocellulosic biobutanol production as well as the environmental and socioeconomic impact assessment. N-butanol is a bulk chemical that is used as an industrial solvent and as a component in paint, coatings, and adhesives, among other things. When compared to other biofuels, biobutanol has the advantages of being immiscible in water, having a higher energy content, and having a lower vapor pressure. There are various benefits to producing biobutanol from lignocellulosic biomass. However, there are challenges in producing butanol from lignocellulosic biomass, such as biomass’s complex structure, low butanol yield, and high cost of production, etc. The 13 chapters comprising this book discuss the current technology and prospects of biobutanol production. The first four chapters provide an overview of the current technological status, while the next six chapters discuss different strategies for enhanced biobutanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. The last three chapters present the industrial status and techno-economic analysis of lignocellulosic biobutanol production. Audience The book will be useful for researchers in the areas of various branches of life sciences such as environmental biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, renewable energy, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, biotechnology, microbiology.

Multi-Objective Combinatorial Optimization Problems and Solution Methods

Multi-Objective Combinatorial Optimization Problems and Solution Methods

Science & Nature

Multi-Objective Combinatorial Optimization Problems and Solution Methods discusses the results of a recent multi-objective combinatorial optimization achievement that considered metaheuristic, mathematical programming, heuristic, hyper heuristic and hybrid approaches. In other words, the book presents various multi-objective combinatorial optimization issues that may benefit from different methods in theory and practice. Combinatorial optimization problems appear in a wide range of applications in operations research, engineering, biological sciences and computer science, hence many optimization approaches have been developed that link the discrete universe to the continuous universe through geometric, analytic and algebraic techniques. This book covers this important topic as computational optimization has become increasingly popular as design optimization and its applications in engineering and industry have become ever more important due to more stringent design requirements in modern engineering practice. Presents a collection of the most up-to-date research, providing a complete overview of multi-objective combinatorial optimization problems and applications Introduces new approaches to handle different engineering and science problems, providing the field with a collection of related research not already covered in the primary literature Demonstrates the efficiency and power of the various algorithms, problems and solutions, including numerous examples that illustrate concepts and algorithms

Scientism

Scientism

Science & Nature

Can only science deliver genuine knowledge about the world and ourselves? Is science our only guide to what exists? Scientism answers both questions with yes. Scientism is increasingly influential in popular scientific literature and intellectual life in general, but philosophers have hitherto largely ignored it. This collection is one of the first to develop and assess scientism as a serious philosophical position. It features twelve new essays by both proponents and critics of scientism. Before scientism can be evaluated, it needs to be clear what it is. Hence, the collection opens with essays that provide an overview of the many different versions of scientism and their mutual interrelations. Next, several card-carrying proponents of scientism make their case, either by developing and arguing directly for their preferred version of scientism or by responding to objections. Then, the floor is given to critics of scientism. It is examined whether scientism is epistemically vicious, whether scientism presents a plausible general epistemological outlook and whether science has limits. The final four essays zoom out and connect scientism to ongoing debates elsewhere in philosophy. What does scientism mean for religious epistemology? What can science tell us about morality and is a scientistic moral epistemology plausible? How is scientism related to physicalism? And is experimental philosophy really a form of scientism tailored to philosophy?

Additive Manufacturing Solutions for Advanced Veterinary Practice

Additive Manufacturing Solutions for Advanced Veterinary Practice

Science & Nature

Additive Manufacturing Solutions for Advanced Veterinary Practices: Clinical Dentistry, Orthopedic, and Drug Delivery Methods highlights cost- and time-saving 3D printing methods and materials for application on a broad array of veterinary patients and procedures. Additive manufacturing of sensors, biodegradable dental implants, smart dental implants, joint implants, and drug-delivery materials are each covered, as are biomimetic, augmented reality, and virtual reality approaches. Varied additive manufacturing processes and techniques are covered, with each chapter including at least one case study that shows the material covered being put into practical use. - Outlines additive manufacturing techniques and materials for use in an array of veterinary applications - Includes methods for the 3D printing of polymers, metals, composites, and gels, along with details on their mechanical, morphological, thermal, and rheological properties - Discusses time- and cost-saving approaches to working with canines, bovines, equines, felines, aves, and other animals

Water Wars

Water Wars

Science & Nature

Acclaimed author and award-winning scientist and activist Vandana Shiva lucidly details the severity of the global water shortage, calling the water crisis “the most pervasive, most severe, and most invisible dimension of the ecological devastation of the earth.” She sheds light on the activists who are fighting corporate maneuvers to convert the life-sustaining resource of water into more gold for the elites and uses her knowledge of science and society to outline the emergence of corporate culture and the historical erosion of communal water rights. Using the international water trade and industrial activities such as damming, mining, and aquafarming as her lens, Shiva exposes the destruction of the earth and the disenfranchisement of the world's poor as they are stripped of rights to a precious common good. Revealing how many of the most important conflicts of our time, most often camouflaged as ethnic wars or religious wars, are in fact conflicts over scarce but vital natural resources, she calls for a movement to preserve water access for all and offers a blueprint for global resistance based on examples of successful campaigns. Featuring a new introduction by the author, this edition of Water Wars celebrates the spiritual and traditional role water has played in communities throughout history and warns that water privatization threatens cultures and livelihoods worldwide.

Jak naprawdę działa świat. Przewodnik po naszej przeszłości, teraźniejszości i przyszłości

Jak naprawdę działa świat. Przewodnik po naszej przeszłości, teraźniejszości i przyszłości

Science & Nature

Jeszcze nigdy w naszej historii nie dysponowaliśmy tak wieloma informacjami na wyciągnięcie ręki, a mimo to większość z nas nie wie, jak naprawdę działa świat. Dzięki tej książce poznacie i zrozumiecie siedem najbardziej fundamentalnych aspektów, od których zależy nasze przetrwanie i dobrobyt. Począwszy od produkcji energii i żywności, poprzez surowce i globalizację, aż po wszelkie zagrożenia, nasz wpływ na środowisko naturalne i jego przyszłość – książka „Jak naprawdę działa świat” to bardzo potrzebna konfrontacja mitów z rzeczywistością. Bo żeby skutecznie rozwiązywać problemy, musimy najpierw poznać i zrozumieć fakty. Smil nie jest ani optymistą, ani pesymistą. Jest naukowcem. Opierając się na najnowszych badaniach naukowych i stawiając czoła źródłom dezinformacji – od Yuvala Noah Harariego po Noama Chomsky’ego – odpowiada na najdonioślejsze pytanie naszego stulecia: czy jesteśmy nieodwołalnie skazani na zagładę, czy może nasza przyszłość jest jednak bardziej optymistyczna? Kolejne arcydzieło jednego z moich ulubionych autorów. Jeśli chcesz dowiedzieć się, jak liczby opisują fundamentalne siły kształtujące życie człowieka, powinieneś przeczytać tę książkę. To prawdziwy tour de force! – Bill Gates Ta książka w stu procentach spełnia obietnicę zawartą w swoim tytule – to chyba najlepsza możliwa rekomendacja – Simon Ings, „New Scientist” Jeśli jesteś zatroskany o naszą przyszłość i rozsierdzony tym, że nie robimy wystarczająco dużo, by o nią zadbać, przeczytaj, proszę, tę książkę – Paul Collier, autor książki „The Future of Capitalism” Bardzo pouczająca książka, otwierająca oczy na wiele zagadnień. – Ha-Joon Chang, autor książki „23 rzeczy, których nie mówią ci o kapitalizmie” Vaclav Smil to wybitny naukowiec i nauczyciel akademicki, emerytowany profesor kanadyjskiego Uniwersytetu Manitoby. Jest autorem ponad czterdziestu książek, poświęconych między innymi energetyce, innowacjom technologicznym, zmianom środowiskowym i populacyjnym, zagadnieniom żywienia i produkcji żywności, problematyce oceny zagrożeń oraz polityce publicznej. Członek Royal Society of Canada, kawaler Orderu Kanady.

Research Methodology in Food Sciences

Research Methodology in Food Sciences

Science & Nature

Here is a rich resource on recent research innovations in the field of food processing and food engineering. Chapters are written by eminent researchers in the field of food science and provide in-depth knowledge on the application of engineering aspects in food processing, food packaging, food quality, and food safety. The book looks at the latest nanotechnology aspects for the detection of foodborne pathogens to ensure safety with respect to these pathogens. It provides detailed kinetics of quality and safety aspects of food and goes on to discuss the characteristics of edible films prepared from plasticized guar gum. Other topics include the production of novel biomolecules and their characterization, the microstructural properties of arabionoxylan aerogels, the antioxidant activity of oats harvested from draught areas, the effect of quercetin isolated from Enicostemma littorale against cancer targets, the latest trends in production of ethanol and fructo-oligosachharides, and much more.

The Ghost Lab

The Ghost Lab

Science & Nature

A surprising and compelling journey into the business of paranormal investigation, and the state of scientific literacy in America.  In 2010, in a small New Hampshire town, next door to a copy center and framing shop, a ghost lab opened. The Kitt Research Initiative’s mission was to use the scientific method to document the existence of spirits. Founder Andy Kitt was known as a straight-shooter; and was unafraid — perhaps eager — to offend other paranormal investigators by exposing the fraudulence of their less advanced techniques. But when KRI started to lose money, Kitt began to seek funding from the paranormal community, attracting flocks of psychics, alien abductees, witches, mediums, ghost hunters, UFOlogists, cryptozoologists and warlocks from all over New England, and the world. And there were plenty of them around.The Ghost Lab tells the astonishing story of the wild ecosystem of paranormal profiteers and consumers, through the astonishing story of what happened in this one small town. But it also maps the trends of declining scientific literacy, trust in institutions, and the diffusion of a culture that has created space for armies of pseudoscientists to step into the minds of an increasingly credulous public. With his distinct voice, eye for a story and ability to show how one community's experience reflects that of a society, Matt Hongoltz-Hetling crafts a powerful narrative about just how fragmented our understanding of what is real and what is not has become.

Philosophie der Quantenphysik

Philosophie der Quantenphysik

Science & Nature

Dieses Buch liefert dem Leser eine aktuelle und fundierte Einführung in die Philosophie der Quantenphysik. Obwohl sich die Quantentheorie durch spektakuläre empirische Erfolge auszeichnet, wird bis heute kontrovers diskutiert, wie sie zu verstehen ist. In diesem Werk geben die Autoren einen Überblick über die zahlreichen philosophischen Herausforderungen:  Verletzen Quantenobjekte das Prinzip der Kausalität? Sind gleichartige Teilchen ununterscheidbar und daher keine Individuen? Behalten Quantenobjekte in der zeitlichen Entwicklung ihre Identität? Wie verhält sich ein zusammengesetztes Quantensystem zu seinen Teilen? Diese Fragen werden im Rahmen verschiedener Deutungsansätze der Quantentheorie diskutiert. Ein Ausblick in die Quantenfeldtheorie verschärft das Hauptproblem der Nichtlokalität.Philosophie der Quantenphysik richtet sich an Philosophen mit Interesse für Physik, macht Physiker mit den philosophischen Fragen ihres Faches vertraut und liefert Anregungen für den gymnasialen Physik-Unterricht.Das Buch schließt damit eine Lücke zwischen populären Einführungen und spezialisierten Monografien zur Philosophie der Quantenphysik. In der vorliegenden zweiten Auflage wurde das Kapitel zu Verschränkung und Nicht-Lokalität deutlich erweitert und jedes Kapitel mit Übungsaufgaben und Musterlösungen ergänzt.Die Autoren  Cord FriebeZurzeit Vertretung der Professur für Theoretische Philosophie an der Universität Siegen. Arbeitsgebiete: Philosophie der Physik, Analytische Ontologie, Theoretische Philosophie Kants.Meinard KuhlmannZurzeit Vertretung der Professur für Wissenschaftsphilosophie an der Universität Mainz. Arbeitsgebiete: Philosophie der Physik, Wissenschaftsphilosophie und Analytische Ontologie.Holger LyreProfessor für Theoretische Philosophie an der Universität Magdeburg. Arbeitsgebiete:Philosophie der Physik, Philosophie des Geistes und Wissenschaftstheorie der kognitiven Neurowissenschaften.Paul M. NägerWissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter an der Universität Münster. Arbeitsgebiete: Philosophie der Physik, Wissenschaftsphilosophie, Metaphysik.Oliver PassonAkademischer Rat in der Arbeitsgruppe Physik und ihre Didaktik an der Universität Wuppertal. Arbeitsgebiete: Phänomenologische Optik, Wissenschaftstheorie und Interpretation der Quantenmechanik.Manfred StöcklerProfessor für Theoretische Philosophie an der Universität Bremen. Arbeitsgebiete: Philosophie der Physik, Philosophie der Zeit und Methodologie der Erforschung komplexer Systeme.