Science & Nature - Books

The Ice at the End of the World

Science & Nature

A riveting, urgent account of the explorers and scientists racing to understand the rapidly melting ice sheet in Greenland, a dramatic harbinger of climate change“Jon Gertner takes readers to spots few journalists or even explorers have visited. The result is a gripping and important book.”—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth ExtinctionNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • The Christian Science Monitor • Library Journal Greenland: a remote, mysterious island five times the size of California but with a population of just 56,000. The ice sheet that covers it is 700 miles wide and 1,500 miles long, and is composed of nearly three quadrillion tons of ice. For the last 150 years, explorers and scientists have sought to understand Greenland—at first hoping that it would serve as a gateway to the North Pole, and later coming to realize that it contained essential information about our climate. Locked within this vast and frozen white desert are some of the most profound secrets about our planet and its future. Greenland’s ice doesn’t just tell us where we’ve been. More urgently, it tells us where we’re headed. In The Ice at the End of the World, Jon Gertner explains how Greenland has evolved from one of earth’s last frontiers to its largest scientific laboratory. The history of Greenland’s ice begins with the explorers who arrived here at the turn of the twentieth century—first on foot, then on skis, then on crude, motorized sleds—and embarked on grueling expeditions that took as long as a year and often ended in frostbitten tragedy. Their original goal was simple: to conquer Greenland’s seemingly infinite interior. Yet their efforts eventually gave way to scientists who built lonely encampments out on the ice and began drilling—one mile, two miles down. Their aim was to pull up ice cores that could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth’s past, going back hundreds of thousands of years. Today, scientists from all over the world are deploying every technological tool available to uncover the secrets of this frozen island before it’s too late. As Greenland’s ice melts and runs off into the sea, it not only threatens to affect hundreds of millions of people who live in coastal areas. It will also have drastic effects on ocean currents, weather systems, economies, and migration patterns. Gertner chronicles the unfathomable hardships, amazing discoveries, and scientific achievements of the Arctic’s explorers and researchers with a transporting, deeply intelligent style—and a keen sense of what this work means for the rest of us. The melting ice sheet in Greenland is, in a way, an analog for time. It contains the past. It reflects the present. It can also tell us how much time we might have left.

The World's Energy Supply: What Everyone Needs to Know

Science & Nature

The topic of energy is one of the most pressing issues across the globe. In this bundle, consisting of Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know, Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know, and Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know, readers will explore everything from the the basic scientific concepts of energy to questions surrounding the specific ways we obtain it.

Yo soy yo y mis parásitos

Science & Nature

Una apasionante investigación periodística sobre los últimos descubrimientos acerca de los parásitos y otros microorganismos que influyen en como actuamos, sentimos y pensamos. Muchas enfermedades mentales, incluso la esquizofrenia pueden tener en los parásitos su origen.También pueden llegar a influir en el tipo de cultura, costumbres y tabúes que desarrollan determinadas sociedades.Una vez que leas este libro ya no volverás a verte como antes.Un libro que continúa la tradición de grandes clásicos como “Armas, Gérmenes y Acero” de Jared Diamond y de “Tu pez interior” de Neil Shubin.

The Cell

Science & Nature

“Handsome and elegantly designed, this tour through the cell’s history and diversity in form and function is a delight to peruse . . . stunning.” —American ScientistWith The Cell, Jack Challoner treats readers to a visually striking tour of these remarkable molecular machines. Most of the living things we’re familiar with—the plants in our gardens, the animals we eat—are composed of billions or trillions of cells. Most multicellular organisms consist of many different types of cells, each highly specialized to play a particular role—from building bones or producing the pigment in flower petals to fighting disease or sensing environmental cues. But the great majority of living things on our planet exist as single cell. These cellular singletons are every bit as successful and diverse as multicellular organisms, and our very existence relies on them.The book is an authoritative yet accessible account of what goes on inside every living cell—from building proteins and producing energy to making identical copies of themselves—and the importance of these chemical reactions both on the familiar everyday scale and on the global scale. Along the way, Challoner sheds light on many of the most intriguing questions guiding current scientific research: What special properties make stem cells so promising in the treatment of injury and disease? How and when did single-celled organisms first come together to form multicellular ones? And how might scientists soon be prepared to build on the basic principles of cell biology to build similar living cells from scratch?“Small really is beautiful: Psychedelic images show the inner workings of cells in stunning detail.” —Daily Mail

Complex Networks and Their Applications XI

Science & Nature

This book highlights cutting-edge research in the field of network science, offering scientists, researchers, students and practitioners a unique update on the latest advances in theory and a multitude of applications. It presents the peer-reviewed proceedings of the XI International Conference on Complex Networks and their Applications (COMPLEX NETWORKS 2022). The carefully selected papers cover a wide range of theoretical topics such as network models and measures; community structure, network dynamics; diffusion, epidemics and spreading processes; resilience and control as well as all the main network applications, including social and political networks; networks in finance and economics; biological and neuroscience networks and technological networks.

Trust

Science & Nature

This book presents cutting-edge concepts on the question of trust. Written by leading experts, it investigates a paradoxical feature of contemporary society: while information and communication technologies, on the one hand, and scientific discourses, on the other, can promote more informed participation in public and democratic life, they have also led to a dramatic decline in our communicative and cooperative skills. The book analyzes the notion of trust from an interdisciplinary perspective by combining the normative (continental) and empirical (Anglo-American) approaches and by considering the political, epistemological, and historical transformations in the interpersonal relationships sparked by new technologies. Using trust as a model, it then investigates and clarifies the new types of participation that are made possible by scientific and technological advances.

Methodologies and Applications for Analytical and Physical Chemistry

Science & Nature

This volume presents an up-to-date review of modern materials and concepts, issues, and recent advances in analytical and physical chemistry. Distinguished scientists and engineers from key institutions worldwide have contributed chapters that provide a deep analysis of their particular subjects. The chapters discuss the composition and properties of complex materials as well as mixtures, processes, and the need for new and improved analytical technology.

Wirus

Science & Nature

Prawdziwa historia jednego z najwybitniejszych epidemiologów, który przewidział pandemię„Jeżeli tę książkę przeczyta odpowiednia liczba osób, zwłaszcza tych mających wpływ na podejmowanie ważnych decyzji, to będzie ona miała moc ratowania ludzkiego życia”.John M. BarryTrzy lata temu jeden z najlepszych epidemiologów na świecie przewidział pandemię koronawirusa. Co więcej, powiedział, jak jej uniknąć i jak się na nią przygotować. Jednak nikt nie chciał go słuchać.Jak mówią twórcy tej książki – nie chcieli mieć racji, ale niestety ją mieli. Analizując poprzednie epidemie, które już miały miejsce na świecie, udało im się przewidzieć tę, z którą zmagamy się obecnie, a nawet źródło jej wybuchu. I to trzy lata przed tym, jak koronawirus ogarnął świat. To dużo czasu, abyśmy mogli się przygotować. Te wszystkie epidemie mają ze sobą wiele wspólnego. Jednak wszystkie są zaskoczeniem, a nie powinny nim być.Opierając się na najnowszych badaniach naukowych z zakresu medycyny, Michael Osterholm i Mark Olshaker opisali szczegółowe plany i programy, które należy opracować, oraz wymienili zasoby, jakie muszą być dostępne, jeśli chcemy się uchronić przed chorobami zakaźnymi.Przeczytanie tej książki jest niezwykle ważne i to nie tylko dlatego, że napisali ją ludzie, którzy jak prawdziwi prorocy przewidzieli przyszłość, ale dlatego, że przewidują – i są tego niezwykle pewni – pandemię znacznie poważniejszą niż koronawirusa. Pandemię, która może pochłonąć miliony ludzkich istnień.Ta książka wywołała szok i zdumienie w USA!„Michael Osterholm to jeden z najlepszych epidemiologów – łowców chorób zakaźnych – żyjących w naszych czasach. Gdy mówi nam, że ewentualność globalnej pandemii jest sprawą życia lub śmierci dla każdej osoby na tej planecie, należy go posłuchać. To mocna i potrzebna książka, w której autorzy jasno i realistycznie opisują zagrożenia związane z chorobami zakaźnymi, prezentując przy tym nie tylko obawy, ale też plan działania”.Richard Preston, autor Strefy skażenia i The Demon in the Freezer„Od dłuższego czasu słowa Michaela Osterholma pozostawały głosem kontrowersyjnym i zatroskanym, bijącym na alarm w kwestii coraz większego ryzyka epidemii i pandemii. W tej książce Osterholm wyciąga ze swojego kołczana wszystkie strzały i bierze na cel kondycję instytucji służby zdrowia”.Laurie Garrett, pisarka, laureatka Nagrody Pulitzera, autorka The Coming Plague i Betrayal of Trust„Ta książka zmieni wasz sposób myślenia. Jest przejrzysta i dobrze napisana, znajdziemy w niej narrację godną Stephena Kinga”.John M. Barry, autor The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History i Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America„Osterholm i Olshaker udowadniają, że Matka Natura jest największym bioterrorystą na Ziemi”.Kai Bird, zdobywca Nagrody Pulitzera, historyk i współautor Amerykańskiego Prometeusza

Rataciti printre formule

Science & Nature

Traducere de Radu Slobodeanu De o jumătate de secol, în fizica fundamentală au apărut o mulțime de idei tentante (supersimetria, corzile etc.), dar nici una n-a fost deocamdată confirmată experimental. Neavând la dispoziție noi date experimentale la energii înalte, fizicienii teoreticieni s-au lăsat călăuziți de simțul lor estetic – o teorie trebuie să fie frumoasă –, ignorând normele de obiectivitate ale cercetării științifice. Asta le reproșează în esență Sabine Hossenfelder, ea însăși fizician teoretician, dezamăgită de starea de fapt din fizica fundamentală. Rătăciți printre formule e radiografia situației actuale dintr-un domeniu al fizicii – particulele elementare și cosmologia – și, în același timp, o analiză fină a capacității noastre de a cunoaște lumea prin mijloacele abstracte ale matematicii. Din discuțiile Sabinei Hossenfelder cu mari fizicieni (Steven Weinberg, Frank Wilczek, George Ellis, Joseph Polchinski) vedem cât de subiectivi sunt în realitate oamenii de știință, cât de umană e știința, în ciuda imaginii pe care obișnuim să ne-o facem despre ea.

Dlaczego śpimy

Science & Nature

Lepszej lektury do łóżka nie można sobie wymarzyć.Jaki wpływ na sen mają kofeina i alkohol? Co naprawdę dzieje się podczas fazy REM? Dlaczego z wiekiem zmieniają się zwyczaje związane ze snem? Jak popularne wspomagacze snu wpływają na niego w dłuższej perspektywie?Sen jest jednym z najważniejszych, a zarazem najmniej zbadanych aspektów życia, odpowiadającym za nasze dobre samopoczucie i długowieczność. Do niedawna nauka nie znała odpowiedzi na pytanie, dlaczego śpimy i jaką funkcję pełni sen, ani dlaczego bezsenność tak bardzo szkodzi zdrowiu. Jednak liczne odkrycia naukowe, jakich dokonano w ciągu ostatnich dwudziestu lat pozwoliły spojrzeć na sen z zupełnie nowej perspektywy. Matthew Walker pokazuje, jak sen wpływa na naszą zdolność uczenia się, zapamiętywania i podejmowania logicznych decyzji. Sen także reguluje emocje, wzmacnia system odpornościowy, poprawia metabolizm i reguluje apetyt. Sny łagodzą bolesne wspomnienia i tworzą wirtualną rzeczywistość, w której mózg łączy nową i nabytą wcześniej wiedzę, by pobudzać kreatywność.Wykorzystując najnowsze badania naukowe i wieloletnie doświadczenie w pracy klinicznej i badawczej, autor pokazuje, jak wykorzystać sen, by wpłynąć na zdolność uczenia się, poprawić nastrój i zwiększyć energię, wyregulować hormony i zapobiec nowotworom, chorobie Alzheimera i cukrzycy. Jak spowolnić efekty starzenia, ulepszyć wykształcenie i poprawić długość życia naszych dzieci. Jak zwiększyć efektywność i produktywność naszej pracy.Lepsze życie jest na wyciągnięcie ręki! Wystarczy się zdrzemnąć.Międzynarodowy bestseller. Książka roku według „Times Literary Suplement”, „Observer”, „Sunday Times”, „Financial Times”, „Guardian”.Matthew Walker jest prawdopodobnie jednym z najbardziej wpływowych ludzi na świecie.– „Evening Standard”Matthew Walker pokazuje, jak dobry sen sprawia, że jesteśmy mądrzejsi, bardziej atrakcyjni, szczuplejsi, szczęśliwsi, zdrowsi i możemy zapobiec nowotworom... prawdopodobnie nie mogę jeszcze powiedzieć, że uratowała mi życie, ale na pewno otworzyła oczy.– Mark O’Connell, „Guardian”

A l'abandon - Quand la nature reprend ses droits

Science & Nature

Une exploration aussi insolite que fascinante des no man's land.Que se passe-t-il lorsqu'un territoire est laissé à l'abandon ? Villes-fantômes, zones d'exclusion, no man's land, friches post-industrielles, Cal Flyn a voyagé pendant deux ans dans ces espaces désertés ou presque, sur lesquels, progressivement, la nature reprend ses droits.Cal Flyn diversifie les lieux, les époques et les contextes de désertification afin de rendre compte le plus justement possible de la façon dont la nature reprend possession des no man's land. Forêts contaminées par la radioactivité à Prypiat, sites industriels désertés dans les îles écossaises, fosses gigantesques dédiées à l'enfouissement des armes chimiques dans la zone rouge de Verdun, parcs botaniques à l'abandon où prolifèrent des pestes végétales en Tanzanie, quartiers de Detroit transformés en squats à ciel ouvert, fermes collectivesdélaissées en Estonie à la fin de l'ère soviétique, autant d'escales insolites sur des sites qui portent encore l'empreinte de la désolation. La journaliste révèle, à travers ce récit plein d'espoir, les processus grâce auxquels la nature œuvre à sa propre restauration. Un aperçu fascinant de ce que nous ne sommes plus là pour voir.

Science and the Modern World

Science & Nature

"Science and the Modern World" by Alfred North Whitehead, originally published in 1925 redefines the concept of modern science.This book takes readers through the history of modern science and shows how cultural history has affected science over time in Romanticism, Quantum Theory, religion, and movements for social progress. Whitehead invites his audience to understand and read with celebration about the contemporary, historical, and cultural context of scientific discovery.

The Great Displacement

Science & Nature

Shortlisted for the 2024 Carnegie Medal for Excellence“The Great Displacement is closely observed, compassionate, and far-sighted.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Under a White SkyThe untold story of climate migration in the United States—the personal stories of those experiencing displacement, the portraits of communities being torn apart by disaster, and the implications for all of us as we confront a changing future.Even as climate change dominates the headlines, many of us still think about it in the future tense—we imagine that as global warming gets worse over the coming decades, millions of people will scatter around the world fleeing famine and rising seas. What we often don’t realize is that the consequences of climate change are already visible, right here in the United States. In communities across the country, climate disasters are pushing thousands of people away from their homes.A human-centered narrative with national scope, The Great Displacement is “a vivid tour of the new human geography just coming into view” (David Wallace-Wells, New York Times bestselling author of The Uninhabitable Earth). From half-drowned Louisiana to fire-scorched California, from the dried-up cotton fields of Arizona to the soaked watersheds of inland North Carolina, people are moving. In the last few decades, the federal government has moved tens of thousands of families away from flood zones, and tens of thousands more have moved of their own accord in the aftermath of natural disasters. Insurance and mortgage markets are already shifting to reflect mounting climate risk, pricing people out of risky areas. Over the next fifty years, millions of Americans will be caught up in this churn of displacement, forced inland and northward in what will be the largest migration in our country’s history. The Great Displacement compassionately tells the stories of those who are already experiencing life on the move, while detailing just how radically climate change will transform our lives—erasing historic towns and villages, pushing people toward new areas, and reshaping the geography of the United States.

Utopia Profunda

Science & Nature

O livro anterior de Bostrom, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, desencadeou um debate global sobre a Inteligência Artificial (IA) que continua até aos dias de hoje. Esse livro, que se tornou num bestseller à escala global, centra-se no que pode acontecer se o desenvolvimento da IA correr mal. Mas, e se as coisas correrem bem? Suponhamos que desenvolvemos a superinteligência de forma segura e ética, e que utilizamos corretamente os poderes quase mágicos que esta tecnologia permite.

Vita 3.0

Science & Nature

In che modo l’intelligenza artificiale influirà su criminalità, giustizia, occupazione, società e sul senso stesso di essere umani? Come possiamo far crescere la nostra prosperità grazie all’automazione senza che le persone perdano reddito o uno scopo? Quali consigli dobbiamo dare ai bambini di oggi per la loro futura carriera lavorativa? Dobbiamo temere una corsa agli armamenti con armi letali autonome? Le macchine alla fine ci supereranno sostituendo gli umani nel mercato del lavoro? L’intelligenza artificiale aiuterà la vita a fiorire come mai prima d’ora o ci darà un potere più grande di quello che siamo in grado di gestire? Questo libro offre gli strumenti per partecipare alla riflessione sul tipo di futuro che vogliamo e che noi, come specie, potremmo creare. Non teme di affrontare l’intero spettro dei punti di vista o i temi più controversi: dalla superintelligenza al significato dell’esistenza, alla coscienza e ai limiti ultimi che la fisica impone alla vita nel cosmo.

Clima: no toda la culpa es nuestra

Science & Nature

«El aumento del nivel del mar está inundando las costas».«Los huracanes y los tornados son cada vez más devastadores y frecuentes».«El cambio climático será un desastre económico».Cuando se habla sobre el cambio climático, los medios de comunicación, los políticos y otras voces prominentes han declarado que la ciencia es incuestionable al respecto. Sin embargo, el tratamiento de los informes y su transmisión a la población está repleto de desinformación e interpretaciones maniqueas.Steven Koonin, uno de los científicos más distinguidos de Estados Unidos, recurre a sus décadas de experiencia para proporcionar una visión actualizada y una perspectiva experta libre de las influencias de agendas políticas.Fascinante, lúcido y lleno de sorpresas, este libro ofrece a los lectores las herramientas necesarias para comprender la cuestión climática y observarla con mayor conocimiento para, así, desmontar mitos populares y desvelar realidades poco conocidas.Una obra fundamental que ofrece la verdad sobre la ciencia del clima que no se encuentra en ningún otro sitio: lo que sabemos, lo que no sabemos y lo que todo ello significa para nuestro futuro.WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

Die Vermessung des Himmels

Science & Nature

Die Geschichte des größten wissenschaftlichen Abenteuers im 18. Jahrhundert erzählt dieser Wissenschaftsthriller, der an jenen magischen Moment erinnert, als die Dimensionen des Universums erstmals Kontur gewannen. Bestsellerautorin Andrea Wulf blickt zurück auf den Sommer des Jahres 1769, als beim Venusdurchgang erstmals Wissenschaftler weltweit zusammenarbeiteten, um den Abstand zwischen Sonne und Erde exakt zu ermitteln. Sie reisten in die entlegensten Regionen und bestanden gefährliche Abenteuer. Das Buch erschien im Verlag C. Bertelsmann unter dem Titel "Die Jagd auf die Venus".

Memory and the Self

Science & Nature

The idea that our memories, in some sense, make us who we are, is a common one-and not at all implausible. After all, what could make us who we are if not the things we have experienced, thought, felt and desired on these idiosyncratic pathways through space and time that we call lives? And how can we retain these experiences, thoughts, feelings and desires if not through memory? On the other hand, most of what we have experienced has been forgotten. And there is now a considerable body of evidence that suggests that, even when we think we remember, our memories are likely to be distorted, sometimes beyond recognition. Imagine writing your autobiography, only to find that that most of it has been redacted, and much of the rest substantially rewritten. What would hold this book together? What would make it the unified and coherent account of a life? The answer, Mark Rowlands argues, lies, partially hidden, in a largely unrecognized form of memory-Rilkean memory. A Rilkean memory is produced when the content of a memory is lost but the act of remembering endures, in a new, mutated, form: a mood, a feeling, or a behavioral disposition. Rilkean memories play a significant role in holding the self together in the face of the poverty and inaccuracy of the contents of memory. But Rilkean memories are important not just because of what they are, but also because of what they were before they became such memories. Acts of remembering sculpt the contents of memories out of the slabs of remembered episodes. Our acts of remembering ensure that we are in the content of each of our memories-present in the way a sculptor is present in his creation-even when this content is lamentably sparse and endemically inaccurate.

What to Think About Machines That Think

Science & Nature

Weighing in from the cutting-edge frontiers of science, today’s most forward-thinking minds explore the rise of “machines that think.”Stephen Hawking recently made headlines by noting, “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Others, conversely, have trumpeted a new age of “superintelligence” in which smart devices will exponentially extend human capacities. No longer just a matter of science-fiction fantasy (2001, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Her, etc.), it is time to seriously consider the reality of intelligent technology, many forms of which are already being integrated into our daily lives. In that spirit, John Brockman, publisher of Edge. org (“the world’s smartest website” – The Guardian), asked the world’s most influential scientists, philosophers, and artists one of today’s most consequential questions: What do you think about machines that think?

Essentiel de la géométrie pour les nuls

Science & Nature

Pour que la 3D n'ait plus de secrets pour vous ! Droites, demi-droites, segments... Triangle isocèle, équilatéral... Angle aigu, angle droit... Pythagore, Thalès... C'est bon, vos cours de géométrie reviennent ? Pas vraiment ? Ce n'est pas grave, les Nuls vont vous aider ! Grâce à L'essentiel de la géométrie pour les Nuls, reprenez les bases de cette matière sans difficultés !

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