Science & Nature - Books

Aforismos

Science & Nature

Con sus "Aforismos", Leonardo da Vinci ofrece una amplia y diversa colección de observaciones, pensamientos y máximas que compendian el conocimiento de la época en que vivió.El minucioso lenguaje descriptivo que utiliza y la búsqueda de aplicaciones prácticas a sus teorías ponen de manifiesto su mentalidad científica.

Saving Us

Science & Nature

United Nations Champion of the Earth, climate scientist, and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe changes the debate on how we can save our future in this nationally bestselling “optimistic view on why collective action is still possible—and how it can be realized” (The New York Times).Called “one of the nation’s most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how.In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. It is a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology, from an icon in her field—recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy.Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal stories, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a dialogue with your loved ones about how we all can play a role in pushing forward for change.

From Naked Ape to Superspecies

Science & Nature

For millennia, we lived in harmony with the Earth, taking only what we required to survive. But in just the past few centuries, we have used our powers to satisfy our obsession with consumption and new technology, without regard for the consequences. And in doing so, we have exploited our surroundings on an unprecedented scale. In this revised and updated edition of From Naked Ape to Superspecies, David Suzuki and Holly Dressel lucidly describe how we have evolved beyond our needs, trampling other species, believing that we can make the Earth work the way we want it to. And they introduce us to the people who are fighting back, those who are resisting the inexorable advance of the "global economy" juggernaut, the people whose voices are difficult to hear over the din of corporate public relations machines. We learn about how human arrogance—demonstrated by our disregard for the small and microscopic species that constitute the Earth’s engine and our reckless use of technological inventions like powerful herbicides or genetically engineered crops—is threatening the health of our children and the safety of our food supply.

Élet 3.0

Science & Nature

Vajon a jövő technológiája teljesebbé teszi az életünket?Képesek leszünk kordában tartani a mesterséges intelligenciának köszönhetőhatalmat?A jövőben békésen élnek majd az emberek a robotokkal, kiborgokkal éshibridekkel?Uralma alá vonhatja-e a mesterséges intelligencia a kozmoszt? Csak időkérdése az ember feletti általános mesterséges intelligencia megalkotása, amia korábbi technológiáknál sokkal nagyobb mértékben fogja átalakítani azéletünket. A közeljövőben gyökeresen megváltoznak mindennapjaink, akárcsak azegészségügy, az igazságszolgáltatás, a hadászat és jogrendszer, amagántulajdon és a munkahelyek megszűnésével pedig a gazdaságban maérvényesülő elvek is értelmüket vesztik. Max „Mad Max” Tegmark, az MITfizikaprofesszora gondolatkísérleteiben a távoli jövőre vonatkozóan isfelvázolja a lehetséges forgatókönyveket: a legoptimistább elképzelésektőlegészen a legsötétebb végkifejletekig veszi végig, hogyan alakulhat azemberiség és az élet sorsa az univerzumban. Könyvében arra szólít fel minket,hogy még időben gondoljuk át, milyen jövőt szeretnénk, és ennek érdekébenmilyen célokat adjunk a jövő szuperszámítógépeinek – ugyanis a „robusztus ésjó szándékú” mesterséges intelligencia a legjobb dolog lehet, ami azemberiséggel történhet.

Ces découvertes qui pourraient bien changer votre vie

Science & Nature

Comment les robots peuvent-ils nous aider ? Et si on en finissait avec les cancers grâce au séquençage des gènes ? Jusqu’où pourra-t-on améliorer les performances des sportifs grâce à la physique ? Il ne se passe pas un jour sans l’annonce d’une percée scientifique, au point qu’il est difficile d’y voir clair. Pour faire la lumière sur les promesses de la science, Fabienne Chauvière a mené l’enquête en sollicitant des chercheurs prestigieux. Médecine, robotique, observation des insectes : découvrez les fabuleux bouleversements qui vous attendent.

Mysteries of Space

Science & Nature

"Mysteries of Space" offers a captivating journey through the cosmos, exploring fundamental questions about our universe through the lens of modern astrophysics. This comprehensive guide navigates three interconnected realms: stellar evolution, gravitational phenomena, and the structure of spacetime, demonstrating how these elements work together to shape our understanding of the universe at both cosmic and quantum scales.The book uniquely bridges complex astrophysical concepts with accessible explanations, using carefully crafted analogies and visual aids to illuminate challenging topics. From the life cycles of stars to the enigmatic properties of black holes, readers discover how stellar processes create life-essential elements and how gravitational forces architect galactic structures. The integration of cutting-edge research, including data from the James Webb Space Telescope and LIGO gravitational wave observatory, provides readers with the most current scientific understanding of cosmic phenomena.Progressing through three major sections - "The Life Cycles of Stars," "Gravity's Hidden Influence," and "Spacetime and Beyond" - the book builds a foundation of knowledge while exploring frontier topics like dark matter, quantum mechanics, and black hole physics. This methodical approach, combined with practical applications and real-world connections, makes complex cosmic concepts accessible to science enthusiasts while maintaining academic rigor and scientific accuracy.

Merchants of Doubt

Science & Nature

The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on such areas as public health, environmental science, and issues affecting quality of life. Our scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers. Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. Remarkably, the same individuals surface repeatedly-some of the same figures who have claimed that the science of global warming is "not settled" denied the truth of studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. "Doubt is our product," wrote one tobacco executive. These "experts" supplied it. Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, historians of science, roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how ideology and corporate interests, aided by a too-compliant media, have skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.

50 temas fundamentales sobre energía

Science & Nature

* ¿Sabe distinguir la fisión de la fusión? Seguro que ha oído hablar de la teoría de la relatividad de Einstein y de su ecuación análoga E = mc2, pero ¿de verdad comprende lo que significan? * Ahora que la energía renovable es un tema candente, no está de más equiparse con las cincuenta teorías e innovaciones más representativas para poder participar en cualquier debate sobre esta fuerza esencial del universo. * Este libro traza los temas esenciales más fascinantes sobre este fenómeno ubicuo. Explore la energía el modo más comprensible, con numerosos ejemplos; descubra cómo esta no puede crearse ni destruirse, solo transformarse, y cómo se utilizan el plancton y otros organismos oceánicos para alimentar automóviles. Desde el reactor de fusión nuclear que se encuentra en el interior del Sol a la huidiza energía oscura que compone la mayor parte del universo, cada uno de los temas se presenta condensado en tan solo medio minuto y en un máximo de dos páginas, trescientas palabras y una imagen.

Being You

Science & Nature

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERA Best Book of 2021—Bloomberg Businessweek; A Best Science Book of 2021—The Guardian; A Best Science Book of 2021—Financial Times; A Best Philosophy Book of 2021—Five Books; A Best Book of 2021—The EconomistAnil Seth's quest to understand the biological basis of conscious experience is one of the most exciting contributions to twenty-first-century science.What does it mean to “be you”—that is, to have a specific, conscious experience of the world around you and yourself within it? There may be no more elusive or fascinating question. Historically, humanity has considered the nature of consciousness to be a primarily spiritual or philosophical inquiry, but scientific research is now mapping out compelling biological theories and explanations for consciousness and selfhood. Now, internationally renowned neuroscience professor, researcher, and author Anil Seth is offers a window into our consciousness in BEING YOU: A New Science of Consciousness. Anil Seth is both a leading expert on the neuroscience of consciousness and one of most prominent spokespeople for this relatively new field of science. His radical argument is that we do not perceive the world as it objectively is, but rather that we are prediction machines, constantly inventing our world and correcting our mistakes by the microsecond, and that we can now observe the biological mechanisms in the brain that accomplish this process of consciousness.Seth has been interviewed for documentaries aired on the BBC, Netflix, and Amazon and podcasts by Sam Harris, Russell Brand, and Chris Anderson, and his 2017 TED Talk on the topic has been viewed over 11 million times, a testament to his uncanny ability to make unimaginably complex science accessible and entertaining.

Tajemnice Inferno. Śladami Dantego i Dana Browna

Science & Nature

„Tajemnice Inferno” to unikalny przewodnik, który zabiera czytelnika w podróż do świata stworzonego przez Dana Browna w jego najnowszej książce zatytułowanej „Inferno”. Autorzy starają się wyjaśnić czytelnikom tło głównych wydarzeń fabuły, analizują odniesienia do „Boskiej komedii” Dantego, symbole, wydarzenia historyczne oraz teorie filozoficzne, dzieła sztuki i architektury, które Dan Brown zręcznie wykorzystuje w swej powieści. Jest to również intelektualnie porywająca opowieść o dziele Dantego, jego czasach i ideach, które tworzyły wówczas ożywczy ferment we Florencji u progu Renesansu, a ich znaczenie dziś okazuje się nie mniej istotne. Dan Burstein i Arne de Keijzer to światowi znawcy literatury Dana Browna, a ich pierwszy nieautoryzowany przewodnik, „Tajemnice kodu”, przez pół roku utrzymywał się na szczycie listy bestsellerów „New York Timesa”. Po nim zaś pojawiły się kolejne przewodniki, w tym odnoszące się do „Aniołów i demonów” oraz „Zaginionego symbolu”.

A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety

Science & Nature

Gen Z's first "existential toolkit" for combating eco-guilt and burnout while advocating for climate justice. A youth movement is reenergizing global environmental activism. The “climate generation”—late millennials and iGen, or Generation Z—is demanding that policy makers and government leaders take immediate action to address the dire outcomes predicted by climate science. Those inheriting our planet’s environmental problems expect to encounter challenges, but they may not have the skills to grapple with the feelings of powerlessness and despair that may arise when they confront this seemingly intractable situation. Drawing on a decade of experience leading and teaching in college environmental studies programs, Sarah Jaquette Ray has created an “existential tool kit” for the climate generation. Combining insights from psychology, sociology, social movements, mindfulness, and the environmental humanities, Ray explains why and how we need to let go of eco-guilt, resist burnout, and cultivate resilience while advocating for climate justice. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety is the essential guidebook for the climate generation—and perhaps the rest of us—as we confront the greatest environmental threat of our time.

Bilinear Control Systems

Science & Nature

A control system is called bilinear if it is described by linear differential equations in which the control inputs appear as coefficients. The study of bilinear control systems began in the 1960s and has since developed into a fascinating field, vital for the solution of many challenging practical control problems. Its methods and applications cross inter-disciplinary boundaries, proving useful in areas as diverse as spin control in quantum physics and the study of Lie semigroups.The first half of the book is based upon matrix analysis, introducing Lie algebras and the Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff Theorem. Individual chapters are dedicated to topics such as discrete-time systems, observability and realization, examples from science and engineering, linearization of nonlinear systems, and input-output analysis.Written by one of the leading researchers in the field in a clear and comprehensible manner and laden with proofs, exercises and Mathematica scripts, this involving text will be a vital and thorough introduction to the subject for first-year graduate students of control theory. It will also be of great value to academics and researchers with an interest in matrix analysis, Lie algebra, and semigroups.

Inséparables

Science & Nature

Et si la recherche de la vie dans l'univers était un miroir puissant, offrant à l'humanité une clé pour traverser la crise environnementale actuelle et trouver enfin sa place au sein de la biosphère ?Dans ce nouveau livre, l'astrobiologiste Nathalie A. Cabrol tourne son regard vers la Terre, et explore les destins entrelacés de l'habitabilité planétaire, de l'environnement et de la vie. En examinant les rouages de cette coévolution, elle met en lumière les réactions en chaîne que les bouleversements actuels risquent de déclencher, à des échelles surpassant largement notre capacité à y répondre une fois le système emballé.Inséparablesest une réflexion à la fois audacieuse et magistrale, un appel à la responsabilité collective. Mais c'est aussi un message d'espoir, offrant des clés pour un futur où l'humanité ne se considérera plus au centre de la biosphère et apprendra enfin à vivre en harmonie avec elle.

The Story of Neuroscience

Science & Nature

‘How can a three-pound mass of jelly that you can hold in your palm imagine angels, contemplate the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos?’ V. S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist, 2011 How we think, feel, move, remember, imagine, and experience the outside world and our own bodies is the domain of neuroscience. For millennia, the workings of the brain and nerves could be approached only through superstition and conjecture. Then, in the 19th century, neuroscience began to cast light on this most complex of our bodily systems. This book traces the development of neuroscience, from ancient beliefs to the technologies of the present day. Topics include: • the interaction of mind, soul, and body • the localization of functions within the brain • the workings of the nervous system • the motor system and how we move • the sensory system and how we construct perception • mental illness, brain damage, and lessons from dysfunction and disease • mental activity, including learning, memory, identity, and imagination

Medical Devices in Modern Healthcare

Science & Nature

Medical Devices in Modern Healthcare: Current Research on New Materials and Engineering, Device Evaluation and Regulatory Implications provides a comprehensive approach to existing and future technological developments in medical devices and their role in biomedical engineering. In particular, the book looks at the fabrication/manufacturing of medical devices across a wide range of device sectors. Importantly, regulatory perspectives and implications are considered in detail. - Provides an up-to-date overview of the rapidly evolving biomedical device sector - Covers both existing technologies and emerging technologies - Includes an analysis of the evaluation processes of newly developed medical devices together with the safety and regulatory concerns/implications

The Physics of Life

Science & Nature

The renowned scientist examines the mysteries of life and evolution through the lens of physics in this “riveting and poetic” book (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)In The Physics of Life, Adrien Bejan presents persuasive answers to such profound questions as “What is life, as physics?” and “Why do life, death, and evolution happen?” Heargues that the phenomenon of evolution is much broader and older than the evolutionary designs that constitute the biosphere. It is rooted in the process of power production and distribution that facilitates all movement on Earth, animate or inanimate.Breaking down concepts such as desire and power, sports health and culture, the state of economy, water and energy, politics and distribution, Bejan uses the language of physics to explain how each system works in order to clarify the meaning of evolution in its broadest scientific sense, moving the reader towards a better understanding of the world’s systems and the natural evolution of cultural and political development.This is evolution explained loudly but also elegantly, forging a path that flows sustainability.

Pseudoscience

Science & Nature

Case studies, personal accounts, and analysis show how to recognize and combat pseudoscience in our post-truth, fake news world. “ . . . an invaluable volume that examines the cognitive biases that lead to pseudoscience, the history of pseudoscience, and the reasons for its wide acceptance.” —Science-Based Medicine In a post-truth, fake news world, we are particularly susceptible to the claims of pseudoscience. When emotions and opinions are more widely disseminated than scientific findings, and self-proclaimed experts get their expertise from Google, how can the average person distinguish real science from fake? This book examines pseudoscience from a variety of perspectives. Covering health, agriculture, food science, infectious diseases, and more, contributors examine the:• Basics of pseudoscience, including issues of cognitive bias• Costs of pseudoscience, from naturopathy to logical fallacies of anti-vaccination• Perceptions of scientific soundness• Mainstream presence of “integrative medicine,” hypnosis, and parapsychology• Use of case studies and new media in science advocacyThrough case studies, analysis, and personal accounts, this fascinating study shows how to recognize pseudoscience, why it is so widely accepted, and how to advocate for real science.

Senèze: Life in Central France Around Two Million Years Ago

Science & Nature

The paleontological site of Senèze (Haute Loire, central France) was discovered in 1892 inside a volcanic crater. For over 40 years, local peasant Pierre Philis collected fossils and sold them to French and Swiss museums. The site became world-famous for its well-preserved skeletons of ungulates and carnivores, as well as rare but well-preserved remains of primates and other mammals. It is considered the reference fauna for the late Villafranchian and MNQ 18 biochronological units of European mammalian evolution, but the lack of provenance data made modern research difficult. From 2000-2006, the multidisciplinary Franco-American Senèze Research Project undertook five seasons of major fieldwork, with the goals of clarifying the age, stratigraphy and taphonomy of Senèze, as well as finding additional remains, especially of the less well-known taxa. In this volume, following a history of study and summary of the new fieldwork, four geological chapters consider field methods, stratigraphy, volcanology and dating. Combining argon-argon ages and paleomagnetic calibration, the newly recovered fossils are shown to date between 2.20 and 2.08 Ma, with concentrations ca. 2.20-2.18 and 2.10-2.08 Ma, significantly older than previously thought. Chapters on palynology, ichthyology and ornithology are followed by eight chapters on the fossil mammals. The chapter on biochronology places Senèze among other sites at the start of MNQ 18, which is estimated to end ca. 1.7 Ma. Of some 2200 specimens known from the site, over half are cervids, with bovids, rhinocerotids and equids far behind. According to data from palynology and the habitat preferences of the more common mammals, the paleoenvironment around the Senèze maar would have included forest, woodland and grassland, perhaps in a warmer and moister climate than today. Taphonomic studies revealed that bones often rested a long time under water, lacked any indication of carnivore attack and often displayed pathologies in their joints. It is likely that most of the associated skeletons were preserved undisturbed after large mammals fell into the paleolake and drowned without being able to climb out. This book responds to the long-held desire of later Cenozoic paleontologists to see a modern study of a site recognized worldwide as a biochronologic reference for the Plio-Pleistocene. Our study required renewed fieldwork using up to date techniques of topography, sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochronology and taphonomy. The systematic paleontology chapters are based on re-study of the entire body of Senèze fossils collected during more than a century of research. The volume will be of interest to paleontologists, especially those concerned with the evolution of the European fauna and with the taxa studied, as well as with paleoenvironmental reconstruction and biogeography. It will also be of value to mammalogists interested in analyses of near-modern taxa and to paleoanthropologists, archaeologists and taphonomists interested in the methods utilized and the role of Senèze as a comparative standard for a site of this age without human intervention. It will surely be an essential reference for all those who want to know more about Life in Central France Around Two Million Years Ago.

The Story of Chemistry

Science & Nature

‘The importance of the end in view prompted me to undertake all this work, which seemed to me destined to bring about a revolution in physics and chemistry.’ Antoine Lavoisier, 1773 Great advances in human history have often rested on and prompted progress in chemistry. The exploitation of fire, the development of pigments, and the discovery that metals could be smelted and worked laid the foundations of civilization. The search for better tools and weapons drove metallurgy, and the need for medicines and perfumes lay behind the first laboratories. This book traces a story of exploration and discovery, from the earliest applications of chemistry by our ancient forebears. For more than 1,000 years, alchemists pursued the transformation of matter until the advent of modern chemistry in the 17th century set us on the path to the complex science of today. Topics include: • prechemistry since prehistory • alchemy and the transmutation of metals • the rise of the scientific method • identifying the chemical elements • understanding gases • the nature of the atom • organic chemistry • chemical analysis

Coral and Coral Reefs

Science & Nature

The book deals with the structure and origin of Coral and Coral Reefs. They are, in a zoological sense, cousins, each of them being formed by the same kind of animals in what is substantially the same way. Each of these bodies is, in fact, the hard skeleton of a very curious and a very simple animal, more comparable to the bones of such animals as ourselves than to the shells of oysters or creatures of that kind; for it is the hardening of the internal tissue of the creature, of its internal substance, by the deposit in the body of a material which is exceedingly common, not only in fresh but in sea water, and which is specially abundant in those waters which we know as "hard, " those waters, for example, which leave a "fur" upon the bottom of a tea-kettle.

Science & Nature Books