How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.--Amazon.com.

While the government and nutritional agencies still spout the failed mantra of calorie reduction, doctors treating diabetes and obesity are experiencing extraordinary results among patients cutting out carbs; a diet which has the essential benefit of allowing you to lose weight without leaving you feeling hungry, one of the biggest reasons diets fail. With forensic journalistic rigour and in compelling prose, Taubes analyses the bad science behind our nutritional dogma that has brought us to a diabetic and obesity crisis. He shows that weight gain is driven by genetic, hormonal factors - and not 'gluttony' as is so commonly the underlying suggestion - citing compelling evidence that people with the propensity to fatten more easily than the lean among us can be helped by a low carbohydrate diet, diets discredited in the 70s and 80s as 'fads'. This groundbreaking read offers hope to anyone wishing to prevent or reserve diabetes or obesity - as well as anyone wanting to eat more healthily - and will fundamentally change our habits around food forever.

A groundbreaking book co-authored by the Nobel Prize winner who discovered telomerase and telomeres' role in the aging process and the health psychologist who has done original research into how specific lifestyle and psychological habits can protect telomeres, slowing disease and improving life.

"From the acclaimed author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space--an authoritative, wholly accessible, fascinating guide to the most challenging phenomena of contemporary science, which is now the anchor of our understanding of the cosmos. Throughout her career, astrophysicist Janna Levin has focused, alongside her research, on making the science she studies not just accessible, but, perhaps more important, intriguing to the nonscientist. And that is what she has done again here, helping us to understand the black hole: perhaps the most opaque theoretical construct ever imagined by physicists. She explains how their existence came to be proven decades after they were first predicted in Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity. And she explores the ways in which what we know about them has changed our most basic understanding of the galaxy, the universe, the whole expanse of reality that we inhabit. Lively, engaging and utterly unique, Black Hole Survival Guide is not just informative. It is as well, a wonderful read from first to last"--

Harley Pasternak has updated the body reset program to include the latest finds in nutritional science, new recipes, and shopping lists, offering readers a chance to slim down, gain energy, and get healthy in fifteen days, then stay that way. The focus is on blending, which the author suggests is the simplest, most effective way to slim down. A five-day jumpstart includes smoothies, dips, snacks, and soups, all customizable to any preference or diet restriction. Over the following ten days, readers reintroduce healthy versions of their favorite foods along with the blended recipes. The book explains how the easiest forms of exercise, such as walking and some light resistance training, are all it takes to achieve your goal.

Shortlisted for The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2018She Has Her Mother's Laugh presents a profoundly original perspective on what we pass along from generation to generation. Charles Darwin played a crucial part in turning heredity into a scientific question, and yet he failed spectacularly to answer it. The birth of genetics in the early 1900s seemed to do precisely that. Gradually, people translated their old notions about heredity into a language of genes. As the technology for studying genes became cheaper, millions of people ordered genetic tests to link themselves to missing parents, to distant ancestors, to ethnic identities . . . But, Zimmer writes, 'Each of us carries an amalgam of fragments of DNA, stitched together from some of our many ancestors. Each piece has its own ancestry, traveling a different path back through human history. A particular fragment may sometimes be cause for worry, but most of our DNA influences who we are-our appearance, our height, our penchants-in inconceivably subtle ways.' Heredity isn't just about genes that pass from parent to child. Heredity continues within our own bodies, as a single cell gives rise to trillions of cells that make up our bodies. We say we inherit genes from our ancestors-using a word that once referred to kingdoms and estates-but we inherit other things that matter as much or more to our lives, from microbes to technologies we use to make life more comfortable. We need a new definition of what heredity is and, through Carl Zimmer's lucid exposition and storytelling, this resounding tour de force delivers it. Weaving together historical and current scientific research, his own experience with his two daughters, and the kind of original reporting expected of one of the world's best science journalists, Zimmer ultimately unpacks urgent bioethical quandaries arising from new biomedical technologies, but also long-standing presumptions about who we really are and what we can pass on to future generations.

"In this thought-provoking book, award-winning New York Times columnist and science writer Carl Zimmer presents a history of our understanding of heredity, in a wide-ranging, ambitious and original investigation of a force that has crucially shaped human society--and is set to shape our future even more radically. Heredity isn't a simple matter of genes that pass from parent to child. It continues within our own bodies, as a single cell gives rise to the trillions that make up an adult. We say we inherit genes from our ancestors--using a verb that once specifically referred to kingdoms and aristocratic estates--but we also inherit other things that matter as much or more to our lives, from microbes to the technologies we use to make life more comfortable. We need a new--broader-ranging--definition of what heredity is. Weaving historical and current scientific research, original reporting and his own experience as a father of two daughters, Zimmer unpacks the urgent ethical quandries that arise from new biomedical technologies, but also long-standing presumptions about who we really are and what it is that we can pass on to future generations"--Back cover.

In this enduring bestseller, Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal provides empowering information and guidance for the millions who suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Over 100,000 readers have learned science-based ways to boost their energy and overcome low moods and problems with sleep, concentration, and food cravings -- even during the darkest winter days. Dr. Rosenthal helps readers map out their own seasonal patterns, get the most out of light boxes and other effective self-help options, and make informed decisions about antidepressants and psychotherapy. Updated throughout, the fourth edition features a compelling new chapter on meditation and is designed to be even more user friendly, with chapter-opening questions, engaging boxes and bulleted lists, and downloadable worksheets.

In 1922, Howard Carter peered into Tutankhamun's tomb for the first time, the only light coming from the candle in his outstretched hand. Urged to tell what he was seeing through the small opening he had cut in the door to the tomb, the Egyptologist famously replied, "I see wonderful things." Carter's fabulous discovery is just one of the many spellbinding stories told in Three Stones Make a Wall. Written by Eric Cline, an archaeologist with more than thirty seasons of excavation experience, this book traces the history of archaeology from an amateur pursuit to the cutting-edge science it is today by taking the reader on a tour of major archaeological sites and discoveries. Along the way, it addresses the questions archaeologists are asked most often: How do you know where to dig? How are excavations actually done? How do you know how old something is? Who gets to keep what is found? Taking readers from the pioneering digs of the eighteenth century to today's exciting new discoveries, Three Stones Make a Wall is a lively and essential introduction to the story of archaeology.

"A groundbreaking book about how technological advances in genomics and the extraction of ancient DNA have profoundly changed our understanding of human prehistory while resolving many long-standing controversies. Massive technological innovations now allow scientists to extract and analyze ancient DNA as never before, and it has become clear--in part from David Reich's own contributions to the field--that genomics is as important a means of understanding the human past as archeology, linguistics, and the written word. Now, in The New Science of the Human Past, Reich describes with unprecedented clarity just how the human genome provides not only all the information that a fertilized human egg needs to develop but also contains within it the history of our species. He delineates how the Genomic Revolution and ancient DNA are transforming our understanding of our own lineage as modern humans; how genomics deconstructs the idea that there are no biologically meaningful differences among human populations (though without adherence to pernicious racist hierarchies); and how DNA studies reveal the deep history of human inequality--among different populations, between the sexes, and among individuals within a population"--

"The Tangled Bank is the first textbook about evolution intended for the general reader. Zimmer, an award-winning science writer, takes readers on a fascinating journey into the latest discoveries about evolution. In the Canadian Arctic, paleontologists unearth fossils documenting the move of our ancestors from sea to land. In the outback of Australia, a zoologist tracks some of the world's deadliest snakes to decipher the 100-million-year evolution of venom molecules. In Africa, geneticists are gathering DNA to probe the origin of our species. In clear, non-technical language, Zimmer explains the central concepts essential for understanding new advances in evolution, including natural selection, genetic drift, and sexual selection. He demonstrates how vital evolution is to all branches of modern biology-from the fight against deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria to the analysis of the human genome. Richly illustrated with 285 illustrations and photographs, The Tangled Bank is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the history of life on Earth."-- Publisher's description.

"An extraordinary history of the perils and promise of every breath we take" - James Nestor, bestselling author of Breath "Another brilliant work from one of the very best science writers, Air-Borne will leave you agog at the incredible world that floats unseen around us" - Ed Yong, bestselling author of An Immense World -------------------------------------- Every day we draw in two thousand gallons of air - and thousands of living things. From the ground to the stratosphere, the air teems with invisible life. In Air-Borne , award-winning New York Times columnist and Baillie Gifford-shortlisted author Carl Zimmer leads us on an odyssey through the living atmosphere and through the history of its discovery. We follow Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh above the clouds, where they conducted groundbreaking experiments, and meet NASA scientists who send balloons even higher, to search for life in the stratosphere. Zimmer chronicles the dark side of aerobiology with gripping accounts of how the United States and the Soviet Union clandestinely built arsenals of biological weapons designed to spread anthrax and smallpox. Air-Borne prompts us to look at the world with new eyes - as a place where the oceans and forests loft trillions of cells into the air, where microbes eat clouds, and where life soars thousands of miles on the wind. Weaving together spellbinding history with the latest reporting on airborne threats to global health, this masterwork makes visible an invisible world.

The news is full of hotly debated and divergent claims about the impacts and risks of climate change. Lawrence Krauss, one of the world's most respected physicists and science popularizers, cuts through the confusion by succinctly presenting the underlying science of climate change. The Physics of Climate Change provides a clear, accurate and accessible perspective of climate science and the risks of global inaction. Krauss's narrative explores the history of how scientists progressed to our current understanding of the Earth's climate and its future. Its generous complement of informative diagrams and illustrations allows readers to assess which climate predictions are securely based on analysis of empirical data, and which are more speculative.

The Light of Christ provides an accessible presentation of Catholicism that is grounded in traditional theology, but engaged with a host of contemporary questions or objections. Inspired by the theologies of Iranaeus, Thomas Aquinas and John Henry Newman, and rooted in a post-Vatican II context, Fr. Thomas Joseph White presents major doctrines of the Christian religion in a way that is comprehensible for non-specialists: knowledge of God, the mystery of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the atonement, the sacraments and the moral life, eschatology and prayer. At the same time, The Light of Christ also addresses topics such as evolution, the modern historical study of Jesus and the Bible, and objections to Catholic moral teaching. Touching on the concerns of contemporary readers, Fr. White examines questions such as whether Christianity is compatible with the findings of the modern sciences, do historical Jesus studies disrupt or confirm the teaching of the faith, and does history confirm the antiquity of Catholic claims. This book serves as an excellent introduction for young professionals with no specialized background in theology who are interested in learning more about Catholicism, or as an introduction to Catholic theology. It will also serve as a helpful text for theology courses in a university context. As Fr. White states in the book’s introduction: “This is a book that offers itself as a companion. I do not presume to argue the reader into the truths of the Catholic faith, though I will make arguments. My goal is to make explicit in a few broad strokes the shape of Catholicism. I hope to outline its inherent intelligibility or form as a mystery that is at once visible and invisible, ancient and contemporary, mystical and reasonable.”

Siegel profiles twenty-five iconic inventions from the Star trek television and film universe, explaining the science behind them. He also examines how close we are to achieving them in the real world. Some are pure fiction, some you're already using, and others are closer than you think!

Chemicals are everywhere. Many are natural and safe, others synthetic and dangerous. Or is it the other way around? Walking through the supermarket, you might ask yourself: should I be eating organic food? Is that anti-wrinkle cream a gimmick? Is it worth buying BPA-free plastics? This sixth edition of Chemistry in the Marketplace provides fresh explanations, fascinating facts, and funny anecdotes about the serious science in the products we buy and the resources we use. With chapters on the chemistry found in different parts of our home, in the backyard, and in the world around us, Ben Selinger and Russell Barrow explain how things work, where marketing can be deceptive, and what risks you should really be concerned about. This book might even save you some money! With the inclusion of experiments to help apply the concepts in the text, readers with a general interest in chemistry-related disciplines, high school teachers, and university professors will find this book useful and fun.

Unlock the mysteries of the universe with this guide that makes one of the most complex fields of science both accessible and as mind-blowing as a great poem. Quantum theory forms the foundation of modern physics, explaining everything from the tiniest particles to the vast expanse of the cosmos. Yet, for many, it remains a perplexing enigma. In this engaging and informative book, physicists Lederman and Hill break down the complexities of quantum physics for curious minds, weaving together history, science, and storytelling to illuminate the breakthroughs of renowned figures like Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Erwin Schrödinger. The book explores the bizarre realities of quantum mechanics—particles that can exist in multiple places at once, waves that shift when observed, and the paradoxes that even confounded Einstein. It also delves into the latest developments in field theory and string theory, offering readers a glimpse into quantum physics’ most fascinating frontiers. With clear analogies, vivid examples, and a touch of humor, Quantum Physics for Poets reveals how this science shapes everything from groundbreaking technologies to the fundamental nature of reality itself. Whether you're a science enthusiast or a curious reader, this book invites you to savor the wonders of the quantum world. "A sparkling and articulate new account of how the quantum revolution changed 20th century science – and, as a further delight, how physics and poetry can speak the same language." ― Chicago Tribune

What lives in a reindeer's nose? Glad you asked. In this sequel to Ninety-nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers , National Medal of Science winner May Berenbaum offers another classic compendium of creepy-crawly cameos. Read up on our myriad arthropodan indignities and allies as Berenbaum reveals: Why the rove beetle gives mind-altering drugs to ants How the snail-killing fly enjoys its escargot Why Piophila casei doesn't care when you eat its larvae What strange fate awaits a honey ant worker engorged with nectar As lively as a fly in the buttermilk, Ninety-nine More Maggots, Mites, and Munchers is a who's who and what's THAT? guide to Lilliputian life-forms both familiar and obscure.

A playful and diverting, yet always scientifically rigorous look at those simple mysteries that are yet to be solved Why are so many giraffes gay? Has human evolution stopped? Where did our alphabet come from? Can robots become self-aware? Can lobsters recognize other lobsters by sight? What goes on inside a black hole? Are cell phones bad for us? Why can't we remember anything from our earliest years? Full of the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything, this is a fascinating and unputdownable exploration of the limits of human knowledge of our planet, its history and culture, and the universe beyond.

Respected among scientists and spiritual leaders alike for his pioneering work combining scientific and spiritual thought, Fred Alan Wolf (aka Dr. Quantum) is, as Deepak Chopra states, "one of the most important pioneers in the field of consciousness." Featured in the word-of-mouth indie hit, What the Bleep Do We Know?!, Dr. Wolf is a physicist who knows how to put complex science-based ideas into terms that even science-phobes can understand. With clarity and a sense of humor, Dr. Quantum presents Big Ideas in the form of both short quotes and longer excerpts and covers topics ranging from the construction of our everyday reality to our relationship to one another. Dr. Quantum's Little Book of Big Ideas is a perfect gift for anyone interested in the realm where science meets spirit.