Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spendtwenty years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos studyingnatural selection. They recognize each individual bird on theisland, when there are four hundred at the time of the author'svisit, or when there are over a thousand. They have observed abouttwenty generations of finches -- continuously. Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin'sfinches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.

Tile dynamics underlying tile major problems of ourtime--,cancer,crime, pollution, nuclear powej', inflation, theenergy shortage are alltile same. We have reach~d.a time ofdramatic and potentiallydangerous change, a turning point for theplanet as a whole. We need a new vision of reality, one that allowstile forces transforming our world to flow together as a positivemovement for social change. Now (listinguished scientist FritjofCapra gives us that vision, a holisticpara(ligm of science andspirit.

An unparalleled history of astronomy presented in the words ofthe scientists who made the discoveries. Here are the writings ofCopernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Halley, Hubble, and Einstein,as well as that of dozens of others who have significantlycontributed to our picture of the universe. From Aristotle's proof that the Earth is round to the 1998 paperthat posited an accelerating universe, this book contains 100entries spanning the history of astronomy. Award-winning sciencewriter Marcia Bartusiak provides enormously entertainingintroductions, putting the material in context and explaining itsplace in the literature. Archives of the Universe is essentialreading for professional astronomers, science history buffs, andbackyard stargazers alike.

From Nobel Prize-winning scientist James D. Watson, a livinglegend for his work unlocking the structure of DNA, comes thiscandid and entertaining memoir, filled with practical advice forthose starting out their academic careers. In Avoid Boring People , Watson lays down a life’s wisdom forgetting ahead in a competitive world. Witty and uncompromisinglyhonest, he shares his thoughts on how young scientists shouldchoose the projects that will shape their careers, the supremeimportance of collegiality, and dealing with competitors within thesame institution. It’s an irreverent romp through Watson’s colorfulcareer and an indispensable guide to anyone interested in nurturingthe life of the mind.

David Carroll has dedicated his life to art and to wetlands.He is as passionate about swamps, bogs, and vernal ponds and thecreatures who live in them as most of us are about our families andclosest friends. He knows frogs and snakes, muskrats and minks,dragonflies, water lilies, cattails, sedges--everything that swims,flies, trudges, slithers, or sinks its roots in wet places. In this"intimate and wise book" (Sue Hubbell), Carroll takes us on alively, unforgettable yearlong journey, illustrated with his ownelegant drawings, through the wetlands and reveals why they are soimportant to his life and ours -- and to all life on Earth.

Details on a Major New Discovery included in a NewAfterwordWhy do we look the way we do? Neil Shubin, thepaleontologist and professor of anatomy who co-discoveredTiktaalik, the “fish with hands,” tells the story of our bodies asyou've never heard it before. By examining fossils and DNA, heshows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our heads areorganized like long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of ourgenomes look and function like those of worms and bacteria. YourInner Fish makes us look at ourselves and our world in anilluminating new light. This is science writing at itsfinest—enlightening, accessible and told with irresistibleenthusiasm.

In his first book since the bestselling Fermat's Enigma ,Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption,tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes havehad on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen ofScots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers whohelped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (andincredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internetcommerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the mostpowerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy. Throughout the text are cleartechnological and mathematical explanations, and portrayals of theremarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world's mostdifficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkablyfar-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history,what drives it, and how private that e-mail you just sent reallyis.

In this fascinating volume, today’s foremost scientistsdiscuss their own versions and visions of Einstein: how he hasinfluenced their worldviews, their ideas, their science, and theirprofessional and personal lives. These twenty-four essays are atestament to the power of scientific legacy and are essentialreading for scientist and layperson alike. Contributors include: Roger Highfield on the Einstein myth John Archibald Wheeler on his meetings with Einstein Gino C. Segrè, Lee Smolin, and Anton Zeilinger on Einstein’sdifficulties with quantum theory Leon M. Lederman on the special theory of relativity Frank J. Tipler on why Einstein should be seen as a scientificreactionary rather than a scientific revolutionary

Subwavelength and Nanometer Diameter Optical Fibers providesacomprehensive and up-to-date coverage of research onnanoscaleoptical fibers including the basic physics and engineeringaspects ofthe fabrication, properties and applications. The bookdiscusses opti-cal micro/nanofibers that represent a perfect fusionof optical fibersand nanotechnology on subwavelength scale andcovers a broadrange of topics in modern optical engineering,photonics and nano-technology spanning from fiber optics,near-field optics, nonlinearoptics, atom optics to nanofabricationand microphotonic compo-nents/devices. It is intended forresearchers and graduate students inthe fields of photonics,nanotechnology, optical engineering and ma-terials science.

Many people who have ever owned a pet will swear that their dogor cat or other animal has exhibited some kind of behavior theyjust can't explain. How does a dog know when its owner is returninghome at an unexpected time? How do cats know when it is time to goto the vet, even before the cat carrier comes out? How do horsesfind their way back to the stable over completely unfamiliarterrain? And how can some pets predict that their owners are aboutto have an epileptic fit? These intriguing questions about animal behavior convincedworld-renowned biologist Rupert Sheldrake that the very animals whoare closest to us have much to teach us about biology, nature, andconsciousness. Filled with captivating stories and thought-provoking analysis, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home is agroundbreaking exploration of animal behavior that will profoundlychange the way we think about animals, and ourselves. After fiveyears of extensive research involving thousands of people who ownand work with animals, Shel

Fritjof Capra, bestselling author of The Tao of Physics and The Web of Life , here explores another frontier in thehuman significance of scientific ideas—applying complexity theoryto large-scale social interaction. In the 1980s, complexity theory emerged as a powerful alternativeto classic, linear thought. A forerunner of that revolution,Fritjof Capra now continues to expand the scope of that theory byestablishing a framework in which we can understand and solve someof the most important issues of our time. Capra posits that inorder to sustain life, the principles underlying our socialinstitutions must be consistent with the broader organization ofnature. Discussing pertinent contemporary issues ranging from thecontroversial practices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) tothe Human Genome Project, he concludes with an authoritative, oftenprovocative plan for designing ecologically sustainable communitiesand technologies as alternatives to the current economicglobalization.

In 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on an expedition that, in hisown words, determined my whole career. The Voyage of theBeagle chronicles his five-year journey around the world andespecially the coastal waters of South America as a naturalist onthe H.M.S. Beagle. While traveling through these unexploredcountries collecting specimens, Darwin began to formulate thetheories of evolution and natural selection realized in his masterwork, The Origin of Species. Travel memoir and scientific primeralike, The Voyage of the Beagle is a lively and accessibleintroduction to the mind of one of history's most influentialthinkers.

Evolutionary science lies at the heart of a modernunderstanding of the natural world. Darwin’s theory has withstood150 years of scientific scrutiny, and today it not only explainsthe origin and design of living things, but highlights theimportance of a scientific understanding in our culture and in ourlives. Recently the movement known as “Intelligent Design” has attractedthe attention of journalists, educators, and legislators. Thescientific community is puzzled and saddened by this trend–not onlybecause it distorts modern biology, but also because it divertspeople from the truly fascinating ideas emerging from the realscience of evolution. Here, join fifteen of our preeminent thinkerswhose clear, accessible, and passionate essays reveal the fact andpower of Darwin’s theory, and the beauty of the scientific quest tounderstand our world.

How did the replication bomb we call life begin and where inthe world, or rather, in the universe, is it heading? Writing withcharacteristic wit and an ability to clarify complex phenomena (theNew York Times described his style as the sort of science writingthat makes the reader feel like a genius), Richard Dawkinsconfronts this ancient mystery.

Anthrax. Smallpox. Incurable and horrifying Ebola-relatedfevers. For two decades, while a fearful world prepared for nuclearwinter, an elite team of Russian bioweaponeers began to till a newkilling field: a bleak tract sown with powerful seeds of massdestruction--by doctors who had committed themselves to creating abiological Armageddon. Biohazard is the never-before-told story ofRussia's darkest, deadliest, and most closely guarded Cold Warsecret. No one knows more about Russia's astounding experiments withbiowarfare than Ken Alibek. Now the mastermind behind Russia's germwarfare effort reveals two decades of shocking breakthroughs...howMoscow's leading scientists actually reengineered hazardousmicrobes to make them even more virulent...the secrets behind thediscovery of an invisible, untraceable new class of biologicalagents just right for use in political assassinations...thestartling story behind Russia's attempt to turn a sample of theAIDS virus into the ultimate bioweapon. And in a chilling

A riveting tale of the battle over genetically engineeredfoods, and an inside look at a biotech food empire. Ultimately astory of idealism, and conflicting dreams about the shape of abetter world. Softcover.

Diane Ackerman's lusciously written grand tour of the realm ofthe senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica anda professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kissesand tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planetEarth. "Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possiblefeeling of the worlds the senses take in."--The New York Times.(Literature--Classics Contemporary)

Around 60,000 years ago, a man—genetically identical to us—livedin Africa. Every person alive today is descended from him. How didthis real-life Adam wind up as the father of us all? What happenedto the descendants of other men who lived at the same time? Andwhy, if modern humans share a single prehistoric ancestor, do wecome in so many sizes, shapes, and races? Examining the hidden secrets of human evolution in our geneticcode, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the revolutionaryscience of population genetics have made it possible to create afamily tree for the whole of humanity. Replete with marvelousanecdotes and remarkable information, from the truth about the realAdam and Eve to the way differing racial types emerged, TheJourney of Man is an enthralling, epic tour through the historyand development of early humankind.