Technology/Science

Just when you thought you’d accepted your own mortality . . . Everything Is Going to Kill Everybody is bringing panic back. Twenty illustrated, hilariously fear-inducing 
essays reveal the chilling and very real experiments, dangerous emerging technologies, and terrifying natural disasters that soon could—or very nearly already did—bring about the end of humanity. In short, everything in here will kill you and everyone you love. At any moment. And nobody’s told you about it—until now: ... more info>>

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they'd weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred... more info>>

From the author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller The Female Brain, here is the eagerly awaited follow-up book that demystifies the puzzling male brain. Dr. Louann Brizendine, the founder of the first clinic in the country to study gender differences in brain, behavior, and hormones, turns her attention to the male brain, showing how, through every phase of life, the "male reality" is fundamentally different from the female one. Exploring the latest breakthroughs in male psycho... more info>>

One of the world's most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey--into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail--well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand--and, if possible, answer--the oldest, biggest questions we have posed abou... more info>>

In this irreverent and illuminating book, acclaimed writer and scientist Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, change, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback. As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious cases, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance. The rise and fall of your favorite movie... more info>>

Consider a world in which--Marketers use brain scans to determine consumer interest in a product? Politicians use brain-image-based profiles to target voters--A test could determine your suitability for a job or to whom you will be romantically attractedFar from science fiction, this ?neurosociety??a society in which brain science influences every aspect of daily life?is already here.Innovative researchers and cutting-edge technology, like brain imaging and brain scanning devices, have revolutio... more info>>

The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens altered more than the landscape of the nearby mountainsides. It changed forever scientists understanding of two fields of study: volcanology and ecology. This article examines how the mountain's eruption changed our understanding of the natural world.

These are the homemade machines that you’ve dreamed of building, from the high-voltage Night Lighter 36 spud gun to the Jam Jar Jet, the Marshmallow Shooter, and the Yagua Blowgun. Including detailed diagrams and supply lists, Gurstelle’s simple, step-by-step instructions help workshop warriors at any skill level achieve impressively powerful results. With Whoosh Boom Splat, you can build: - The Jam Jar Jet—the simple pulse jet engine that roars - The Elastic Zip Cannon—a membrane-powered sh... more info>>

Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution. The quest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of tw... more info>>

Is our universe dying? Could there be other universes? In Parallel Worlds, world-renowned physicist and bestselling author Michio Kaku--an author who "has a knack for bringing the most ethereal ideas down to earth" (Wall Street Journal)--takes readers on a fascinating tour of cosmology, M-theory, and its implications for the fate of the universe. In his first book of physics since Hyperspace, Michio Kaku begins by describing the extraordinary advances that have transformed cosmology over the la... more info>>

A fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible--from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks--revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future. One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In Physics of the Impossible, the renowned physicist Michio Kaku explores to what extent the technologies and devices of science fiction th... more info>>

With Trilobite, Richard Fortey, paleontologist and author of the acclaimed Life, offers a marvelously written, smart and compelling, accessible and witty scientific narrative of the most ubiquitous of fossil creatures. Trilobites were shelled animals that lived in the oceans over five hundred million years ago. As bewilderingly diverse then as the beetle is today, they survived in the arctic or the tropics, were spiky or smooth, were large as lobsters or small as fleas. And because they flouris... more info>>

Jaron Lanier, a Silicon Valley visionary since the 1980s, was among the first to predict the revolutionary changes the World Wide Web would bring to commerce and culture. Now, in his first book, written more than two decades after the web was created, Lanier offers this provocative and cautionary look at the way it is transforming our lives for better and for worse.The current design and function of the web have become so familiar that it is easy to forget that they grew out of programming decis... more info>>

The technology underground is a thriving, humming, and often literally scintillating subculture of amateur inventors and scientific envelope-pushers who dream up, design, and build machines that whoosh, rumble, fly--and occasionally hurl pumpkins across enormous distances. In the process they astonish us with what is possible when human imagination and ingenuity meet nature's forces and materials. William Gurstelle spent two years exploring the most fascinating outposts of this world of wonders:... more info>>

An essential behind-the-scenes foray into the world of cutting-edge memory research that unveils findings about memory loss only now available to general readers. When Sue Halpern decided to emulate the first modern scientist of memory, Hermann Ebbinghaus, who experimented on himself, she had no idea that after a day of radioactive testing, her brain would become so "hot" that leaving through the front door of the lab would trigger the alarm. This was not the first time while researching Can't R... more info>>

CodeNotes provides the most succinct, accurate, and speedy way for a developer to ramp up on a new technology or language. Unlike other programming books, CodeNotes drills down to the core aspects of a technology, focusing on the key elements needed in order to understand it quickly and implement it immediately. It is a unique resource for developers, filling the gap between comprehensive manuals and pocket references. CodeNotes for .NET shows developers how to apply .NET to industrial... more info>>

The author proposes a dramatic new conjecture to explain dark matter, dark energy, and the accelerating expansion of the universe. These three baffling mysteries are signaling the need for a new revolution in cosmology. Only a century ago, the great debate was whether the sun was the center of the universe, and if the Milky Way was the entire universe. Edwin Hubble helped confirm, only in the 1920s, that our galaxy is one of many, and that the universe is expanding. This article traces the histo... more info>>

Travel backward through time from today's scattered billions to the handful of early humans who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago and are ancestors to us all. In Deep Ancestry, scientist and National Geographic explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustrations, he explains exactly how each and every individual's DNA contributes another piece to the jigsaw p... more info>>

What is the biological reason for gossip? For laughter? For the creation of art? Why do dogs have curly tails? What can microbes tell us about morality?These and many other questions are tackled by renowned evolutionist David Sloan Wilson in this witty and groundbreaking new book. With stories that entertain as much as they inform, Wilson outlines the basic principles of evolution and shows how, properly understood, they can illuminate the length and breadth of creation, from the origin of life ... more info>>

Avoid the time-consuming task of image editing by taking great pictures from the get-go. Dave Huss walks you through the fundamentals of taking great digital photographs by dispelling digital photography myths and teaching you how to maximize all camera features available to you. Discover how to take clear, sharp, professional-level photographs every time; use light wisely; use flash photography to your advantage; match your camera to your computer; share your photos, and much more.

Merde is an unusual (very unusual) and witty investigation into a subject you may always have wondered about--but didn't know quite what to ask.        History, biology, anthropology, culture, animal behavior--all of these are the real subjects of Merde. Why can some animals do it on the run, and others can't? Why does camel dung make good fires? What are the fascinating stories of the dung beetles?        Myths and legends, physical features, health and disease, uses for construction and as fer... more info>>

The Ultimate Oracle Application Server Portal Resource Build dynamic, feature-rich enterprise portals using Oracle Application Server Portal and the expert information in this exclusive Oracle Press guide. You'll learn how to maximize the capabilities of Oracle Application Server Portal, customize your portals, integrate Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports, and add Java functionality. Oracle Application Server Portal Handbook covers all of the design, management, and security features available in ... more info>>

From the author of Why Things Bite Back, which introduced us to the revenge antics of technology, Our Own Devices is a wonderfully revealing look at the inventions of everyday things that protect us, position us, or enhance our performance. In helping and hurting us, these body technologies have produced consequences that their makers never intended: "In postwar Japan traditional sandals gave way to Western-style shoes because they were considered marks of a higher standard of living, but they s... more info>>

Understand the rules that make the universe run. Understanding the laws of physics is essential for all scientific studies, but many students are intimidated by their complexities. This completely revised and updated book makes it easy to understand the most important principles. From the physics of the everyday world to the theory of relativity, PHYSICS MADE SIMPLE covers it all. Each chapter is introduced by anecdotes that directly apply the concepts to contemporary life and ends with pr... more info>>

Students can gain a thorough understanding of differential and integral calculus with this powerful study tool. They'll also find the related analytic geometry much easier. The clear review of algebra and geometry in this edition will make calculus easier for students who wish to strengthen their knowledge in these areas. Updated to meet the emphasis in current courses, this new edition of a popular guide--more than 104,000 copies were bought of the prior edition--includes problems and examples ... more info>>