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Nature and Science October 2018
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Brief Answers to the Big Questions
by Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking was the most renowned scientist since Einstein, known both for his groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology and for his mischievous sense of humor. He educated millions of readers about the origins of the universe and the nature of black holes, and inspired millions more by defying a terrifying early prognosis of ALS, which originally gave him only two years to live. In later life he could communicate only by using a few facial muscles, but he continued to advance his field and serve as a revered voice on social and humanitarian issues.
Hawking not only unraveled some of the universe’s greatest mysteries but also believed science plays a critical role in fixing problems here on Earth. Now, as we face immense challenges on our planet—including climate change, the threat of nuclear war, and the development of artificial intelligence—he turns his attention to the most urgent issues facing us.
Will humanity survive? Should we colonize space? Does God exist? These are just a few of the questions Hawking addresses in this wide-ranging, passionately argued final book from one of the greatest minds in history.
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| The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David QuammenScience writer David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology can change our understanding of evolution and life’s history, with powerful implications for human health and even our own human nature.
In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important. For instance, we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived not through traditional inheritance from directly ancestral forms, but sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT.
In The Tangled Tree David Quammen, “one of that rare breed of science journalists who blends exploration with a talent for synthesis and storytelling” (Nature), chronicles these discoveries through the lives of the researchers who made them—such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health. |
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| Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis LangIn this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance. "The universe is both the ultimate frontier and the highest of high grounds," they write. "Shared by both space scientists and space warriors, it’s a laboratory for one and a battlefield for the other. The explorer wants to understand it; the soldier wants to dominate it. But without the right technology―which is more or less the same technology for both parties―nobody can get to it, operate in it, scrutinize it, dominate it, or use it to their advantage and someone else’s disadvantage."
Spanning early celestial navigation to satellite-enabled warfare, Accessory to War is a richly researched and provocative examination of the intersection of science, technology, industry, and power that will introduce Tyson’s millions of fans to yet another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives and our world. |
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| American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric RutkowEnvironmental lawyer and historian Eric Rutkow demonstrates how the history -- and destiny -- of the United States is inextricably linked to its millions of acres of forest.
Did you know? Twenty percent of freshwater reserves originate in U.S. forests, which are threatened by the average American's annual consumption of 250 board feet of lumber and 700 pounds of paper. |
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| The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter by Colin TudgeThere are an estimated 60,000 species of tree worldwide. But what are these organisms, exactly? A British biologist explains -- and the answer isn't as straightforward as it appears.
Author Colin Tudge distills an enormous amount of information into an accessible introduction to all things arboreal.
Don't miss: Thirty-three intricate line drawings of tree specimens. |
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| The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John VaillantInquiring minds want to know: What prompted a logger-turned-activist to cut down the world's only giant golden spruce tree?
Expanding on an article he wrote for the New Yorker, author John Vaillant recounts the destruction of K'iid K'iyaas, a centuries-old Sitka spruce with unusual golden needles located in British Columbia's Haida Gwaii archipelago. |
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