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Nature and Science February 2021
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| Black Hole Survival Guide by Janna Levin; artwork by Lia HalloranWhat it is: a concise and conversational introduction to black holes.
Who it's for: armchair space travelers who want to know what it's like to visit a black hole -- without the risk of being destroyed.
About the author: Theoretical cosmologist Janna Levin is the author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space. |
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| An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are by Camilla Pang, PhDWhat it does: examines human behavior through the lens of autism, while using a variety of scientific concepts to explain it.
Topics include: what biochemistry can teach us about friendship, how game theory informs social etiquette, and why machine learning offers insight into human decision-making.
About the author: Camilla Pang, a biochemist with autism, ADHD, and generalized anxiety disorder, is both the youngest writer and the first person of color to win the Royal Society Science Book Prize. |
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| Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank WilczekWhat it is: a concise, accessible physics primer by a Nobel laureate that explains ten challenging yet essential concepts to non-scientists without sacrificing accuracy.
What sets it apart: Physicist Frank Wilczek places scientific discoveries in their historical context and clearly distinguishes between what we know and what we do not (yet) know.
For fans of: Carlo Rovelli's Seven Brief Lessons on Physics or Brian Greene's Until the End of Time. |
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| When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep by Antonio Zadra and Robert StickgoldThe big idea: To explain why we dream, sleep scientists Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold introduce their NEXTUP (network exploration to understand possibilities) model, a form of "sleep-dependent memory process" that enables our sleeping minds to make connections that may elude us while we're awake.
You might also like: Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep or Alice Robb's Why We Dream. |
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| Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life by Louise AronsonWhat it is: a thoughtful, comprehensive exploration of aging, from medical concerns to identity issues to depictions of the elderly in pop culture.
Why you should read it: We all grow old (if we're lucky), but aging also affects our families, our economies, and our societies.
For fans of: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Spring Chicken by Bill Gifford. |
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| Clean: The New Science of Skin by James HamblinWhat it's about: the history of human hygiene, the rise of the cosmetics industry, and the microbiome that keeps our skin healthy.
Why you might like it: Physician and Atlantic staff writer James Hamblin (who stopped showering while writing this book) presents a wealth of information in entertaining vignettes.
Further reading: Monty Lyman's The Remarkable Life of the Skin, Ed Yong's I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. |
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| An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four... by Matt RichtelContains: four case studies that illuminate the human immune system, including a man who contracted HIV in 1977, two women with autoimmune conditions, and the author's childhood friend, recently diagnosed with cancer.
Why you might like it: Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Matt Richtel interweaves profiles of individuals with the evolution of our understanding of the immune system and advances in immunology.
Reviewers say: "brilliantly blurs the lines between biology primer, medical historical text and the traditional first-person patient story" (Washington Post). |
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The Well-Gardened Mind : The Restorative Power of Nature
by Sue Stuart-Smith
A well-respected psychiatrist and avid gardener provides a new perspective on the power of gardening to change people’s lives, investigating the many ways in which mind and garden can interact. 40,000 first printing.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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