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      • Science & Mathematics
        November 2021

        Waisted: The Biology of Body Fat

        by Nathan Denton

        Waisted: The Biology of Body Fat outlines the fascinating, often misunderstood and sometimes controversial biology of fat, otherwise known as adipose tissue. It provides a comprehensive, evidence-based perspective on fat biology and its crucial role in human evolution, health, disease, and society. Waisted is an accessible yet in-depth exploration of the subject that is suitable for both specialists and non-specialists alike. It is a highly valuable resource for clinicians, health practitioners, biomedical researchers, and students who study adipose biology, obesity, and diseases related to fat dysfunction. This book also provides an interesting sociological and anthropological read for anyone who wants to gain a broader and deeper appreciation of the unique role that adipose tissue plays in human evolution and society, by considering how biological and social factors intersect.

      • Science & Mathematics
        September 2021

        The Fight for Climate after Covid-19

        by Alice C. Hill

        The Fight for Climate after COVID-19 draws on the troubled and uneven COVID-19 experience to illustrate the critical need to ramp up resilience rapidly and effectively on a global scale. After years of working alongside public health and resilience experts crafting policy to build both pandemic and climate change preparedness, Alice C. Hill exposes parallels between the underutilized measures that governments should have taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 -- such as early action, cross-border planning, and bolstering emergency preparation -- and the steps leaders can take now to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

      • Science & Mathematics
        April 2021

        On the Fringe

        Where Science Meets Pseudoscience

        by Michael D. Gordin

        On the Fringe explores the philosophical and historical attempts to address this problem of demarcation. This book argues that by understanding doctrines that are often seen as antithetical to science, we can learn a great deal about how science operated in the past and does today. This exploration raises several questions: How does a doctrine become demonized as pseudoscientific? Who has the authority to make these pronouncements? How is the status of science shaped by political or cultural contexts? How does pseudoscience differ from scientific fraud?Michael D. Gordin both answers these questions and guides readers along a bewildering array of marginalized doctrines, looking at parapsychology (ESP), Lysenkoism, scientific racism, and alchemy, among others, to better understand the struggle to define what science is and is not, and how the controversies have shifted over the centuries. On the Fringe provides a historical tour through many of these fringe fields in order to provide tools to think deeply about scientific controversies both in the past and in our present.

      • Science & Mathematics
        March 2021

        Sandbows and Black Lights

        Reflections on Optics

        by Stephen R. Wilk

        This book is a collection of original essays on weird and unusual topics surrounding optics. Wilk uses the BBC's formula of "Education by Stealth" to explain unusual facets of science and technology through the matrix of interesting and cultural paths, all the while weaving in math equations in an accessible way. The first part of the book focuses on the history, the second moves to odd scientific approaches to visual phenomena, and the third part explains the unique use of optics in fiction, movies, and comic books over time. Chapters cover everything from endless corridors to the beam of light over treasure chests in movies.Whether he is explaining a rare discovery or answering a seemingly unapproachable question, Wilk is able to lure readers in on every page. He has a unique ability to turn complex science into an engaging story, and this book is full of narratives on esoteric topics anyone will find intriguing. Sandbows and Black Lights provides an enticing and entertaining look at physical illusions in a whole new way.

      • Science & Mathematics
        June 2021

        Secret Worlds

        The extraordinary senses of animals

        by Martin Stevens

        In this book, Martin Stevens explores the remarkable sensory systems that exist in nature, and what they are used for. Discussing how different animal senses work, he also considers how they evolve, how they are shaped by the environment in which an animal lives, and the pioneering science that has uncovered how animals use their senses. Throughout, he celebrates the remarkable diversity of life, and shows how the study of sensory systems has shed light on some of the most important issues in animal behaviour, physiology, and evolution.

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