I loved this book, but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I thought it would give some advice on how to sort through nonsense on the web, how to tell an authoritative source from a nonsensical one. Instead, the answer seems to be that Dr. Joe … Continue Reading →
A rat maze experiment managed to replace the sense of sight in blind rats with an artificial one: a microchip compass that told them when they were pointed north or south. The brain prosthetic allowed them to learn a maze as well as seeing rats. I wrote this article … Continue Reading →
Amazing! This guy writes about science and what scientists do for the lay reader without coming off as an arrogant arse. He makes the point th at science is not a conglomeration of lifeless facts. Science, as an act, a career, a way of life, comes from questions, and questions … Continue Reading →
The world of materials science is increasingly turning to biology for inspiration and assistance in creating better materials. One of the Great Quests of materials science is the world’s strongest material: can we make something that is flexible, strong, and tough? Can we make a fiber of it, so … Continue Reading →
Genes are complicated! I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book to come out for a couple years. Well, I had no designs on John Parrington spefically writing this book. But I learned the basics of genetics a good long while ago, a study that, it was thought, came … Continue Reading →
I like computers. But this has not always been the case. When I graduated from college, I spent the summer doing research at the University of Minnesota before grad school classes started in September. It was right at the time when computing skills were absolutely necessary for physics grad school … Continue Reading →
Wow. This woman loves octopuses, and the sea and its creatures in general. Her enthusiasm is contagious. She not only fills this book with facts about sea life and descriptions of the personalities of the octopuses she knows, but also just the general comaraderie of being an aquarium groupie. … Continue Reading →
There are ancient myths about lost cities in Central America, and from time to time adventurous people with lots of money have set out to find them. The lure of possible treasure is strong, but mostly it’s the desire to discover what those before them have not been able to. … Continue Reading →
This is an engaging memoir of a woman reflecting on and researching the cancer of those she loves. It is primarily about her relationship with her brother-in-law, who gets a melanoma diagnosis, but is not at a stage that traditional medicine can do anything for. So he looks at alternative … Continue Reading →
This is one of those titles that as soon as I saw it, I wondered why this hasn’t been done before. Rain captivates us… a book about it would be lovely! And it is. As the subtitle promises, it includes cultural as well as natural points. The best references are … Continue Reading →