Our genetic make-up is widely assumed to be the sole operating manual for everything that happens to us from the moment of conception to our eventual demise. This book questions the wisdom of this notion.
This third book by Lewis Dartnell, a professor engaged in astrobiology research at the University of Westminster, London, highlights the role of our human constitution in determining the distinctive features of the contemporary world, with a special focus on the decisive part played by the characteristic weaknesses and strengths of the human protagonists.
There are real wars going on in the world as I write this review, so it seems wrong to refer to a 1990s kerfuffle among academics of different faculties as ‘the science wars’, but it appears that’s what the events around the Sokal affair are now called. A physicist called Alan Sokal had managed to publish a fake paper in a social sciences journal, with the intention of ridiculing postmodernists who described science as a social construct, as opposed to the gradual revelation of the ultimate truth.
Andrew Pontzen, a professor of cosmology at University College London, UK, has long been fascinated by the role of computers in giving us new knowledge of our world. In this, his first book, he presents the story of some of the advances in computer technology that have afforded us penetrating insights into the nature and essence of physical reality.
The author, Jonathan Kennedy, is a lecturer in global public health at Queen Mary University in London, UK, and this is his first book. He presents here several cogent arguments to support his contention that a radical revision is now overdue in our understanding of the human story to date.
Although precise statistics are not available, it has been estimated that between 30 and 40% of the world’s population is afflicted with some form of allergy. Moreover, the number of allergy sufferers is continuing to rise. And Millions of people are unfortunately affected to a degree severe enough to have a major impact on their health. This book sets out to assemble what is known about allergies: their history, diagnosis, treatment and what they may reveal about emerging human susceptibilities in an ever-changing world.
The author of this book, Chris Impey, is a University Distinguished Professor of astronomy based at the University of Arizona, US, and has written several books on a variety of astronomical themes. Here he takes his cue from the reasoning that, as our planet is suffering from relentless despoliation, it is timely to explore options for an eventual escape from our escalating predicament.
There are three species of orangutan, two of gorilla, two of chimpanzee, and many more in most mammalian genera. We humans, however, unless we agree to join the chimpanzees, are the only species of our kind, alone in the genus Homo, and the only surviving species with our characteristic features since the Denisovans and Neanderthals disappeared and were soaked up by our burgeoning population.
Advances in the field of palaeontology have revealed that ancient fossils can furnish us with considerably more information than previously believed possible. Tracing the genealogy of a wide variety of species has now become much easier – including tracking down the descents of modern humans.
This book focuses mainly on the pyrolysis of biomass, a high-temperature process that typically yields three disparate end products: bio-pyrolysis gas, bio-crude oil and a solid carbonaceous mixture designated as biochar.