Acclaimed science writer and broadcaster Jay Ingram wonders the same things. After a long career of asking important questions (Does time speed up as we age? How much Neanderthal is in me? Why do some animals throw their feces?), he’s here to put our scientific quandaries to rest. In this insightful, witty book for curious readers of all ages, Jay shares his favorite head-scratchers and mind-benders, settling pressing questions, such as... -What is déjà vu? -Why were Tyrannosaurus Rex’s arms so short? -Why are you plagued by mosquitoes while your friends aren’t? -Does your cat actually like you?* -What is déjà vu? ...along with everything you ever wondered about human echolocation, Bigfoot and farts (though not all at once). Whimsically illustrated and chock-full of fun science facts (and fictions), this book will delight and surprise your inner science geek. *SPOILER: She actually thinks you’re a larger, dumber version of her mother.

    Along with biographies of the chemists who transformed scientific knowledge, here is your quickest way to know your plutonium from your europium.

    That is until his womanizing ways catch up with him and he gets a much needed wake-up call. Just as he decides to clean up his act, the ultimate temptation enters his life. When Mackenzie Reed meets Brayden, the attraction is instant and she knows that together they could achieve the kind of career success she’s always craved. But Mackenzie isn’t like most women. She has very good reasons for keeping her heart locked up tight. For her, this isn’t about love. This is about power. Sparks fly as Brayden and Mackenzie try to avoid the one thing neither of them wanted. Each must choose between the life they’ve worked hard to achieve and the one they never imagined. Will they come to the same decision before it’s too late? Or will a hidden threat keep them apart?

     Chains is a Night Rebel, one of the largest MCs in Southern Colorado. Powerful Harleys, stiff drinks, and club girls are his idea of the good life. He swore off relationships years ago when he caught his old lady and his buddy sharing some fun time between his sheets. Now bitterness is his companion. The only women in his life are the club girls who know the score: fun without commitment. He likes it that way—he’s better off alone. Then he meets her and everything changes. Sexy curves that spark his libido, and the most soulful eyes that penetrate the emptiness inside him. Autumn Stanford has worked hard to build her veterinary practice, and at thirty-one years old, she finally has it all: career, money, a fiancé. She should be busting with joy, but she’s not—something’s missing. When the rugged biker brings his dog to her clinic, she is taken in by his good looks and muscular build. An undeniable desire sizzles between them. But there is one small problem: Autumn is engaged to Chains’s brother. All of a sudden, Chains’s world turns upside down, Autumn is caught in the crossfire of grudges. The Night Rebels MC series are standalone romance novels. This is Chains’ story. This book describes the life and actions of a gritty outlaw motorcycle club. HEA. No cliffhangers.

    It traces the history and cultural impact of the elements on humankind, and examines why people have long sought to identify thesubstances around them. The book includes chapters on particular elements such as gold, iron, and oxygen, showing how they shaped culture and technology. Looking beyond the Periodic Table, the author examines our relationship with matter, from the uncomplicated vision of the Greek philosophers, whobelieved there were four elements--earth, air, fire, and water--to the work of modern-day scientists in creating elements such as hassium and meitnerium. Packed with anecdotes, The Elements is a highly engaging and entertaining exploration of the fundamental question: what is the world made from?

    Whether you are studying chemistry forthe first time on your own, want to refresh your memory for a test, or need a little help for a course, this concise, interactive guidegives you a fresh approach to this fascinating subject. This fullyup-to-date edition of Chemistry: Concepts and Problems: * Has been tested, rewritten, and retested to ensure that you canteach yourself all about chemistry * Requires no prerequisites * Lets you work at your own pace with a helpful question-and-answerformat * Lists objectives for each chapter--you can skip ahead or findextra help if you need it * Reinforces what you learn with chapter self-tests

    It is written to impart a sense of intellectual history of biochemistry, an understanding of the tools and approaches used to solve biochemical puzzles, and a hint of the excitement that accompanies new discoveries. This edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the most recent advances in biochemistry, particularly in the areas of genomics and structural biology. A new chapter focuses on cytoskeletal and motor proteins, currently one of the most active areas of research in biochemistry.

    Beginning with an obscure discovery in 1896, radioactivity led researchers on a quest for understanding that ultimately confronted the intersection of knowledge and mystery. Mysterious from the start, radioactivity attracted researchers who struggled to understand it. What caused certain atoms to give off invisible, penetrating rays? Where did the energy come from? These questions became increasingly pressing when researchers realized the process seemed to continue indefinitely, producing huge quantities of energy. Investigators found cases where radioactivity did change, forcing them to the startling conclusion that radioactive bodies were transmuting into other substances. Chemical elements were not immutable after all. Radioactivity produced traces of matter so minuscule and evanescent that researchers had to devise new techniques and instruments to investigate them. Scientists in many countries, but especially in laboratories in Paris, Manchester, and Vienna unraveled the details of radioactive transformations. They created a new science with specialized techniques, instruments, journals, and international conferences. Women entered the field in unprecedented numbers. Experiments led to revolutionary ideas about the atom and speculations about atomic energy. The excitement spilled over to the public, who expected marvels and miracles from radium, a scarce element discovered solely by its radioactivity. The new phenomenon enkindled the imagination and awakened ancient themes of literature and myth. Entrepreneurs created new industries, and physicians devised novel treatments for cancer. Radioactivity gave archaeologists methods for dating artifacts and meteorologists a new explanation for the air's conductivity. Their explorations revealed a mysterious radiation from space. Radioactivity profoundly changed science, politics, and culture. The field produced numerous Nobel Prize winners, yet radioactivity's talented researchers could not solve the mysteries underlying the new phenomenon. That was left to a new generation and a new way of thinking about reality. Radioactivity presents this fascinating history in a way that is both accessible and appealing to the general reader. Not merely a historical account, the book examines philosophical issues connected with radioactivity, and relates its topics to broader issues regarding the nature of science.

    Throughout the book, the reader will meet the hedonists and swindlers, monks and heretics, and men and women laboring in garages and over kitchen sinks who expanded our understanding of the elements and discovered such new substances as plastic, rubber, and aspirin. Creations of Fire expands our vision of the meaning of chemistry and reveals the oddballs and academics who have helped shape our world.

    As the field of environmental science continues to evolve, this highly readable guide presents a full spectrum of views and information for students to evaluate issues and make informed decisions. An extensive resource package integrates text and digital media in an easy-to-use format designed to assist instructors in classroom preparation.

    Despite decades of research and millions of dollars invested in uncovering the causes and developing treatments for this devastating illness, progress has been slow, with each new "blockbuster" drug proving to be as big a disappointment as the ones that went before it. Today, an Alzheimer's diagnosis is a death sentence.However, there may be ways to prevent, delay, and possibly even reverse the course of this crippling neurodegenerative disease. In The Alzheimer's Antidote, Certified Nutrition Specialist Amy Berger presents a multi-pronged nutrition and lifestyle intervention to combat Alzheimer's disease at its roots. Berger's research shows that Alzheimer's results from a fuel shortage in the brain: As neurons become unable to harness energy from glucose, they atrophy and die, leading to classic symptoms like memory loss and behavioral changes.This is a revolutionary approach--one that has been discussed in the scientific literature for years but has only recently been given credence in clinical settings, thanks to extremely promising studies wherein Alzheimer's patients have experienced complete reversals of the condition. Medical and scientific journals are full of research showing alternate ways to fuel the starving brain, but no one has been bringing this essential information to the people who need it most--until now.In a culture obsessed with miracle medications, the pharmaceutical route for tackling Alzheimer's has been a massive failure. Pills and potions don't address underlying causes, and regarding Alzheimer's, they typically fail to improve even the symptoms. As a metabolic problem, the only effective way to treat Alzheimer's may be a multifaceted approach that fundamentally reprograms energy generation in the brain. The good news is, the secret is as simple as switching to a low-carb, high-fat diet.The Alzheimer's Antidote shows us that cognitive decline is not inevitable, but if it does occur, we don't have to sit idly by and wait helplessly while it progresses and worsens. Amy Berger empowers loved ones and caregivers of Alzheimer's sufferers, and offers hope and light against this otherwise unnavigable labyrinth of darkness.

    The science of element discovery is a truly fascinating field, and is constantly rewriting the laws of chemistry and physics as we know them. Superheavy is the first book to take an in-depth look at how synthetic elements are discovered, why they matter and where they will take us. From the Cold War nuclear race to the present day, scientists have stretched the periodic table to 118 elements. They have broken the rules of the periodic table, rewriting the science we're taught in school, and have the potential to revolutionize our lives.Kit Chapman takes us back to the very beginning, with the creation of the atomic bomb. He tells the story of the major players, such as Ernest Lawrence who revolutionized the field of particle physics with the creation of the cyclotron; Yuri Oganessian, the guerilla scientist who opened up a new era of discovery in the field and is the only living scientists to have an element named after him; and Victor Ninov, the disgraced physicist who almost pulled off the greatest fraud in nuclear science. This book will bring us in a full circle back to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the first atomic bomb was developed, and that has more recently been an essential player in creating the new superheavy element 117.Throughout, Superheavy explains the complex science of element discovery in clear and easy-to-follow terms. It walks through the theories of atomic structure, discusses the equipment used and explains the purpose of the research. By the end of the book readers will not only marvel at how far we've come, they will be in awe of where we are going and what this could mean for the worlds of physics and chemistry as we know them today.

    Before this explosive growth into the modern age took place, an all-but-forgotten genius strove for forty years to win acceptance for the atomic theory of matter and an altogether new way of doing physics. Ludwig Boltz-mann battled with philosophers, the scientific establishment, and his own potent demons. His victory led the way to the greatest scientific achievements of the twentieth century. Now acclaimed science writer David Lindley portrays the dramatic story of Boltzmann and his embrace of the atom, while providing a window on the civilized world that gave birth to our scientific era. Boltzmann emerges as an endearingly quixotic character, passionately inspired by Beethoven, who muddled through the practical matters of life in a European gilded age. Boltzmann's story reaches from fin de siecle Vienna, across Germany and Britain, to America. As the Habsburg Empire was crumbling, Germany's intellectual might was growing; Edinburgh in Scotland was one of the most intellectually fertile places on earth; and, in America, brilliant independent minds were beginning to draw on the best ideas of the bureaucratized old world.Boltzmann's nemesis in the field of theoretical physics at home in Austria was Ernst Mach, noted today in the term Mach I, the speed of sound. Mach believed physics should address only that which could be directly observed. How could we know that frisky atoms jiggling about corresponded to heat if we couldn't see them? Why should we bother with theories that only told us what would probably happen, rather than making an absolute prediction? Mach and Boltzmann both believed in the power of science, but their approaches to physics could not have been more opposed. Boltzmann sought to explain the real world, and cast aside any philosophical criteria. Mach, along with many nineteenth-century scientists, wanted to construct an empirical edifice of absolute truths that obeyed strict philosophical rules. Boltzmann did not get on well with authority in any form, and he did his best work at arm's length from it. When at the end of his career he engaged with the philosophical authorities in the Viennese academy, the results were personally disastrous and tragic. Yet Boltzmann's enduring legacy lives on in the new physics and technology of our wired world.Lindley's elegant telling of this tale combines the detailed breadth of the best history, the beauty of theoretical physics, and the psychological insight belonging to the finest of novels.

    Make your own brew at home!”If you’re going to invest the $100 or so to get a basic equipment and recipe kit, then you’ll want to take care in ensuring that your first batch is brewed correctly.” –Rick Morris, HowBrewBeer The Joy of Home Distilling is covers nearly every facet of distilling: Step-by-step instructions for the different processes, from bucket to bottle The difference between spirit types and how to produce each What yeast is, what it does, and how to ensure that you get a strong, complete fermentation What distillation is and common misconceptions about the process Legalities surrounding distilling alcohol at home Carbon filtering—when it’s necessary, when to filter, and why you filter Flavoring and aging your spirits Keeping safety first when working with flammable materials, such as ethanol Yeast styles and nutritional requirements Different methods of distillation and equipment Post-distillation process And of course, fun drink recipes! (Try the Mudslide or the Cherry Bomb!)Author Rick Morris, who has been selling distillation equipment for over 25 years, even includes his own recipes for different types of spirits and drink recipes. By learning not just how to distill, but also what is happening at each step and why it is needed, readers will be armed with the information they need to experiment with their own spirits and concoct their own recipes. Easy to understand even for a first-time distiller, The Joy of Home Distilling is sure to become your number one distilling resource.

    Your life, your thoughts, your diseases, and your health are all the function of cells.But what do you really know about what goes on inside you?The last time most people thought about cells in any detail was probably in high school or a college general biology class. But the field of cell biology has advanced incredibly rapidly in recent decades, and a great deal of what we may have learned in high school and college is no longer accurate or particularly relevant.The Cell: Inside the Microscopic World that Determines Our Health, Our Consciousness, and Our Future is a fascinating story of the incredible complexity and dynamism inside the cell and of the fantastic advancements in our understanding of this microscopic world.Dr. Joshua Z. Rappoport is at the forefront of this field, and he will take you on a journey to discover:A deeper understanding of how cells work and the basic nature of life on earth.Fascinating histories of some of the key discoveries from the seventeenth century to the last decade and provocative thoughts on the current state of academic research.The knowledge required to better understand the new developments that are announced almost weekly in science and health care, such as cancer, cellular therapies, and the potential promise of stem cells.The ability to make better decisions about health and to debunk the misinformation that comes in daily via media.Using the latest scientific research, The Cell illustrates the diversity of cell biology and what it all means for your everyday life.