The Billion-Dollar Molecule: The Quest for the Perfect Drug


Barry Werth - 1994
    You will be hooked from start to finish, as you go from the labs, where obsessive, fiercely competitive scientists struggle for a breakthrough, to Wall Street, where the wheeling and dealing takes on a life of its own, as Boger courts investors and finally decides to take Vertex public. Here is a fascinating no-holds-barred account of the business of science, which includes an updated epilogue about the most recent developments in the quest for a drug to cure AIDS.

Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes


Charles Seife - 2006
    In Decoding the Universe, Charles Seife draws on his gift for making cutting-edge science accessible to explain how this new tool is deciphering everything from the purpose of our DNA to the parallel universes of our Byzantine cosmos. The result is an exhilarating adventure that deftly combines cryptology, physics, biology, and mathematics to cast light on the new understanding of the laws that govern life and the universe.

Einstein's Clocks, Poincaré's Maps: Empires of Time


Peter Galison - 2003
    And two giants at the foundations of modern science were converging, step-by-step, on the answer: Albert Einstein, an young, obscure German physicist experimenting with measuring time using telegraph networks and with the coordination of clocks at train stations; and the renowned mathematician Henri Poincaré, president of the French Bureau of Longitude, mapping time coordinates across continents. Each found that to understand the newly global world, he had to determine whether there existed a pure time in which simultaneity was absolute or whether time was relative.Esteemed historian of science Peter Galison has culled new information from rarely seen photographs, forgotten patents, and unexplored archives to tell the fascinating story of two scientists whose concrete, professional preoccupations engaged them in a silent race toward a theory that would conquer the empire of time.

The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness


António R. Damásio - 1999
    All over the world scientists, psychologists, and philosophers are waiting to read Antonio Damasio's new theory of the nature of consciousness and the construction of the self. A renowned and revered scientist and clinician, Damasio has spent decades following amnesiacs down hospital corridors, waiting for comatose patients to awaken, and devising ingenious research using PET scans to piece together the great puzzle of consciousness. In his bestselling Descartes' Error, Damasio revealed the critical importance of emotion in the making of reason. Building on this foundation, he now shows how consciousness is created. Consciousness is the feeling of what happens-our mind noticing the body's reaction to the world and responding to that experience. Without our bodies there can be no consciousness, which is at heart a mechanism for survival that engages body, emotion, and mind in the glorious spiral of human life. A hymn to the possibilities of human existence, a magnificent work of ingenious science, a gorgeously written book, The Feeling of What Happens is already being hailed as a classic.

Mindfulness for everyday people: EVERYDAY MINDFULNESS IN PRACTICE: Simple and practical ways for everyday mindfulness


Anna Fox - 2017
    Whatever you do mindfully, with presence and awareness of what you are doing, you are practicing mindfulness. However, there are also some simple ways and techniques that you can apply in your life throughout the day that can help you with your mindfulness practice. I am not a life coach or psychologist, I am not some special person with some secret knowledge. I am just a regular everyday person and I spent a lot of years of my life seeking the answers on how to be my best self and live my best life, a mindful life. I read many books and took many courses to find those answers but most importantly I lived through a lot of experiences that made me who I am today and helped me grow, helped me become my best self. I struggled with depression, eating disorder, health problems, pain from losing my father at the age of 12, challenging and painful childhood and finding my purpose and meaning. I overcame a lot of pain, struggles, obstacles and setbacks and I can tell you from the experience that it can be done. Everything I share with you is my personal experience and practices that I tried and that worked for me. We will cover several morning, day and evening mindful practices: Mindful morning: - Mindful breathing - Mindful meditation - Sun Salutation Mindful day: - Mindful work - Mindful eating - Mindful communication Mindful evening: - Mindful walking - Gratitude - Body scanning Plus, I am offering a BONUS inside that you can download for FREE, that can help you with your mindfulness practice – “Gratitude Journal – 365 days of gratitude, inspiring quotes and photographs”. If you like simple and concrete advice that actually works in practice you will like this book. Download your copy today and start with your everyday mindfulness in practice!

I Can't But Jesus Can: Experiencing the Power of Surrender


Adam Houge - 2015
    Before you can make a difference first you need to learn and be changed by the power of surrender. In this book you will discover everything you need to understand God’s will, increase your faith, and experience Jesus more intimately in your life. All you have to do is begin with surrender.

LSD: My Problem Child – Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science


Albert Hofmann - 1979
    He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. We follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery. Underlying it all is Dr. Hofmann's powerful conclusion that mystical experience may be our planet's best hope for survival. Whether induced by LSD, meditation, or arising spontaneously, such experiences help us to comprehend "the wonder, the mystery of the divine‹in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula, in the seeds of plants, in the body and soul of people." More than sixty years after the birth of Albert Hofmann's problem child, his vision of its true potential is more relevant, and more needed, than ever.

Physics and Technology for Future Presidents: An Introduction to the Essential Physics Every World Leader Needs to Know


Richard A. Muller - 2006
    From the physics of energy to climate change, and from spy technology to quantum computers, this is the only textbook to focus on the modern physics affecting the decisions of political leaders and CEOs and, consequently, the lives of every citizen. How practical are alternative energy sources? Can satellites really read license plates from space? What is the quantum physics behind iPods and supermarket scanners? And how much should we fear a terrorist nuke? This lively book empowers students possessing any level of scientific background with the tools they need to make informed decisions and to argue their views persuasively with anyone--expert or otherwise.Based on Richard Muller's renowned course at Berkeley, the book explores critical physics topics: energy and power, atoms and heat, gravity and space, nuclei and radioactivity, chain reactions and atomic bombs, electricity and magnetism, waves, light, invisible light, climate change, quantum physics, and relativity. Muller engages readers through many intriguing examples, helpful facts to remember, a fun-to-read text, and an emphasis on real-world problems rather than mathematical computation. He includes chapter summaries, essay and discussion questions, Internet research topics, and handy tips for instructors to make the classroom experience more rewarding.Accessible and entertaining, "Physics and Technology for Future Presidents" gives students the scientific fluency they need to become well-rounded leaders in a world driven by science and technology.Professors: A supplementary Instructor's Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: http: //press.princeton.edu/class_use/solutio...

Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy


Kip S. Thorne - 1994
    In this masterfully written and brilliantly informed work of scientific history and explanation, Dr. Thorne, the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, leads his readers through an elegant, always human, tapestry of interlocking themes, coming finally to a uniquely informed answer to the great question: what principles control our universe and why do physicists think they know the things they think they know? Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has been one of the greatest best-sellers in publishing history. Anyone who struggled with that book will find here a more slowly paced but equally mind-stretching experience, with the added fascination of a rich historical and human component.

Organic Chemistry


Jonathan Clayden - 2000
    It treats the subject as a coherent whole, complete with numerous logical connections, consequences, and an underlying structure and language. Employing an approach based on mechanism and reaction type, the book empasizes understanding ideas rather than merely memorizing facts. It shows students how to realistically draw molecules and mechanisms to reveal the fundamental chemistry.Using a fresh, accessible writing style as well as examples from everyday life, the authors explain the basics of organic chemistry carefully and thoroughly. A special focus on mechanism, orbitals, and stereochemistry helps students gain a solid comprehension of important factors common to all reactions. The book's innovative design enhances clarity and instruction with boxes that separate summary information and other material from the main text; a variety of colors that draw attention to items such as atoms, molecules, and orbitals; and figures that are drawn in red with significant parts emphasized in black. Early chapters feature carbonyl group reactions, and later chapters systematically develop the chemistry through discussions of spectroscopy, stereochemistry, and chemical reactions.Each chapter opens with a Connections box, divided into three columns:- Building on: Details material from previous chapters that relate to the current chapter- Arriving at: Provides a guide to the content of the chapter- Looking forward to: Previews later chapters, which develop and expand the current material

Explaining Physics: GCSE Edition


Stephen Pople - 1987
    "Explaining Physics" emphasizes the applications and social effects of physics, and extends its treatment of energy and electronics. The features are: introductory page to each unit to bring out the relevance of the material to everyday life; simple questions at the end of each unit to consolidate learning; and helpful revision summary.

The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve


Steve Stewart-Williams - 2018
    It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our child-rearing patterns, our moral codes, our religions, languages, and science? The book tackles these issues by drawing on ideas from two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory. The guiding assumption is that humans are animals, and that like all animals, we evolved to pass on our genes. At some point, however, we also evolved the capacity for culture - and from that moment, culture began evolving in its own right. This transformed us from a mere ape into an ape capable of reshaping the planet, travelling to other worlds, and understanding the vast universe of which we're but a tiny, fleeting fragment.

A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain


John J. Ratey - 2001
    Ratey provides insight into the basic structure and chemistry of the brain, and demonstrates how its systems shape our perceptions, emotions, and behavior. By giving us a greater understanding of how the brain responds to the guidance of its user, he provides us with knowledge that can enable us to improve our lives.In A User’s Guide to the Brain, Ratey clearly and succinctly surveys what scientists now know about the brain and how we use it. He looks at the brain as a malleable organ capable of improvement and change, like any muscle, and examines the way specific motor functions might be applied to overcome neural disorders ranging from everyday shyness to autism. Drawing on examples from his practice and from everyday life, Ratey illustrates that the most important lesson we can learn about our brains is how to use them to their maximum potential.

Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves


George M. Church - 2012
    Building a house would entail no more work than planting a seed in the ground. These scenarios may seem far-fetched, but pioneering geneticist George Church and science writer Ed Regis show that synthetic biology is bringing us ever closer to making such visions a reality. In Regenesis, Church and Regis explore the possibilities—and perils—of the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, in which living organisms are selectively altered by modifying substantial portions of their genomes, allows for the creation of entirely new species of organisms. Until now, nature has been the exclusive arbiter of life, death, and evolution; with synthetic biology, we now have the potential to write our own biological future. Indeed, as Church and Regis show, it even enables us to revisit crucial points in the evolution of life and, through synthetic biological techniques, choose different paths from those nature originally took. Such exploits will involve far more than just microbial tinkering. Full-blown genomic engineering will make possible incredible feats, from resurrecting woolly mammoths and other extinct organisms to creating mirror life forms with a molecular structure the opposite of our own. These technologies—far from the out-of-control nightmare depicted in science fiction—have the power to improve human and animal health, increase our intelligence, enhance our memory, and even extend our life span. A breathtaking look at the potential of this world-changing technology, Regenesis is nothing less than a guide to the future of life.

The Fractal Geometry of Nature


Benoît B. Mandelbrot - 1977
    The complexity of nature's shapes differs in kind, not merely degree, from that of the shapes of ordinary geometry, the geometry of fractal shapes.Now that the field has expanded greatly with many active researchers, Mandelbrot presents the definitive overview of the origins of his ideas and their new applications. The Fractal Geometry of Nature is based on his highly acclaimed earlier work, but has much broader and deeper coverage and more extensive illustrations.