The wonderful inventions we now cannot live without—fromhigh-heels to tea-bags, pencils to x-rays, each story is an amazing mix of luck and a whole lot ofperseverance and hard work.Imagine what our hot summers would be without ice-lolly? The horrors of never tasting potatochips!What would we do without our quick-fix Superglue? We hardly give a thought to the manylittle things we use every day. Don’t you think it’s time we learnt about a few stories of origin?Where do they come from? Who invented them and how?Learn about 51 fascinating stories of inventions in a book blending adorable, simple illustrationswith lively text bursting with facts. Who knows, you might accidentally come up with an inventionone day too

    Thundering Silence presents the early teachings of the Buddha on how to see reality clearly without becoming caught by the notions and ideologies.

    His conception of the universe pervades Christian theology. Knowledge of his thought is necessary to understand Bacon, Galileo, and the modern scientific view of nature, as well as Dante and many passages from Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton. Many phrases such as liberal education and theory contrasted with practice originated with this student of Plato and tutor of Alexander the Great.Writing to inform the beginner and stimulate the expert, eminent scholar A. E. Taylor presents a searching analysis of Aristotle's thought, including classification of the sciences; formal logic; theory of knowledge; matter and form; the four causes; God; physics; biology; sensation; ethics; theory of the state; and the fine arts. He also considers Aristotle's provincialism, errors regarding the nervous system and astronomy, and defense of slavery.The Giants of Philosophy is a series of dramatic presentations, in understandable language, of the concerns, questions, interests, and overall world view of history's greatest philosophers. Special emphasis on clear and relevant explanations gives you a new arsenal of insights toward living a better life.

    Cave paintings of the giant beasts hint at the profound role they played in early human culture-our Ice Age ancestors built igloo-shaped huts out of mammoth bones and even feasted on mammoth tongues. Eager to uncover more clues to this mystical prehistoric age, explorers since the time of Peter the Great have scoured Siberia for mammoth remains. Now a new generation of explorers has taken to the tundra. Armed with GPS, ground-penetrating radar, and Soviet-era military helicopters, they seek an elusive prize: a mammoth carcass that will help determine how the creature lived, how it died-and how it might be brought back to life.In this adventure-filled narrative, science writer Richard Stone follows two teams of explorers-one Russian/Japanese, the other a French-led consortium-as they battle bitter cold, high winds, supply shortages, and the deeply rooted superstitions of indigenous peoples who fear the consequences of awakening the "rat beneath the ice." Stone travels from St. Petersburg to the Arctic Circle, from the North Sea to high-tech Japanese laboratories, as he traces the sometimes-surreal quest of these intrepid scientists, whose work could well rewrite our planet's evolutionary history. A riveting tale of high-stakes adventure and scientific hubris, Mammoth is also an intellectual voyage through uncharted moral terrain, as we confront the promise and peril of resurrecting creatures from the deep past.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Born of modest means in what is now Croatia and later becoming a naturalized American citizen, Tesla’s inventions include the alternating current (AC) that powers our homes today, radio, wireless transmission, X-rays, and the electrifying Tesla coil. He even worked on development of direct energy weapons (death rays) and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. During his lifetime Tesla moved first to Paris, then to New York, and after a period of time in Colorado Springs back to New York City where he maintained two laboratories. Along the way he worked for Edison, then became his biggest rival, and formed friendships with such divergent personalities as George Westinghouse, Mark Twain, a pigeon, all while reflecting on a childhood cat. His idiosyncrasies included an obsession with numbers divisible by three, ardent gambling, and a near-pathological fear of germs. He rarely slept more than a few hours at a time, often going days without rest. While generally soft-spoken, he could be a consummate showman, often insisting that his Tesla coil be present while he lectured, seemingly shooting lightning bolts as he spoke. In the end he died alone and nearly penniless, having ceded perhaps billions of dollars in royalties to his friend George Westinghouse. This illustrated book takes us through Tesla’s life, his experiments and contributions to science, and brings us into his complex mind. Through ample use of his writings and interviews with the societies and inventors clubs that honor his name, we explore Tesla’s methods and discoveries, personality quirks, and his legacy for the modern world – both scientific and popular culture.

    It discusses how to plan your stargazing and what you can see with your eyes, as well as how to choose binoculars and telescopes and what you can see using them. The book also offers seasonal star charts and constellation charts and gives readers specific objects to look for in the sky. This guide from Royal Observatory Greenwich provides all you need to know to get started in stargazing and discover the universe.

    The desire that my husband would be completely healed from his disease, and how he is still suffering through this every day. It is all hurting my heart, and then I think about hope..."Take this four week journey to challenge and renew your thoughts on hope.

    The book has undergone three editions, several reprints, and revised reprints in a span of 13 years. There are many biochemistry textbooks in the market. Some of them are purely basic while others are applied, and there are very few books which cover both these aspects together. For this reason, the students learning biochemistry in their undergraduate courses have to depend on multiple books to acquire a sound knowledge of the subject. This book, ‘Biochemistry’ is unique with a simultaneous and equal emphasis on basic and applied aspects of biochemistry. This textbook offers an integration of medical and pure sciences, comprehensively written to meet the curriculum requirements of undergraduate courses in medical, dental, pharmacy, life-sciences and other categories (agriculture, veterinary, etc.). This book is designed to develop in students a sustained interest and enthusiasm to learn and develop the concepts in biochemistry in a logical and stepwise manner. It incorporates a variety of pedagogic aids, besides colour illustrations to help the students understand the subject quickly and to the maximum. The summary and biomedical/clinical concepts are intended for a rapid absorption and assimilation of the facts and concepts in biochemistry. The self-assessment exercises will stimulate the students to think rather than merely learn the subject. In addition, these exercises (essays, short notes, fill in the blanks, multiple choice questions) set at different difficulty levels, will cater to the needs of all the categories of learners.New to This Edition The book offers an integration of medical and pure sciences, and is comprehensively written, revised and updated to meet the curriculum requirements of Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Veterinary, Biotechnology, Agricultural Sciences, Life Sciences, and others studying Biochemistry as one of the subjects. It is the first text book on Biochemistry in English with multi-colour illustrations by an author from Asia. The use of multicolours is for a clearer understanding of the complicated biochemical reactions. It is written in a lucid style with the subject being presented as an engaging story growing from elementary information to the most recent advances, and with theoretical discussions being supplemented with illustrations, flowcharts, and tables for easy understanding of Biochemistry. It has each chapter beginning with a four-line verse followed by the text, biomedical concepts, a summary, and self-assessment exercises. The lively illustrations and text with appropriate headings and sub-headings in bold type faces facilitate reading path clarity and quick recall. It provides the most recent and essential information on Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Diabetes, Cancer, Free Radicals, Free radicals and Antioxidants, Prostaglandins, etc. It describes a wide variety of case studies and biochemical correlations and several newer biomedical aspects- Metabolic syndrome, Therapeutic diets, Atkins diet, Trans fatty acids, Epigenetics, Nutrigenomics, Recombinant ribozymes, Membrane transport disorders, Pleural fluid etc. It contains the basics (Bioorganic and Biophysical Chemistry, Tools of Biochemistry, Immunology, and Genetics) for beginners to learn easily Biochemistry, origins of biochemical words, confusables in Biochemistry, principles of Practical Biochemistry, and Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory.

    The author writes entertainingly of mosses on rocks and walls, in containers, and as a lush ground cover, and he presents a gallery of his favorite moss species.

    These fundamental concepts provide the structure for 101 Quantum Questions, an authoritative yet engaging book for the general reader in which every question and answer brings out one or more basic features of the mysterious world of the quantum--the physics of the very small. Nuclear researcher and master teacher, Ford covers everything from quarks, quantum jumps, and what causes stars to shine, to practical applications ranging from lasers and superconductors to light-emitting diodes. Ford's lively answers are enriched by Paul Hewitt's drawings, numerous photos of physicists, and anecdotes, many from Ford's own experience. Organized for cover-to-cover reading, 101 Quantum Questions also is great for browsing. Some books focus on a single subject such as the standard model of particles, or string theory, or fusion energy. This book touches all those topics and more, showing us that disparate natural phenomena, as well as a host of manmade inventions, can be understood in terms of a few key ideas.

    Learners develop useful and relevant vocabulary while exploring and expanding critical thinking skills.

    But his heart was failing. After months of waiting for a heart transplant, he died during the operation. Hours after his death, his wife Susan was asked a shocking question: would she donate her husband’s face to a total stranger?The stranger was James Maki, the adopted son of parents who spent part of World War II in an internment camp for Japanese Americans. Rebelling against his stern father, a professor, by enlisting to serve in Vietnam, he returned home a broken man, addicted to drugs. One night he fell facedown onto the electrified third rail of a Boston subway track.A young Czech surgeon who was determined to make a better life on the other side of the Iron Curtain was on call when the ambulance brought Maki to the hospital. Although Dr. Bohdan Pomahac gave him little chance of survival, Maki battled back. He was sober and grateful for a second chance, but he became a recluse, a man without a face. His only hope was a controversial face transplant, and Dr. Pomahac made it happen.In The Match, Susan Whitman Helfgot captures decades of drama and history, taking us from Warsaw to Japan, from New York to Hollywood. Through wars and immigration, poverty and persecution, from a medieval cadaver dissection to a stunning seventeen-hour face transplant, she weaves together the story of people forever intertwined—a triumphant legacy of hope.

    Supersized life spans are going to radically alter society, and present an unprecedented opportunity to change our approach not only to old age but to all of life’s stages. The ramifications are just beginning to dawn on us.... yet in the meantime, we keep thinking about, and planning for, life as it used to be lived. In A Long Bright Future, longevity and aging expert Laura Carstensen guides us into the new possibilities offered by a longer life. She debunks the myths and misconceptions about aging that stop us from adequately preparing for the future both as individuals and as a society: that growing older is associated with loneliness and unhappiness, and that only the genetically blessed live well and long. She then focuses on other important components of a long life, including finances, health, social relationships, Medicare and Social Security, challenging our preconceived notions of “old age” every step of the way.

    In Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Cotter not only offers readers an in-depth exploration of best organic mushroom cultivation practices; he shares the results of his groundbreaking research and offers myriad ways to apply your cultivation skills and further incorporate mushrooms into your life--whether your goal is to help your community clean up industrial pollution or simply to settle down at the end of the day with a cold Reishi-infused homebrew ale. The book first guides readers through an in-depth exploration of indoor and outdoor cultivation. Covered skills range from integrating wood-chip beds spawned with king stropharia into your garden and building a "trenched raft" of hardwood logs plugged with shiitake spawn to producing oysters indoors on spent coffee grounds in a 4�4 space or on pasteurized sawdust in vertical plastic columns. For those who aspire to the self-sufficiency gained by generating and expanding spawn rather than purchasing it, Cotter offers in-depth coverage of lab techniques, including low-cost alternatives that make use of existing infrastructure and materials. Cotter also reports his groundbreaking research cultivating morels both indoors and out, "training" mycelium to respond to specific contaminants, and perpetuating spawn on cardboard without the use of electricity. Readers will discover information on making tinctures, powders, and mushroom-infused honey; making an antibacterial mushroom cutting board; and growing mushrooms on your old denim jeans. Geared toward readers who want to grow mushrooms without the use of pesticides, Cotter takes "organic" one step further by introducing an entirely new way of thinking--one that looks at the potential to grow mushrooms on just about anything, just about anywhere, and by anyone.