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The memory of animals : a novel / by Fuller, Claire,author.;
"In the face of a pandemic, an unprepared world scrambles to escape the mysterious disease causing sensory damage, nerve loss, and, in most cases, death. Neffy, a disgraced and desperately indebted twenty-seven-year-old marine biologist, registers for an experimental vaccine trial in London-perhaps humanity's last hope for a cure. Though isolated from the chaos outside, she and the other volunteers-Rachel, Leon, Yahiko, and Piper-cannot hide from the mistakes that led them there. As London descends into chaos outside the hospital windows, Neffy befriends Leon, who before the pandemic had been working on a controversial technology that allows users to revisit their memories. She withdraws into projections of her past-a childhood bisected by divorce, a recent love affair, her obsessive research with octopuses and the one mistake that ended her career. The lines between past, present, and future begin to blur, and Neffy is left with defining questions: Who can she trust? Why can't she forgive herself? How should she live, if she survives? Claire Fuller's The Memory of Animals is an ambitious, deeply imagined work of survival and suspense, grief and hope, consequences and connectedness that asks what truly defines us-and the lengths we will go to rescue ourselves and those we love"--
Subjects: Dystopian fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Epidemics; Human experimentation in medicine; Secrecy; Social isolation;

Calling bullshit : the art of skepticism in a data-driven world / by Bergstrom, Carl T.,author.; West, Jevin D.(Jevin Darwin),1977-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The world is awash in bullshit, and we're drowning in it. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. These days, calling bullshit is a noble act. Based on Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West's popular course at the University of Washington, Calling Bullshit is a modern handbook to the art of skepticism. Bergstrom, a computational biologist, and West, an information scientist, catalogue bullshit in its many forms, explaining and offering readers the tools to see through the obfuscations, deliberate and careless, that dominate every realm of our lives. They instruct readers to ask: Who is saying it? How do they know? What do they have to gain by persuading me? Are the numbers or results too good or too dramatic to be true? Is the claim comparing like with like or apples and oranges? Is it confirming your personal bias? In this lively guide to everything from misleading statistics to "fake news," Bergstrom and West help you recognize bullshit whenever and wherever you encounter it--in data, in conversation, even within yourself--and explain it to your crystal-loving aunt or casually racist uncle. Now more than ever, calling bullshit is crucial to a properly functioning community, whether it be a circle of friends, a network of academics, or the citizenry of a nation"--
Subjects: Skepticism.;

Wayfinding : the science and mystery of how humans navigate the world / by O'Connor, M. R.,1982-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."At once far flung and intimate, a fascinating look at how finding our way make us human. In this compelling narrative, O'Connor seeks out neuroscientists, anthropologists and master navigators to understand how navigation ultimately gave us our humanity. Biologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how organisms have the ability to migrate and orient with such precision -- especially since our own adventurous ancestors spread across the world without maps or instruments. O'Connor goes to the Arctic, the Australian bush and the South Pacific to talk to masters of their environment who seek to preserve their traditions at a time when anyone can use a GPS to navigate. O'Connor explores the neurological basis of spatial orientation within the hippocampus. Without it, people inhabit a dream state, becoming amnesiacs incapable of finding their way, recalling the past, or imagining the future. Studies have shown that the more we exercise our cognitive mapping skills, the greater the grey matter and health of our hippocampus. O'Connor talks to scientists studying how atrophy in the hippocampus is associated with afflictions such as impaired memory, dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, depression and PTSD. Wayfinding is a captivating book that charts how our species' profound capacity for exploration, memory and storytelling results in topophilia, the love of place"--
Subjects: Orientation (Physiology); Space perception.;

Life on a little-known planet : dispatches from a changing world / by Kolbert, Elizabeth,author.;
"A landmark collection of Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Kolbert's most important pieces about climate change and the natural world. From her National Magazine Award-winning series The Climate of Man to her Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert's work has shaped the way we think about the environment in the twenty-first century. Collected in Life on a Little-Known Planet are her most influential and thought-provoking essays. An intrepid reporter and a skillful translator of scientific ideas, Kolbert expertly captures the wonders of nature and paints vivid portraits of the researchers and concerned citizens working to preserve them. She takes readers all around the globe, from an island in Denmark that's succeeded in going carbon neutral, to a community in Florida that voted to give rights to waterways, to the Greenland ice sheet, which is melting in a way that has implications for everyone. We meet a biologist who believes we can talk to whales, an entomologist racing to find rare caterpillars before they disappear, and a climatologist who's considered the "father of global warming," amongst other scientists at the forefront of environmental protection. The threats to our planet that Kolbert has devoted so much of her career to exposing have only grown more serious. Now is the time to deepen our understanding of the world we are in danger of losing"--
Subjects: Essays.; Climatic changes.; Environmental protection; Global environmental change.; Global warming.; Nature conservation.;

The scientist and the psychic : a son's exploration of his mother's gift / by Smith, Christian,1969-author.;
"The captivating story of a neuroscientist's life with his famous psychic mother and his extraordinary investigation into the science of the paranormal. Christian Smith realized his mother was different in the autumn of 1977 when he was eight years old. Before then, he'd witnessed seances at home and the kids at school sometimes teased him about his mom being a witch--so he sensed that his life wasn't typical. But it wasn't until he was backstage at Massey Hall in Toronto, watching from behind a curtain as Geraldine commanded an audience of 2,000 with her extrasensory readings, that he understood she was special. An only child to a single parent, in subsequent years he would assume the role of the quiet observer, while Geraldine guided a live CBC broadcast of a seance; made startling and consistently accurate predictions; and eventually offered her services to the parents of murder victims in LA. Over time, the high profile and emotionally depleting work affected Geraldine's health and relationships--addiction took over her life, and her son pulled away. Fast forward to the present day: Christian is a molecular biologist at the Hospital for Sick Children, and Geraldine is retired and in poor health. They are closer than they've ever been, and now he gives us the story of her undeniable perceptual abilities and pioneering work as a psychic--and endeavours to make scientific sense of it. Weaving together the strands of a complicated mother-son relationship with research into the paranormal, The Scientist and the Psychic is a fascinating, one-of-a-kind true story of belief, skepticism and familial love."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Stringer, Geraldine.; Smith, Christian, 1969-; Parapsychology and science.; Science and spiritualism.; Mothers and sons; Psychics; Neuroscientists;

Love of My Life, The Another OMG love story from the million copy bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call [electronic resource] : by Walsh, Rosie.aut; Church, Imogen.nrt; Solomon, Theo.nrt; cloudLibrary;
A compelling OMG love story, The Love of My Life is a bold, mysterious romance from Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't Call. 'Dazzling' - Lisa Jewell, author of The Family Upstairs I have held you every night for ten years and I didn’t even know your name. We have a child together. A dog, a house. Who are you? Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she's told them about herself is a lie. And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer and Emma is a well-known marine biologist. So, when she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best: reading and writing about her life. But as he starts to unravel her past, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name is made-up. When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past life finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was. But first, she must tell him about the love of her other life . . . 'Stunning' – Daily Mail 'A winning combination of big emotions and didn't-see-that-coming twist' – Good Housekeeping 'I couldn't put it down' - Jane Fallon, author of Worst Idea Ever 'An absolute triumph' - Jill Mansell, author of Should I Tell You? 'It made me cry, smile and hug my own loved ones a little tighter' - Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Contemporary; Suspense; Suspense;
© 2022., Pan Macmillan,

Our green heart : the soul and science of forests / by Beresford-Kroeger, Diana,1944-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In this inspiring culmination of Diana Beresford-Kroeger's life's work as botanist, biochemist, biologist and poet of the global forest, she delivers a challenge to us all to dig deeper into the science of forests and the ways they will save us from climate breakdown -- and then do our part to plant and protect them. As the last child in Ireland to receive a full Druidic education, Diana Beresford-Kroeger has brought an unusual and ancient holistic attitude to the science of trees, which has led her to many fresh insights into how closely we are tied to one another and to the natural world. Her influential message is to pay rapt attention to trees, because they are the green heart of the living world. Forests are our lungs, our medicine, our oxygen and the renewal of our soil. Planting the right trees in the right places, protecting the last virgin forests and working to create new ones is our best means to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren on this burning earth. Each of the essays gathered in Our Green Heart show us a slice of the natural world through Diana's unique lens, illuminating the way our health, individually and as a species, is tied to the health of the forest -- a tie we ignore at our peril. She maps the science that still needs to be done -- there is so much we don't know about the ways trees and forests work -- but also, eloquently, shows us the path to survival that her own science has revealed, the "bioplan" or blueprint for the connectivity of life in nature. If we realize that even the flowerpot on our doorstep is a natural habitat, and plant it according to its bioplan, we will be aiding and abetting life rather than destroying it"--
Subjects: Climatic changes.; Forest conservation.; Forest ecology.; Forest health.; Forests and forestry; Human-plant relationships.;

The Martians : the true story of an alien craze that captured turn-of-the-century America / by Baron, David,1964-author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-303) and index."'In the early 1900s, many Americans actually believed we had discovered intelligent life on Mars, as best-selling science writer David Baron chronicles in The Martians, his truly bizarre tale of a nation swept up in Mars mania. At the center of Baron's historical drama is Percival Lowell, the Boston Brahmin and Harvard scion, who observed "canals" etched into the surface of Mars. Lowell devised a grand theory that the red planet was home to a utopian society that had built gargantuan ditches to funnel precious meltwater from the polar icecaps to desert farms and oasis cities. The public fell in love with the ambitious amateur astronomer who shared his findings in speeches and wildly popular books. While at first people treated the Martians whimsically -- Martians headlining Broadway shows, biologists speculating whether they were winged or gilled -- the discussion quickly became serious. Inventor Nikola Tesla announced he had received radio signals from Mars; Alexander Graham Bell agreed there was "no escape from the conviction" that intelligent beings inhabited the planet. Martian excitement reached its zenith when Lowell financed an expedition to photograph Mars from Chile's Atacama Desert, resulting in what newspapers hailed as proof of the Martian canals' existence. Triumph quickly yielded to tragedy. Those wild claims and highly speculative photographs emboldened Lowell's critics, whose withering attacks gathered steam and eventually wrecked the man and his theory -- but not the fervor he had started. Although Lowell would die discredited and delusional in 1916, the Mars frenzy spurred a nascent literary genre called science fiction, and the world's sense of its place in the universe would never be the same."--
Subjects: Lowell, Percival, 1855-1916.; Collective behavior.; Extraterrestrial beings.; Life on other planets.; Martians.;

Hatchet Island / by Doiron, Paul,author.;
"An eerie, windswept island off the coast of Maine becomes the site of a double murder and a disappearance in Hatchet Island, the next thriller in Paul Doiron's bestselling Mike Bowditch series. A call for help from a former colleague leads Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch and his girlfriend Stacey Stevens on a sea kayaking trip to a research station far off the coast. Stacey spent summers interning on the island, a sanctuary for endangered seabirds, and they are shocked by what they hear when they come ashore. The biologists are being threatened by local fishermen and stalked by a mysterious boatman who seems intent on trespassing on the refuge. Even worse, their leader, whose mind is slowly unraveling after the unexplained suicide of a young intern, has now gone missing. Camped on a nearby islet for the night, Mike and Stacey waken to the sound of a gunshot. When they return to the refuge at dawn, their darkest fears are confirmed: two of the three researchers have been brutally murdered and the third has disappeared, along with the island skiff. Mike's quest to find the missing man reveals new suspects including a Marine Patrol officer with a history of violence and the sanctuary's enigmatic founder, who conveniently reappears after the killings. The search expands to a nearby island owned by a world-renowned photographer with a scandalous reputation. The artist and his equally brilliant wife wield a powerful hold over the inhabitants of their private kingdom, and Mike increasingly comes to believe that someone in the village knows more about the killings than they dare admit. With no one to trust and miles from shore, Mike Bowditch must stop a ruthless murderer determined to make sure a terrifying secret never sees the light of day"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Novels.; Bowditch, Mike; Game wardens; Missing persons; Murder; Islands;

Bees : an identification and native plant forage guide / by Holm, Heather,1972-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.This well-illustrated guide captures the beauty, diversity, and engaging world of bees and the native plants that support them. Superbly designed and organized, this is an indispensable source of information with extensive profiles for twenty-seven bee genera, plus twelve mini profiles for uncommon genera, and approximately one hundred native trees, shrubs, and perennials for the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast regions. With over 1500 stunning photographs, detailed descriptions, and accessible science, environmental educator and research assistant Heather Holm brings to light captivating information about bees' life cycles, habitats, diet, foraging behaviors, crops pollinated, nesting lifestyles, seasonality, and preferred native forage plants. Bees are a singularly fascinating group of insects and this book makes it possible to observe, attract, and support them in their natural setting or in one's own garden. Not only does this guide assist the reader with bee identification in the field or by photo, it also notes microscopic features for the advanced user. The factors impacting bee populations, and the management of farms and public and residential landscapes for bees are also covered. Included in the bee forage (plant) chapters are plant profiles with range maps, habitat information, floral features and attractants, common bees attracted to the particular plant, and details about the ecological connections between the native plant and other flower-visiting insects. Noted also are birds dependent upon the product of the pollinated flowers (fruits and seeds). This is an excellent reference for amateur and professional naturalists, educators, gardeners, farmers, students, nature photographers, insect enthusiasts, biologists, and anyone interested in learning more about the diversity and biology of bees and their connection to native plants and the natural world.
Subjects: Bees; Forage plants;

Results 71 to 80 of 87 | « previous |