Popular Science

A sweeping tour of the galaxies, from our Milky Way to infinity. Galaxies are glittering islands in the Universe, interwoven in the web of Dark Matter. From Earth's mountaintops enormous...

The development of the placenta was a pivotal event in evolution. Without it, we would still be laying eggs instead of giving birth to live offspring. It represents the critical...

Mathematics is a fundamental human activity that can be practised and understood in a multitude of ways; indeed, mathematical ideas themselves are far from being fixed, but are adapted and...

From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas or the cooling of a hot metal, to the unfolding of a thought in our minds and even the course of...

This Very Short Introduction uses Newton's own unpublished writings to provide fascinating insight into the man who kept the Royal Society under his thumb, was Head of the Mint, and...

The eye is one of the most remarkable achievements of evolution, and has evolved up to 40 times in different parts of the animal kingdom. In humans, vision is the...

Authoritative and reliable, this A-Z provides jargon-free definitions for even the most technical mathematical terms. With over 3,000 entries ranging from Achilles paradox to zero matrix, it covers all commonly...

Where did I come from? Why do I have two arms but just one head? How is my left leg the same size as my right one? Why are the...

For many centuries, Aristotle's Physics was the essential starting point for anyone who wished to study the natural sciencesThis book begins with an analysis of change, which introduces us to...

The Cosmic Mystery Tour takes us on a lightning tour of the mysteries of the universe enlivened by brief stories of the colourful characters who created modern science. It explores...

The past few years have seen a revolution in our ability to map whole genome DNA from ancient humans. With the ancient DNA revolution, combined with rapid genome mapping of...

For all the discussion in the media about creationism and 'Intelligent Design', virtually nothing has been said about the evidence in question - the evidence for evolution by natural selection....

Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in...

For many decades, the proponents of `artificial intelligence' have maintained that computers will soon be able to do everything that a human can do. In his bestselling work of popular...

Games are everywhere: Drivers manoeuvring in heavy traffic are playing a driving game. Bargain hunters bidding on eBay are playing an auctioning game. A firm negotiating next year's wage is...

Seventy years ago, Erwin Schroedinger posed a profound question: 'What is life, and how did it emerge from non-life?' This problem has puzzled biologists and physical scientists ever since. Living...

In a startling reinterpretation of the evidence, Stillman Drake advances the hypothesis that Galileo's trial and condemnation by the Inquisition was caused not by his defiance of the Church, but...

Nuclear physics began long before the identification of fundamental particles, with J. J. Thomson's discovery of the electron at the end of the 19th century, which implied the existence of...

Throughout history, humans have attempted to influence and control the thoughts of others. Since the word 'brainwashing' was coined in the aftermath of the Korean War, it has become part...

The processes in a single living cell are akin to that of a city teeming with molecular inhabitants that move, communicate, cooperate, and compete. In this Very Short Introduction, Philip...

Raging wildfires have devastated vast areas of California and Australia in recent years, and predictions are that we will see more of the same in coming years, as a result...

Oxygen has had extraordinary effects on life. Three hundred million years ago, in Carboniferous times, dragonflies grew as big as seagulls, with wingspans ofnearly a metre. Researchers claim they could...

Darwin's theory that our ancestors were apes caused a furore in the scientific world and outside it when The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Arguments still rage about...

This Very Short Introduction traces the history of paleoanthropology from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the latest fossil finds. Although concentrating on the fossil evidence for human evolution,...

A little over a century ago, the world went wireless. Cables and all their limiting inefficiencies gave way to a revolutionary means of transmitting news and information almost everywhere, instantaneously....

Nikola Tesla's life is as interesting for his idiosyncrasy as it is for his brilliance. The inventor's mind knew no limits and his incredible sense of possibility rings through his...

'Vivid, thrilling, a delight ... Tim Flannery is a palaeontologist and ecologist of global standing, and this is a compelling and authoritative narrative of the evolution of Europe's flora and...

THE CLASSIC GUIDE, NOW FULLY REVISED AND UPDATEDWhy do we need Statistics?What do terms like 'dispersion', 'correlation', 'normal distribution' and 'significance' actually mean?How can I learn how to think statistically?This...

'A gripping new drama in science ... if you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this' Professor Andrew Briggs, University of OxfordWhen Darwin set out...

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARThe No.1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind brings us a stunning new vision of our future in spaceHuman civilization is on...

The third volume in Leonard Susskind's one-of-a-kind physics series cracks open Einstein's special relativity and field theoryIn the first two books in his wildly popular The Theoretical Minimum series, world-class...

'Mind-blowing ... It is a hugely important book ... His story is crucial' Matt Ridley, The TimesOne of the world's top behavioural geneticists argues that we need a radical rethink...

'Astonishing . . . an amazing book . . . absolutely chocker full of things that we need to know' Chris Evans'Matthew Walker is probably one of the most influential...

'The physicist transforming how we see the universe' (Financial Times)'An utter joy' (Adam Rutherford)'A hugely engaging book... Rovelli is a charming, thought-provoking tour guide' (Manjit Kumar Prospect)Do space and time...

The hugely influential book on how the understanding of causality revolutionized science and the world, by the pioneer of artificial intelligence'Wonderful ... illuminating and fun to read' Daniel Kahneman, Nobel...

Why do we laugh? What makes memories fade? Why do people believe in ghosts? How the Mind Works explores every aspect of mental life, showing that our minds are not...

'This is a book of miracles. Fascinating... An absorbing compendium of unlikely recoveries from physical and mental ailments offers evidence that the brain can heal... brings Oliver Sacks to mind'...

'Quantum mechanics for real. This is the good stuff, the most mysterious aspects of how reality works, set out with crystalline clarity. The place to start' Sean Carroll, physicist, California...

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2017 ORWELL PRIZE'Eye-opening, extraordinary insights into ordinary lives' Financial Times 'Superb' Literary ReviewThe remarkable story of a unique series of studies that have touched the lives of...

'Beautifully clear explanations of famously "difficult" things ... It almost makes you think you could have been a Newton yourself' John Gribbin Here is the ultimate master class in modern...

Michio Kaku, the international bestselling author of Physics of the Impossible, gives us a stunning and provocative vision of the future of the mindRecording memories, mind reading, videotaping our dreams,...

Mailer's superb account, written as it was happening, of the first attempt to land men on the moon'Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.'A Fire on the Moon tells...

Chosen as a BOOK OF THE YEAR in The Times, The Spectator, Prospect, Sunday Times, Economist, New Statesman, Telegraph, Financial Times, TLS, New York Times, and Washington Post. 'This is...

In You are Not a Gadget digital guru and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier reveals how the internet is deadening personal interaction, stifling genuine inventiveness and even changing us as...

Michio Kaku's Physics of the Future: The Inventions that will Transform our Lives is a hypothetical journey through the next 100 years of scientific innovation, as told by the scientists...

The race to the moon was won spectacularly by Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969. When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their 'giant step' across a ghostly lunar...