In the tradition of The Inside of a Dog, top science writer and TV personality Jay Ingram shares new insights into the hearts, minds, and bodies of the animals who love us (or do they?).More than one billion pets live in homes around the world, sleeping on dog beds, clawing at cat trees, swimming in bowls, crawling around in aquariums. Canada, the United States, Brazil, the EU, and China make up half of those households, with half of the world’s population...

From the bestselling author of The Science of Why series, "a 'whodunit' about one of the most fascinating and improbable tales of medical discovery" (Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, author of The Deadly Dinner Party : A nd Other Medical Detective Stories).Discovered and identified as the cause of mad cow disease only three decades ago, the prion is a protein molecule that, when misshapen in the brain, becomes fatal. Novel and controversia...

Most people have never heard of prions. Indeed, most are only barely aware of the diseases caused by them, except, perhaps, for mad cow disease. Yet prions are the stuff of a revolutionary science—a science that might lead to cures for some of humankind’s most devastating diseases.Fatal Flaws is a scientific detective story about this elusive protein, starting with the discovery of kuru, a disease unique to New Guinea in the 1950s that baffled scientists and carried with i...

Ever wonder why onions make you cry? Or why lizards do pushups? Or why leaves change color in the fall?Don’t worry, you’re not alone. 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 r...

If the brain is the theatre, consciousness is the play. But who or what controls what we watch and how we watch it? In Theatre of the Mind Jay Ingram, whose past scientific investigations include the properties of honey on toast and the complexities of the barmaid's brain, tackles one of the most controversial of subjects: consciousness. Scientists have long tried to map our brains and understand how it is that we think and are self-aware, but what do we really know? Any discussio...

A fascinating look at the cutting-edge science and technologies that are on the cusp of changing everything from where we’ll live, how we’ll look, and who we’ll be, by the popular science broadcaster and bestselling author Jay Ingram.Where will we live? How will we get around? What will we look like? These are just some of the questions bestselling author and popular science broadcaster Jay Ingram answers in this exciting examination of the science and technologies...

In The Barmaid's Brain, Jay Ingram explores some of the little known quirks of human behaviour, including why we laugh and how we see mirages; he reports on science's various attempts to reexamine history, including startling theories about the Salem witches, a psychiatric profile of Joan of Arc and the raging debate about the first-ever map of the New World; he brings our attention to remarkable battles, from the parasitic nastiness of cowbirds, to the tiny but deadly guerrilla a...

Chock-full of peculiar puzzles, mind-bending mythbusters, and quirky questions, the fifth pop science book in the bestselling Science of Why series is perfect for anyone curious about the weird and wondrous world we live in.Have you ever wondered if octopuses are from outer space? What Mexican jumping beans are? Or if banana peels are really slippery?If questions like these are keeping you up at night, you can rest easy. Bestselling author Jay Ingram is her...

Canada’s bestselling science writer illuminates the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most puzzling and debilitating conditions of the modern eraIt is a wicked illness that robs its victims of their memories, their ability to think clearly and, ultimately, their lives. For centuries, those afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease have been forced to suffer its devastating effects while family members sit by, watching their loved ones disappear a little more each...

Why doesn't honey flow out in all directions across your toast? What's the science behind the theory of 'six degrees of separation'? How do stones 'skip'? When visiting a new place, why does getting there always seem to take so much longer than returning home? In The Velocity of Honey, bestselling author Jay Ingram muses upon these and many more daily mysteries that puzzle and perplex.From mosquitoes to the Marvel Universe, baseball to baby-holding, Ingram's topics are div...

Back by popular demand: a brand-new volume of science queries, quirks, and quandaries in the mega-bestselling Science of Why series, sure to enlighten and entertain readers of all ages.Have you ever wondered why we close our eyes when we sneeze? Or how far underground things can live? Or if there’s a way to choose the fastest lineup at the grocery store?Yes? Then fasten your seat belts! Bestselling author Jay Ingram is here to take you on a rollercoaster ri...

The newest volume in the beloved Science of Why series—full of fascinating science that will amuse and astonish readers of all ages.Have you wondered why you cringe when fingernails are scratched along a chalkboard? Or why some people are left-handed? Or if a shark can smell a drop of blood a mile away?Then you’re in luck! Bestselling author Jay Ingram is back to answer all those questions and more as he explores and explains the world around us in all of i...