Thoroughly updated from root to leaf, this revised edition of the groundbreaking What a Plant Knows includes new revelations for lovers of all that is vegetal and verdant.Plants can hear—and taste things, too!The renowned biologist Daniel Chamovitz builds on the original edition to present an intriguing look at how plants themselves experience the world—from the colors they see to the schedules they keep, and now, what they...

A captivating journey into the inner lives of plants – from the colours they see to the schedules they keepAn enchanting look at the lives of plants, from the colours they see to the schedules they keep, in time for the start of the planting season'An intriguing look at a plant's consciousness.' Scientific AmericanIn What a Plant Knows, renowned biologist Daniel Chamovitz presents a beguiling explo...

**FINALIST FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD***A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021***A SCIENCE NEWS FAVORITE BOOK OF 2021***A SMITHSONIAN TOP TEN SCIENCE BOOK OF 2021“Stories that both dazzle and edify… This book is not just about life, but about discovery itself.” —Siddhartha Mukherjee, New York Times Book Review**We all assume we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the living world—from protocel...

Winner of the 2010 Royal Society Prize for science booksPowerful new research methods are providing fresh and vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining the atomic structure of proteins and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have all helped to explain creation and evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane uses the full extent of this new knowledge to describe the ten greatest inventions of life, based on their histori...

“A beautiful and very important book.”—Lewis Wolpert, American ScientistFor over a century, opening the black box of embryonic development was the holy grail of biology. Evo Devo—Evolutionary Developmental Biology—is the new science that has finally cracked open the box. Within the pages of his rich and riveting book, Sean B. Carroll explains how we are discovering that complex life is ironically much simpler than anyone ever expected.

We not only share nearly 99% of our genes with chimps, we also have some 35% in common with daffodils. Throughout much of the animal and even plant kingdoms, almost the same ancient genes code for almost the same proteins. And further, to everyone's astonishment, the genes involved in making the complex eyes of fruitflies are close matches to those involved in making the very different eyes of octopuses and people. So what leads to the nature's 'endless forms most beautiful'?The key...

Less than 450 years ago, all European scholars believed that the Earth was at the centre of a Universe that was at most a few million miles in extent, and that the planets, sun, and stars all rotated around this centre. Less than 250 years ago, they believed that the Universe was created essentially in its present state about 6000 years ago. Even less than 150 years ago, the view that living species were the result of special creation by God was still dominant. The recognition by Charles D...

“Crack open this book and take a read. You will be transported, illuminated, and delighted.” —Psychology TodayJust 125,000 years ago, humanity was on a path to extinction, until a dramatic shift occurred. We used our mental abilities to navigate new terrain and changing climates. We hunted, foraged, tracked tides, shucked oysters—anything we could do to survive. Before long, our species had pulled itself back from the brink and was on more stable ground. W...

Why use expensive beauty products when you can moisturise with jellyfish?Have you ever suspected pollution was to blame for your children's plummeting IQ?Ready to take a sea change . . . on Mars?And how about chopping an onion that doesn't make you cry?This is the perfect present for enquiring minds. Compelling, quirky and packed fully of curious facts, The Naked Scientist: Life Under the Microscope is a treasure trove of cutting-edge research, far-...

Our sense of smell - or olfaction as it is technically known - is our most enigmatic sense. It can conjure up memories, taking us back to very specific places and emotions, whilst powerful smells can induce strong feelings of hunger or nausea. In the animal kingdom smell can be used to find food, a mate, or a home; to sense danger; and to send and receive complex messages with other members of a species. Yet despite its fundamental importance in our mental life and in the existence of all ...

Life innovates constantly, producing perfectly adapted species – but there’s a catch.A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF 2023'Hopeful and fascinating.' THE TIMESMany animals and plants eke out seemingly unremarkable lives. Passive, constrained, modest, threatened. Then, in a blink of evolutionary time, they flourish spectacularly. Once we start to look, these ‘sleeping beauties’ crop up eve...

Formalizing study of the natural world may seem like a daunting task considering the sheer breadth and variety of living things that inhabit the planet. From the microscopic organisms in the world’s most remote locations to those in the human body, evidence of the intricate structures and mechanisms that enable life are ubiquitous and new discoveries constantly reveal new possibilities that demand to be examined. This volume surveys the multitude of subjects that comprise the field of biol...