Reviews
- Science & Society
Book delves into Scientific Revolution way beyond Galileo
‘Voyaging in Strange Seas’ shows that modern science was built not just by giants but by hundreds who explored all realms of science.
- Materials Science
‘Stuff Matters’ explores the science behind everyday objects
Author Mark Miodownik explores why everyday materials look and behave the way they do.
- Science & Society
An app to track firefly flashings
This summer, you can contribute to citizen science by tracking lightning bugs in your backyard.
- Earth
‘Tambora’ links volcano to the ‘year without a summer’
Author Gillen D’arcy Wood links the volcano to historical changes in art, opium, cholera and more.
By Erin Wayman - Anthropology
‘Kidding Ourselves’ shows the rational side of self-deception
Author Joseph T. Hallinan explains why people believe the darnedest things.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Microscapes take off at D.C’s Dulles airport
“Life: Magnified,” a display of microscope images depicting cells, microbes and details of life invisible to the naked eye runs from June to November.
- Physics
‘Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field’ is a biography of brilliance
Authors Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon show how two men’s work came together to change physics.
- Life
Animal sex lives exposed in ‘Nature’s Nether Regions’
What the sex lives of bugs, birds, and beasts tell us about evolution, biodiversity, and ourselves.
By Susan Milius - Animals
To ID birds, try facial recognition
Improve your backyard birding using facial recognition software.
- Paleontology
‘Dinosaurs Without Bones’ gives glimpse of long-gone life
Ichnologist Anthony J. Martin explains his research piecing together dinosaurs’ lives from footprints and other traces.
By Sid Perkins - Science & Society
‘Prisoners, Lovers, and Spies’ reveals the secrets of invisible ink
Kristie Macrakis takes readers on a tour of invisible ink’s history and the need to hide information, from the earliest empires to the Internet age.
By Bryan Bello - Animals
See your lawn through a bird’s eyes with YardMap
A new web tool lets you map your outdoor spaces and wildlife habitat, helping scientists understand how birds use urban and suburban spaces.