New Books
The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life's Deepest Secrets
“The Catalyst” by Thomas R. Cech highlights RNA’s pivotal role in biology, challenging DNA’s dominance as the “secret of life.” The book explores RNA’s significance in life’s origins, human uniqueness, and health. Cech traces RNA’s journey from a passive DNA servant to a central player in cellular reactions. He discusses its involvement in aging, diseases, and groundbreaking therapies like CRISPR and mRNA vaccines. The author presents RNA as key to understanding life’s mysteries and shaping the future of medicine, offering insights into potential life-extending technologies.
Chain Reactions: The Hopeful History of Uranium
“Chain Reactions” explores uranium’s multifaceted history and its impact on science, culture, and society. The book delves into uranium’s diverse applications, from glassmaking and medicine to atomic weapons and energy production. It examines how our understanding of uranium has evolved, influencing public perception and shaping attitudes towards nuclear technology. By presenting a comprehensive global history of this element, the author aims to foster a more balanced discussion about the potential role of nuclear power in our future. This nuanced approach encourages readers to reconsider their views on atomic energy and its feasibility in addressing contemporary energy challenges.
Serendipity: The Unexpected in Science
“Serendipity” by Telmo Pievani explores the role of unexpected discoveries in scientific progress. The book delves into the concept’s origins, presents a taxonomy of serendipitous findings, and examines the conditions that foster such discoveries. Pievani argues that serendipity is not mere luck but a combination of curiosity, sagacity, and imagination. He illustrates this through various examples beyond common ones like penicillin or X-rays. The author emphasizes that serendipity reveals the vastness of human ignorance and highlights how the human brain, evolved within the world it investigates, is uniquely suited to make these unexpected connections.
The Chemistry Book
“The Chemistry Book” is a comprehensive guide to the fundamental concepts and historical milestones of chemistry. It covers key themes in physical and natural sciences, presenting over 95 ideas and events chronologically. The book explores atomic theory, geochemistry, elements, and recent developments like COVID-19 vaccines. It features profiles of influential scientists, including Nobel laureates, and addresses fundamental questions about the universe’s composition. With simple graphics, flowcharts, and mind maps, it makes complex concepts accessible. The book offers a global perspective on chemical discoveries and innovations throughout history, making it suitable for students, science enthusiasts, and general readers seeking to understand chemistry’s core principles and its impact on our world.
It's Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything
Dr. Kate Biberdorf’s “It’s Elemental” unveils the chemistry in our daily lives, from bread-making to coffee’s energizing effects. This accessible guide demystifies complex scientific concepts, showing how chemistry shapes our everyday experiences. Biberdorf, a charismatic TV personality, uses wit and enthusiasm to ignite readers’ passion for science, offering a fresh perspective on the world through the lens of chemistry.
Organic Chemistry: Structure, Function, and Practice
This open-access organic chemistry textbook engages students through integrated problems and arrowless mechanisms, enhancing their understanding of electron-pushing concepts. It presents historical context for key ideas and supports all information with primary and summative sources. The book follows IUPAC guidelines and incorporates refined teaching pedagogy. By actively involving students in the learning process, it aims to improve their problem-solving skills and chemical intuition, making it more engaging than traditional textbooks.
The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science
Marie Curie, the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two scientific fields, was a pioneering physicist and chemist who revolutionized our understanding of radioactivity. Dava Sobel's biography not only highlights Curie's groundbreaking research but also her personal life, including her role as a professor, mother, and wartime volunteer. The book explores Curie's lasting impact on science and her inspiration to generations of women scientists. Sobel uniquely frames Curie's story alongside the achievements of her female protégés and her daughter Irène, showcasing the far-reaching legacy of this remarkable scientist who broke barriers in a male-dominated field.
Chemistry for Breakfast: The Amazing Science of Everyday Life
In Chemistry for Breakfast, award-winning chemist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim explores the fascinating chemistry behind everyday life. Using a relatable and humorous style, she explains how chemical processes influence everything from waking up to baking and even space travel. Through a day in her life, she covers topics like biological clocks, stress hormones, food preservation, and the chemistry of love. With engaging illustrations and clear explanations, the book makes complex science accessible and fun, showing that chemistry is everywhere—if you know where to look. Perfect for anyone curious about the science behind the ordinary.
Organic Chemistry: Miracles from Plants
Plants are essential to human life, providing health benefits, food, comfort, and security. "Organic Chemistry: Miracles from Plants" explores the fascinating world of plant-derived chemical substances. This highly readable book offers insights into the organic chemistry of crucial natural compounds, appealing to both scientists and non-scientists interested in plant biochemistry. Organized into engaging chapters, each telling its own story, the book is designed to captivate students and inspire organic chemists. It serves as a valuable resource for chemistry and biology courses, featuring illustrations, questions, and exercises. The book emphasizes the importance of maintaining a responsible relationship with plants to restore balance in Earth's ecosystems.
Chemical Biology of Carbon
"The Chemical Biology of Carbon" explores the organic chemistry underpinning life processes, focusing on carbon-containing natural metabolites and their roles in biosynthetic and degradative pathways. It examines the importance of heterocycles in metabolites and coenzymes, linking organic chemistry principles to specific biological transformations. This unique approach provides insights into how organic chemistry rules govern life's processes, making it a valuable resource for chemists, biologists, and students in related fields. The book builds on previous volumes in the series, offering a comprehensive analysis of carbon's role in chemical biology.
Sisters of Prometheus: From the New Woman to Nobelity in Chemistry
This comprehensive book portrays the long-overdue recognition of women's work in chemistry, which only materialized with their late access to universities. Besides describing their scientific triumphs, it unveils the human side of the characters involved, providing an intimate perspective, often supported by extracts from their correspondence. By delving into their personal stories, struggles, and successes, this book brings these women to life. Written with simplicity and rigor, it aims to inspire and educate readers of all backgrounds about the extraordinary scientific achievements of these trailblazing women.
Sisters of Prometheus: Unmasking Women's Achievements in Chemistry
This monograph explores the participation of women in alchemy, chemical crafts, and the early stages of modern chemistry. By contextualizing their achievements within the broader social, cultural, and scientific landscapes of their time, this book enables readers to seize the challenges these women confronted and the obstacles they triumphed over. Alongside narrating how they shaped the development of chemistry, including their contributions to the body of chemical literature, it also emphasizes pivotal moments and milestones in the history of women's emancipation. The book's comprehensive and integrative approach, complemented by engaging storytelling, renders it an indispensable resource for students, researchers, and general readers alike.
The Scientific Legacy of Har Gobind Khorana: Total Synthesis and the Genetic Code
Har Gobind Khorana's scientific biography traces his remarkable journey from rural poverty in India to becoming a Nobel Prize-winning chemist in the United States. The book chronicles his education in Britain and Switzerland, followed by his career in Canada and the US. It details Khorana's groundbreaking achievements, including deciphering the genetic code, synthesizing the first functional gene, contributing to PCR technology, and studying the structure-function relationship of biological macromolecules in membranes. The biography emphasizes Khorana's unwavering dedication to science and explores his enduring legacy, offering inspiration for future generations of scientists.
Exploring Natural Product Chemistry: The World in a Single Leaf
This book explores the evolution of organic and natural product chemistry through the author's published works, placing them in a broader philosophical and societal context. It examines how scientists, particularly chemists, develop their worldview, influenced by both scientific advancements and societal factors. The author uses personal experiences to illustrate scientific progress, touching on investigative techniques without delving into technical details. The book aims to interest both general science readers and chemistry specialists, offering insights into how natural product chemistry shapes our understanding of the world. It also considers the relationship between peer-reviewed publications and wider societal perspectives.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
The 105th Edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics offers expanded coverage across various scientific disciplines. Key updates include new data sets in x-ray analytical chemistry, critical compilations of metal-carbon and metal oxyanion transition data, and revised datasets for water properties. The edition features 369 topics with 771 data tables and figures, including 8 new topics and 26 major updates. It provides reliable, traceable data on over 20,000 compounds, covering atomic elements, isotopes, and common properties. New sections focus on environmental chemistry and solid-state chemistry and physics, enhancing its value for research, industry, and modeling applications.
The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science
"The Beauty of Chemistry" showcases the stunning visual aspects of chemical processes in nature and everyday life through captivating images and text. Using advanced photography techniques, the book reveals the hidden beauty in phenomena like snowflake formation, bubble creation, and flame combustion. It demonstrates how chemistry underpins natural wonders, from flower colors to galaxy formation, as well as common processes like bread-baking and material production. The book offers a unique perspective on chemistry, presenting it not just as a study of microscopic atoms, but as the foundation of the visible world around us, bringing to light the aesthetic marvels of scientific processes.
Superheavy: Making and Breaking the Periodic Table
"Superheavy" explores the fascinating world of creating new elements beyond uranium. This challenging process involves using massive machines to fuse atomic nuclei, with success rates so low it's like hitting a needle in a haystack with a bullet. The book delves into the history, politics, and scientific breakthroughs surrounding superheavy elements, including their role in atomic bombs and the race to discover new ones. From Cold War rivalries to modern international collaborations, it reveals the human stories behind these elemental quests, showcasing how nuclear science has shaped our world and pondering its future implications.
A Practical Guide to Scientific Writing in Chemistry: Scientific Papers, Research Grants and Book Proposals
This practical guide is designed for postgraduate students and early career researchers in chemical science, focusing on improving skills in publishing scientific papers and securing research grants. It addresses the challenges many face due to inadequate writing training and the lack of practical resources. The book enhances the likelihood of publishing in chemistry journals and winning research grants by offering a step-by-step approach. It includes chapters on creating graphical abstracts and research highlights, using sketches and illustrations for better concept visualization, and provides practical examples from published papers and successful grant proposals, making it a valuable resource for scientists.
Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything
A Science News Favorite Book of 2019 An earth scientist reveals the dynamic biography of the most resonant--and most necessary--chemical element on Earth. Carbon. It's in the fibers in your hair, the timbers in your walls, the food that you eat, and the air that you breathe. It's worth billions of dollars as a luxury and half a trillion as a necessity, but there are still mysteries about the element that can be both diamond and coal. Where does it come from, what does it do, and why, above all, does life need it? With poetic storytelling, Robert M. Hazen leads us on a global journey through the origin and evolution of life's most essential and ubiquitous element.
Spinach on the Ceiling: The Multifaceted Life of a Theoretical Chemist
Martin Karplus, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, recounts his journey from fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria as a child to becoming a renowned scientist in "Spinach on the Ceiling." The autobiography details pivotal moments in his life, including his refugee experience, early fascination with science, education, and career across various institutions. Karplus attributes his success to an optimistic outlook and unwavering belief in his vision, which allowed him to overcome setbacks and transform a controversial research subject into a cornerstone of chemistry and structural biology. The book also explores his passions for photography and cooking, offering a multifaceted view of the scientist's life.
Compendium of Terminology in Analytical Chemistry
The "Orange Book" is a vital resource for analytical chemists, providing standardized terminology and methods. This latest edition addresses the rapid evolution of analytical chemistry, incorporating new techniques, automation, and expanded capabilities. It includes updated chapters on chemometrics, bio-analytical methods, and sample preparation, while aligning terminology with current ISO and JCGM standards. The book covers not only chemical composition and structure but also spatial and temporal changes. As the official language guide for analytical chemistry, it serves as an essential reference for professionals in the field.
The Chemical Biology of Nitrogen
"The Chemical Biology of Nitrogen" explores the pivotal role of nitrogen in biological processes, from DNA to proteins. This comprehensive work adopts a chemocentric approach, examining both inorganic and organic nitrogen compounds and their impact on various biological functions. The book begins with an introduction to nitrogen trivalency and progresses through inorganic and organic nitrogen metabolism, culminating in nitrogen proteomics. It offers an integrative perspective on nitrogen's diverse biological roles, making it valuable for researchers in chemical biology and nitrogen metabolism. Written by a distinguished scientist and educator, this text is particularly suitable for advanced students and postgraduates in biochemistry and chemical biology.
The Chemical Biology of Phosphorus
"The Chemical Biology of Phosphorus" explores the fundamental role of phosphorus in life processes. Nobel laureate Alexander Todd's statement, "where there is life, there is phosphorus," underscores its importance. The book delves into phosphorus chemistry in biological systems, examining how inorganic phosphate and its derivatives are crucial for RNA and DNA structure, ATP production, and various cellular functions. Written by a renowned biochemist, it offers a comprehensive chemical approach to understanding phosphorus's significance in biology. This work is valuable for students and researchers in biochemistry, particularly those interested in phosphate metabolites, bioenergetics, and phosphoproteomics.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
This encyclopedia explores the role of theories in STEM disciplines, examining how they shape understanding and learning in these fields. It delves into the construction, evolution, and significance of theories, highlighting their importance in unlocking the mysteries of the world. The work features over 200 expert-authored articles, organized thematically with a Reader's Guide. Each entry includes further readings, cross-references, and a Resource Guide listing key books, journals, associations, and websites. This comprehensive reference provides valuable insights into the theoretical foundations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium
"Half Lives" by Lucy Jane Santos explores radium's captivating history, from its discovery to its widespread use in early 20th-century consumer products. The book details how radium became a desirable commodity, featured in items ranging from dance costumes to beauty treatments. Santos examines the element's rise as a supposed cure-all and its subsequent fall from grace as its dangers became apparent. Through a blend of scientific facts and cultural anecdotes, the author presents a unique perspective on how radium's perceived benefits and eventual risks shaped both scientific understanding and popular culture.
Understanding Hydrogen Bonds: Theoretical and Experimental Views
"Understanding Hydrogen Bonds" provides a comprehensive overview of hydrogen bonding, crucial in chemistry and biology. The book explores both established and innovative approaches to studying these bonds, including QTAIM, ELF, NBO, and various spectroscopic techniques. It delves into the formation mechanisms of hydrogen bonds, comparing them to other interactions, and introduces new types of hydrogen bonds with multicentre proton acceptors or donors. This reference is invaluable for researchers seeking to update their knowledge on hydrogen bonds' types, roles, and investigative methods in chemistry and biology.
What Is a Chemical Element?: A Collection of Essays by Chemists, Philosophers, Historians, and Educators
"What Is A Chemical Element?" explores the ongoing debate surrounding the definition of chemical elements. Despite IUPAC's dual definitions - one abstract and one operational - the concept's philosophical aspects remain elusive. This book, edited by Eric Scerri and Elena Ghibaudi, brings together experts to examine the topic from epistemological, historical, and educational perspectives. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current discourse, addressing the fundamental question of what constitutes a chemical element. The work aims to bridge the gap in understanding for researchers, philosophers, educators, and anyone interested in the periodic table's elements.
Molecular Mixed Crystals
This book explores the structural and thermodynamic properties of two-component mixed crystals formed by molecular substances. By focusing on families of chemically coherent substances, the research has uncovered empirical relationships between thermodynamic properties, crystallographic features, and exothermodynamic parameters like structural mismatch between components. These findings have significantly advanced our understanding of mixed crystals. The book serves as a valuable reference for material scientists and provides an excellent foundation for those interested in studying mixed crystals.
The Chemical Age: How Chemists Fought Famine and Disease, Killed Millions, and Changed Our Relationship with the Earth
"The Chemical Age" by Frank A. von Hippel chronicles humanity's complex relationship with pesticides. From combating the 1840s potato blight to Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" in the 1960s, the book explores how scientists developed chemicals to fight famine and disease. While these innovations shaped the modern world and protected crops, they also led to unintended consequences, damaging health and threatening species. Von Hippel's narrative highlights the thrilling discoveries and complex outcomes of pesticide use, tracing their evolution from crop protection to wartime weapons, and finally to widespread environmental application, sparking crucial ecological awareness.
The Lost Scientists of World War II
This book tells the stories of scientists from Germany and other European countries who vanished during World War II. These erudite scholars contributed to diverse scientific fields and were associated with some of the world's leading universities and research institutions. Despite their proficiency, they all sought help from agencies to relocate to the UK in the 1930s, but were unable to secure the necessary assistance.The Lost Scientists of World War II explores the fascinating narratives of thirty of these scientific refugees, delving into the reasons behind the unavailability of aid and presenting fresh insights into the tragic fates or astounding survival experiences of these individuals.
Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea
Tea is the world's most popular beverage. Dive into a cup of tea with a chemist and discover the rich molecular brew that can be extracted from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea contains over a hundred different chemical compounds which contribute to its colour, taste and scent - and its stimulating effects. The best-known is caffeine, but how does caffeine end up in tea and how can you get it out? Beginning with the leaves, Steeped explores the chemistry behind different styles of tea, from green teas to pu-erh. It tackles the age-old question of when, or even whether, to add milk. And it puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup.
Breaking Through: My Life in Science
Katalin Karikó's memoir "Breaking Through" chronicles her remarkable journey from a humble upbringing in communist Hungary to becoming a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist. Despite facing numerous obstacles, including derision from colleagues and threats of deportation, Karikó persevered in her research on messenger RNA. Her unwavering belief in mRNA's potential led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, saving millions of lives. The book highlights Karikó's determination, resilience, and dedication to science in the face of adversity. It serves as an inspiration and a testament to the power of perseverance in scientific research, while also critiquing the culture of prestige and privilege in academia.
Sharing Our Science: How to Write and Speak STEM
"Sharing Our Science" by Brandon Brown is a comprehensive guide for STEM professionals seeking to improve their written and oral communication skills. The book addresses the growing need for scientists and engineers to effectively convey their work through various media. Brown covers fundamental writing principles, scientific-specific considerations, and social aspects of communication. Drawing from his experience as a scientist and writing instructor, he provides practical advice on crafting engaging narratives, conveying complex ideas, and presenting information across different formats. This accessible handbook is an invaluable resource for STEM practitioners aiming to enhance their communication abilities and share their work with both technical and general audiences.
Being Human in STEM: Partnering with Students to Shape Inclusive Practices and Communities
This book presents the Being Human in STEM Initiative (HSTEM), a model for creating inclusive environments in undergraduate STEM education. Born from student protests at Amherst College, HSTEM challenges assumptions about who belongs in STEM fields. The authors provide a framework for developing HSTEM courses, evaluating inclusive change initiatives, and adapting the model to various institutions. The book offers strategies for making any course more inclusive through active listening, validation, and reflective practice. It emphasizes the importance of institutional culture shifts and provides resources for educators to implement these changes. Each chapter includes reflective questions and practical exercises to foster inclusivity in STEM classrooms and laboratories.
Solid-State Chemistry: A Modern Approach
This comprehensive volume explores recent advances in solid-state chemistry, focusing on solid-state reactions, their kinetics, and phase transitions. It covers characterization techniques, electrical properties of materials, and various phenomena such as dielectrics, piezoelectricity, and ferroelectricity. The book delves into theories of catalysis, adsorption isotherms, and band theories of metals, semiconductors, and insulators. It also discusses the preparation and properties of organic solids, intercalation processes, and optical properties like luminescence. Magnetic behaviors of solids are explained, and new experimental techniques for preparing solids are included, providing a thorough overview of the field.
Book summaries composed with AI-assistance.