An exploration of the transformative ways in which nature has inspired the technological advancement of humankind.Biomimetics literally means emulating biology - and in a broader sense the term covers technological advances where the original inspiration came from nature. The Earth is a vast laboratory where the mechanisms of natural selection have enabled evolutionary solutions to be developed to a wide range of problems.Science writer Brian Clegg looks at how humans have ...

Blonde, attractive Stella Carway is found murdered. A blue bow is tied around her broken neck and her near naked body displayed like a bizarre gift. Her stormy marriage immediately points to her evasive husband, Steven, as the killer. But Chief Inspector Jim Ashworth is not so sure. Content warning: Contains some violence and/or strong language.

The breakthroughs that have had the most transformative practical impacts, from thermodynamics to the Internet.Physics informs our understanding of how the world works – but more than that, key breakthroughs in physics have transformed everyday life. We journey back to ten separate days in history to understand how particular breakthroughs were achieved, meet the individuals responsible and see how each breakthrough has influenced our lives.It is a unique selection. Focusin...

How Do You Care for the Sick?Here’s How.One of the marks of the ministry of Jesus is his compassionate care for the sick. Jesus brought healing and hope to individuals struggling with life-debilitating illnesses. Ministry to the sick should also be a mark of his followers, but in many churches today it is neglected or pushed to the periphery of ministry concerns.To counter our modern tendency to minimize or ignore sickness,...

Philosophy has sometimes been described as the discipline in which you can never be wrong, as the reserve of absentminded professors, aloof academics and purveyors of obscure ideas or interesting opinions. Quite the contrary. Philosophy answers the hard questions: Does everything happen by chance? Is there anything more than matter in the universe? Are humans in the same class as animals? Is there a God? Can we know the correct answer to these questions? The answers to these questions matt...

Iron plays a key role in biology as essential cofactor of numerous proteins. However, since it is only slightly soluble its bioavailability can be readily compromised under aerobic conditions. Moreover, due to its ability to catalyze the generation of free radicals, iron can also be toxic. Thus, it doesn’t surprise that living organisms have developed sophisticated means for acquiring iron whilst tightly controlling the intracellular concentrations of this metal in response to environmenta...

This WWII history recounts how RAF pilots, outgunned by superior Japanese aircraft, nevertheless flew and fought their way to victory.In 1940, the Royal Air Force Purchasing Commission acquired more than 100 Brewster B-339 Buffalo fighter planes from the US. But when the aircraft were deemed below par for service in the UK, the vast majority were diverted for use in the Far East, where it was believed they would be superior to any Japanese aircraft encountered shoul...

It’s the end of the world as we know it. Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer of a muezzin. Europeans already do.Liberals tell us that “diversity is our strength”—while Talibanic enforcers cruise Greenwich Village burning books and barber shops, the Supreme Court decides that sharia law doesn’t violate the “separation of church and state,” and the Hollywood Left decides to give up on gay rights in favor of the much safer charms of polygamy.If you think this...

This monograph presents the results of over 10 years of paleontological and geological survey in the Baynunah Formation of the United Arab Emirates. Exposed widely in western Abu Dhabi Emirate, the Baynunah Formation and its fossils provide the only record of terrestrial environments and evolution in the Arabian Peninsula during the late Miocene epoch (12-5 Ma).This volume describes new fossils collected since 2002, presented systematically by taxon, and including mammals, reptiles...

At an increasingly global scale, aquatic scientists are heavily entrenched in understanding the fate of marine ecosystems in the face of human-altered environments. Oil spill disasters, especially large-scale ones like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy, have left uncertain and indelible marks on marine ecosystems. Impacts of Oil Spill Disasters on

What will it take to send astronauts to Mars—and bring them home safely?If humanity's future lies among the stars, a voyage to Mars is our next giant step. For the astronauts brave enough to venture so far from home and into such an extreme environment, the journey will be the ultimate test of endurance—of their bodies and minds, and the materials and technologies developed to protect them. Many of the risks they'll face, both physical and psychological, remain unk...

Four days before Christmas and seventeen year old Jimmy Himes has gone missing. His parents hire a private detective to help track him down. The search takes them all over London and into the city's dark heart. Will they ever find young Jimmy alive...?