Download or read book Sacred Bovines written by Douglas Allchin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of short essays, each challenging a commonplace assumption about biology - playfully dubbed "Sacred Bovines."

Download or read book Plant Families written by Ross Bayton and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-10-07 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plant Families is an easy-to-use, beautifully illustrated guide to the more than seventy core plant families every horticulturist, gardener, or budding botanist needs to know. It introduces the basics of plant genealogy and teaches readers how to identify and understand the different structures of flowers, trees, herbs, shrubs, and bulbs. It then walks through each family, explaining its origins and range and describing characteristics such as size, flowers, and seeds. Each family is accompanied by full-color botanical illustrations and diagrams. "Uses For" boxes planted throughout the book provide practical gardening tips related to each family. By understanding how botanists create these groupings, we can become more apt at spotting the unique characteristics of a plant and identifying it faster and more accurately. Understanding plant families also helps us to make sense of- and better appreciate- the enormous biological diversity of the plant kingdom.

Download or read book High School Biology Today and Tomorrow written by National Research Council and published by National Academies. This book was released on 1989-02-01 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biology is where many of science's most exciting and relevant advances are taking place. Yet, many students leave school without having learned basic biology principles, and few are excited enough to continue in the sciences. Why is biology education failing? How can reform be accomplished? This book presents information and expert views from curriculum developers, teachers, and others, offering suggestions about major issues in biology education: what should we teach in biology and how should it be taught? How can we measure results? How should teachers be educated and certified? What obstacles are blocking reform?

Download or read book A Field Guide to Grad School written by Jessica McCrory Calarco and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential handbook to the unwritten and often unspoken knowledge and skills you need to succeed in grad school Some of the most important things you need to know in order to succeed in graduate school—like how to choose a good advisor, how to get funding for your work, and whether to celebrate or cry when a journal tells you to revise and resubmit an article—won’t be covered in any class. They are part of a hidden curriculum that you are just expected to know or somehow learn on your own—or else. In this comprehensive survival guide for grad school, Jessica McCrory Calarco walks you through the secret knowledge and skills that are essential for navigating every critical stage of the postgraduate experience, from deciding whether to go to grad school in the first place to finishing your degree and landing a job. An invaluable resource for every prospective and current grad student in any discipline, A Field Guide to Grad School will save you grief—and help you thrive—in school and beyond. Provides invaluable advice about how to: Choose and apply to a graduate program Stay on track in your program Publish and promote your work Get the most out of conferences Navigate the job market Balance teaching, research, service, and life

Download or read book Biology for a Changing World written by Michele Shuster and published by Macmillan Higher Education. This book was released on 2014-03-07 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the groundbreaking partnership of W. H. Freeman and Scientific American comes this one-of-a-kind introduction to the science of biology and its impact on the way we live. In Biology for a Changing World, two experienced educators and a science journalist explore the core ideas of biology through a series of chapters written and illustrated in the style of a Scientific American article. Chapters don’t just feature compelling stories of real people—each chapter is a newsworthy story that serves as a context for covering the standard curriculum for the non-majors biology course. Updated throughout, the new edition offers new stories, additional physiology chapters, a new electronic Instructor's Guide, and new pedagogy.

Download or read book Learning to Read the Earth and Sky written by Russ Colson and published by NSTA Press. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it time to refresh the way you think about teaching Earth science? Learning to Read the Earth and Sky is the multifaceted resource you need to bring authentic science—and enthusiasm—into your classroom. It offers inspiration for reaching beyond prepared curricula, engaging in discovery along with your students, and using your lessons to support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The book provides • examples of Earth science labs and activities you and your students can do as co-investigators; • insights into student expectations and misconceptions, plus ideas for inspiring true investigation; • stories of real scientific discovery translated for classroom consideration; • exploration of how you can mentor students as a teacher-scholar; and • guidance on how to translate the sweeping core ideas of the NGSS into specific examples students can touch, see, and experience. The authors of Learning to Read the Earth and Sky are husband-and-wife educators who promote science as something to figure out, not just something to know. They write, “It is our hope that readers will find our book short on ‘edu-speak,’ long on the joy of doing science, and full of stories of students, classrooms, scientists, and Earth and sky.”

Download or read book National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Science written by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Information and photographs of scientific theories and facts, for young children"--

Download or read book Wasp written by Richard Jones and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2019-11-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our fear and fascination with wasps set them apart from other insects. Despite their iconic form and distinctive colors, they are surrounded by myth and misunderstanding. Often portrayed in cartoon-like stereotypes bordering on sad parody, wasps have an unwelcome and undeserved reputation for aggressiveness bordering on vindictive spite. This mistrust is deep-seated in a human history that has awarded commercial and spiritual value to other insects, such as bees, but has failed to recognize any worth in wasps. Leading entomologist Richard Jones redresses the balance in this enlightening and entertaining guide to the natural and cultural history of these powerful arthropod carnivores. Jones delves into their complex nesting and colony behavior, their fascinating caste system, and their major role at the center of many food webs. Drawing on up-to-date scientific concepts and featuring many striking color illustrations, Jones pushes past the sting, showing exactly why wasps are worthy of greater understanding and appreciation.

Download or read book Does It Fart written by Nick Caruso and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the scientist duo behind True or Poo?, their original New York Times bestselling sensation--a scientifically precise, fully illustrated, utterly hilarious guide to animal flatulence. Dogs do it. Millipedes do it. Dinosaurs did it. You do it. I do it. Octopuses don't (and nor do octopi). Spiders might do it: more research is needed. Birds don't do it, but they could if they wanted to. Herrings do it to communicate with each other. In 2017 zoologist Dani Rabaiotti's teenage brother asked her a most teenaged question: Do snakes fart? Stumped, Rabaiotti turned to Twitter. The internet did not disappoint. Her innocent question spawned the hashtag #doesitfart and it spread like a noxious gas. Dozens of noted experts began weighing in on which animals do and don't fart, and if they do, how much, how often, what it's made of, what it smells like, and why. Clearly, the public demands more information on animal farts. Does it Fart? fills that void: a fully authoritative, fully illustrated guide to animal flatulence, covering the habits of 80 animals in more detail than you ever knew you needed. What do hyena farts smell especially bad? What is a fossa, and does it fart? Why do clams vomit but not fart? And what is a fart, really? Pairing hilarious illustrations with surprisingly detailed scientific explanations, Does it Fart? will allow you to shift the blame onto all kinds of unlikely animals for years to come.

Download or read book Barriers and Opportunities for 2 Year and 4 Year STEM Degrees written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-05-18 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly 40 percent of the students entering 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions indicated their intention to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in 2012. But the barriers to students realizing their ambitions are reflected in the fact that about half of those with the intention to earn a STEM bachelor's degree and more than two-thirds intending to earn a STEM associate's degree fail to earn these degrees 4 to 6 years after their initial enrollment. Many of those who do obtain a degree take longer than the advertised length of the programs, thus raising the cost of their education. Are the STEM educational pathways any less efficient than for other fields of study? How might the losses be "stemmed" and greater efficiencies realized? These questions and others are at the heart of this study. Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees reviews research on the roles that people, processes, and institutions play in 2-and 4-year STEM degree production. This study pays special attention to the factors that influence students' decisions to enter, stay in, or leave STEM majorsâ€"quality of instruction, grading policies, course sequences, undergraduate learning environments, student supports, co-curricular activities, students' general academic preparedness and competence in science, family background, and governmental and institutional policies that affect STEM educational pathways. Because many students do not take the traditional 4-year path to a STEM undergraduate degree, Barriers and Opportunities describes several other common pathways and also reviews what happens to those who do not complete the journey to a degree. This book describes the major changes in student demographics; how students, view, value, and utilize programs of higher education; and how institutions can adapt to support successful student outcomes. In doing so, Barriers and Opportunities questions whether definitions and characteristics of what constitutes success in STEM should change. As this book explores these issues, it identifies where further research is needed to build a system that works for all students who aspire to STEM degrees. The conclusions of this report lay out the steps that faculty, STEM departments, colleges and universities, professional societies, and others can take to improve STEM education for all students interested in a STEM degree.

Download or read book Exploring the World of Biology written by John Hudson Tiner and published by New Leaf Publishing Group. This book was released on 2009-01-28 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book in Master Books Exploring series is a fascinating look at life--from the smallest proteins and spores, to the complex life systems of humans and animals.

Download or read book The Evolution of Imagination written by Stephen T. Asma and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-06-21 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consider Miles Davis, horn held high, sculpting a powerful musical statement full of tonal patterns, inside jokes, and thrilling climactic phrases—all on the fly. Or think of a comedy troupe riffing on a couple of cues from the audience until the whole room is erupting with laughter. Or maybe it’s a team of software engineers brainstorming their way to the next Google, or the Einsteins of the world code-cracking the mysteries of nature. Maybe it’s simply a child playing with her toys. What do all of these activities share? With wisdom, humor, and joy, philosopher Stephen T. Asma answers that question in this book: imagination. And from there he takes us on an extraordinary tour of the human creative spirit. Guided by neuroscience, animal behavior, evolution, philosophy, and psychology, Asma burrows deep into the human psyche to look right at the enigmatic but powerful engine that is our improvisational creativity—the source, he argues, of our remarkable imaginational capacity. How is it, he asks, that a story can evoke a whole world inside of us? How are we able to rehearse a skill, a speech, or even an entire scenario simply by thinking about it? How does creativity go beyond experience and help us make something completely new? And how does our moral imagination help us sculpt a better society? As he shows, we live in a world that is only partly happening in reality. Huge swaths of our cognitive experiences are made up by “what-ifs,” “almosts,” and “maybes,” an imagined terrain that churns out one of the most overlooked but necessary resources for our flourishing: possibilities. Considering everything from how imagination works in our physical bodies to the ways we make images, from the mechanics of language and our ability to tell stories to the creative composition of self-consciousness, Asma expands our personal and day-to-day forms of imagination into a grand scale: as one of the decisive evolutionary forces that has guided human development from the Paleolithic era to today. The result is an inspiring look at the rich relationships among improvisation, imagination, and culture, and a privileged glimpse into the unique nature of our evolved minds.

Download or read book Polar Bear written by Margery Fee and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2019-11-15 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Polar bears are truly majestic animals: the largest land-dwelling carnivore on earth, these white-furred, black-skinned giants can measure up to three meters in length and weigh up to fifteen hundred pounds. They are also iconic in other ways. They are a symbol of the climate change debate, with their survival now threatened by the loss of Arctic ice, and their images decorate fountains and the cornices of buildings across the world. They sell cold drinks. They feature in children’s books, on merry-go-rounds, and under the arms of weary toddlers heading for bed. Their pelts were once highly prized by hunters, and live captures became attractions in zoos and circuses. Stuffed bears still haunt museums and stately homes. In this natural and cultural history of the polar bear, Margery Fee explores the evolution, species, habitat, and behavior of the animal, as well as its portrayal in art, literature, film, and advertising. Illustrated throughout, Polar Bear will beguile anyone who loves these outsize, beautiful, seemingly cuddly, yet deadly carnivores.

Download or read book The Magic School Bus Explores Human Evolution written by Joanna Cole and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Arnold wishes he had more information for his family tree, Ms. Frizzle revs up the Magic School Bus and the class zooms back to prehistoric times. First stop: 3.5 billion years ago!There aren't any people around to ask for directions. Luckily Ms. Frizzle has a plan, and the class is right there to watch simple cells become sponges and then fish and dinosaurs, then mammals and early primates and, eventually, modern humans. It's the longest class trip ever!This is the story of a species, of our species, as only Ms. Frizzle can tell it. Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen tackle this essential topic with the insight and humor that have made the Magic School Bus the bestselling science series of all time.Hop on board for a class trip that spans billions of lifetimes!

Download or read book The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt written by Andrea Wulf and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A breathtakingly illustrated and brilliantly evocative recounting of Alexander Von Humboldt's five-year expedition in South America—from the author of Magnificent Rebels and the New York Times bestseller The Invention of Nature. Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, but his most revolutionary idea was a radical vision of nature as a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for the use of humankind alone. His theories and ideas were profoundly influenced by a five-year exploration of South America. Now Andrea Wulf partners with artist Lillian Melcher to bring this daring expedition to life, complete with excerpts from Humboldt's own diaries, atlases, and publications. She gives us an intimate portrait of the man who predicted human-induced climate change, fashioned poetic narrative out of scientific observation, and influenced iconic figures such as Simón Bolívar, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, and John Muir. This gorgeous account of the expedition not only shows how Humboldt honed his groundbreaking understanding of the natural world but also illuminates the man and his passion

Download or read book Super Cool Scientists 2 written by Sara MacSorley and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-07-20 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Super Cool Scientists #2 is a story and coloring book that celebrates women in science. It highlights amazing women from across the country doing important work in astronomy, marine science, cybersecurity, and more. They are leaders in their fields and also in education, art, business, and mentoring other young people to pursue careers in STEM. Join us in celebrating women in STEM - recognizing the people who do this work every day and also inspiring the next generation of scientists. Super Cool Scientists #2 is the second in the Super Cool Scientists series. Check out the original too!

Download or read book Science in the Archives written by Lorraine Daston and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archives bring to mind rooms filled with old papers and dusty artifacts. But for scientists, the detritus of the past can be a treasure trove of material vital to present and future research: fossils collected by geologists; data banks assembled by geneticists; weather diaries trawled by climate scientists; libraries visited by historians. These are the vital collections, assembled and maintained over decades, centuries, and even millennia, which define the sciences of the archives. With Science in the Archives, Lorraine Daston and her co-authors offer the first study of the important role that these archives play in the natural and human sciences. Reaching across disciplines and centuries, contributors cover episodes in the history of astronomy, geology, genetics, philology, climatology, medicine, and more—as well as fundamental practices such as collecting, retrieval, and data mining. Chapters cover topics ranging from doxology in Greco-Roman Antiquity to NSA surveillance techniques of the twenty-first century. Thoroughly exploring the practices, politics, economics, and potential of the sciences of the archives, this volume reveals the essential historical dimension of the sciences, while also adding a much-needed long-term perspective to contemporary debates over the uses of Big Data in science.