Washoe County Library System

After receiving a sudden surge of junk mail directed at new parentseven though his wife at the time was merely pregnant Erik Larson, the National Bestselling author, set out to explore the lengths companies go to spy on individual consumers. Posing as a CEO of a fictitious direct-mail corporation, Larson infiltrated companies that gather and sell personal information to assist businesses in their marketing campaigns. He discovered the systems used...

Marc Abrahams collects the odd, the imaginative and the brilliantly improbable. Here he turns to research on the ins and outs of the very improbable evolutionary innovation that is the human body (brain included): What's the best way to get a monkey to floss regularly? How much dandruff do Pakistani soldiers have? If you add an extra henchman to your bank-robbing gang, how much more money will you 'earn'? How many dimples will be found on the cheeks...

"A comprehensive exploration of what dreams are, where they come from, what they mean, and why we have them. Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind, and persist to this day to excite and confound us. When Brains Dream addresses the core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field. Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers, it debunks many myths about dreams while...

Antarctica is the only continent without permanent human habitation, yet it may hold the key to our survival. Meduna shows how geologists and glaciologists learn about the implications of today's climate change for the future; how scientists study migration patterns of emperor penguins or examine the microbial evidence that may reveal how life evolved on Earth-- and what it may look like on other planets--

"A cutting-edge account of the latest science of autism, from the best-selling author and advocate. Temple Grandin is a star, a Time Magazine top 100 Hero and an inspiration to millions worldwide. Since she started writing and speaking about autism, the number of people diagnosed with it has skyrocketed-- but so has the research that is transforming our understanding of the autistic brain. Now she brings her singular perspective to a thrilling journey...

This gripping narrative explores today's scientific pursuit of immortality, with exclusive visits inside Silicon Valley labs and interviews with the visionaries who believe we will soon crack into the aging process and cure death. We live in an age when billionaires are betting their fortunes on laboratory advances to prove aging unnecessary and death a disease that can be cured. Researchers are delving into the mysteries of stem cells and the human...

A leading cognitive neuroscience researcher challenges the myth that there is a biological distinction between male and female brains, offering scientific proof that brains are adaptable mosaics comprised of both male and female components.

"Explains how King penguin fathers preserve food in their stomachs for their chicks and details other strange abilities of different types of animals"--Provided by publisher.

Life's Greatest Secret is the story of the discovery and cracking of the genetic code. This great scientific breakthrough has had far-reaching consequences for how we understand ourselves and our place in the natural world. The code forms the most striking proof of Darwin's hypothesis that all organisms are related, holds tremendous promise for improving human well-being, and has transformed the way we think about life. Matthew Cobb interweaves science,...