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With one exercise for each day of the year, this ‘cognitive workout’ poses mathematical problems that can be solved by creative thinking, even if you have not studied any maths since school. They fall into seven categories, including algebra, logic and number sense, and many relate to real-life scenarios. Laing explains the process for solving each problem, but emphasizes that ‘the goal is not to find the right answer. The goal is to think.’

By building and populating a virtual universe, Clegg demonstrates that reality is not a system of immovable absolutes; instead, the ever-shifting world of relativity is what provides the frame of reference that allows us to understand both the universe and humanity’s place within it.

In this sequel to Elephants on Acid Alex Boese delves once more into the world of mad scientists and weird experimentation, whether a 1950s project to nuke the moon or self-experimenters getting stung by 78 species of Hymenoptera for the sake of science.

Making complex theories intelligible for the general reader, this guide to quantum mechanics and the history of modern physics uses the everyday experiences of getting up, making breakfast and checking email to demonstrate how quantum effects govern the world around us.

Can the power of thought outwit ageing? What’s it like to be struck by lightning? Could 3D printers make body parts? These are among the intriguing questions discussed in stories that explore the stranger aspects of the human body. These 17 articles were originally published on mosaicscience.com, an online magazine created by Wellcome.

Matter is broken down into its fundamentals in these 50 articles on subjects relating to the nature of atoms and molecules, the structure and uses of natural and synthetic materials, and the properties and behaviour of solids, liquids and gases.

Mickaël Launay believes that, just as non-musicians can love music, anyone can understand and marvel at the numbers and geometry that surround us every day. In this book he guides the reader on a journey through the history of mathematics, revealing how curiosity and serendipity have led to new discoveries, from ancient Mesopotamian frieze designs and the earliest written number symbols to the Mandelbrot set, which can be drawn only with the aid of computers

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Why doesn’t the immune system fight cancer the way it does other diseases? Told through the experiences of patients, doctors and immunotherapy researchers, this is the story of the game-changing scientific discoveries that unleash our natural ability to recognize and defeat cancer.

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Basing each of his short chapters on one of the fifty ‘most mind-blowing scientific facts I have discovered over the years’, the former radio astronomer and award-winning science writer Marcus Chown explains the science behind statements such as ‘today’s sunlight is 30,000 years old’. Ranging from biological things (‘you are a third mushroom’) to cosmology, and written in layman’s language, the book makes light work of profound scientific ideas.

Alex Rogers has spent the past 30 years studying marine life, and is a consultant on the BBC series Blue Planet. Here, he shares his discoveries – underwater mountains, coral reefs and strange creatures – and explains the workings of this complex ecosystem, which contains 90 percent of the Earth’s life-forms. He goes on to warn of the threat it faces from overfishing, pollution and climate change, and suggests ways in which we can protect it.

Published April 2020. Starting with an account of the war on smallpox, from Jenner’s experiments with cowpox in 1796 to the surveillance-based campaign that eradicated the disease by 1977, the health journalist Meera Senthilingam discusses topics including the political dimension of epidemics, anti-vaccination movements, and crossover infection, while describing the epidemiological battles against diseases, whether ancient afflictions such as leprosy, TB and Guinea worm, or the present Covid-19 pandemic. From the Hot Science series.

Our heads contain the most complex information-processing device in the known universe, but even a biological supercomputer has its bugs and weaknesses, from déjà vu to our propensity to make stupid decisions. This guide to the brain’s workings explains what neuroscience has revealed about our conscious and unconscious minds, our memories, intelligence and creativity. It also contains experiments that you can do yourself to demonstrate glitches in perception, and offers tips on using your 86 billion neurons more effectively.

As we move away from fossil fuels and work towards a technology that can provide abundant, cheap, safe and clean electricity in any environment, a range of power generation systems are competing to fill the gap. Explaining how the various technologies work, their environmental impact and potential for future development, this overview of the subject devotes chapters to coal, oil, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, solar and wind.

For Joe Rosen, the much sought-after Theory of Everything ‘is but a mirage’. In this book he explores the boundaries between science and metaphysics and argues that science, despite its phenomenal progress and insights, can only go so far in comprehending nature.

Each volume in this series uses a three-part approach to explain complex ideas. First the ‘helicopter overview’ introduces the concept, then the ‘shortcut’ gives more detail on core elements and the pithy ‘hack’ offers a memorable summary. In this guide to key scientific concepts theories in evolution, genetics and human origins are discussed, as are topics including thermodynamics and Newton’s laws, and hypotheses relating to space and astrophysics.

Venus is too hot, Mars too cold, but Earth’s distance from the Sun makes it ‘just right’ for a thriving biosphere. As we search for other planets perfectly positioned to support living organisms, an astrobiologist explains what scientists can learn from research into the origins and evolution of life, as well as the study of ‘extremophile’ water bears, tiny aquatic creatures able to survive the harshest conditions on Earth.

Eric R Kandel, recipient of a Nobel Prize for his pioneering research, demonstrates how studies of brain disorders, including autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, have improved our understanding of the close connections between neurological and psychiatric illnesses. He discusses the ways in which these findings are not only contributing to the development of effective treatments but are also helping to explain the mysterious origins of consciousness and creativity in the intricate interactions of brain cells.

A science writer with a gift for making the complicated comprehensible, Anil Ananthaswamy tells the story of quantum mechanics from the perspective of the seemingly simple, but utterly confounding double-slit experiment. He traces the various attempts to explain the enigma, from Thomas Young in 1793 to Richard Feynman, who described ‘the experiment with two holes’ as containing ‘all the mystery of quantum mechanics‘.

How exceptional are humans and how did we become different from the other animals? The presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science explores the latest research that reveals the extent to which behaviours once thought exclusively human are also found in other species. He focuses on different animals’ use of tools, including fire, and the prevalence of non-reproductive sexual acts; he also explains how evolution allowed us to develop a uniquely complex culture.

Brian Clegg’s quiz book-cum-science compendium explores surprising facts about physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, technology and the history of science. Each of the 100 questions is accompanied by related facts and anecdotes and, on the following page, a fully explained answer.

During the 20th century it became clear that our traditional understanding of cosmology was too simplistic, since there must be not only some invisible material holding together galaxies but also an unknown phenomenon that is driving the universe’s accelerating expansion. Brian Clegg describes how the existence of this ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’ was discovered and explains the different theories and experiments that researchers have been employing as they seek knowledge about this challenging aspect of modern science.

Dipping below the surface of oceans – and seas, rivers, lagoons and lakes – Helen Scales explores the lives of fish and their underwater world, describing how they move, find food, avoid predators, sing to each other, and use light and colour to send messages. The book reveals the spectacular diversity of species, including ‘ichthyo-curiosities’, and, by letting the wonders of fish capture our attention and respect, aims to convince us to better protect them and their aquatic environment.

What do we mean by ‘empty space’? Was Newton wrong to think of it as a kind of theatre in which physics could unfold? In this book a philosopher of science explains how the very process of adapting intuitive ideas to scientific theories causes radical changes to our conception of reality. He also describes physicists’ efforts to reconcile different meanings of ‘nothing’ in general relativity and quantum theory.

From smartphones to microwaves, invisible forms of light have a profound effect on our lives. This popular science book explains what they are, how they work and how they have been put to work in modern technology.

By building and populating a virtual universe Clegg demonstrates that reality is not a system of immovable absolutes; instead, the ever-shifting world of relativity is what provides the frame of reference that allows us to understand both the universe and humanity’s place within it.

A neurologist at Harvard’s Brigham Hospital, Dr Ropper describes the neurologist’s response to cases – such as transient global amnesia or motor neuron disease – in which lives and minds hang in the balance.

The strongest substance ever discovered, a better conductor than any metal and able to act as a molecular sieve to purify water, graphene is set to revolutionize technology. This guide explores the properties and potential uses of this remarkable new material.

In this overview of our current knowledge about the universe a theoretical cosmologist discusses questions that have puzzled thinkers throughout history and the ways in which modern scientists have tried to answer them. He explains how astronomical observations and deductions have allowed us not only to look back 13.8 billion years to the origins of the universe but also to develop competing theories about its ultimate fate, either in a calamitous ‘Big Crunch’ or a gentler ‘Heat Death’.

Without an immune system, we could not survive the battle between our microscopic enemies and ourselves. Drawing on sources from ancient Egyptian medical texts to cutting-edge medical science, the academic Catherine Carver explores the many facets of our natural defence system – including how it knows what to attack and what to defend, how diseases try to evade it, and how researchers are designing new drugs to harness its power.

An intriguing and amusing insight into the animal world, this Popular Science title explains how 30 species have evolved to exploit the laws of physics, from how wet dogs shake themselves dry to how peacocks generate inaudible (to the human ear) sounds to attract a mate.

Combining insights from groundbreaking research with anecdotes from her own life, a neuroscientist here provides an accessible introduction to the evolution and functioning of the human brain. She explains how our personalities, memories and emotions are created, considers the foods, music and activities that can supposedly benefit or harm our intellectual abilities, and examines why our big brains still make bad decisions and reward addictive behaviours.

Jim Endersby explores ‘the curious and unexpected variety of significances that people have ascribed to orchids’ in western cultures, from Theophrastus’ herbals in ancient Greece to Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, deadly species in science-fiction and ongoing research into Spider Orchids on the South Downs. The book looks at our relationship with orchids in terms of science, sex and death, and examines the theme of empire, describing how European imperial expansion and wealth stimulated the search for ever rarer orchids.

From the Alcoholic Agave, remarkable for its nine-metre high flower as well as its intoxicating sap, to Zoophilous plants and their cunning ways of attracting animal pollinators, this is an A–Z of botanical heroes, villains and eccentrics. The heroes are explorers and botanists such as Charles Darwin and EH Wilson; the villains include the deadly castor oil plant, described under U for Umbrella Assassinations. Slightly off-mint.

With a foreword by the British astronaut Tim Peake, this collection of Christmas Lectures by world-class scientists and astronomers includes Bernard Lovell and Martin Ryle on the exploration of the universe, Carl Sagan on the planets, and Kevin Fong on how to survive in space.

Deviate attempts to ‘innovate your thinking by giving you new awareness’ of both your self-perception, which is often fixed by politics, religion or environment, and your perception of reality, which manifests through the senses and is, at best, a representation. Written by a neurologist, the book provides exercises, ‘self-experiments’ and principles which encourage you to engage with ambiguous information and self-doubt in order to gain a more creative understanding of the world.

The challenges of living in space are multiple: without the Earth’s atmosphere, gravity and rotation, essential activities including breathing, exercising and sleeping require technology. This illustrated ‘space travel manual’ describes all aspects of space travel, from blast-off to the future colonization of Mars, and explores how the development of new technology including graphene is paving the way for space tourism.

Aleph-null is the cardinality, or size, of the set of natural numbers, and is a ‘countably infinite cardinal’. Remarkably, whereas 1 + 1 = 2, 1 + aleph-null = aleph-null. The authors of this advanced maths explainer utilize plain English in an attempt to convey difficult mathematical concepts, including large numbers, higher dimensions, computation and primes, fusing historical, philosophical and anecdotal aspects of each concept with the decidedly technical. Slightly off-mint.

Both Einstein and Schrödinger disagreed with the orthodox ‘Copenhagen interpretation’ of quantum theory, which posits the impossibility of determining a particle’s position and momentum at the same time, instead believing a deterministic solution was possible via a ‘unified field theory’. This biographical account of their numerous attempts at a theory follows the evolution of their thinking, from their days as young physicists to later life when their friendship was soured by a public feud.

This unconventional biography of Michael Faraday, among whose numerous inventions was the electric motor, explores episodes in his career, including his discovery of electromagnetic induction, in order to understand why he flourished in a complex and hierarchical Victorian scientific community.

At five moments in our planet’s history, catastrophic events caused mass extinctions, when more than half of its species were lost. New technologies now enable scientists both to study these ancient disasters and to predict what lies ahead in a new phase of habitat destruction and climate change. Ranging across half a billion years, from the fossil record’s extraordinary creatures to today’s coral reefs, this book explains these new, urgent insights into Earth’s fragile ecosystems.

The light penetrating our eyes, an incoming call on a mobile phone, or an X-ray at the dentist: all are different kinds of light, or electromagnetic radiation. This illustrated guide to the electromagnetic spectrum explores the nature of light wavelength by wavelength – radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma-rays – revealing the properties, characteristics and practical applications of each type of radiation with incisive explanations, diagrams and hundreds of full-colour photographs.

David Bodanis, the bestselling author of E=mc², presents a life of the great physicist and reveals how much we owe Einstein today – and how much more he might have achieved without his all-too-human flaws. A former Sunday Times Science Book of the Year.

For the many people with ‘mathematical anxiety’, Chris Waring offers assurance that anyone can learn maths if they want to, and presents an accessible, informal course that can be followed diligently or dipped into, as you wish. The book progresses from arithmetic to probability, in ‘easily digestible’ chapters, enlivened by anecdotes from the history of mathematics and never losing sight of maths’ practical applications in everyday life and in science.

The numerous archival images, cartoons, quotes and programme excerpts in this companion book to the BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage pay homage to the 1970s Look and Learn annuals, which thrilled children with their miscellany of science. Here, Cox and Ince inspire adult scientific wonder through jokes, jibes and nostalgic digressions, anchored by serious explorations of thermodynamics, particle physics, big bang theory, space travel, extra-terrestrial life and, of course, infinity.

Lauren Slater approaches this investigation into the discovery and development of mind-altering drugs and treatments from the perspectives of both a psychology PhD and her own experience as a patient ‘sustained on a serotonin booster for decades’. The book examines the scientists, the theory and the impact of drugs from chlorpromazine, which revolutionized the treatment of schizophrenia, through Prozac and MDMA (Ecstasy) to deep brain stimulation.

In this humorous meditation on the existence of Father Christmas, The Simpsons screenwriter Eric Kaplan poses questions about the nature of reason and the human propensity to believe contradictory propositions simultaneously.

In this companion guide to the Science Museum’s Winton Gallery, curator David Rooney considers the everyday practical applications of mathematics, both past and present, including mathematics in design, economics, geography, medicine, travel and war. This generously illustrated volume features many of the objects and diagrams from the gallery’s collection, among them Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine and Le Corbusier’s Le Modulor infographic, while four essays by prominent academics include two on women’s place in the history of mathematics.

From Ptolemy and Galileo to Maxwell and Hawking, this witty and accessible guide to the universe introduces the great minds of astronomy and cosmology and the ideas that changed our understanding of space and time.

At the heart of the Sun, a vast nuclear furnace casts out the warmth, light and magnetism that nurture life on Earth. Supported by data from laboratories, telescopes, probes and thousands of years of naked-eye observations, solar physicist Lucie Green’s authoritative guide to the science of the Sun provides answers to questions posed since the dawn of history: Why does the Sun shine? What is the source of its heat? How long will it shine?

The menacing low-pressure system (dubbed Low Z by the meteorological community), gale-force winds and resulting storm surge of 31 January 1953 took 307 lives around the coast of Britain, inundating Canvey Island and its 10,000 inhabitants and sinking the Princess Victoria car ferry off Stranraer, along with 105 passengers. Beattie’s account draws on meteorology, literature and social history to describe how the wind, with its storms and prevailing breezes, has affected Britain’s landscapes and people.

‘The Pekingese is a tinkered wolf, not redesigned wholesale from its wolf ancestors.’ This study examines recent developments in evolutionary biology through the lens of domestication. The rapid physical and behavioural changes which, through centuries of breeding, have been wrought on pets and farm animals, allow us to see evolutionary processes accelerated, and therefore, Francis argues, to understand them better; particularly their conservative nature, a notion espoused by the fields of genomics and evolutionary developmental biology, which feature prominently here. Slightly off-mint.

Since the late 19th century, when lighting was first introduced to city streets, urban populations have lost most access to the night sky. Our ancestors, on the other hand, were highly attuned to the stars, their constellations and diurnal rhythms enabling them to entertain, farm, hunt and navigate. This book looks at how ancient societies as far flung as Polynesia, China, the Americas and Europe relied upon the stars for their survival and happiness. Off-mint.

Do goldfish really have a three-second memory? How does an archerfish hone its hunting skills? Can fish recognize human faces, appreciate music or feel pain? By presenting the fascinating findings of scientific research into their cognitive and sensory worlds, their sex lives and social structures, Balcombe prompts us to reconsider the intellectual abilities of our aquatic cousins so that we can more easily feel compassion towards them.

Pioneers including Planck, Rutherford and Feynman have explored the mysteries of the atom for over a century. What they found, and what this absorbing history of the atom demonstrates, is that many of its secrets still refuse to be unlocked.

This comprehensive beginner’s guide explains how and where to measure the weather – from rainfall and air pressure to sunshine and humidity – using instruments as simple as rain gauges and barometers, as well as more sophisticated automatic weather stations that which can log and store observations wirelessly. There is advice on how to observe phenomena including the wind, visibility and clouds without instruments, how to interpret data meteorologically, and how to share results with meteorological organizations.

The numerous archival images, cartoons, quotes and programme excerpts in this companion book to the BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage pay homage to the 1970s Look and Learn annuals, which thrilled children with their miscellany of science. Here, Cox and Ince inspire adult scientific wonder through jokes, jibes and nostalgic digressions, anchored by serious explorations of thermodynamics, particle physics, Big Bang theory, space travel, extra-terrestrial life and, of course, infinity.

This groundbreaking book by a leading neurologist concerns ‘the brain science of emotion’ and ‘its implications for decision-making in general and social behaviour in particular’. Published in 1994, it continues to attract the attention of neuro-scientists, philosophers and the general public with its proposal that reasoning evolved as an extension of the automatic emotional system, and emotion plays multiple roles in the reasoning process.

Evolving from fish scales 500 million years ago, bone is a remarkable material that is capable of strength, lightness and flexibility; in a range of skeletal arrangements it can support the weight of an elephant or a bird in flight and provide the dexterity of a human hand. Through a series of line drawings and extended captions, this accessible introduction examines the different forms and structures that have evolved across the animal kingdom.

Every day we need reliable ways of measuring length, weight and time. For most of human history these were based on creatively improvised local standards, such as the ancient Chinese connection between length and musical pitch. This book, by the philosopher who writes a regular Physics World column, tells little-known stories behind the world’s diverse measures and shows how they were gradually consolidated into a universal system, and how scientists are creating the first absolute system based on physical constants.

Why does growing old lead to so many forms of illness? Recent advances in the study of human cells have revealed that the key to answering this question lies in the telomeres – the tips of chromosomes – which shorten every time a cell reproduces. As he explains these insights, Fossel highlights the ability of the enzyme telomerase to re-lengthen the telomeres and discusses its potential as a means of treating age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) is best known as Germany’s foremost poet and playwright, but he was also an accomplished all-round scientist, studying anatomy, geology, botany, zoology and colour theory. The extracts from his scientific writings reproduced in this book illustrate his belief that we should study our world as people at home in it rather than remotely, and are essential reading for anyone who feels we have lost our spiritual connection to nature.

The period between the European Renaissance and Enlightenment brought monumental scientific discoveries about gravity, the structure of the solar system and the circulation of the blood, but these coexisted with an almost universal belief in horoscopes and magic. In this book a Tudor historian explores how the great thinkers of the age responded to the entanglement of superstition and science, and shows how their work contributed to debate about the relationship between belief and knowledge.

In the seventh century a yard was as much a reckoning of the worth of some land as a set measure of its dimensions and, although the term came to mean a unit of distance, the 36-inch standard was not settled until 1855. This light-hearted compendium explores the origins of our weighing, measuring and timing systems from the Babylonian calendar to the metric system.

‘A man is found hanging in a locked room with no furniture and a puddle of water under his feet. What happened?’ From ancient Greek paradoxes to the role of probability in television game shows (via the Rubik’s Cube, chess problems and crosswords) this entertaining book illustrates eleven classic types of logic puzzle, tells the stories behind their creation and shows how to go about solving them.

Although HG Wells’s Victorian time machine would not have worked, there is no law of physics that prevents travel through the fourth dimension. Brian Clegg combines his enthusiasm for science fiction with his insights as a writer on real science to explore ways in which time travel could theoretically be achieved. He also traces the development of our modern understanding of time, from Einstein’s first daydreams about the speed of light to neutrino experiments and the latest theories about wormholes.

The bestselling author of The Fly Trap continues his exploration of the richness of life in these two tales. A love of pine trees set him on course to trace the life of landscape artist Gunnar Widforss, ‘the painter of the National Parks’, across Europe and America in the first story. The second, inspired by the life of Swedish zoologist Gustaf Eisen, blends memoir and nature writing and reflects on the strange paths life can take us down.