subscribe Coles Science Center Blog

• New Books October 13, 2008

  Take your mind off of midterms with these new books available at the Coles Science Center.

  Declassified: 50 Top-Secret Documents That Changed History
  by Thomas B. Allen
  UB270 .A45 2008

  "Culled from archives around the world, the 50 documents in Declassified illuminate the secret and often inaccessible stories of agents, espionage, and behind-the-scenes events that played critical roles in American history. Moving through time from Elizabethan England to the Cold War and beyond, noted author Tom Allen places each document in its historical and cultural context, sharing the quirky and little-known truths behind state secrets and clandestine operations...this lively history contains never-before-published and hard-to-find documents—printed from scans of the originals wherever possible."--Amazon.com

  Electronic Tribes: The Virtual Worlds of Geeks, Gamers, Shamans, and Scammers
  by Tyrone L. Adams and Stephen A. Smith
  TK5105.88817 .E53 2008

  "In Electronic Tribes, the authors of sixteen competitively selected essays provide an up-to-the-minute look at the social uses and occasional abuses of online communication in the new media era. ... Their research raises compelling questions and some remarkable answers about the real-life social consequences of participating in electronic tribes." --Amazon .com

  
  Easeful Death: Is There a Case for Assisted Suicide
  by Mary Warnock and Elisabeth Macdonald
  Oxford University Press
  R726 .W36 2008

  "Now, in Easeful Death, Mary Warnock and Elisabeth Macdonald offer a clearly reasoned, even-handed assessment of arguments both for and against the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The authors take as their starting point the attempts in Britain and other countries to bring compassion into the rules governing the end of a patient's life. Written with sensitivity, grace, and level-headed authority, Easeful Death is essential reading for caregivers, doctors, medical ethicists, and anyone concerned with their own or a loved one's end of life decisions. It argues persuasively that whatever the results of the legislative debate, compassion must be the guiding principle in the way we treat people who are dying or want to die."

  
  The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis
  by Maggie Black and Ben Fawcett
  RA567 .B63 2008

  "In the byways of the developing world, much is quietly happening on the excretory frontier. This book takes us on a tour of those endeavors, in the company of today's sanitary heroes. In the International Year of Sanitation, the authors bring—with humor and impeccable taste—this awkward subject to a wider audience than the world of international waste usually commands. They seek the elimination of the Great Distaste so that people without political clout or economic muscle can claim their right to a dignified and hygienic place to “go”.

  
  The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
  by Simon Winchester
  Q143.N44 W56 2008

  "...Joseph Needham (1900–1995) is the man who made China China, forming the West's understanding of a sophisticated culture with his masterpiece, Science and Civilization in China, says bestselling author Winchester. In a life devoted to recording the Middle Kingdom's intellectual wealth, Needham, an eccentric, brilliant Cambridge don, made a remarkable journey from son of a London doctor through scientist-adventurer to red scare target. In Winchester's (The Professor and the Madman) estimable hands, Needham's story comes to life straightaway. From the biochemist's arrival in WWII Chongqing (the smells, of incense smoke, car exhaust, hot cooking oil, a particularly acrid kind of pepper, human waste, oleander, and jasmine) to his steely discipline when crafting his research into prose (to an old friend: I am frightfully busy. You come without an appointment, so I am afraid I cannot see you), Winchester plunges the reader into the action with hardly a break. As the author notes in an outstanding epilogue—a swirling 12-page trip through the kaleidoscope of contemporary China—he is at pains to place Needham front and center in our understanding of the nation that now plays such a huge role in American life."--Publishers weekly

  Secrets of the Hoary Deep: A Personal History of Modern Astronomy
  by Riccardo Giacconi
  QB472 .G53 2008

  "Part history, part memoir, and part cutting-edge science, Secrets of the Hoary Deep is the tale of x-ray astronomy from its infancy through what can only be called its early adulthood. It also offers the companion story of how the tools, techniques, and practices designed to support and develop x-ray astronomy were transferred to optical, infrared, and radio astronomy, drastically altering the face of modern space exploration. Giacconi relates the basic techniques developed at American Science and Engineering and explains how, where, and by whom the science was advanced."--Amazon.com
  

• Scopus Trial

  NYU is now trialing the Scopus database. You may recall that we’ve trialed this product before, but it has now expanded its coverage to include the social sciences as well as science and technology.

  We’re interested in evaluating this new coverage, and we need as many of you as possible to try it out and give your opinions. (It’s a large and very expensive database!) So try your favorite searches on it. Challenge it as much as you can, and then let us know what you think.

  To access our trial account please go to http://www.scopus.com.

  Once you have had a chance to try it, please feel free to email your comments to kara.whatley@nyu.edu.

• The Mystery of Industrial Solid Waste

  The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the
  Coles Science Salon Series

  "Tonnage and Toxicity: Visible and Invisible Solid Waste Problems in the Contemporary United States"

  by Samantha MacBride,
  Deputy Director, New York City Department of Sanitation

  According to the last nationwide study on the subject, completed in the late 1980's by the EPA, manufacturing industries generate around 7.6 billion tons of solid waste per year, with mining and other extractive industries adding another 5 billion tons. In contrast, individual households generate roughly 150 million tons of waste per year, with nonindustrial businesses adding another 100 million. Only a fraction of the 7.6 billion is regulated as hazardous industrial waste by the EPA. The rest of this tonnage remains clouded in mystery. Where is it? What's in it? How much could be recycled and why isn't it being recycled? What are the implications of current disposal methods? Most important, why is there such intense focus in the environmental community on the 250 million annual tons of "municipal solid waste" generated by residents and business, while billions of industrial waste remain at best an afterthought?

  DATE: Monday, November 3, 2008
  TIME: 5-6pm
  PLACE: Avery Room, 2nd Floor, Bobst Library

  Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion. Refreshments will be served.

  **RSVP required**
  Go here: http://tinyurl.com/salon-rsvp
  

• New Book October 6, 2008

  Here are some interesting new books recently arrived at Coles Science Center, enjoy !

  Beyond Biotechnology: The Barren Promise of Genetic Engineering
  by Craig Holdredge, Steve Talbott
  QH442 .H63 2008

  “In 2001 the Human Genome Project announced that it had successfully mapped the entire genetic content of human DNA. Scientists, politicians, theologians, and pundits speculated about what would follow, conjuring everything from nightmare scenarios of state-controlled eugenics to the hope of engineering disease-resistant newborns. As with debates surrounding stem-cell research, the seemingly endless possibilities of genetic engineering will continue to influence public opinion and policy into the foreseeable future. Beyond Biotechnology: The Barren Promise of Genetic Engineering distinguishes between the hype and reality of this technology and explains the nuanced and delicate relationship between science and nature.”—Amazon.com

  Golden Gate Bridge: History and Design of an Icon
  by Donald MacDonald, Ira Nadel
  TG25.S225 M33 2008

  “Nine million people visit the Golden Gate Bridge each year, yet how many know why it's painted that stunning shade of "international orange"? Or that ancient Mayan and Art Deco buildings influenced the design? Current bridge architect Donald MacDonald answers these questions and others in a friendly, informative look at the bridge's engineering and 70-year history. This accessible account is accompanied by 70 of MacDonald's own charming color illustrations, making it easy to understand how the bridge was designed and constructed. A fascinating study for those interested in architecture, design, or anyone with a soft spot for San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge is a fitting tribute to this timeless icon.”—Amazon.com

  Edgar Martins: Topologies
  by John Beardsley, David Campany, Edgar Martins
  TR660.5 .M37 2008 Oversize

  “With artful composition and controlled framing--but no digital manipulation--Edgar Martins creates sublimely beautiful views of often un-beautiful sites. Minimalist nighttime beaches, forests ravaged by fires and Iceland's stark terrain have all served as subjects for his large-scale color photographs. He also explores the unexpected impact of Modernism on the landscape, including startlingly graphic airport runways and colorful highway barriers that, at first glance, read like abstract murals."--Amazon.com

  Bending Science: How Special Interests Corrupt Public Health Research
  by Thomas O. McGarity, Wendy E. Wagner
  RA440.87.U6 M24 2008

  “What do we know about the possible poisons that industrial technologies leave in our air and water? How reliable is the science that federal regulators and legislators use to protect the public from dangerous products? As this disturbing book shows, ideological or economic attacks on research are part of an extensive pattern of abuse...Bending Science exposes an astonishing pattern of corruption and makes a compelling case for reforms to safeguard both the integrity of science and the public health.”—Amazon.com

  Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins
  by Maddalena Bearzi, Craig B. Stanford
  QL737.P96 B39 2008

  “Endowed through evolution with large brains, the great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos gorillas and orangutans) and the cetaceans (dolphins and whales) are second only to humans in intelligence. In this delightful and intriguing book, dolphin specialist Bearzi and primatologist Stanford discuss the similarities between these groups.”—Amazon.com

  Earth Architecture: From Ancient to Modern
  by WILLIAM N. MORGAN
  TA715 .M55 2008

  “William Morgan, a practicing architect and published author, has created an invaluable compendium of environments shaped by the manipulation of one of the most fundamental building blocks available: earth. This splendidly illustrated volume contains intricate, detailed descriptions of more than fifty sites, written in non-technical language that will appeal to a broad range of readers.”—Amazon.com

  Cyber Security: Economic Strategies and Public Policy Alternatives
  by Michael P. Gallaher, Albert N. Link , Brent R. Rowe
  TK5105.59 .G347 2008

  "The first systematic analysis of the economics of cyber security, this insightful book will be of great interest to private and public sector managers and strategists involved in cyber security, as well as academics and researchers in the fields of economics, management, information systems, systems engineering, political science, and public policy”—Amazon.com

  Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine
  by Stan Cox
  TD195.F57 C69 2008

  "Scientist Stan Cox expertly draws out the strong link between Western big business and environmental destruction. This is a shocking account of the huge damage that drug manufacturers and large food corporations are inflicting on the health of people and crops worldwide. Companies discussed include Wal-Mart, GlaxoSmithKline, Tyson Foods and Monsanto. On issues ranging from the poisoning of water supplies in South Asia to natural gas depletion and how it threatens global food supplies, Cox shows how the demand for profits is always put above the public interest.”—Amazon.com
  

• Event Reminder: Science Salon this Wed., 10/1!

  The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the
  Coles Science Salon

  "Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Films"

  Uri Hasson, PhD, from NYU's Center for Neural Science will speak about a new method for assessing the effect of a film on viewers' brain activity. This method, developed in collaboration with Professor David Heeger and Professor Nava Rubin at the Center for Neural Science, uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC) to perform a quantitative neuroscientific assessment of the impact of different styles of filmmaking upon viewers' brains. He will present research findings that demonstrate a film's level of control over viewers' brain activity differed as a function of movie content, editing, and directing style. He will discuss this research method's potential to open the way for a new interdisciplinary field of "neurocinematic" studies by bringing together two separate, largely unrelated disciplines: cognitive neuroscience and film studies.

  
  DATE: October 1, 2008
  TIME: 5-6pm
  PLACE: Avery Room, 2nd Floor, Bobst Library

  Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion.

  **Refreshments will be served.**

  For more information on the research being presented, read NYU Today's coverage.