Sam Kean Bücher

Was treibt die Fruchtfliege in der Milchflasche? Warum häuten wir uns, wenn wir die Leber eines Eisbären essen? Wieso war John F. Kennedy selbst im Weißen Haus immer sonnengebräunt? Weshalb sahen die ägyptischen Pharaonen aus wie Außerirdische? Weswegen waren Paganinis Finger schneller als die aller anderen Geiger? Und warum war Einstein eigentlich so schlau? Diese und viele weitere Fragen beantwortet Sam Kean in seinem neuen Buch. Er entführt den Leser in die wundersame Welt der Genetik und erzählt von faszinierenden Erkenntnissen, die diese Wissenschaft seit dem vorletzten Jahrhundert gewonnen hat. In einem gekonnten Mix aus humorvollen Geschichten und anschaulichen Erklärungen öffnet Sam Kean für uns Nichtwissenschaftler ein verführerisches Tor zu einem elementaren Bereich des Lebens.

Wer hätte gedacht, dass Chemie so lebendig und spannend sein kann?! Wo wohnen eigentlich die Elemente? Wieso haben sie Nummern? Und was passiert, wenn sie miteinander reagieren? Sam Kean zeigt uns das und noch viel mehr: Er bringt uns das erstaunliche Ordnungssystem der Elemente so nah, wie es kein Chemielehrer je konnte: Ganz ohne Formeln und mit unglaublichem Erzähltalent. »Wenn Sie im Chemieunterricht geschlafen haben – hier ist Ihre Chance, das Periodensystem der Elemente kennenzulernen: garantiert schmerzfrei und hochgradig unterhaltsam.« New York Journal of Books

From the author of the bestsellers The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist's Thumb, fascinating tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience. Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims' personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain's secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible.

** GUARDIAN SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 ** 'Popular science at its best' Mail on Sunday 'Eminently accessible and enjoyable' Observer With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds in the Roman Senate, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding. In fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might also bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation. In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe and across time to tell the epic story of the air we breathe.

New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean tells the incredible story of how a renegade group of spies kept Hitler from obtaining his ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb.

Obsession in the scientific community can lead to dangerous consequences, as illustrated in this true story. Bestselling author Sam Kean explores how ambition can drive otherwise rational individuals to breach ethical boundaries and commit crimes, all in the pursuit of knowledge. The narrative delves into the darker side of science, revealing the potential for noble intentions to warp into sinister actions when the pursuit of discovery becomes an all-consuming obsession.

Did the human race almost go extinct? Can genetics explain a cat lady's love for felines? And how did the right combination of genes create the exceptionally flexible thumbs and fingers of a truly singular violinist? This title explains how genetics has shaped our past and how DNA will determine humankind's future.