The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield by Brian Deer

$35.00 AUD

Category: Science

Award-winning investigative reporter Brian Deer reveals the shocking truth behind the rise of Andrew Wakefield  the so-called father of the anti-vaccine movement. In February 1998, a then-unknown British doctor, Andrew Wakefield, published an explosive scientific paper in a top medical journal, Th e Lancet. Researching twelve developmentally challenged children, he claimed to have found evidence that MMR, the lifesaving three-in-one vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella, was causing a frightening 'new syndrome' of autism and bowel disease. As a result, a generation of young parents were terrified, and vaccination rates plummeted. In The Doctor Who Fooled the World, Brian Deer cuts to the heart of the most damaging medical conspiracy of our time. The only journalist to crack Wakefield's secrets, Deer explains how he gained legal access to patients' records, uncovering the truth about their histories and diagnoses, His landmark fifteen-year inquiry saw Wakefield struck from the medical register, his research retracted, and his claims about MMR dubbed 'an elaborate fraud'. In this riveting detective story, Deer lays bare the rigged research, secret business schemes, and financial and commercial conflicts of interest that lay behind Wakefield's original false claims - and the continuing smear campaigns that have aimed to keep the truth hidden. Now resurrected in the United States, Wakefield dominates a broader international anti-vaccine campaign, exporting his claims everywhere. Alarmingly, widespread outbreaks of measles have returned to threaten children's health. As before, the facts don't fit the story, but that hasn't got in the way of Wakefield's new campaign. 'Brian Deer is the world's foremost authority on Andrew Wakefield.' -Dr Peter J. Hotez, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, author of Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism ...Show more

How to Talk about Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference by Rebecca Huntley

$32.99 AUD

Category: Science

A toolkit for understanding our emotional responses to climate change and how we can have meaningful conversations across dividing lines. 'The antidote to climate anxiety is action. Make your first action reading this book.' OSHER GUNSBERG'Rebecca Huntley has given us a great gift: an essential guide to understanding ourselves and each other as we face the climate crisis. Let's take down the walls that divide us. Collectively, with compassion and courage, we can make real change happen.' KYLIE KWONG'Explains whether and how we will choose to solve the climate problem. Immensely important analysis in a great read.' PROFESSOR ROSS GARNAUT Why is it so hard to talk about climate change?While scientists double down on the shocking figures, we still find ourselves unable to discuss climate change meaningfully among friends and neighbours - or even to grapple with it ourselves. The key to progress on climate change is in the psychology of human attitudes and our ability to change. Whether you're already alarmed and engaged with the issue, concerned but disengaged, a passive skeptic or an active denier, understanding our emotional reactions to climate change - why it makes us anxious, fearful, angry or detached - is critical to coping on an individual level and convincing each other to act.This book is about understanding why people who aren't like you feel the way they do and learning to talk to them effectively. What we need are thousands - millions - of everyday conversations about the climate to enlarge the ranks of the concerned, engage the disengaged and persuade the cautious of the need for action. ...Show more

Is the Moon Upside Down? by Greg Quicke

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

During his younger days working as a bush mechanic and pearl diver in remote WA, Greg Quick spent countless nights lying in a swag and staring at the stars. That daily distraction grew into a passion that has seen him become one of Australia's best known and most engaging astronomers. In recent years Gr eg - aka 'Space Gandalf' - has taken on cult status among audiences via his appearances alongside Professor Brian Cox in the hit TV series Stargazing Live. Greg's practical explanations of the complexities of space have also earned him respect from astronomers around the world. Is The Moon Upside Down?is an absorbing guided tour of the cosmos as seen through Greg's eyes. Unlike many of his peers who studied at university he offers a unique and refreshing perspective on astronomy that was instead forged on cliff tops outside Alice Springs, in the endless expanse of the Great Sandy Desert, on the floor of the Indian Ocean and in his own front yard in Broome. No matter what mysteries you've pondered about Earth's astral dance with the Sun, planets, Moon and the stars, it's guaranteed Greg has thought about them too, and the answers can be found in the pages of this book.   ...Show more

The Best Australian Science Writing 2017 by Michael Slezak (Contribution by)

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

Would it be ethical to eat sentient aliens? What is the basis of differences between the sexes? Where do you find fossils of early multicellular life? Is there any hope for the Great Barrier Reef or Tasmanian forests in a warming climate? Were Aboriginal Australians the world's first astronomers? The Be st Australian Science Writing 2017, now in its seventh year, draws on the knowledge and insight of Australia's brightest thinkers. From the potentially venomous future of medicine to the ecological knowledge available from large-scale, unreplicated natural experiments (LUNEs), this acclaimed anthology selects the best science writing from the past year, challenging perceptions of the world we think we know. With a foreword by Professor Emma Johnston, UNSW Dean of Science, this year's collection includes the best of Australia's science writing talent: Jo Chandler, Elmo Keep, Peter Singer, Bianca Nogrady, James Bradley, and many more. ...Show more

A Human's Guide to the Future by Jordan Nguyen

$34.99 AUD

Category: Science

TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING AT THE FASTEST RATE WE'VE EVER SEEN, BUT IT MAY BE THE SLOWEST RATE WE'LL EVER SEE AGAIN! What does this mean for the future of the human race? Do we resist these changes or embrace them?Australian biomedical engineer, inventor and visionary Dr Jordan Nguyen has lived a life of c uriosity and wonder - exploring positive opportunities in science and technology, including robotics, artificial intelligence, bionics, extended reality and avatars. He believes that technology is a powerful tool that we as humans can choose to harness to create a better tomorrow.In A Human's Guide to the Future, Dr Jordan takes us on a journey through the big innovations being developed around the world, along the fun and amazing rollercoaster of his own adventures, and to envisage where our collective future is headed.Written by one of this generation's most exciting voices, this is a book that will deepen your understanding of new and emerging technologies and fuel your imagination at the dawn of what will be the most transformative era in human history. ...Show more

Whitewash - The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science by Carey Gillam

$44.99 AUD

Category: Science

"Reads like a mystery novel as Gillam skillfully uncovers Monsanto's secretive strategies."--Erin Brockovich"A damning picture...Gillam expertly covers a contentious front." --Publishers Weekly"A must-read." --Booklist"Hard-hitting, eye-opening narrative." --Kirkus It's the herbicide on our dinner plate s, a chemical so pervasive it's in the air we breathe, our water, our soil, and even found increasingly in our own bodies. Known as Monsanto's Roundup by consumers, and as glyphosate by scientists, the world's most popular weed killer is used everywhere from backyard gardens to golf courses to millions of acres of farmland. For decades it's been touted as safe enough to drink, but a growing body of evidence indicates just the opposite, with research tying the chemical to cancers and a host of other health threats. In Whitewash, veteran journalist Carey Gillam uncovers one of the most controversial stories in the history of food and agriculture, exposing new evidence of corporate influence. Gillam introduces readers to farm families devastated by cancers which they believe are caused by the chemical, and to scientists whose reputations have been smeared for publishing research that contradicted business interests. Readers learn about the arm-twisting of regulators who signed off on the chemical, echoing company assurances of safety even as they permitted higher residues of the herbicide in food and skipped compliance tests. And, in startling detail, Gillam reveals secret industry communications that pull back the curtain on corporate efforts to manipulate public perception. Whitewash is more than an expos about the hazards of one chemical or even the influence of one company. It's a story of power, politics, and the deadly consequences of putting corporate interests ahead of public safety. ...Show more

The Secret Life of Whales by Micheline Jenner (Contribution by)

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

Marine biologist Micheline Jenner discovered humpback breeding grounds off the Kimberley coast, uncovered pygmy blue whale feeding spots, and, with her husband Curt, is one of very few people to witness a humpback whale giving birth. In The Secret Life of Whales she reveals the little-known world of the se giants of the deep, taking us from Australia to Antarctica and beyond. With her infectious enthusiasm for these magnificent creatures. Mich shares her insights into how whales live - how they migrate, feed, breed and look after their young - and her world-leading conservation work. ...Show more

The Secret Life of Stars: Astrophysics for Everyone by HARVEY-SMITH LISA

$34.99 AUD

Category: Science

A to Z of Rocks, Minerals and Gems by Claudia Martin

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science

Get digging for rocks and minerals with this striking new book. A bright, contemporary design will engage young children's interest and maintain a fascination with rocks for years to come. Each alphabet entry is accompanied by a short chunk of text, designed to appeal to young readers and enco urage them to look closely at the images.   ...Show more

30 Second Weather by Adam Scaife

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science | Series: 30 Second

If you only have 30 seconds, there is time - using this book - to make sense of the science behind the seeming vagaries of the weather, the controversies, predictions and forecasts for climate change that shape our day-to-day experiences of the great outdoors. Ever since Aristotle first tried to ex plain the forces that seem to fall from the heavens, meteorology has opened up the study of weather, and caused disputes over the reasons why seasons change, where precipitation falls, why winds blow and when the sun shines. From halcyon days to hurricanes, supercells to silver linings, global warming to giant hailstones, here is the ultimate guide to a near-universal preoccupation: what's the weather like? ...Show more

Weather for Dummies by Cox

$34.95 AUD

Category: Science | Series: For dummies

What's going on up there when the rain falls, when the wind blows, when the clouds roll in and the lightning flashes? How do hurricanes arise and where to tornadoes come from? Why do seasonal conditions sometimes vary so much from one year to the next? Our ways of life, our very existences depend on kno wing the answers to questions like these. Economies have been wiped out, civilizations have risen and fallen, entire species have come into being or gone extinct because of a temperature shift of just a few degrees, or a brief shortage or glut of rainfall. With so much riding on the weather, it makes you wonder how you've lived this long without knowing more about it. Don't worry it's never too late to find out about what makes the weather tick. And there's never been an easier or more enjoyable way to learn than Weather For Dummies. In know time, you'll know enough of weather basics to be able to: *Identify cloud types *Make sense of seasonal differences in the weather *Understand what causes hurricanes, tornadoes, and other extreme events *Make your own weather forecasts *Avoid danger during severe weather *Understand the global warming debate *Get a handle on smog, the greenhouse effect, El Nino, and more Award-winning science writer John D. Cox brings the science of meteorology down to earth and, with the help of dozens of cool maps and charts and stunning photographs of weather conditions, he covers a wide range of fascinating subjects, including: *What is weather and how it fits into the entire global ecosystem *What goes into making a professional daily weather forecast *The basic elements of weather, including air pressure, clouds, and humidity *Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, and other extreme forms of weather *Seasonal weather effects and why they vary *Lightening, rainbows, sundogs, haloes, and other special effects Featuring clear explanations, stunning illustrations, and fun, easy experiments and activities you can do at home , Weather For Dummies is your guide to making sense of the baffling turmoil of the ever-changing skies above. ...Show more

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Patterns of Life) by Yuval Noah Harari

$24.99 AUD

Category: Science | Series: Patterns of Life

Yuval Noah Harari's bestselling phenomenon now in a beautifully packaged new special edition. Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What m akes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going. Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind's extraordinary history - from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age - and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world. 'Unbelievably good. Jaw dropping from the first word to the last' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2PATTERNS OF LIFE- SPECIAL EDITIONS OF GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE BOOKS ...Show more