The discovery of life on other planets would be perhaps the most momentous revelation in human history, more disorienting and more profound than either the Copernican or Darwinian revolutions, which knocked the earth from the center of the universe and humankind from its position of lofty self-regard. In Here Be Dragons, astronomer David Koerner and neurobiologist Simon LeVay offer a scientifically compelling and colorful account of the search for life beyond Earth. The authors survey the work of biologists, cosmologists, computer theorists, NASA engineers, SETI researchers, roboticists, and UFO enthusiasts and debunkers as they attempt to answer the greatest remaining question facing humankind: Are we alone? From their "safe haven of skepticism" the authors venture into the "rough seas of speculation," where theory and evidence run the gamut from hard science to hocus pocus. Arguing that the universe is spectacularly suited for the evolution of living creatures, Koerner and LeVay give us ringside seats at the great debates of Big Science. The contenitous arguments about what really happens in evolution, the acrimonious UFO controversy, and the debate over intelligence versus artificial intelligence shed new light on the wildly divergent claims about the universe and life's place in it. The authors argue that while no direct evidence of extraterrestrial life yet exists, habitats and chemical building blocks for life abound in the universe. A wealth of new astronomical techniques and space missions may provide this evidence early in the next century. Lucidly written and scientifically rigorous, Here Be Dragons presents everything we know thus far about the emergence of intelligent life here on earth and, perhaps, beyond.
Recent Advances in Spinal Surgery is a comprehensive, illustrated collection of the most recent developments in the field. An editorial team of US-based experts ensures authoritative content throughout. Divided into seventeen chapters, this book covers the full spectrum of spinal conditions and interventions. All information is thoroughly up-to-date, including reviews of novel neuroprotective and neuroregenerative strategies, and new tools for predicting surgical outcomes and collecting data. Recent Advances in Spinal Surgery also features discussion on surgical options for patients for whom non-operative interventions are unsuccessful, and covers total disc replacement for both the cervical and lumbar spines. 88 full colour illustrations enhance this important update in the field of spinal surgery. Key Points Reviews of the most recent developments in the field of spinal surgery New neuroprotective and neuroregenerative strategies for spinal cord injuries 88 full colour illustrations
This volume provides a graduate-level introduction to communication science, including theory and scholarship for masters and PhD students as well as practicing scholars. The work defines communication, reviews its history, and provides a broad look at how communication research is conducted. It also includes chapters reviewing the most frequently addressed topics in communication science. This book presents an overview of theory in general and of communication theory in particular, while offering a broad look at topics in communication that promote understanding of the key issues in communication science for students and scholars new to communication research. The book takes a predominantly "communication science" approach but also situates this approach in the broader field of communication, and addresses how communication science is related to and different from such approaches as critical and cultural studies and rhetoric. As an overview of communication science that will serve as a reference work for scholars as well as a text for the introduction to communication graduate studies course, this volume is an essential resource for understanding and conducting scholarship in the communication discipline.
Presents the essential elements for the design of final covers which are environmentally safe and secure. An overview of regulations in the United States and Germany is followed by six chapters which discuss individual components of candidate cover systems, cross sections of final covers, details of a water-balance methodology, theory and design examples on slope stability, elements of other designs and emerging systems, and related systems. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) is heralded as the greatest painter of the Romantic movement in Germany, and Europe's first truly modern artist. His mysterious and melancholy landscapes, often peopled with lonely wanderers, are experiments in a radically subjective artistic perspective--one in which, as Freidrich wrote, the painter depicts not "what he sees before him, but what he sees within him." This vulnerability of the individual when confronted with nature became one of the key tenets of the Romantic aesthetic. Now available in a compact, accessible format, this beautifully illustrated book is the most comprehensive account ever published in English of one of the most fascinating and influential nineteenth-century painters. "This is a model of interpretative art history, taking in a good deal of German Romantic philosophy, but founded always on the immediate experience of the picture. . . . It is rare to find a scholar so obviously in sympathy with his subject."--"Independent
The number of worldwide solid waste landfills and abandoned dumps is growing steadily in both industrialized and developing nations. The key to successful waste containment is often a final cover for placement over the landfill or dump. This book presents the essential elements for the design of final covers which are environmentally safe and secure. With an overview of regulations in the United States and Germany provided, the authors emphasize performance-based design for site specific conditions. Individual components of candidate cover systems are examined, including surface, protection, drainage, barrier, gas collection, and foundation layers for the entire range of natural soil materials and geosynthetics.
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