Royal Institution of Great Britain: v. 70

This selection of essays from the Royal Institution offers an authoritative account of thinking in many areas of science and technology. The subjects are as wide-ranging as ever, from Simon Conway Morris discussing the fossils of the Burgess Shale, and whether there can ever really be a chance of finding other life in the Universe, to Robert Matthews' scientific analysis of Murphy's Law. Also in this volume are essays on neurodegenerative diseases or "brain killers", such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, a scientific exploration of the human singing voice, and Russell Stannard writing on the Big Bang, and whether, given comtemporary knowledge of this event, a place can ever be found within such a theory for a Creator. Also included amongst others are essays looking at the worrying increase in asthma and allergies world-wide, and an account of the phenomenon called El Nino, an event which has a significant effect on the weather conditions throughout the world and causes death and destruction in many countries. This book is intended for the general reader with an interest in science, scientists with an interest in the work of their peers.Table of ContentThe philosopher's tree - Faraday today at the Royal Institution; the fossils of the Burgess Shale and the Cambrian "explosion"; killers in the brain - new discoveries in neurodegenerative disease; the science of Murphy's Law; God, time, and cosmology; the human singing voice; asthma and allergy - disorders of civilization; the Nino and its significance; lasers - making light work; fuel cells - fuelling the future; to divide or not to divide; the biology of nitric oxide; an imaging renaissance - new opportunities for medicine; electricity, magnetism, and the body; environmental campaigners and scientists - friends or foes; pollution - a local, national, and world problem.