Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Birding Under the Influence -...

  Dorian Anderson

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  At a personal and professional crossroads, a man resets his life and finds sobriety, love, and 618 bird species, cycling his way to a very Big Year. In Birding Under the Influence, Dorian Anderson, a neuroscience researcher on a pressure-filled life trajectory, walks away from the world of elite institutions, research labs, and academic publishing. In doing so, he falls in love and discovers he has freed himself to embrace his lifelong passion for birding. A North American Big Year—a continent-spanning adventure in which a birder attempts to see as many species as possible in twelve months—is a massive undertaking under any circumstances. But doing it on a bike while maintaining sobriety? That’s next level. As Dorian pedals across the country, describing the birds he sees, he confronts the challenges of long-distance cycling: treacherous weather, punctured tires, speeding cars, and injury. He encounters eccentric characters, blistering blacktop, dreary hotel rooms, snarling dogs, and an endless sea of smoking tailpipes. He also confronts his past struggles with alcohol, drugs, and risky behaviors that began in high school and followed him into adulthood. Birding Under the Influence is a candid, honest look at Dorian’s double life of academic accomplishment and addiction. While his journey to recovery is simultaneously poignant and inspiring, it is ultimately his love of birds and nature that provides the scaffolding to build a new and radically different life.

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  The Buck that Buries its Poo -...

  Quinton Coetzee

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  Is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes? And why do flamingos stand on one leg while bats hang upside down? Did you know that a chameleon’s tongue can shoot out at five times the acceleration of a fighter jet? 
  In The Buck That Buries its Poo, naturalist Quinton Coetzee answers these and many other intriguing wildlife questions. He also dispels countless myths and elucidates some of the legends that surround 
  creatures in the South African bush we thought we knew all about. For example, bats do not get tangled in people’s hair (because they are far too adept at flying) and elephants are not afraid of mice (but they do fear bees!). 
  Other tall tales you might hear around the campfire are that lions roll in animal dung, entrails or carcasses to disguise their scent, and that rhinos have a predilection for stamping out fires. What is true, though, is that hyenas are more closely related to cats than to dogs. This handy guide is based on Coetzee’s own research and that of others, and his experience gleaned over decades living close to nature and wildlife. It seeks to unravel the mysteries of nature in Africa – from mammals and birds to arthropods and plants – with fascinating information and fun trivia. It is a book that will enlighten and entertain. 
  PS: Zebras are black with white stripes!

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  Mapping Humanity - How Modern...

  Joshua Z. Rappoport PhD

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  Thanks to the popularity of personal genetic testing services, it's now easier than ever to get information about our own unique DNA—but who does this information really benefit? And, as genome editing and gene therapy transform the healthcare landscape, what do we gain—and what might we give up in return?Inside each of your cells is the nucleus, a small structure that contains all of the genetic information encoded by the DNA inside, your genome. Not long ago, the first human genome was sequenced at a cost of nearly $3 billion; now, this same test can be done for about $1,000. This new accessibility of genome sequence information creates huge potential for advances in how we understand and treat disease, among other things. It also raises significant concerns regarding ethics and personal privacy.In Mapping Humanity, cellular biology expert Joshua Z. Rappoport provides a detailed look at how the explosion in genetic information as a result of cutting-edge technologies is changing our lives and our world. Throughout, he explores the societal, ethical, and economic impacts of this new era. Offering a framework for balancing the potential risks and benefits of genetic information technologies and genetic engineering, Mapping Humanity is an indispensable guide to navigating the possibilities and perils of our gene-centric future.

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  Essential Information After High...

  Michael Anthony White

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  Many subjects critical to personal growth have slowly become regarded as inflammatory: Communication. Culture. Money. Nutrition. Science. Social Media. Politics. Equality. Feminism. 
  Refreshingly operating without bias, these “hot seat” topics are constructively discussed with intelligence and heart — going far beyond the offerings of public school curriculum.

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  Native American DNA - Tribal...

  Kim TallBear

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  In Native American DNA, Kim TallBear shows how DNA testing is a powerful-and problematic-scientific process that is useful in determining close biological relatives. But tribal membership is a legal category that has developed in dependence on certain social understandings and historical contexts, a set of concepts that entangles genetic information in a web of family relations, reservation histories, tribal rules, and government regulations. At a larger level, TallBear asserts, the "markers" that are identified and applied to specific groups such as Native American tribes bear the imprints of the cultural, racial, ethnic, national, and even tribal misinterpretations of the humans who study them. 
  TallBear notes that ideas about racial science, which informed white definitions of tribes in the nineteenth century, are unfortunately being revived in twenty-first-century laboratories. Because today's science seems so compelling, increasing numbers of Native Americans have begun to believe their own metaphors: "in our blood" is giving way to "in our DNA." This rhetorical drift, she argues, has significant consequences, and ultimately, she shows how Native American claims to land, resources, and sovereignty that have taken generations to ratify may be seriously-and permanently-undermined.

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  Book Series: Increasing...

  Stefan Luckhaus

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  Book Series
  Increasing Productivity of Software Development:
  
  In software development, productivity is a measure of how much functionality can be developed in a given time and in compliance with specified quality criteria. If an increase in productivity succeeds, this increases the scope of the developed functionality and reduces the required time. Both features are desirable because software is the stuff innovations are made of. IT has changed almost all areas of life thanks to fundamental innovations.
  Our future will be dominated by virtualization and smart helpers, that is, devices equipped with intelligence. This makes software development a key competence. Today, for companies that develop software, productivity as well as time and quality, are critical success factors.
  By introducing standards and automation, productivity in software development has been demonstrably increased by a factor of 20. The reutilization of functional and technical components has already enabled measurements of a factor of 100. Such performance differences are only reproducible by measurements and the consistent use of measurement results within a management model designed for continuous optimization.
  
  Part 1:
  Productivity and Performance Measurement - Measurability and Methods
  
  This book describes practical experiences with various measurements in software development: advantages and disadvantages of proven and new methods, their automation, the influence of complexity and the steps
  towards the implementation of regular measurements.

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