Catalog All books
Joseph Silk
Une brève histoire de l'univers
Joseph Silk is the author of an authoritative book on the Big Bang. In the present work, he covers the history of the universe from that first great explosion and shows how the most recent discoveries in astrophysics i.e. of the cosmic fluctuations from which the great structures of the universe emerged provide the missing link between the Big Bang, which occurred 15 billion years ago, and the present state of the universe. When did time begin? This is the question, already asked by Stephen Hawking, that A Short History of the Universe sets out to answer. It is the subject of current debate among theologians: Did time begin with the Big Bang, in which case God could not have created the universe, or has time existed for all eternity, which would mean that the Big Bang was just one event among others, that God could have existed before it occurred and that He could thus have created the universe? This highly accessible book will be of interest to a wide readership, since the issues examined here concern all of us. Joseph Silk, an astrophysicist and cosmologist, teaches at Oxford University.
Yves Michaud
Equality and Inequalities Volume 10
This volume continues and prolongs the earlier, highly successful series "LUniversité de tous les savoirs" (365 lectures, published in six volumes by Editions Odile Jacob). Renowned specialists in their fields examine the inequalities that exist between countries as well as among individuals: unequal access to education, the technological gap, unequal treatment before the law, economic inequalities, and disparities concerning health and hygiene.
James Watson
A Passion for DNA Genes, Genomes and Society
In 1953, two young scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, began a scientific revolution when they discovered the double helix structure of the DNA molecule, the substance that is the basis of heredity. James Watson, who won Nobel Prize in 1962 at the age of 34, has continued to play a central role in the field of genetics. Throughout his long scientific career, he has constantly sought to explain the latest developments and findings. The present volume is a collection of articles and lectures reflecting his views during the past fifty years on such subjects as GM foods, cancer, the sequencing of the human genome, and the ethical and social consequences of biology. This is a thought-provoking, often optimistic and always spirited book, reflecting the life and work of one of the great minds of the twentieth century.
Ann Premack, David Premack
The Baby, the Ape and Man
The issue of the differences and similarities between humans and their cousins the chimpanzees governs the definition of human identity. How can this difference be explained? By studying the learning process of chimpanzees and comparing it to that of children, Ann and David Premack were gradually able to discover a series of differences, none of which were radical but when put together showed a yawning gap between the two species. The results they obtained enabled them to reconstruct little by little the sum of the differences that make up human identity. Ann and David Premack are specialists in the study of primates.