Science All books
André Brahic
Children of the Sun The History of Our Origins
In less than a century, scientists have acquired enough information to try to explain the origin of life, to realise that there may be other life forms in the universe, and to begin to understand the birth of our planet and its future. André Brahic writes about the planets, the stars and the universe without forgetting the role played by human beings who are themselves made from solar atoms and are thus truly "children of the sun". André Brahic, an astronomer, is known for discovering the rings of Neptune.
Georges Charpak, Henri Broch
Becoming a Magician is Becoming Wise
Would you like to know how to burn out a light bulb from afar? Would you like to know how to walk barefoot on burning coals without scorching your feet and as comfortably as if you were walking on the softest deep-pile rug? And would you like to understand why this is possible? Magic here has simply switched sides: it no longer belongs to the realm of the supernatural; it has become completely natural.The goal of this book is to make the reader understand that the supernatural does not exist and that it is essential in todays world to be scientifically literate. Georges Charpak, a physicist at CERN, is a winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics. Henri Broch heads the Laboratoire de Zététique at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis.
Philippe Pédrot
Judging What Cannot Be Decided The Body Seized by the Law
This is a careful study of the cataclysm that biomedical technology has wreaked on procreation, gestation, life and death.
Jean-Pierre Pharabod
UFWs Unidentified Flying Weapons
Most reported sightings of UFOs turn out to be errors, optical illusions, hallucinations, and even practical jokes. But five per cent of all reported cases are more difficult to dismiss. According to the author, the unidentified objects may be clandestine terrestrial aircraft prototypes or secret weapons launched by the major industrialised nations, particularly the United States. Should the mysterious sightings be attributed to UFOs or to UFWs (Unidentified Flying Weapons)?
Alain Prochiantz
Biology in the Bedroom
Inspiring himself from La Philosophie dans le boudoir by Sade and the major philosophical works of the 18th century, Alain Prochiantz, who is a neurobiologist, explains by means of a dialogue, the progress of embryology and neurobiology and gives us the elements so that we can understand and measure the stakes of the recent discovery of the genes of development. Alain Prochiantz heads the Laboratory for the Development and Evolution of the Nervous System at the École normale supérieure. He is notably the author of Strategies of the Embryo, and Claude Bernard, the Physiological Revolution.
Alain Prochiantz
The Anatomies of Thought What do squid think about ?
When we watch a squid facing up to a predator, we see it recoil, agitate the tentacles, spray a jet of ink, and then make use of the temporary blindness of the predator in order to escape to a safe hiding place. Are we able to say what it is thinking ? Evidently, we know that this behaviour is not the result of a reflex unleashed by the sight of an enemy. The mollusc is not however conscious of its acts, at least not in the sense that we, as human beings, understand this term. It is true that we are the product of a evolution of species, and that, although this may not be welcome news for everyone, we share a common ancestry with the octopus, or even the fly. Even if the structure of our cortex, and the invention of language allows us to write about octopuses (or flies), and not the other way round, the fact remains that these evolutive roots, in the same way as other animal species, including invertebrates, have something to teach us about the nature of our thoughts. Alain Prochiantz
Yves-Alain Fontaine
The Sentimental Evolution
In the course of development, our way of living is fashioned by the world around us, but it is also shaped by discrete characteristics such as nature and the intensity of emotions like anxiety and egoism. From this point of departure, the author draws analogies about the ways in which we are human individuals and members of a species, and proffers the theory that, in the evolutionary process, there is also a sort of anxiety and egoism at work. Evolution, he suggests, might very well be both sentimental and selective. Yves Alain Fontaine is an honorary professor at the National Museum of Natural History.
Israel Rosenfield, Edward Ziff, Borin Van Loon
DNA for Beginners
The amazing story of DNA is recounted here in an entertaining comic-book form...
Gilles Godefroy
The Adventure of Numbers
Numbers never cease to fascinate. The Adventure of Numbers recounts the history of the gradual discovery of numerical characteristics, from the early days of arithmetic to the most sophisticated recent issues: Could a robot be created that would reduce all mathematics to simple sums? Are we sure that arithmetic does not conceal contradictions? Can all mathematical truths be demonstrated? The surprising answers given by Gilles Godefroy are the latest in an on-going saga that will doubtless continue to astound us. Mathematician Gilles Godefroy is a research director at the French Centre National de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).
Michel Cassé, Edgar Morin
Children of the Sky Between Nothingness, Light and Matter
What is the universe, which we regard as "ours" not only because we live in it but because it produced us? This book is in the form of a dialogue on cosmology between the astrophysicist Michel Cassé and the philosopher Edgar Morin. It is a profound work which revels in the joy of knowledge and restores us to the universe that is in all of us, as it celebrates the "anthropo-cosmos". Michel Cassé is an astrophysicist at the Atomic Energy Commission. Edgar Morin is an internationally renowned writer and thinker.
Étienne Klein
The Small Bang of Nanotechnologies
Nanotechnologies no longer concern just the manipulation of matter, one atom at a time: they now incorporate all the techniques that allow the manufacture of tiny objects with a precision equal to one billionth of a metre...
Steven Laureys
Meditation Exercises to Improve Your Brain
A range of meditation exercises carefully guided by the great neurologist Steven Laureys, enabling a practical implementation, whose duration and level can be adapted.
Rita Levi Montalcini
Praise of Imperfection New Edition
Rita Levi Montalcini's life has been entirely dedicated to scientific research. She grew up in a tightly knit Jewish family and studied medicine in Turin. Forced into inactivity by the racist laws of Fascist Italy, she set up a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom and began studying the development of the nervous system. Her research, which she completed in the United States after the war, led to the discovery of the nerve growth factor whose role is to stimulate the growth of nerve fibres. Her autobiography, written with warmth and simplicity, traces the progress of her life, including being awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.
Isabelle Peretz
Learn Music What’s New in the Neurosciences
The fruit of more than thirty years of research on the neurobiological foundations of music in conjunction with education, which tells us everything about the way in which music acts and transforms our brain.
Jean-Philippe Lachaux
Concentrate, And Your Brain Will Work For You
How can we help young children learn to concentrate? An enjoyable comic book to learn how the brain works. Practical, step-by-step tools to help children learn to concentrate and focus their attention. An approach based on cognitive neurosciences and tested in primary-school classes. A reader-friendly book for a unique concept.
Marc Jeannerod
The Intimate Brain
Today, the brain has ceased to be regarded as existing in isolation in the human body. It is now considered in relation to its sensory, emotional and cultural environment. This book asks the question of what are the mechanisms and chemistry of the emotions? How do emotional states and the consciousness of those states permeate memory and thought? How does depression affect the emotions, and how can it be treated? How is the consciousness of self and of others constructed? Marc Jeannerod teaches physiology at the University Claude-Bernard-Lyon-I, and is the director of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences.
Lucy Vincent
How to Fall in Love
What if love was one of the best magic tricks invented by evolution ? A far cry from the soppy, and rose-tinted fairy tales of our childhood, Lucy Vincent invites us to discover, with her both humorous and emotive approach, the true face of love its ruses, its calculations, but also its charm, its fun, and at the end of the day, its essential beauty. An indispensable read for those who wish to know the hidden aspects of love, and a useful tool to help master the strategies and language of love. A doctor in neurosciences, Lucy Vincent is equally a scientific editor at Radio France.
