Science All books
Pierre Buser
Neurophilosophy of the Brain Neurons That Aspire to Explain the Mind
A highly topical discussion, linked to the latest findings in the neurosciences: is it still relevant nowadays, given recent neurobiological research.
Thierry Lodé
Amorous Biodiversity Sex and Evolution
A new approach to evolution, linked to sexuality, for a better understanding of the history of biodiversity
Jean-Louis Fellous
Tempest Warning The New Climatic Order
Is it true that we are heading toward global warming? And if so, what is the time frame? What will be the consequences on our lives and those of our children and grandchildren? This book will help readers understand the physical phenomena that make up the Earths climate, as well as the possible consequences of the natural and human alterations which have been inflicted on it. It also makes a plea for a concerted effort on a global scale. Jean-Louis Fellous currently heads ocean exploration for Ifremer (Institut français de recherche pour lexploitation de la mer).
Michel Raymond
Why I Didn’t Invent the Wheel
Between nature and culture, a fascinating, widely accessible book about human evolution
Georges Charpak
Children, Researchers and Citizens
Georges Charpak has taken the initiative for a complete reform of our methods of science teaching. He proposes a teaching method based on creativity and problem-solving, instead of the old theoretical, book-based approach. This book recounts the experiences of two teams of French educators in a research institution created by Leon Lederman in Chicago, and the lessons which we can take from their experiences. Pollens shows that to learn is to discover, and that it is in discovering that one learns. Georges Charpak is a Nobel laureate in physics, and the author of La vie à fil tendu and Feux follets et champignons nucléaires, both published by Editions Odile Jacob.
Claude Gudin
The Natural History of Microalgae
The amazing properties of microalgae may be crucial for the future of humanity
Marc Jeannerod
Of Mental Physiology A History of the Relationship Between Biology and Psychology
A relative newcomer to the world of science, psychology gives rise to a rivalry between two older siblings, philosophy and biology. This enduring conflict between materialism and spiritualism, which continues today in other forms, without adoubt was the driving force behind its progress. What we know today about the spirit is a result of this history. Biology and psychology have shaped each other in turn. This book represents a riveting study on how two centuries of spiritual quarrelling made possible the modern attempt to establish the inner workings of the mind. A professor of physiology at the Université Claude Bernard, Marc Jeannerod is also the director of an Inserm neurological research team in Lyon.
Étienne Guyon, Jean-Paul Troadec
From a Bag of Marbles to a Heap of Sand
Why don't sand dunes collapse? How does sand flow in an hourglass? How is it possible to empty a silo of all its wheat? What's a ceramic? The answer to all these questions can be found in the science of the complex organizations of matter, a science which is pluridisciplinary. Étienne Guyon, head of the École Normale Supérieure, and Jean-Paul Troadec, a researcher, present the characteristics of grain matter, the rules by which it is organized (in both crystal and fluid) as well as its movements (in silos as in avalanches).
Jean-Pierre Bibring
Mars Blue Planet?
This little gem of popular science recounts the history of Mars in clear, accessible language.
André Holley
In Praise of our Sense of Smell
Disparaged by the great philosophers and even by Darwin, who considered it useless, yet praised by Proust and Baudelaire for the richness of the emotions it inspires, the human sense of smell is generally considered secondary to the other senses. But is it really? André Holley makes a scientific argument for this powerful yet ambiguous sense. He also examines the tendency on the part of our society to deodorise to refuse accept that smells are sometimes bad, on the other hand inventing entirely new smells with the help of chemistry. Researcher at the CNRS, André Holley is a professor of neuroscience at the university Claude-Bernard in Lyon.
Yves-Alain Fontaine
Eels and Man
In this book, the author, an expert in his field, describes the most fascinating stages in the eels biological cycle, its migrations and the modifications it undergoes during its life. Eels interest us not only because of their life and breeding cycles, but also because of the questions they raise concerning our ideas about evolution. Does the notion of adaptation suffice to explain everything the eel has become? Doesnt a living creature maintain a certain amount of independence in relation to the world that surrounds it? Or is the relationship between a living creature and the environment which surrounds it more complex that we have generally realised ?
Sylvie Vauclair, Claude-Samuel Lévine
The Music of the Spheres
A fascinating work on a the latest findings in the study of the stars
Nicolas Franck
Exercises to Maintain Your Brainpower
Practical exercises to maintain and enhance your mental capacities
Luca Cavalli-Sforza
The Adventure of the Human Species From Population Genetics to Cultural Evolution
How evolution and human functioning made humankind the dominant species
André Klarsfeld, Frédéric Revah
The Biology of Death
Why are most living organisms condemned to die a natural death, even if they are in a well-protected and highly favourable environment ? Is death a "useful" biological process or does it not correspond to any natural necessity ?