From fascinating memoirs by researchers to inspiring narratives by senior science journalists, these works have had the greatest impact on us this year
Joe Spring, Bridget Alex, Riley Black, Dan Falk and Katrina Miller
This year's news cycle is once again dominated by stories about Covid-19, which is correct, but other major discoveries have been made throughout the scientific field. NASA landed another rover on Mars. Researchers have discovered a new possible human species. Scientists have discovered the way climate change affects animal evolution-all these topics may be applicable to future books. .
In 2021, the year of fighting the coronavirus has passed, and several books related to the pandemic have been published. One of the books, The Premonition by Michael Lewis is on this list. Another important book by Walter Isaacson related to how we fight disease, The Code Breaker, was instead listed as the best book of the year selected by Smithsonian scholars . (We don’t want to review it for the second time here.) The books we selected include scientific explorations by researchers to find elusive physical equations, and to understand the connections between trees and in-depth narratives from senior science. The reporter explored from solving the main Environmental issues to all aspects of the benefits of sweat. With so many informative and interesting works to choose from, it's hard to pick only ten, but these are the books that will have the biggest impact on our thinking in 2021.
Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Colbert investigated the wild ways scientists solve complex environmental problems in White Night. As Colbert pointed out, humans have directly transformed more than half of the ice-free land on the planet, and indirectly transformed the other half-with many negative consequences that need to be repaired. She takes the reader to a canal near Chicago, where officials have energized the water, so the destructive invading carp will not follow the waterway into the Great Lakes. She traveled to Hawaii and Australia, where marine biologists are trying to design super corals that can withstand rising water temperatures to protect coral reefs. She detailed a plan by an earth engineer to pump diamond dust into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and reduce the impact of climate change. Later in this book, she talked with Dan Schrag, a geologist who helped establish the Harvard University geoengineering project. He said: "I have seen colleagues put a lot of pressure to ask them to have a happy ending. People want hope. I thought,'You know what? I'm a scientist. My job is not to tell people the good news. . My job is to describe the world as accurately as possible.'” This is exactly what Colbert did in her book. She accurately described where we are. (Joe Spring)
That person should "manage the whole earth and all the creeping things on the earth" is a prophecy that has become a fact. The human influence on the earth is so common that it is said that we are living in a new geological age: the Anthropocene. In "Under the White Night," Elizabeth Colbert takes a closer look at the new world we are creating.
Michael Lewis' "Premonition" is a thriller, even though you know from the beginning that its heroes have lost. This book tells about several civil servants and scientists who saw the arrival of Covid-19 and did their best to prevent the spread of the virus in the United States. Lewis insists on his brand: he takes readers into the lives of non-traditional thinkers who challenge the so-called experts. In the early works, these insiders were Wall Street traders and professional baseball scouts (The Big Short and Moneyball, respectively). The opponents of Premonition are high-level government officials who ignore or kill our heroes, and the bureaucracy that hinders their success. In the first part, Lewis tells the protagonist’s background stories, including a public health official who was cursed by a home church leader for attending medical school; a microbiologist injected an Ebola cousin into the heart of a live python; and Wolverines -A secret group composed of medical and military government personnel to promote pandemic preparations. In the second part, mainly set in early 2020, the characters meet and try to contain Covid. Lewis' narrative then turned into a maddening page turn, because politics, optics, and profit hindered our heroes and let the virus raging. (Bridget Alex)
Michael Lewis' intense and wonderful non-fiction thriller battles a group of medical visionaries against a wall of ignorance, which is the Trump administration’s official response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Forest ecologist Suzanne Simard wrote our favorite book this year by a scientist. Her book is very personal and fascinating, "Finding Mother Trees: Discovering the Wisdom of Forests." Simard grew up in a logging family in Canada and, at the age of 20, worked as a seasonal employee for a logging company. But even in the early days, she felt that deforestation and poisoning the earth to allow monoculture to grow were the wrong way. Simard suspects that forests are made up of interconnected entities that help each other, so she pursued a scientific career—studying afforestation for the Forest Service, and eventually received a PhD in forest science from Oregon State University. In the experiment, she recorded the underground carbon trading of birch and Douglas fir trees. She determined that the forest is a "whole-wood network" in which plants exchange nutrients and chemical signals through roots and fungal networks, and found that large old trees or "mother trees" are located at the center of these networks and usually help their offspring.
Simard's findings have an impact on how the government should manage forests. Clearing small pieces and suppressing all species except the desired species may not be the best method; on the contrary, ecologists advocate leaving the mother tree and letting the plants grow together and support each other. However, the science of Simard alone is not the reason why this book is so impressive. Throughout the process, she shared the personal story of her scientific exploration-her close relationship with her brother, the breakdown of her marriage, and the fight against breast cancer. In all this, Simard continues to push the limits of known forest operations. She brings readers to her-attending scientific conferences, where she talks about research that many audiences dismiss, she conducts field experiments with graduate students in the laboratory at the University of British Columbia, and the forests of Western Canada where there are grizzly bears. roaming. By crafting a narrative that encompasses so many personal and professional relationships, she shows how intricate connections like roots and fungal networks under the forest have shaped her scientific journey. (JS)
Suzanne Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of trees, where she brilliantly illustrates the fascinating and important truth-trees are not only the source of wood or pulp, but also a complex and interdependent life cycle.
We are sweating all the time, at least a little bit. This is a good thing. On the one hand, sweat can prevent our hot-running mammals from overheating-but the role of salty emissions is much more than that. In "The Joy of Sweat", science journalist Sarah Everts paid a weird and wonderful tribute to the stench of the body, which keeps us cool and carries a lot of information about us. Own information. Evertz writes that sweat is "a strange and gorgeous way to control body temperature." Everyone has two to five million sweat holes, which are part of the built-in temperature control system. But as Evertz traces the natural and cultural history of sweat—from how other animals cool down to speed dating between New Jersey scent makers and Russia based on body odor—it becomes more. Sweat provides us with a personal scent, plays a role in attraction, and may signal that we are sick. As suggested by the repeated renovations of the sauna, it feels good to sweat sometimes. The initial exploration became an ode to our eternal secretions. "As a species, we will have to learn to appreciate our sweat," Evertz wrote, "and perhaps accept sweat more than we have done." (Riley Black)
Sweating may be one of our strangest biological functions, but it is also one of our most important and least known functions. In "The Joy of Sweat", Sarah Evertz delves into the role of sweat in the human body and human history.
In "The God's Equation", theoretical physicist Michio Kaku wrote about his almost lifelong mission, which is to find what he called the "Holy Grail of Physics", that is, the "Theory of Everything." His ultimate goal is to write an equation that encompasses the entire physics that can explain everything from the big bang to the end of the universe. This idea began with Isaac Newton, and stumped Albert Einstein, who was unable to come up with a theory to unify all the forces at work. If all this sounds too heavy, please rest assured that Kaku will lead readers on his journey and write articles about science in concise and clear language, making it approachable.
Kaku has been looking for a big equation because he saw a picture of Einstein's desk at the age of eight and learned in the caption that this great scientist could not complete the work he started. He transitioned from that anecdote to history, introducing readers to the ideas of the Greeks and Newton. When Kaku introduced scientists who used equations to reveal the world’s major forces, he explained in detail the techniques generated by these discoveries to let readers understand the importance of these milestones. Newton's law is used to perfect the steam engine. The wave equation of the mathematician James Clark Maxwell was tested in 1886 by the physicist Heinrich Hertz using sparks and coils, and it led to Guglielmo Marconi uncovering it in 1894 The veil of the radio. In the end, history and Gaku’s search for the “God equation” led to string theory, that is, the concept that the universe is not composed of point particles, but is composed of tiny, invisible lines that correspond to subatomic particles. This theory is untested, Kaku has skin in the game; he started studying string theory in 1968. But this is not a reason not to read this book, because its core is a clear understanding of difficult scientific exploration And a fascinating story. (JS)
When Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation, he unified the rules governing the world. Since then, physicists have been injecting new forces into larger theories.
Of all the authors on our list this year, Mary Roach is the one we want to drink beer the most. In her interesting book, Fuzz, she interviews and accompanies experts—from wildlife biologists who track mountain lions to biological warfare experts who study poisonous peas—to learn how they deal with “illegal” plant and animal examples. Roach went to Colorado to find out if it could prevent bears from rummaging in the trash and breaking into the house, went to India to understand why elephants killed villagers, and went to Canada to learn how to fall might fall and kill hikers." Dangerous trees". This book is full of weird facts and crazy field dispatch. Her discoveries range from lightheartedness—Minnesota bears once attacked a large number of MREs, “bears clearly enjoy more than soldiers”—to creepy portraits, or dead birds, near the debris recovered after 9/11 They are strung together and placed in a landfill. These statues are designed to prevent seagulls from removing body parts when inspectors sort the remains in the wreckage.
Roach introduced each topic in detail with her unique wisdom, and wrapped the text with disturbing statistics and examples. Did you know that 40,000 people die from snakebites in India every year? Or during a breeding season, 200 people spend 6 to 7 hours a day clubbing on the Midway Atoll and killing 80,000 albatross. The authorities hope to prevent them from colliding with planes? Throughout her journey, Roach documented human response to plant and animal "crimes", from comical measures to other more disturbing measures that shocked readers occasionally, but were always funny. (JS)
What should I do if I encounter a moose crossing the road? A bear caught the intrusion? Killing tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that violated the law were assigned legal representatives to stand trial. Today, as Mary Roach, the best-selling author of The New York Times, has discovered, the best answer is not in jurisprudence, but in science: the curious science of conflict between humans and wild animals. A discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
The theoretical cosmologist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein tells a story about the origin of human existence at the beginning of her visionary book The Disordered Cosmos. This story establishes that we are both knowledge holders and knowledge holders in the universe. It is the role of the seeker. Prescod-Weinstein then subtly conveyed her deep admiration for the night sky, understanding of the structure of space, and what remains to be discovered about the universe. Throughout the book, she intertwined breakthrough discoveries in physics with key moments in her career. She was the first black woman to hold a tenured faculty in the field of theoretical cosmology-this is a time Deciphering the journey of the universe, this field often causes harm to mankind. Racist and sexist ways. She delved into the historical background of scientific breakthroughs, challenged the concept of who was appointed as a scientist, and asked researchers what responsibilities are to society. In the same way that Prescod-Weinstein taught matter to shape the surrounding space and time, she also detailed how the choices made by physicists shape the future of society. "Disordered Universe" strongly reminds people that science does not exist in a vacuum. On the contrary, this is a practice deeply rooted in mankind-entering the night sky may be the most basic right of all people. This book is a love letter to the wonderful universe we call home, and it is also an impulse to think critically about how we explore its depths. (Katrina Miller)
From a star theoretical physicist, a journey into the world of particle physics and the universe—and a call for fairer scientific practice.
Our top choice for this year's coffee table book is Riley Black's Deep Time. It is difficult to imagine the time since the formation of the universe. This book helps readers do this by picking key historical moments—such as the dawn of the dinosaurs and the disappearance of Dogland, connecting Britain to the European continent—and providing them with compelling images that are easy to understand. explain. Black is an expert guide because she has written several books on paleontology and articles on the subject for Smithsonian over the years. But this book is not limited to fossils and dinosaurs. It also covers key concepts in astronomy (Hubble Deep Field), geology (formation of the Grand Canyon), and biology (mitochondria) in chronological order. For example, an entry titled "Tongue Stone" with an accompanying date 450 million years ago-the beginning of the existence of sharks on earth-describes the evolution of European experts’ perceptions of shark teeth and how the research on the remnants Lead to key scientific concepts. Black explained that naturalists initially believed that these fossils were the petrified tongues of snakes. It was not until 1666 that a great white shark was brought to an anatomist, and experts imagined that these relics were from ancient sharks-their teeth must have floated to the bottom of the sea and were covered by sediment. (Many indigenous cultures have determined that fossils came from animals that lived a long time ago.) This recognition led to the geological principle now called superposition—in the rock layer, the oldest is at the bottom. An anatomist’s 1668 shark sketch, images of great white sharks, and photos of fossil shark teeth from the Upper Cretaceous period illustrate this entry. This book contains 50 such informative entries, allowing readers to understand how scientists understand key milestones in the evolution of our planet. (JS)
Deep time is the time scale of the geological events that shape our planet. Although its scale is large enough to challenge human understanding, its evidence can be seen everywhere around us.
We seem to know intuitively the difference between biological and inorganic matter-but as the award-winning science writer Carl Zimmer fully clarified in "Life's Edge", this The boundaries are not as sharp as people think. Are blood cells alive? What about the virus? Or is it a fertilized egg? It turns out that the concept of death is equally vague. Tiny water bears that grow to no more than 15 inches can be dried and frozen, but with water and warmth, they will come back to life in years or even decades. Based on the oldest known fossils, scientists know that life took root on our planet about 3.5 billion years ago-but how did it happen? Zimmer reviewed a famous experiment conducted by scientists in the early 1950s, where they attempted to simulate conditions that were believed to have prevailed on the early Earth. Although no creatures crawled out of their device, the experiment did produce amino acids, which are the cornerstone of life. Zimmer also explored a new idea called assembly theory, which attempts to accurately measure the complexity of compounds as a way to study the origin of life. However, the exact moment when chemistry gave birth to biology has not yet been discovered. After reading Zimmer's fascinating book, readers may even wonder whether categories such as "alive" and "not alive" are labels we impose on nature, rather than objective characteristics of the world. (Dan Falk)
We all assume that we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the world of life—from primitive cells to brains, from fertilized eggs to epidemic viruses—the more difficult they find to find the edge of life.
In Beloved Beasts, Michelle Nijhuis takes a fascinating look at the history of conservation movements since the late 19th century. The author weaves an intricate story by detailing the efforts of key environmentalists—the complex individual written by Nijhuis sometimes "does the wrong thing for the right reason, and does the right thing for the wrong reason". Readers learn about William Temple Hornaday (William Temple Hornaday), who killed many rare bison in the west in 1886 to make DC diorama, and then began a captive breeding program to save the species. Nijhuis shared the story of Rosalie Edge, a bird lover who fought with the Audubon Society in the 1920s and 1930s to gain more support for birds of prey, and purchased Eagle Mountain, an important migration site in Pennsylvania, which has become An important place for counting birds. As Nijhuis introduced new characters, from Rachel Carson to Aldo Leopold, she established their connection with the environmentalists before and in this book Added interesting facts. For example, did you know that the United States used DDT after the Japanese-grown chrysanthemum, which was the source of the pesticide pyrethrum, was not available during World War II? Or is most species protection of state wildlife agencies funded by hunting license fees and hunting equipment taxes? Today, as Nijhuis writes, more than 1 million species are threatened with extinction, and more than 1,800 conservationists have been killed in the process of protecting species and habitats in the past 20 years. In order to better understand how conservation efforts are advanced to address these terrible situations, it is necessary to understand a comprehensive history detailing the failures and successes of well-known practitioners. (JS)
In the late 19th century, humans finally realized a devastating reality: their rapidly industrialized and globalized society was leading to the extinction of dozens of animal species. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and preserve other life forms.
Joe Spring is the associate digital science editor of Smithsonian Magazine.
Bridget Alex is an anthropologist and science writer living in Pasadena, California. Her story can be found in media including Discover, Science and Atlas Obscura. She is on Twitter @bannelia.
Riley Black is a freelance science writer specializing in evolution, paleontology, and natural history, and blogs regularly for Scientific American.
Dan Falk is a science journalist living in Toronto. His books include "The Science of Shakespeare" and "Finding Time".
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