The Wasp That Brainwashed The Caterpillar

Author : Matt Simon
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2016-10-25
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780698411258

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The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon Pdf

“A bizarre collection of evolution tales . . . the weirder, the better.” —Entertainment Weekly A fascinating exploration of the awe-inspiring, unsettling ingenuity of evolution from Wired writer Matt Simon, author of Plight of the Living Dead (coming soon from Penguin Books) On a barren seafloor, the pearlfish swims into the safety of a sea cucumber’s anus. To find a meal, the female bolas spider releases pheromones that mimic a female moth, luring male moths into her sticky lasso web. The Glyptapanteles wasp injects a caterpillar with her young, which feed on the victim, erupt out of it, then mind-control the poor (and somehow still living) schmuck into protecting them from predators. These are among the curious critters of The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar, a jaunt through evolution’s most unbelievable, most ingenious solutions to the problems of everyday life, from trying to get laid to finding food. Join Wired science writer Matt Simon as he introduces you to the creatures that have it figured out, the ones that joust with their mustaches or choke sharks to death with snot, all in a wild struggle to survive and, of course, find true love. Winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award

Author : Matt Simon
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Animals
ISBN : OCLC:1391889753

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The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon Pdf

Author : Matt Simon
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2018-10-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781524705145

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Plight of the Living Dead by Matt Simon Pdf

A brain-bending exploration of real-life zombies and mind controllers, and what they reveal to us about nature—and ourselves Zombieism isn’t just the stuff of movies and TV shows like The Walking Dead. It’s real, and it’s happening in the world around us, from wasps and worms to dogs and moose—and even humans. In Plight of the Living Dead, science journalist Matt Simon documents his journey through the bizarre evolutionary history of mind control. Along the way, he visits a lab where scientists infect ants with zombifying fungi, joins the search for kamikaze crickets in the hills of New Mexico, and travels to Israel to meet the wasp that stings cockroaches in the brain before leading them to their doom. Nothing Hollywood dreams up can match the brilliant, horrific zombies that natural selection has produced time and time again. Plight of the Living Dead is a surreal dive into a world that would be totally unbelievable if very smart scientists didn’t happen to be proving it’s real, and most troublingly—or maybe intriguingly—of all: how even we humans are affected. “Fantastic . . . You'll be thinking about this book long after you're done reading it.” —Kelly Weinersmith, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Soonish

Author : Michael Allin
Publisher : Delta
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1999-08-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9780385334112

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Zarafa by Michael Allin Pdf

In October 1826, a ship arrived at Marseille carrying the first giraffe ever seen in France. A royal offering from Muhammad Ali, Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, to King Charles X, she had already traveled 2,000 miles down the Nile to Alexandria, from where she had sailed across the Mediterranean standing in the hold, her long neck and head protruding through a hole cut in the deck. In the spring of 1827, after wintering in Marseille, she was carefully walked 550 miles to Paris to the delight of thousands of onlookers. The viceroy's tribute was politically motivated: He commanded the Turkish forces then fighting the Greeks in their war of independence, and hoped his gift would persuade the French not to intervene against him. But the viceroy and his intentions were quickly forgotten as France fell in love with its "beautiful stranger." Zarafa chronicles the full story of this remarkable animal, revealing a kaleidoscope of history, science, and culture that opens an exotic window on the early nineteenth century. From the Enlightenment's blossoming fascination with science to Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Egypt in 1798–from the eminent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to Bernardino Drovetti, French consul general in Egypt and tomb robber extraordinaire–the era was full of memorable events and characters. Michael Allin deftly weaves them into the story with an appreciation for detail and an uncommon affection. The giraffe's strange and wonderful journey linked Africa and Europe in mutual discovery. Although her arrival did not keep the French out of Ali's war, she became an instant celebrity in Paris and over the next eighteen years she fascinated all of Europe. Through Michael Allin's narrative skill, Zarafa stirs the imagination as it provides a new context for the history of a distant age.

Author : Emily Anthes
Publisher : Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2013-03-12
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781429949521

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Frankenstein's Cat by Emily Anthes Pdf

Winner of 2014 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Best Young Adult Science Book Longlisted for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award One of Nature's Summer Book Picks One of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Spring 2013 Science Books For centuries, we've toyed with our creature companions, breeding dogs that herd and hunt, housecats that look like tigers, and teacup pigs that fit snugly in our handbags. But what happens when we take animal alteration a step further, engineering a cat that glows green under ultraviolet light or cloning the beloved family Labrador? Science has given us a whole new toolbox for tinkering with life. How are we using it? In Frankenstein's Cat, the journalist Emily Anthes takes us from petri dish to pet store as she explores how biotechnology is shaping the future of our furry and feathered friends. As she ventures from bucolic barnyards to a "frozen zoo" where scientists are storing DNA from the planet's most exotic creatures, she discovers how we can use cloning to protect endangered species, craft prosthetics to save injured animals, and employ genetic engineering to supply farms with disease-resistant livestock. Along the way, we meet some of the animals that are ushering in this astonishing age of enhancement, including sensor-wearing seals, cyborg beetles, a bionic bulldog, and the world's first cloned cat. Through her encounters with scientists, conservationists, ethicists, and entrepreneurs, Anthes reveals that while some of our interventions may be trivial (behold: the GloFish), others could improve the lives of many species-including our own. So what does biotechnology really mean for the world's wild things? And what do our brave new beasts tell us about ourselves? With keen insight and her trademark spunk, Anthes highlights both the peril and the promise of our scientific superpowers, taking us on an adventure into a world where our grandest science fiction fantasies are fast becoming reality.

Author : Dan Riskin
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2014-03-04
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781476707563

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Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You by Dan Riskin Pdf

This “fact-filled and amusing trek through nature’s dark side” (Kirkus Reviews) reveals the fascinating, weird, and often perverted ways that Mother Nature fends only for herself. It may be a wonderful world, but as Dan Riskin (host of the Animal Planet’s TV show Monsters Inside Me) explains, it’s also a dangerous, disturbing, and disgusting one. At every turn, it seems, living things are trying to eat us, poison us, use our bodies as their homes, or have us spread their eggs. In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You, Riskin is our tour guide through the natural world at its most gloriously ruthless. Using the seven deadly sins as a road map, Riskin offers dozens of jaw-dropping examples that illuminate how brutal nature can truly be. From slothful worms that hide in your body for up to thirty years to wrathful snails with poisonous harpoons that can kill you in less than five minutes to lustful ducks that have orgasms faster than you can blink, these fascinating accounts reveal the candid truth about “gentle” Mother Nature’s true colors. Riskin’s passion for the strange and his enthusiastic expertise bring Earth’s most fascinating fauna and flora into vivid focus. Through his adventures—which include sliding on his back through a thick soup of bat guano just to get face-to-face with a vampire bat, befriending a parasitic maggot that has taken root in his head, and coming to grips with having offspring of his own—Riskin makes unexpected discoveries not just about the world all around us but also about the ways this brutal world has shaped us as humans and what our responsibilities are to this terrible, wonderful planet we call home.

Author : William S. Burroughs
Publisher : Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2007-12-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780802197238

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Last Words by William S. Burroughs Pdf

Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs is the most intimate book ever written by William S. Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch and one of the most celebrated literary outlaws of our time. Laid out as diary entries of the last nine months of Burroughs's life, Last Words spans the realms of cultural criticism, personal memoir, and fiction. Classic Burroughs concerns -- literature, U.S. drug policy, the state of humanity, his love for his cats -- permeate the book. Most significantly, Last Words contains some of the most personal work Burroughs has ever written, a final reckoning with his life and regrets, and his reflections on the deaths of his friends Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary. It is a poignant portrait of the man, his life, and his creative process -- one that never quit, not even in the shadow of death.

Author : Jessica Allen
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2022-12-06
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781646044177

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The Little Book of Axolotl Wisdom by Jessica Allen Pdf

Get inspired by the axolotl, aka the Mexican Water Monster, and discover what they can teach us about living life to the fullest in this adorably profound book of amphibian affirmations! For everyone who has had a sloth phase, an alpaca phase, a llama phase, or any other fascination with a certain kind of animal, welcome to your newest obsession: axolotls! Axolotls are arguably the most delightful salamanders on planet Earth. But besides their lovable faces and cute coloring, axolotls are seriously awesome amphibians that can teach us a lot about how to live life uniquely and successfully. From fighting extinction (axolotls are critically endangered) to regenerating limbs, gills, and even brains, these critters are the definition of inspirational! The Little Book of Axolotl Wisdom is the perfect gift book for axolotl fanatics as well as any animal lover.

Author : Herb G. Bennett RA
Publisher : AuthorHouse
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2020-09
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 9781728363714

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Design Science in the New Paradigm Age by Herb G. Bennett RA Pdf

"DESIGN SCIENCE in The New Paradigm Age" is a compendium in two volumes, with a series of workbooks and other tools to be used by creatives who can transform their "MINDSETS" and stimulate the renaissance of the new WISDOM, INTELLIGENCE, KNOWLEDGE, and INFORMATION (DATA, etc.) we are going to rebuild the world and our lives with. This is a MOVEMENT globally.[NT that t] It will inspire(s) lifestyles, careers, and professions. The core principles in the 'WIKI(TM)' are being used as the Corporate philosophy, value system, for cultural and practical products, projects, technologies, and development agendas HOLISTIC COMMUNITIES are being built with.

Author : Zahid Ameer
Publisher : Zahid Ameer
Page : 60 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2024-03-13
Category : Nature
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Freaky Fauna by Zahid Ameer Pdf

Dive into the weird and wonderful world of nature with 'Freaky Fauna: Tales of the Unusual and Extraordinary in the Animal Kingdom.' Explore bizarre behaviors, astonishing adaptations, and strange creatures in this captivating eBook filled with fascinating stories from the animal kingdom.

Author : Camille Paglia
Publisher : Pantheon Books
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780375424601

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Glittering Images by Camille Paglia Pdf

Presents a chronological tour of major themes in Western art as reflected by more than two dozen seminal images that use such mediums as paint, sculpture, architecture, performance art, and digital art.

Author : Emma Huddleston
Publisher : ABDO
Page : 51 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2019-12-15
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 9781532176876

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Symbiotic Relationships: Animals and Plants Working Together by Emma Huddleston Pdf

Some plants and animals could not survive without a close relationship with another living thing. Symbiotic Relationships: Animals and Plants Working Togetherlooks at the amazing relationships between living things, as well as the threats they face and how people can protect them. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject. Features include a table of contents, infographics, a glossary, additional resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Author : Lloyd Spencer Davis
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Penguins
ISBN : UCSD:31822031155260

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The Plight of the Penguin by Lloyd Spencer Davis Pdf

Penguins have a curious magnetism that compels us to love them. Is this because they seem like us? They walk like us. They dress in tuxedoes like us. And perhaps, because of this, we think they should act like us. We've created a human image of penguins; cute clones that marry for life and live happily ever after as devoted parents, rearing their families in a world of snow and ice. Zoologist Lloyd Spencer Davis dispels this fairytale view of penguins, replacing it with startling revelations about their lifestyles, seduction techniques and survival secrets. These are not colourless little polar people; these are raunchy birds that want to be fish. The author's clear-eyed, direct style has a zest and wit that conveys the complexity of the natural world; the world where these birds lead such astonishing lives. His enthusiasm, his sense of wonder and beauty are delightfully infectious, his dynamic advocacy of the conservationist's cause wholly persuasive.

Author : Eric R. Eaton
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2021-03-09
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780691211428

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Wasps by Eric R. Eaton Pdf

The ultimate visual journey into the beautiful and complex world of wasps Wasps are far more diverse than the familiar yellowjackets and hornets that harass picnickers and build nests under the eaves of our homes. These amazing, mostly solitary creatures thrive in nearly every habitat on Earth, and their influence on our lives is overwhelmingly beneficial. Wasps are agents of pest control in agriculture and gardens. They are subjects of study in medicine, engineering, and other important fields. Wasps pollinate flowers, engage in symbiotic relationships with other organisms, and create architectural masterpieces in the form of their nests. This richly illustrated book introduces you to some of the most spectacular members of the wasp realm, colorful in both appearance and lifestyle. From minute fairyflies to gargantuan tarantula hawks, wasps exploit almost every niche on the planet. So successful are they at survival that other organisms emulate their appearance and behavior. The sting is the least reason to respect wasps and, as you will see, no reason to loathe them, either. Written by a leading authority on these remarkable insects, Wasps reveals a world of staggering variety and endless fascination. Packed with more than 150 incredible color photos Includes a wealth of eye-popping infographics Provides comprehensive treatments of most wasp families Describes wasp species from all corners of the world Covers wasp evolution, ecology, physiology, diversity, and behavior Highlights the positive relationships wasps share with humans and the environment

Author : Luca Bonaccorsi,Marine Conservation Society
Publisher : Headline Home
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2020-06-04
Category : Marine debris
ISBN : 1472259823

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How to Live Plastic Free by Luca Bonaccorsi,Marine Conservation Society Pdf

Thank you for choosing this book - it shows that you care about the future of our planet. Whether you decide to go plastic free for an hour, a day or a year, this book will equip you with little steps we can each take to make a big difference. Let's turn the tide on plastic now - our oceans will thank you for it. Choking. Starving. Poisoning. This is what plastic litter is doing to marine life. Our oceans are, quite simply, facing environmental disaster. Yet by taking some simple steps and making a few changes to your daily routine, you can help to change this. HOW TO LIVE PLASTIC FREE will teach you everything you need to know about reducing your plastic usage on a daily basis. The chapters start with a typical morning routine and take you through your day, giving you tips and practical advice for removing unnecessary plastic at every possible opportunity.