What’s science all about? by Alex Frith, Hazel Maskell,Dr. Lisa Jane Gillespie & Kate Davies

Have you ever wondered what fire is? Or why things fall to the ground? Or what’s alive and what’s not? Scientists have asked all these questions and many, many others too. They‘ve found the answers using science – way of learning about world by watching, coming up with ideas and testing them. And there’s still lots left to learn.

 

Excerpt: What’s biology all about? Biology is all about life- what it is, how it works and why it is the way it is. It covers all forms of life, from the largest living plants and animals to tiny life forms that are much too to see., and it’s also about where these life forms came from, how they’ve changed over time, and how they exist side-by-side all over the earth today. Here are some big questions that keep biologists busy… What is life? It’s normally pretty easy to tell if something is alive, especially if you can see it without a microscope. But biologists study far weirder, tinier things, which may act as if they’re alive in some ways but not others. Even experts often disagree over whether these things are alive or not.

Symbiosis by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn

If you are interested in nature, you are going to love this book.  Vivid photographs and interesting text introduce you to all sorts of creatures—fish, insects, cows, rabbits, birds, crocodiles and yes—human beings—and the surprising ways that they depend on each other to survive.  For instance, the Egyptian plover provides dental services for the Nile crocodile of Africa by picking leeches from its teeth.  This is an example of mutualism—the relationship between the crocodile and the plover is one of mutual benefit.  Other relationships between organisms are not so beneficial to both parties.  For instance, tapeworms, bedbugs, lice, and bacteria are all examples of creatures that “live off” of humans without giving back.

 

Excerpt.

Crocodiles live in warm, muddy water that are filled with leeches and other pests.  Leeches are small wormlike parasites that use little suction cups to attach themselves to the gums of crocodiles and suck their blood.   Crocodiles do not like these leeches, but they are unable to get rid of them.  Plovers do like leeches—they like to eat them.

 

When the crocodile is ready to have its teeth cleaned, it sits on a riverbank, opens its enormous mouth, and waits for the plover to come by.  The plover then hops in and picks over the crocodiles teeth, gums and tongues looking for leeches or other parasites, and gobbles them down.

Growth and Development by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn

Another fascinating book in the Science Concepts series, this book explains how humans develop from a single cell to an adult, how cells divide and multiply, and how other species change and grow.  From the sponge, an organism that can split into single cells and reconstitute itself, to the tadpole which metamorphoses into a frog, to human babies, who begin their lives as “water animals” inside their mother’s bodies, learn how different organisms reproduce and grow.   Clear explanations and illustrations make this a book that is hard to put down.

 

At four weeks it is hard to tell what the little creature will be like.  It has a long tail and gill slits like a fish.  It is only .25 inches long, but it is ten thousand times heavier than it was when it was just one cell.  AT about five weeks after fertilization, little buds appear, which will become the arms and legs.  The eyes are starting to develop and the heart is beating more strongly inside the plump little belly.

Charles Darwin by Kathleen Krull

Evolution has a particular meaning in biology:  it is the process by which all living things change over time, enabling them to better adapt to their environment.  Darwin showed how animals and plants evolved over many millions of years from common ancestors.

 

That’s why Darwin is famous, but in this book you’ll learn about what kind of person he was.  Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

 

Everyone liked him—he was modest, agreeable, a sweetheart.  A mild-mannered soul who much preferred puttering in his garden to public speaking.  Kind to his servants.  Allergic to conflict.  Shy and afflicted with odd ailments, including vomiting so severe that he kept a bowl in his study so as not to disturb the family. 

 

You’ll also come to understand his theory of natural selection—the idea that in nature, purely by chance, some members of a species will be born with traits that better enable them to survive long enough to bear young.  And you’ll learn more about other thinkers of his time who influenced him and whose ideas helped him come up with his own.  You’ll also learn why he was so important.  Here’s another excerpt:

 

In centuries past, Galileo and Copernicus had displaced Earth as the center of the universe—and had encountered intense opposition.  Darwin extended the scientific revolution they began—he proposed that man was not the centerpiece of creation, separate from and better than the other creatures.  No, man was just another species in an ever-evolving world…..So how did this conventional, pleasant person end up forming what some say is the most influential theory in science, a theory that changed forever hw we understand ourselves and our world?….

 

If you’ve ever wanted to really understand what the theory of evolution is, read this book.  You’ll learn a lot and enjoy yourself, too.

Adaptation by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn

There are creatures living in almost every part of the world, form the hot, rainy tropics to the icy polar caps, and from the dry desert to the depths of the ocean.  No matter where they live on Earth, all living things seem to be perfectly suited to their environment.  Scientists say that these adaptations did not happen overnight.  They are the result of a long process of gradual changes over many generations.  In this book, well known science writers explain Darwin’s theory of evolution and unique adaptations of humans and other animals.

 

Excerpt:

If you look at photos of your family, you’ll probably notice that you, your parents, your brothers and sisters, your cousins and your other blood relatives look rather similar.  Maybe many of you have the same color hair, the same nose shape, or the same smile.   You’ll probably see differences in the photos too.  Perhaps your uncle is much taller than your father or maybe your eyes are a different color from your brothers and sisters.

 

Heredity (passing traits from parent to offspring) determines these similarities and differences.  Your family photos illustrate Darwin’s idea that members of the same species have variations in their traits.  Just like humans, other species have varying traits too.  Think about the physical variations among dogs.  Chihuahuas, poodles, bull dogs and Great Danes all belong to the same species, but their bodies are very different.

 

Genetics: From DNA to Designer Dogs by Kathleen Simpson

The secrets of life are unraveling at a feverish pace in laboratories and research sites the world over.  Geneticists s are using DNA to solve ancient mysteries, fight pollution, solve crime, save endangered species, feed the world’s hungry, curse disease and learn how aging works.  Author Kathleen Simpson introduces us to the men and women whose imaginations and expertise are making history as they reach out to meet the demands of the future.  Their work affects all of us on a daily basis, from new “designer” dogs to the food we purchase at the supermarket.

 

Excerpt: Genetic scientists would like to make pollution-eating plants work faster.  In laboratories at the University of Washington, Sharon Doty and her team may have found a way to do that.  Dr. Doty takes genes from the livers of rabbits and inserts them into young poplar trees.  All living things have genes that carry instructions for how cells should work.  These instructions are different between animals and plants but they are “written” in the same genetic code.  So, in some cases, a plant can follow instructions from a mammal’s gene.  Both rabbits and poplar trees have genes that help them break down pollutants.  Scientists already knew how to “turn up” the rabbit gene, to make it work faster.  The transgenic trees (trees that scientists have genetically changed) eat pollution about 100 times faster than ordinary poplar trees do.