Roger Highfield Books

A behind-the scenes tour of the inner sanctum of one of the world's most prominent scientific thinkers. In 2021, the Science Museum made a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition of the contents of Stephen Hawking's office. This book delves into that remarkable collection, using the seminal papers, items and curiosities in his office to explain his theories and reveal more about one of the greatest minds in modern science. It's an unprecedented glimpse into the life of the best-known scientist of modern times.

The book offers an unprecedented look into Stephen Hawking's office, showcasing the unique collection of his seminal papers, personal items, and curiosities. Through this remarkable acquisition by The Science Museum in 2021, readers gain insights into Hawking's groundbreaking theories and a deeper understanding of his life and work, highlighting his significance as one of the greatest minds in modern science.

How does life begin? What drives a newly fertilized egg to divide and grow into 40 trillion cells? How do these cells know how to form a human body? Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz faced a personal challenge when a genetic test during her pregnancy revealed abnormalities in her baby's cells, raising concerns about miscarriage and birth defects. However, she later gave birth to a healthy boy and her research on mouse embryos confirmed her hypothesis: embryos possess a remarkable ability to correct abnormal cells early in development. This exploration reveals the astonishing world of life at its inception, highlighting the profound moments that shape our humanity. As a professor at Cambridge, Magda has significantly advanced the understanding of early life, doubling the survival time of human embryos in the lab and creating the first artificial embryo-like structures from stem cells. Her findings illuminate how early life is programmed to repair and organize itself, offering hope for the future of pregnancy, potential solutions for IVF disorders, and insights into preventing miscarriages. This journey is a moving celebration of the intricate beauty of life's beginnings.

An argument for the benefits of cloning, co-written by a scientist whose team was responsible for a famous cloned sheep, presents the reasons for his opposition to the cloning of humans and explains that cloning technology can be ethically applied to free families from serious hereditary diseases. Reprint.

Behind the magic of Harry Potter—a witty and illuminating look at the scientific principles, theories, and assumptions of the boy wizard's world, newly come to life again in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemCan Fluffy the three-headed dog be explained by advances in molecular biology? Could the discovery of cosmic "gravity-shielding effects" unlock the secret to the Nimbus 2000 broomstick's ability to fly? Is the griffin really none other than the dinosaur Protoceratops? Roger Highfield, author of the critically acclaimed The Physics of Christmas, explores the fascinating links between magic and science to reveal that much of what strikes us as supremely strange in the Potter books can actually be explained by the conjurings of the scientific mind. This is the perfect guide for parents who want to teach their children science through their favorite adventures as well as for the millions of adult fans of the series intrigued by its marvels and mysteries.• An ALA Booklist Editors' Choice •From the Trade Paperback edition.

Explores how complexity, a new way of thinking about the behaviour of interacting units, is transforming the way we think, and the assumptions that underlie conventional science. Examines the rise of the electronic computer as key and catalyst to the study of complexity; explores current innovations such as fuzzy logic, and computers which exploit quantum mechanics and run on light; and reveals cyberspace universes where organisms compete for resources as they reproduce, mutate and evolve

In this book physical chemist Dr Peter Coveney and award-winning science journalist Dr Roger Highfield have questioned our understanding of science with their humorous reinterpretation of the most profound aspect of time - why it points from the past to the future. The author's challenge to scientific preconceptions about the irreversibility of time is designed to link apparently irreconcilable features of science, from Einstein's obsession with causality to chaos theory, from the cause of jet lag to the Monday morning feeling.

A shocking portrait of the greatest genius of this century. So intensely guarded & obscured were the details of Einstein's personal life that it took the authors six months to gain permission to quote from Einstein's correspondence. Even then many letters could only be paraphrased. The book reveals that the Nobel Prize-winner whose genius & work for peace have long been associated with a kind of personal nobility had an adulterous, egomaniacal & misogynist side with which very few people are familiar. "A deeply melancholic & moving tale that forces its readers to grapple with the enigma of the Einstein myth."-- The Economist

A renowned biologist's cutting-edge and unconventional examination of human reproduction and embryo research Scientists have long struggled to make pregnancy easier, safer, and more successful. In The Dance of Life, developmental and stem-cell biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz takes us to the front lines of efforts to understand the creation of a human life. She has spent two decades unraveling the mysteries of development, as a simple fertilized egg becomes a complex human being of forty trillion cells. Zernicka-Goetz's work is both incredibly practical and astonishingly vast: her groundbreaking experiments with mouse, human, and artificial embryo models give hope to how more women can sustain viable pregnancies. Set at the intersection of science's greatest powers and humanity's greatest concern, The Dance of Life is a revelatory account of the future of fertility -- and life itself.

¿Se puede viajar a través del tiempo? ¿Es irrecuperable el pasado? ¿Cuál es la verdadera naturaleza del devenir? Los diversos significados del tiempo en las actuales teorías científicas.

A shocking portrait of the greatest genius of this century. So intensely guarded & obscured were the details of Einstein's personal life that it took the authors six months to gain permission to quote from Einstein's correspondence. Even then many letters could only be paraphrased. The book reveals that the Nobel Prize-winner whose genius & work for peace have long been associated with a kind of personal nobility had an adulterous, egomaniacal & misogynist side with which very few people are familiar. "A deeply melancholic & moving tale that forces its readers to grapple with the enigma of the Einstein myth."-- The Economist

Wenn Sie sich um Ihre Figur sorgen, könnten die weihnachtlichen Festtage eine gute Gelegenheit zum Abnehmen sein. Eine wissenschaftliche Studie zeigt, dass der Magen durch das Schnüffeln leckerer Düfte gestillt werden kann. Highfield beleuchtet zudem den Stern von Bethlehem, den mutmaßlichen Drogenkonsum des Nikolaus und die Herkunft des Jesukindes. Wer eine Sammlung heiterer Kuriositäten erwartet, wird enttäuscht. Der Autor verknüpft exzellenten Wissenschaftsjournalismus mit dem weihnachtlichen Thema, was ihm mehr Erfolg als nur am Gabentisch wünschen würde. Die Feiertage bieten einen kleinen Anlass für tiefgehende wissenschaftliche Erkundungen. Was hat es mit Weihnachtsbaum und Kerzenlicht auf sich? Warum kaufen und schenken die Menschen? Welche Geheimnisse verbergen sich in einer Schneeflocke? Highfield spannt einen großen Bogen über die wissenschaftliche Forschung. Die Ergebnisse von Astronomen, Molekularbiologen, Chemikern und Philosophen sind universell und oft mehr als nur amüsant. Eine Studie mit 300 übergewichtigen Menschen zeigt, dass das Riechen an verschiedenen Aromen während des Hungers zu einem durchschnittlichen Gewichtsverlust von über zwei Kilogramm pro Monat führte. In diesem Sinne: "Guten Appetit!"

A Hoghwarts può capitare di imbattersi in draghi e creature mostruose, di bere pozioni dagli effetti strabilianti, di vedere streghe sfrecciare nel cielo, e di venire a sapere che a un ragazzo dai talenti prodigiosi, di nome Harry Potter, con una cicatrice a forma di saetta, è stato conferito il potere di sfidare il Male. Roger Highfield dimostra che le avventure soprannaturali di Harry Potter non sono solo il frutto della fervida fantasia di una scrittrice: alla luce di quanto sta avvenendo nei più avanzati laboratori di ricerca, dove fisici, biochimici e genetisti stanno preparando nuovi "miracoli" molte delle magie "potteriane" si possono infatti spiegare scientificamente.

Können Engel fliegen?: Die Wissenschaft der Weihnachtszeit

Einstein fue el científico más importante de su siglo y también el centro de los debates más importantes de su época.

Podtitul: Hranice komplexity - Hledání řádu v chaotickém světě Průkopnická práce ukazující nové obzory vědy. Komplexita, hlavní téma knihy, je moderní interdisciplinární záležitostí, zabývající se souborem témat z takových vědních oborů, jako je umělá inteligence, statistická fyzika, neurobiologie, či dokonce sociologie. Komplexita je všude tam, kde hraničí chaos s řádem. Z vědeckého hlediska je složitější a zajímavější než chaos, jemuž bylo věnováno mnoho vědeckého úsilí a o němž už byla napsána řada knih. Právě tam, kde se chaos setkává s řádem, se totiž odehrávají tak úžasné věci, jako je život či myšlení. Autoři navazují na práce takových velikánů vědy, jako byl Richard Feynman, Kurt Gödel, John von Neumann, Ilya Prigogine a Alan Turing, kteří otevřeli cestu od redukcionismu ke komplexitě. S předmluvou Barucha Blumberga.

Co je to čas, jak jej chápeme a jak je důležitý pro náš život

Autor poukazuje na ty myšlenky díla spisovatelky J. K. Rowlingové, kterými se dnes zabývá a které dokáže vysvětlit moderní věda - od teleportace a kouzelných lektvarů po magii a čarodějnictví, od paleontologie a teorie her až po molekulární biologii a teorii relativity.