New Books in Science and Mathematics

Title:  Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World.
Author: Lisa Randall
Publisher: Harper Collins
Call Number: Q175.5.R365 2011
Synopsis from publisher:
The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven’s Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science.

The most sweeping and exciting science book in years, Knocking on Heaven’s Door makes clear the biggest scientific questions we face and reveals how answering them could ultimately tell us who we are and where we came from.

Title: Kiss my Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss
Author: Danica McKellar
Publisher: Plume
Call Number: QA152.3.M354 2009
Synopsis from publisher:
In her New York Times bestselling books, actress and math genius Danica McKellar shatters the math nerd stereotype and gives girls the tools to ace middle-school math in her unique, just-us-girls style. Now, in her second book, Kiss My Math, McKellar empowers a new crop of girlsseventh to ninth gradersto tackle the next level of mathematics: pre-algebra

Title: The Mathematics of Life
Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Basic Books
Call Number:QA323.5.S742 2011b
Synopsis from publisher:

Biologists have long dismissed mathematics as being unable to meaningfully contribute to our understanding of living beings. Within the past ten years, however, mathematicians have proven that they hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of our world--and ourselves. In The Mathematics of Life, Ian Stewart provides a fascinating overview of the vital but little-recognized role mathematics has played in pulling back the curtain on the hidden complexities of the natural world--and how its contribution will be even more vital in the years ahead. In his characteristically clear and entertaining fashion, Stewart explains how mathematicians and biologists have come to work together on some of the most difficult scientific problems that the human race has ever tackled, including the nature and origin of life itself.

Title: Means to an End: Apoptosis and Other Cell Death Mechanisms
Author: Douglas R. Green
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Call Number: QH671.G74 2011
Synopsis:
The table of contents indicates the discussion of the life and death of cells and the application to cancer/