Category Archives: science

The Human Experiment

Posted on February 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Human Experiment: Two Years and 20 Minutes Inside Biosphere 2© 2006 Jane Poynter384 pages From this patch of desert in sunny Oracle, Arizona, eight Americans are beginning the trip of a lifetime.  Divided into two tribes and locked into … Continue reading →

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Eating on Mars, Cap’n Mal, and organic gardening on steroids

Posted on January 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Since twelve men left their mark on the Moon,  humanity has wondered about the prospects of venturing further out, to the Red Planet.  It’s a daunting undertaking, from the journey itself to the prospects for sustaining life on a planet … Continue reading →

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Of galaxy and creeply-crawlies

Posted on January 19, 2023 by smellincoffee

Origins is a history of life, the universe, and everything. (Sort of).  It’s an odd book, in that  it begins in an expected fashion: Tyson and Goldsmith look first to the origin of matter, delving into the first seconds of … Continue reading →

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Pests

Posted on January 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains© 2022 Bethany Brookshire368 pages Humans believe in and have attempted to create, a very orderly world. There are our cities and homes, where the only animals that belong are those there for our amusement, … Continue reading →

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Chasing New Horizons

Posted on January 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto© 2019 Alan Stearns & David Grinspoon320 pages For most of my life, and I’ll warrant for most of yours, Pluto was the Great Unknown in the solar system.  Take any … Continue reading →

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Unsettled

Posted on December 7, 2022 by smellincoffee

Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters© 2021 Steve Koonin320 pages Over the last twenty years, ‘climate change’ has been subject to the same abuse as ‘terrorism’: it’s levied so often with such enthusiasm … Continue reading →

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Alabama’s Amazon

Posted on September 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Saving America’s Amazon: Our Most Biodiverse River System is Under Siege© 2020 Ben Raines200 pages The Mobile river delta is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, but few know and still fewer appreciate this: for thousands of … Continue reading →

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Is This Wi-Fi Organic?

Posted on August 29, 2022 by smellincoffee

Is This Wi-Fi Organic? A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online © 2021 Dave Farina254 pages In The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan warned readers: “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology in which hardly anyone knows … Continue reading →

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The Hacking of the American Mind

Posted on August 26, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains © 2017 Robert Lustig352 pages Robert Lustig is an endocrinologist who gained public recognition when he delivered a lecture entitled “Sugar: the Bitter … Continue reading →

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Of Darwin, dinosaurs, and Denisovians

Posted on July 6, 2022 by smellincoffee

I expect to leave the recovery-suite of the hotel at the end of this week and eturn home, though I’ll be returning to Birmingham every two weeks for checkups for the next few months. During this multiweek siesta, I’ve mostly … Continue reading →

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