Becker, Leslie

Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter sets out on a journey through the worlds oceans, seeking new life-forms and genetic secrets that might alleviate the planet's most urgent energy and climate challenges.

Explores the conditions, climate, and plant and animal species of the world's major biomes, including the tundra and taiga, grasslands and deciduous forests, deserts and tropics, and aquatic biomes, and looks at the evolution and adaptation of whales.

Examines the contributions of early scientists in the field of physics, discussing Galileo's observations of falling objects, Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion and gravity, and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and the idea of a space-time continuum; and looks at the loss of the space shuttle "Columbia" and its crew, and the physics of space shuttle design.

Explores the relationship between work and energy, looks at the difference between potential and kinetic energy, examines forms of kinetic energy and NASA's dependence on solar energy, reviews the three laws of thermodynamics, and discusses different types of energy exchanges, the history of car design, and how cars convert potential energy into motion.

Identifies the common properties of all waves, explains the differences between transverse and longitudinal waves, and between sound and electromagnetic waves, looks at how waves are influenced by distortions, and discusses the causes of tsunamis, tsunami warning systems, and the devastating tsunami in Indonesia in December 2004.

Looks at the parts of an atom and what matter is made of, examines the importance of stability and the difference between ionic and covalent chemical bonds, explains atomic mass and isotopes, and discusses gravity and the black hole theory.

Examines nineteenth-century discoveries and theories in the field of physics, looks at Einstein's theory of relativity and the information it provided about planetary motion, discusses the big bang theory, black holes, and the future of the universe, and considers the contributions of Newton, Einstein, and Hawking to the field of physics.

Examines questions about light and the electromagnetic spectrum, describes the physical properties of light, explores the spectrum of energy and the uses of radio waves, x-ray waves, and visible light, and traces the history and inner workings of analog and digital television systems.