Margaux Baum – författare

Bacteria and humankind interact in incredibly complex ways. Many bacteria can be both harmful to individuals and human society, but others are necessary to human digestion, food production, and many other processes that help humans thrive. This book delves into the various kinds of bacteria, their life cycles and habitats, and their interplay with us and with the natural world at large. Besides the informative details provided on bacteria themselves, this book will be especially valuable to readers who will appreciate the complex web of relationships that bacteria contribute to.

All around us, the natural world goes through cycles of growth and decay. Fungi, including molds, are crucial to these life cycles and can be both destructive and beneficial to humans. From the cultivation of mushrooms, through the molds employed to make cheeses and other food products, to water-damaged human environments where mold must be contained, this book explores these organisms that exist largely unseen all around us. This big-picture approach demonstrates how fungi differ from other organisms, how they affect the world, and their crucial role in our ecosystem.

Among the most fearsome tools of the modern era of war—and certainly one of the most controversial—biological weapons exist within the arsenals of many nations. This book discusses the history of biological warfare from ancient times through the modern era and examines the various types of weaponized organisms that can and have been be used by nations and may be used by nonstate actors in potential acts of bioterrorism. It also documents the preventative measures that governments and the international community employ to curtail the use of these thankfully rarely used but nonetheless terrifying weapons.

Though not thought about as much as viruses or bacteria, parasites are behind much sickness and suffering in both animals and humans all over the world. Parasites range from microscopic protozoans to insects like ticks and lice and intestinal worms. What they all have in common is that their survival comes at the expense of other living things. This book gives readers a solid introduction to these unpleasant but fascinating organisms, describes how they lead to illness, and discusses preventative measures and cures.

From the dawn of history, individuals and civilizations have battled disease. The struggle shifted once epidemiologists, medical professionals, and other specialists identified the microscopic organisms often to blame for much of humanity’s illnesses over time. This book examines both the history of battling disease and the ever-shifting frontlines of the modern struggle against germs, as well as possible future developments. From cutting-edge medical treatments to common-sense measures to prevent and address the insidious effects of germs (measures that have changed remarkably little through the centuries), this work documents how the fight against germs helps the human race to survive and thrive.

The simplest living organisms on Earth, viruses are endlessly studied and yet remain a great mystery. They are the cause of many human and animal illnesses, from the numerous and common cold and flu viruses that plague us for a few days or weeks, to more insidious but treatable viral infections, such as HPV, to the most feared killer viruses, such as HIV and Ebola. In this book, readers explore the mechanics of how infections occur and what kinds of diseases arise from what types of viruses. They delve into the modern landscape of prevention and cure, including how vaccines work.

Robots are destined to be a major part of human society and will transform education, business, and everyday life. Learning how to build robots is a popular pastime that brings to bear many different skills. This book introduces readers to robotics clubs and instructs them on how to join one of the hundreds available across the United States and the globe. It also serves as a guidebook on how someone can even start and lead or manage one of their own clubs and serves as a technologically current update to the previous volume on such clubs.

The interdisciplinary field of robotics offers its practitioners many practical applications and makes it an exciting, dynamic, and cutting-edge pursuit, especially for young people embarking on their careers. This updated volume discusses the latest advances readers will need to be aware of in preparation for the professional positions of computer scientist, robotics engineer, and robotics technician. Readers will get detailed information and tips on what courses to take now and the ongoing advances in robotics that will determine their future study, internships, and more, including snapshots of luminaries in the field.

One of the most hands-on and exciting hobbies and extracurricular activities for students interested in STEM is participating in robotics competitions. This book, newly updated to reflect the latest advances in amateur and professional robotics, including the exploding popularity of the Maker movement, gives readers all they need to enter this competitive and dynamic field. More importantly, readers learn the basics of how to build prize-winning robots, and how to find and enter contests, including local, regional, and national ones.

Once the subject of speculative fiction, robots are now reality in many spheres of life, including business, law enforcement, the military, the sciences, entertainment, and even in our homes. They will play bigger roles in the near and distant future. This book traces the development of robots from antiquity through the modern era and into the myriad possibilities of their future practical uses, including the exciting potential intersection of robots and artificial intelligence. A lively historical narrative and stimulating imagery of robots throughout the ages make this book a valuable resource for robot fans and casual readers alike.

While they lived in a world often regarded as oppressive and restricted, the tales of how women fared in the medieval era actually offer a more nuanced take. In this book, the roles that women took as members of their communities, within their families, and within society at large are explored with vivid imagery and attention to rich historical sources. It is sure to expand readers'' understanding of the complexity of medieval women, who far beyond simply being housewives, took central roles in agriculture, trade, craftsmanship, religious and literary life, and much more.

If it is clothes that make the man or woman, each historical era can speak volumes to modern observers with its dominant fashions and clothing trends. This book provides a vivid journey into the fabrics used by medieval peoples, the textile trade, tailoring, and the ever more outrageous and interesting garb worn by women and men of the nobility. Stitched together with their social and historical context, this title weaves a compelling narrative for both fans of fashion and history alike. The colorfully rendered historical record is further enhanced with paintings, frescoes, and other visual media depicting medieval fashions and clothing.

Many entries in the historical record and examples from popular culture show nobles, knights, kings, and peasants alike celebrating with food and drink. In this book, medieval agriculture, food preparation, and eating are explored in equal measure. With vivid examples from historical manuscripts, paintings, frescoes, and more, this book opens a window for readers into the culinary worlds and celebratory rituals of the people of the Middle Ages. From typical foods of the common people, to the most dazzling and lavish displays of consumption by kings and queens, this volume is sure to sate readers'' appetites for knowledge about the era.

Beyond the chivalry and adventure often presented in fictional works, the medieval era was marked by frequent military conflict. The tools for war employed by soldiers, knights, archers, and other combatants on the battlefield and in bloody sieges are richly rendered in this book. This book explores the use of cavalry, castle fortifications, and military tactics, and it is illustrated with imagery sure to underscore the immediacy and harshness of conflict. Readers will be drawn in by the romance and adventure of the era, even as the book soberly relates the very real circumstances of brutal medieval warfare.

Throughout Europe, medieval forces were either engaged in conflict or preparing for it through training. Arising from the need to keep the skills of warriors sharp and battle-ready, medieval jousting for knights on horseback became a widespread pastime. This book details how the culture of medieval tournaments arose around jousting and other games of combat, including both for the mounted cavalry (knights) and foot soldiers (in events such as melees) and became a central aspect of medieval court life. Readers will be further drawn in by the visual pageantry and artifacts depicted in the book''s historical imagery.

The transformation of Rome from a republic into an empire was one of the most pivotal changes of its era, affecting the course of history for the Mediterranean world. Born at the time of civil and political unrest that embroiled Rome leading up to and surrounding the death of Julius Caesar, the man born Gaius Octavius, or Octavian, was Caesar''s great-nephew. This book relates how, through political maneuvering and military prowess, he would become Augustus, the first emperor of the new Roman Empire. The story of how he cemented Rome''s power will be of interest to fans of Roman history and casual readers alike.

One of the most revered, legendary, and nonetheless complicated figures from the history of Rome, Julius Caesar was a master politician and military genius. In this book, Caesar''s life and impressive accomplishments are related within the historical context of the Roman Republic, already an incredible power by his time, transforming into an empire. It explores Caesar''s role in this transformation, and his triumphs in war, illuminating the path of a leader both exalted and fear, and ultimately felled by his ambition.

The legacy of ancient Egypt has captivated historians, archaeologists, and the public at large for centuries. This includes the physical relics left behind, primary sources that serve as a window into the lives of the long-gone Egyptians, especially the pharaohs, kings elevated to the status of gods. Among the more intriguing pharaohs was Hatshepsut, perhaps the most powerful woman who led a nation up to that time. The story of how she possibly ruled in the guise of a male pharaoh is explored in this volume via an exploration of the artifacts and sites throughout Egypt that remain to tell her tale.

The rise of Constantine marked a pivotal and transformative time for the Roman Empire. Besides imposing many important changes to Rome''s government and currency and a reorganization of civil and military spheres, Constantine is also well known for being the first Roman emperor to embrace and eventually convert to Christianity, a religion once oppressed and reviled by pagan Rome, and for shifting imperial power to the eastern part of the empire. In this book, the life of Constantine the Great, as he would become known as, is explored, analyzed, and enlivened via historical images of artworks and ancient Roman relics.