Roland Ennos – författare

When our ancestors came down from the trees, they brought the trees with them and remade the world. ‘A stunning book on the incalculable debt humanity owes wood…’ John Carey, The Sunday Times How did the descendants of small arboreal primates manage to stand on our own two feet, become top predators and take over the world?In The Wood Age, Roland Ennos shows that the key to humanity’s success has been our relationship with wood. He takes us on a sweeping ten-million-year journey from great apes who built their nests among the trees to early humans who depended on wood for fire, shelter, tools and weapons; from the structural design of wheels and woodwinds, to the invention of paper and the printing press.Drawing together recent research and reinterpreting existing evidence from fields as far-ranging as primatology, anthropology, archaeology, history, architecture, engineering and carpentry, Ennos charts for the first time how our ability to exploit wood’s unique properties has shaped our bodies and minds, societies and lives. He also charts the dislocating effects of industrialism and explains how rediscovering traditional ways of growing, using and understanding trees can help combat climate change and bring our lives into better balance with nature.In the bestselling tradition of Harari’s Sapiens, this unique history of humanity tells the story of our evolution, our civilisations and our future through the lens of the material that made us. We are products of the Wood Age.

Solid Biomechanics is the first book to comprehensively review the mechanical design of organisms. With a physical approach and a minimum of mathematics, the textbook introduces readers to the world of structural mechanics and sheds light on the dazzling array of mechanical adaptations that link creatures as dissimilar as bacteria, plants, and animals. Exploring a wide range of subjects in depth, from spider silks and sharkskin to climbing plants and human food processing, this immensely accessible text demonstrates that the bodies of animals and plants are masterpieces of engineering, enabling them to survive in a hostile world. The textbook describes how organisms construct materials from limited components, arrange materials into efficient structures that withstand different types of stresses, and interact mechanically with their environment. Looking at practical and historical aspects of the subject, the book delves into how the mechanics of organisms might be applied to other engineering scenarios and considers the ways structural biomechanics could and should develop in the future if more is to be learned about the form and function of organisms.Solid Biomechanics will be useful to all those interested in how organisms work, from biologists and engineers to physicists and students of biomechanics, bionics, and materials science. * The first comprehensive review of the structural mechanics of organisms * Introduces the subject using a physical approach involving minimal mathematics * Three complementary sections: materials, structures, and mechanical interactions of organisms * Links the dazzling array of mechanical adaptations seen in widely differing organisms * Practical and historical approach shows how mechanical adaptations have been discovered and how readers can perform their own investigations

Why exactly is the Earth round?How is it that boomerangs can turn in mid-air?And why do cats always land on their feet?It’s time to stop thinking in straight lines…'A wonderfully fascinating book with answers to so many everyday questions you never knew you needed to know.' Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff MattersFrom the solar system to spinning tops; hurricanes to hula hoops; powerplants to pendulums, one mysterious force shapes almost every aspect of our lives. A force which, despite its ubiquity, continues to confound, baffle and surprise.Artfully moving between astrophysics and anthropology, The Science of Spin provides a sweeping journey through space and time, from the creation of the Earth to the advent of the ‘fidget spinner’. Charting the development of engineering and technology from the earliest prehistoric drills to the turbine engine, critically acclaimed author and scientist Roland Ennos presents a riveting account of human ingenuity and the seemingly infinite ways spin affects our daily lives.

There are almost one third of a million species of plants which range in form from unicellular algae a few microns in diameter to gigantic trees that can grow to a height of 100 meters. Plant Life makes sense of the bewildering diversity of plants by treating them not just as photosynthetic factories, but as living organisms that are the survivors of millions of years of evolutionary struggle. The book examines plants from an evolutionary perspective to show how such a wide range of life forms has evolved and continues to thrive.The book is divided into three main sections. The first introductory section sets out the necessary background of evolutionary and taxonomic theory and introduces a classification of living plants based on the ways in which they have evolved. The second part investigates how the challenges of life in the water and on land have led to the evolution of the major taxonomic groups of the plants, and describes the key adaptations that have contributed to the success of each group. The final section shows how the contrasting environments of the world's major climatic zones have led to the evolution of such different floras as those of tropical rainforests, prairies and deserts. This section introduces a fascinating range of plants with ingenious and often bizarre methods of survival and reproduction. The book is enriched by detailed case studies, points for discussion and suggestions for further investigation. In addition, extensive color plates and line drawings bring the world of plants vividly to life. Clear classification charts and a full glossary are also useful. Plant Life is an essential elementary text for undergraduate students and should prove a breath of fresh air for jaded botanists who are accustomed to the traditional taxonomic grind through the plant kingdom. New, environmental approach in keeping with modern course content. Beautifully written in a clear, concise and accessible style. Extensive colour plates, electron micrographs and line drawings bring the world of plants vividly to life. Uses carefully chosen examples of species in each group, so that students are not overwhelmed with excessive information and species lists. Discussion questions at the end of chapters encourages further reading and provides essay topics for teachers. Clear classification charts and a full glossary provide useful material for revision.

Is there a link between people’s heart rate and blood pressure?

Does the lead in petrol fumes affect the growth of roadside plants?

 

The ability to expertly analyse statistical data is a crucial skill in the biological sciences – it is fundamental to fully understanding what your experiments are actually telling you and so being able to answer your research questions. 

Statistical and Data Handling Skills in Biology gives you everything you need to understand and use statistical tests within your studies and future independent research.

 

Written in a straight-forward and easy to understand style it presents all of the tests you will need throughout your studies, and shows you how to select the right tests to get the most out of your experiments.  All of this is done in the context of biological examples so you can see just how relevant a skill this is, and how becoming fully proficient will make you a more rounded scientist.

 

This 4th edition has been thoroughly updated throughout and now includes detailed coverage of the free statistical package R studio and a new chapter on how to write about and present statistics in papers, theses and reports.  The first chapter has also been revised to introduce students to the need for and ideas behind statistical analysis.

 

Features

·    Clear explanation with step by step detail of how to carry out a wide range of statistical analyses will help you to quickly gain understanding and confidence in this essential area.

·    Useful decision charts will help you to select the right statistical test and gain confidence in answering your research questions.

·    Real world examples in each chapter will help you to develop an applied understanding of the full range of statistical techniques

·    Self-assessment problems scenarios at the end of each chapter enable you to practice applying your understanding of a technique, thereby improving your confidence in using numbers.  Guided answers allow you to check your understanding.

 

 

 

Statistical and Data Handling Skills in Biology 4th edition is ideal for any biomedic or environmental scientist getting to grips with statistical analysis for use in class on as part of independent study.

Why are humans the most feared predator in the world?Over five million years ago, a group of primates discovered tools. Perhaps it was a large rock, ideal for cracking nuts, or a stick to extract honey from a beehive. Regardless, the future of our planet was changed forever.Slowly, the primate evolved, abandoning the trees for solid ground and four legs for two – and the tools changed with it. Stones were sharpened, then attached to sticks, before stone gave way to bronze, iron, steel. With axes came agriculture and the first permanent human settlements, which soon became villages, towns and cities. Sticks and stones transformed into gunpowder, the printing press, combustion engine, electric light, antibiotics and finally the computer. Through sheer invention, Homo sapiens had conquered the planet.Tracing the evolution of humans into the planet’s apex predator – the foremost ‘bullies of the natural world’ – Roland Ennos explores the miraculous and devastating power of human technology from the earliest tools to the present day.