Scientific American – serie

Good news about getting older from Scientific American and Scientific American Mind The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain taps into the most current research to present a realistic and encouraging view of the well-aged brain, a sobering look at what can go wrong––and at what might help you and your brain stay healthy longer. Neurologists and psychologists have discovered the aging brain is much more elastic and supple than previously thought, and that happiness actually increases with age. While our short-term memory may not be what it was, dementia is not inevitable. Far from disintegrating, the elder brain can continue to develop and adapt in many ways and stay sharp as it ages.  Offers new insights on how an aging brain can repair itself, and the five best strategies for keeping your brain healthyShows how older brains can acquire new skills, perspective, and productivityDispels negative myths about agingExplores what to expect as our brains grow older With hope and truth, this book helps us preserve what we’ve got, minimize what we’ve lost, and optimize the vigor and health of our maturing brains.

Who do we love? Who loves us? And why? Is love really a mystery, or can neuroscience offer some answers to these age-old questions? In her third enthralling book about the brain, Judith Horstman takes us on a lively tour of our most important sex and love organ and the whole smorgasbord of our many kinds of love-from the bonding of parent and child to the passion of erotic love, the affectionate love of companionship, the role of animals in our lives, and the love of God.Drawing on the latest neuroscience, she explores why and how we are born to love-how we're hardwired to crave the companionship of others, and how very badly things can go without love. Among the findings: parental love makes our brain bigger, sex and orgasm make it healthier, social isolation makes it miserable-and although the craving for romantic love can be described as an addiction, friendship may actually be the most important loving relationship of your life.Based on recent studies and articles culled from the prestigious Scientific American and Scientific American Mind magazines, The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex, and the Brain offers a fascinating look at how the brain controls our loving relationships, most intimate moments, and our deep and basic need for connection.

The electromagnetic force is one of the primary forces of nature. From the early discoveries of natural lodestones to the use of superconducting materials in modern medical devices such as MRIs, people have been fascinated by magnets and their unique properties. ""Electromagnetism, and How It Works"" examines the technological evolution of electromagnetism from its humble beginnings as a series of discoveries to a fundamental force that powers our modern world. This accessible, full-color book will help students understand how this force is connected to almost everything we see and do.

Science increasingly informs athletic training, and technology is used every day to maintain and even enhance physical performance. In this volume, Scientific American's top writers present in clear, accessible prose information about present--and future--advances that enhance not only athletic performance, but also the vitality of the rest of the population.Body, mind, gear, and thechnique are explored. Specific topics include: Whether science can determine if sports psychology worksHow the cellular biology of muscle may explain why a particular athlete winsWhat skateboarders do to bend the laws of physicsWhy there's concern about a sophisticated new way of cheating - gene doping This highly informative colume provides excellent background on controversial issues in spectator and participartory sports today.