View:
- no detail
- some detail
- full detail

Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction
Tristram D. Wyatt
How animals behave is crucial to their survival and reproduction. Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction discusses how animal behaviour has evolved, how behaviours develop in each ...
More

The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction
Peter Holland
The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction presents a modern tour of the animal kingdom. Beginning with the definition of animals, this VSI goes on to show the high-level ...
More

Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction
Sebastian G.B. Amyes
Bacteria form a fundamental branch of life. They are the oldest forms of life as we know it, and they are still the most prolific living organisms. Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction ...
More

Biogeography: A Very Short Introduction
Mark V. Lomolino
Biogeography: A Very Short Introduction explains how our ability to place life in an explicit geographic context is key to understanding our natural world. The geological ...
More

Biometrics: A Very Short Introduction
Michael Fairhurst
Biometrics is the scientific discipline of identifying individuals by means of the measurement of unique personal attributes, such as facial appearance, fingerprints, iris patterning, the ...
More

Blood: A Very Short Introduction
Chris Cooper
Blood is vital to most animals. In mammals it transports oxygen and food, carries away waste, and contains the white cells that attack invading microbes. Playing a central role in life, ...
More

The Cell: A Very Short Introduction
Terence Allen and Graham Cowling
The Cell: A Very Short Introduction describes the nature of cells — their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly ...
More

Circadian Rhythms: A Very Short Introduction
Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman
The Earth’s daily rotation affects almost every living creature. From dawn through to dusk, there are changes in light, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. However, these changes are ...
More

Coral Reefs: A Very Short Introduction
Charles Sheppard
Coral reefs are found all around the world, from the Indo-Pacific coral reef province to the Caribbean and Australia, and they support both marine and human life. They provide a rich supply ...
More

Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Howard
Darwin: A Very Short Introduction explores how Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has revolutionized biology since it was first presented to a wide readership in 1859. At ...
More

Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Lewis Wolpert
Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction provides a concise account of what we now know about development, discussing the first vital steps of growth, the patterning ...
More

Ecology: A Very Short Introduction
Jaboury Ghazoul
Ecology is the science of how organisms interact with each other and their environment to form communities and ecosystems. Ecology: A Very Short Introduction explains the history of ...
More

Enzymes: A Very Short Introduction
Paul Engel
Enzymes: A Very Short Introduction explores enzymes, the tiny molecular machines that make life possible. These proteins speed up chemical reactions inside a living organism ...
More

Evolution: A Very Short Introduction
Brian Charlesworth and Deborah Charlesworth
Less than 150 years ago, the view that living species were the result of special creation by God was still dominant. The recognition by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace of the ...
More

Extinction: A Very Short Introduction
Paul B. Wignall
Extinction has occurred throughout the history of life, with the result that nearly all the species that have ever existed are now extinct. Extinction: A Very Short Introduction looks at ...
More

The Eye: A Very Short Introduction
Michael F. Land
The eye is one of the most remarkable achievements of evolution. In humans, vision is the most important sense, and much of the brain is given over to the processing of visual information. ...
More

Forests: A Very Short Introduction
Jaboury Ghazoul
Since the dawn of human civilization, forests have provided us with food, resources, and energy. The history of human development is also one of forest loss and transformation, and yet ...
More

Fungi: A Very Short Introduction
Nicholas P. Money
The diversity of the mycological world is far greater than most people imagine. Tens of thousands of fungal species have been described and many more are known only from the abundance of ...
More

Genes: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Slack
What are genes? What do they say about us? Genes: A Very Short Introduction explores the concept of the gene and looks at the discovery, nature, and role of genes in both evolution and ...
More

Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
John Archibald
Genomics has transformed the biological sciences. From epidemiology and medicine to evolution and forensics, the ability to determine an organism’s complete genetic makeup has changed the ...
More

Heredity: A Very Short Introduction
John Waller
The idea of heredity—that qualities of body and mind are somehow inherited from one’s parents—has profoundly shaped many aspects of the human experience: from our attempts to understand ...
More

Hormones: A Very Short Introduction
Martin Luck
Hormones balance and coordinate the workings of the body. There are many misconceptions about the endocrine system and few people are aware of its nature and importance. Hormones: A Very ...
More

Mammals: A Very Short Introduction
T. S. Kemp
Mammals: A Very Short Introduction explores the nature, evolutionary history, and modern diversity of mammals. From a little shrew-like, nocturnal, insect-eating ancestor ...
More

Marine Biology: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Philip V. Mladenov
The oceans are our planet’s most distinctive and imposing natural habitat. Marine Biology: A Very Short Introduction explores the marine environment and the nature of life in the oceans, ...
More

Microbiology: A Very Short Introduction
Nicholas P. Money
In recent decades we have come to realize that the microbial world is hugely diverse, and can be found in the most extreme environments. Fungi, single-celled protists, bacteria, archaea, ...
More

Microscopy: A Very Short Introduction
Terence Allen
Microscopy is a dynamic area of science, incorporating both basic classroom microscopes and sophisticated research style instruments that can be driven by light, electrons, or X-rays. ...
More

Plants: A Very Short Introduction
Timothy Walker
Plants: A Very Short Introduction provides a concise account of the nature of plants, their variety, their evolution, and their importance and uses, stressing the need and ...
More

Reptiles: A Very Short Introduction
T. S. Kemp
Reptiles: A Very Short Introduction introduces the extraordinary diversity of reptiles that have walked the Earth, from the dinosaurs and other reptiles of the past to ...
More

Savannas: A Very Short Introduction
Peter A. Furley
Savannas form one of the largest and most important of the world’s ecological zones. Covering one-fifth of the Earth’s land surface, they are home to some of the world’s most iconic animals ...
More

Sexual Selection: A Very Short Introduction
Marlene Zuk and Leigh W. Simmons
Sexual Selection: A Very Short Introduction introduces the astounding array of behaviours and decorative traits in the animal world used for competing for mates, and considers ...
More

Smell: A Very Short Introduction
Matthew Cobb
Smell: A Very Short Introduction is an exploration of the science and physiology of smell and its historical, cultural, and environmental significance. What happens in our ...
More

Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Slack
Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction introduces stem cells: explains what they are, what scientists do with them, what stem cell therapies are available today, and how they ...
More

Synthetic Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Jamie A. Davies
Synthetic biology is one of the 21st century’s fastest growing fields of research. Building on traditional genetic engineering, synthetic biology uses multi-gene modules and pathways to ...
More

Systems Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Eberhard O. Voit
Systems biology came about as growing numbers of scientists and engineers from different fields created experimental methods and algorithms that supported the analysis of very large ...
More

Teeth: A Very Short Introduction
Peter S. Ungar
Teeth are the product of half a billion years of evolution. They provide fuel for the body by breaking apart other living things; and they must do it again and again over a lifetime without ...
More

Veterinary Science: A Very Short Introduction
James Yeates
Every year billions of animals are treated by veterinarians. Veterinary Science: A Very Short Introduction introduces the field of veterinary science, covering the history of its scientific ...
More

Viruses: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Dorothy H. Crawford
Viruses: A Very Short Introduction outlines the origins, structure, and method of infection of a vast variety of viruses and demonstrates how clever these entities appear to ...
More
View:
- no detail
- some detail
- full detail