Browse

Food: A Very Short Introduction provides a brief history of man's relationship with food, spanning from the time of our remote ancestors 3 million years ago to the present day. Food has been a topic of great interest for humanity across cultures and over generations. Why do some people like some kinds of foods and not others? How do our senses contribute to flavour? How important are genetics in our likes and dislikes? We are all affected by issues such as diet, nutrition, and health; the disparity between malnutrition in some places and overconsumption in others; obesity; sustainable agriculture; and genetic modification. How will it be possible to feed a population of 9 billion in 2050, without destroying our natural environment?Less

HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction provides an introduction to AIDS—the most serious human epidemic in centuries—tackling the science, politics, demographics, and devastating consequences of the disease. The first case was identified in 1981; by 2004 approximately forty million people were living with the disease, and about twenty million had died. The outlook today is a little brighter. Although HIV/AIDS continues to be a pressing public health issue, the epidemic has stabilized. The worst affected regions are Southern and Eastern Africa. Elsewhere, HIV is found in specific, often marginalized populations. Although there remains no cure for HIV, there have been unprecedented breakthroughs in understanding the disease and developing drugs.Less