Less than 450 years ago, all European scholars believed that the Earth was at the centre of a Universe that was at most a few million miles in extent, and that the planets, sun, and stars all rotated around this centre. Less than 250 years ago, they believed that the Universe was created essentially in its present state about 6000 years ago. Even 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 Darw...

The study of human evolution is advancing rapidly. Newly discovered fossil evidence is adding ever more pieces to the puzzle of our past, whilst revolutionary technological advances in the study of ancient DNA are completely reshaping theories of early human populations and migrations. In this Very Short Introduction Bernard Wood traces the history of paleoanthropology from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the very latest fossil finds.

In this new edition he discusses how Ancient D...

Since the time of Aristotle, there had been a clear divide between the three kingdoms of animal, vegetable, and mineral. But by the eighteenth century, biological experiments, and the wide range of new creatures coming to Europe from across the world, challenged these neat divisions. Abraham Trembley found that freshwater polyps grew into complete individuals when cut.

This shocking discovery raised deep questions: was it a plant or an animal? And this was not the only conundrum. What of cora...

An Introduction to Drug Synthesis explores the central role played by organic synthesis in the process of drug design and development. Written by an experienced and talented author to complement his existing An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry, the book illustrates how organic synthesis makes important contributions throughout the drug design and discovery process - from the generation of novel drug structures to the improved efficiency of large scale synthesis. Avoiding excessively detail...

This Very Short Introduction describes the new field of cognitive neuroscience - the study of what happens in the brain when we perceive, think, reason, remember, and act. Focusing on the human brain, Passingham looks at the most recent research in the field, the modern brain imaging technologies, and what the images can and can't tell us.

Clinical Biochemistry provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the biochemical basis of disease processes, and how these diseases can be investigated in the biomedical laboratory. New clinical case studies have been added to the third edition, to further emphasize the link between theory and practice and help engage students with the subject.

Inspiring and motivating students from the moment it published, Organic Chemistry has established itself in just one edition as the students' choice of organic chemistry text. Its explanatory, mechanistic, evidence-based approach makes it perfect for fostering a true understanding of the subject.

The solutions manual to accompany Organic Chemistry provides fully-explained solutions to problems that accompany each chapter of the second edition of the book.

Environmental Chemistry: A global perspective describes the chemical principles which underpin the natural processes occurring within and between the air, water, and soil, and explores how human activities have impacted on these processes, giving rise to environmental issues of global concern.

The most up-to-date and complete textbook for first time genomics students, Introduction to Genomics offers a fascinating insight into how organisms differ or match; how different organisms evolved; how the genome is constructed and how it operates; and what our understanding of genomics means in terms of our future health and wellbeing.