Diatoms to Dinosaurs

Diatoms to Dinosaurs PDF Author: Christopher McGowan
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781559633048
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In Diatoms to Dinosaurs, Chris McGowan takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the natural world, and examines life in all its various forms. He imparts the excitement of discovery and the joy of understanding as he demonstrates the central importance of size and scale to the survival of living organisms. McGowan investigates a wide range of size-related phenomena, from the gliding mechanism of diatoms to blood pressure problems of dinosaurs. Questions asked -- and answered -- include: Will we ever see giant insects the size of pterodactyls? Why are ants so much stronger relative to body size than elephants? What do a clam, a condor, a tortoise, and a sturgeon have in common? How did the skeleton of a 28-ton Apatosaurus support its weight? How can blood get from the heart to the head of a giraffe without rupturing blood vessels? The author explicates the scientific concepts -- both physical and biological -- needed to inform the relevant phenomena: area/volume relations, metabolism and other basic physiology, kinetic energy, inertial forces, the biology of senescence, boundary layers, and Reynolds numbers. Numerous illustrations scattered throughout the text make the biophysical principles easily comprehensible to readers, regardless of their scientific sophistication.

Diatoms to Dinosaurs

Diatoms to Dinosaurs PDF Author: Christopher McGowan
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781559633048
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In Diatoms to Dinosaurs, Chris McGowan takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the natural world, and examines life in all its various forms. He imparts the excitement of discovery and the joy of understanding as he demonstrates the central importance of size and scale to the survival of living organisms. McGowan investigates a wide range of size-related phenomena, from the gliding mechanism of diatoms to blood pressure problems of dinosaurs. Questions asked -- and answered -- include: Will we ever see giant insects the size of pterodactyls? Why are ants so much stronger relative to body size than elephants? What do a clam, a condor, a tortoise, and a sturgeon have in common? How did the skeleton of a 28-ton Apatosaurus support its weight? How can blood get from the heart to the head of a giraffe without rupturing blood vessels? The author explicates the scientific concepts -- both physical and biological -- needed to inform the relevant phenomena: area/volume relations, metabolism and other basic physiology, kinetic energy, inertial forces, the biology of senescence, boundary layers, and Reynolds numbers. Numerous illustrations scattered throughout the text make the biophysical principles easily comprehensible to readers, regardless of their scientific sophistication.

Diatoms

Diatoms PDF Author: Joseph Seckbach
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119370736
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 690

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Book Description
The aim of this new book series (Diatoms: Biology and Applications) is to provide a comprehensive and reliable source of information on diatom biology and applications. The first book of the series, Diatoms Fundamentals & Applications, is wide ranging, starting with the contributions of amateurs and the beauty of diatoms, to details of how their shells are made, how they bend light to their advantage and ours, and major aspects of their biochemistry (photosynthesis and iron metabolism). The book then delves into the ecology of diatoms living in a wide range of habitats, and look at those few that can kill or harm us. The book concludes with a wide range of applications of diatoms, in forensics, manufacturing, medicine, biofuel and agriculture. The contributors are leading international experts on diatoms. This book is for a wide audience researchers, academics, students, and teachers of biology and related disciplines, written to both act as an introduction to diatoms and to present some of the most advanced research on them.

The Diatoms

The Diatoms PDF Author: Gerald Webber Prescott
Publisher: Coward McCann
ISBN:
Category : Algae
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Discusses the structure, uses, and reproduction of diatoms, algae distinctive for their cell walls made of silica.

The Biology of Diatoms

The Biology of Diatoms PDF Author: Dietrich Werner
Publisher: Рипол Классик
ISBN: 5885141460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
Botanical monographs. Volume 13. The Biology of Diatoms.

After the Dinosaurs

After the Dinosaurs PDF Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253000556
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
A fascinating study of the thousands of new animal species that walked in the footsteps of the dinosaurs—and the climate changes that brought them forth. The fascinating group of animals called dinosaurs became extinct some 65 million years ago (except for their feathered descendants). In their place evolved an enormous variety of land creatures, especially mammals, which in their way were every bit as remarkable as their Mesozoic cousins. The Age of Mammals, the Cenozoic Era, has never had its Jurassic Park, but it was an amazing time in earth’s history, populated by a wonderful assortment of bizarre animals. The rapid evolution of thousands of species of mammals brought forth many incredible creatures―including our own ancestors. Their story is part of a larger story of new life emerging from the greenhouse conditions of the Mesozoic, warming up dramatically about 55 million years ago, and then cooling rapidly so that 33 million years ago the glacial ice returned. The earth’s vegetation went through equally dramatic changes, from tropical jungles in Montana and forests at the poles. Life in the sea underwent striking evolution reflecting global climate change, including the emergence of such creatures as giant sharks, seals, sea lions, dolphins, and whales. Engaging and insightful, After the Dinosaurs is a book for everyone who has an abiding fascination with the remarkable life of the past.

The Fossil Book

The Fossil Book PDF Author: Gary E. Parker
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group
ISBN: 0890514380
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
Fossils have fascinated humans for centuries. From the smallest diatoms to the largest dinosaurs, finding a fossil is an exciting and rewarding experience. But where did they come from, and how long have they been around? These and many other questions are answered in this remarkable book.

Protozoans, Algae & Other Protists

Protozoans, Algae & Other Protists PDF Author: Steve Parker
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 0756542243
Category : Algae
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
This book introduces you to creatures from the protist kingdom, from microscopic protozoans to seaweedlike algae. It examines the parts, life cycle, and reproduction of various types of protists. It also looks at the harmful effects some protists have on humans. Did You Know? The deadly disease malaria is caused in part by the protist Plasmodium. The fossils of one type of protist, the red algae, date back more than 500 million years. Paramecium, a well known protist, uses hairlike cilia to sweep food into its mouth.

Make Your Own Dinosaur Out of Chicken Bones

Make Your Own Dinosaur Out of Chicken Bones PDF Author: Christopher McGowan
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060952261
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Paleontology meets fun when an esteemed scientist teaches young and old alike how to transform ordinary chicken bones into an incredibly realistic skeletal model of Apatosaurus. Featuring recipes for chicken soups and salads to ensure that the chicken meat is put to good use, "Make Your Own Dinosaur Out of Chicken Bones" is the perfect treat for dinosaur lovers of all ages. 50 drawings.

Genes, Genesis, and God

Genes, Genesis, and God PDF Author: Holmes Rolston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521646741
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
This book argues that the phenomena of religion can not be reduced to the phenomena of biology.

Skeletons

Skeletons PDF Author: Jan Zalasiewicz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192522450
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Over half a billion years ago life on earth took an incredible step in evolution, when animals learned to build skeletons. Using many different materials, from calcium carbonate and phosphate, and even silica, to make shell and bone, they started creating the support structures that are now critical to most living forms, providing rigidity and strength. Manifesting in a vast variety of forms, they provided the framework for sophisticated networks of life that fashioned the evolution of Earth's oceans, land and atmosphere. Within a few tens of millions of years, all of the major types of skeleton had appeared. Skeletons enabled an unprecedented array of bodies to evolve, from the tiniest seed shrimp to the gigantic dinosaurs and blue whales. The earliest bacterial colonies constructed large rigid structures - stromatolites - built up by trapping layers of sediment, while the mega-skeleton that is the Great Barrier Reef is big enough to be visible from space. The skeletons of millions of coccolithophores that lived in the shallow seas of the Mesozoic built the white cliffs of Dover. These, and insects, put their scaffolding on the outside, as an exoskeleton, while vertebrates have endoskeletons. Skeletons may be hydrostatic, or, as is common, made of calcium phosphate, or from carbonate, or silica - the latter used to create delicate and elegant designs by diatoms and radiolarians. They need to be light and strong for flight. Plants use tubes of dead tissue for rigidity and transport of liquids - which in the case of tall trees need to be strong enough to extend 100 m or more from the ground. Others simply stitch together a coating from mineral grains on the seabed. In Skeletons, Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams explore the incredible variety of the skeleton innovations that have enabled life to expand into a wide range of niches and lifestyles on the planet. Discussing the impact of climate change, which puts the formation of some kinds of skeleton at risk, they also consider future skeletons, including the possibility that we might increasingly incorporate metal and plastic elements into our own, as well as the possible materials for skeleton building on other planets.