In late 1942, less than a year after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government began snapping up property in eastern Tennessee. Within a matter of months, approximately 59,000 acres of farms and orchards, homesteads and hovels just south of the Black Oak Ridge hosted immense construction sites that became the home of supersecret facilities used to enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. Kiernan chronicles the fascinating lives of some of the young women who lived and worked in this fenced-in town, helping to develop the first atomic bombs. At its wartime peak, the largely self-contained Oak Ridge ... (p. 30)

Artemis may look like any other goat, but a little human DNA inserted into her genetic code gives her life-saving potential. This University of California, Davis wonder produces milk rich in the bacteria-busting enzyme lysozyme, a compound that could help prevent some of the hundreds of thousands of deaths from diarrhea worldwide each year. “Science has given us a whole new toolbox for tinkering with life,” writes journalist Anthes. Frankenstein’s Cat shows off just a small sampling of this humanmade (or at least human-modified) menagerie. Some, like Artemis, are the result of genetic ... (p. 30)

An astronomer looks at how and where life may have emerged and whether Earthlings are alone in the universe. Thames & Hudson, 2013, 224 p., $24.95 (p. 30)

A naturalist dodges drug traffickers and other dangers in Mexico while searching for the imperial woodpecker, last seen in 1956. Atria, 2013, 277 p., $26 (p. 30)

This guide, filled with photos and descriptions of conservation efforts, illustrates the perils faced by rare and endangered avian species. Princeton Univ., 2013, 360 p., $45 (p. 30)

A robotics professor ponders the societal implications of living with robots as part of daily life and offers a vision for a harmonious future. MIT, 2013, 133 p., $24.95 (p. 30)

Learn how scientists discovered misshapen proteins called prions and found that these agents cause mad cow and other neurological diseases. Yale Univ., 2013, 282 p., $30 (p. 30)