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  1. Science Past from the issue of November 3, 1962

    PAST-SEEKING CAMERA — A camera that can “see” what already has happened as well as what is happening may have provided the United States with information on missile bases in Cuba…. Special photographic plates are sensitive to heat (infrared) radiation and the past presence of objects is shown differentially. This is only one of the […]

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  2. Math

    The Joy of x

    A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity by Steven Strogatz.

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  3. Humans

    Homo Mysterious

    Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature by David P. Barash.

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  4. Fifty Minerals That Changed the Course of History by Eric Chaline

    From alabaster to zinc, this book highlights the scientific, cultural and commercial significance of a bevy of alloys, metals, rocks and gemstones. Firefly, 2012, 224 p., $29.95

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  5. Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide by Heimo Mikkola

    Spectacular imagery enhances this detailed guide to 249 species of owls, including sections on owl biology, evolution and behavior. Firefly, 2012, 512 p., $49.95

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  6. The Science of Human Perfection: How Genes Became the Heart of American Medicine by Nathaniel Comfort

    A historian finds parallels between the 19th century eugenics movement and the rise of modern human genetics. Yale Univ., 2012, 316 p., $35

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  7. The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken by Mary Ellen Hannibal

    A journalist travels the length of the Rockies documenting efforts to create a massive wildlife corridor stretching from Canada to Mexico. Lyons Press, 2012, 272 p., $24.95

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  8. Wonderful Life with the Elements: The Periodic Table Personified by Bunpei Yorifuji

    An artist explains the properties of the elements by drawing them as quirky characters in this fun guide to the periodic table. No Starch Press, 2012, 206 p., $17.95

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  9. Astronomy

    Prospecting for Quasicrystals

    Siberian journey nets a mineralogical space oddity.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Suicidal Threads

    Early abuse weaves its way into the brain, with potentially tragic consequences.

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  11. Life

    Nouveaux Antennas

    A single hairlike appendage may allow a cell to sense the outside world

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  12. Genetics

    Genetic mutations may explain a brain cancer’s tenacity

    DNA damage may transform adult cells in glioblastoma, making the malignancy harder to kill.

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