Contains 365 facts of recent developments in a variety of fields including biology, medicine, engineering, technology, zoology, chemistry, and astronomy, arranged in question and answer format.

Table of contents includes: Soap and Nicholas Leblanc, Color and William Henry Perkin, Sugar and Norbert Rillieux, Clean water and Edward Frankland, Fertilizer, poison gas, and Fritz Haber, Leaded gasoline, safe refrigeration and Thomas Midgley, Jr., Nylon and Wallace Hume Carothers, DDT and Paul Hermann Muller, Lead-free gasoline and Clair C. Patterson.

Presents fun facts and trivia including how a pearl forms and the origin of safety glass, connecting them to Christian life using passages from the Bible.

One of Uncle John’s all-time biggest sellers, Great Big is overflowing with everything our fans have come to expect: urban legends, forgotten history, myth-conceptions, business blunders, strange lawsuits, weird politics, amazing origins, dumb crooks, celebrity gossip, brain teasers, short facts, and more! Divided by length into short, medium, and long articles, Great Big is sure to be a hit with readers of all ages. A few standouts from these 460 pages: * The first computer programmers * Weird medical conditions * Brits Vs. Americans: a word quiz * Strange tourist attractions * The origin of the White House * The world’s second-dumbest outlaw * The Tonight Show story * The forgotten hero of flagpole sitting * Why popcorn pops And much, much more!

Food safety scares such as salmonella in eggs or BSE in beef continue to cause public concern, but far more unnoticed is the way that genetically engineered food is entering our diet. This book looks at how this situation came about, revealing those responsible for driving genetically modified foods so rapidly on to the market. Stephen Nottingham argues that consumer pressure could decide whether these new products succeed or fail. His book gives us the facts: what these new foods are, how they are produced, why they remain unlabelled and how they are arriving on our plates unannounced. Never before has science been likely to have quite such a huge impact on our lives - after all, we are what we eat. Here is an issue every thinking person needs to apply their mind to. This is the book to help you do it.

Mielczarek (physics, George Mason U.) and science writer McGrayne explore the critical importance of the metal element in life from bacteria to humans. They report on recent discoveries about iron and magnetism in bacteria, in myriad animal and plant species, and in humans, such as that many migrating animals have minute deposits of magnetite inside them that are sensory navigators. They also, of course, discuss the role of iron in mammalian blood and the iron- related diseases of humans.

Some issues are accompanied by a CD-ROM on a selected topic.

Each vol. is divided into 2 parts 1st-7th ed.: Dictionary catalog and Classified catalog; 8th-9th ed. have 3rd. part: Directory of publishers.