What do water, carbon, iron and copper all have in common? They're just some of the things your body has inside it. Find out what else you're really made of in this constructive guide to human biology. You'll never think of yourself in the same way again . . .

Shares information on the makeup of the human body, including cells, skeleton, organs, and muscles; also features a model of a human skeleton readers can put together.

With step-by-step directions, lessons, projects, cooperative learning activities and more, here are reproducible cut-and-paste patterns for assembling and understanding the systems and organs of the human body.

The epic story of our evolution in seven big steps! How did we become who we are? With trademark wit, acclaimed science writer Pamela S. Turner breaks down human evolution into the seven most important steps leading to Homo sapiens. How, when, and why did we: 1.stand up, 2.smash rocks, 3.get swelled heads, 4.take a hike, 5.invent barbecue, 6.start talking (and never shut up), and 7.become storytellers? This fascinating, wickedly funny account of our evolutionary journey turns science into an irresistible story. Vetted by experts at the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, the book also features incredibly detailed portraits by celebrated paleo-artist John Gurche that bring our early ancestors to life.

The award-winning science writer shares “a winding romp through advances in cell biology [that] pushes readers to ponder the boundaries of life” (Science). In the summer of 2017, scientists removed a tiny piece of flesh from Philip Ball’s arm and turned it into a rudimentary “mini-brain.” The skin cells, removed from his body, did not die but were instead transformed into nerve cells that independently arranged themselves into a dense network and communicated with each other, exchanging the raw signals of thought. This was life—but whose? That disconcerting question is the focus of Philip Ball’s How to Grow a Human. In this mind-bending tour of cutting-edge cell biology, Ball shows how recent innovations could lead to tailor-made replacement organs; new medical advances for repairing damage and assisting conception; and new ways of “growing a human.” Such methods would also create new options for gene editing, with all the attendant moral dilemmas. Ball argues that these advances can never be “just about the science,” because they are already laden with a host of social narratives, preconceptions, and prejudices. But beyond even that, these developments raise provocative questions about identity and self, birth and death, and force us to ask how mutable the human body really is—and what forms it might take in years to come.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A must-read owner’s manual for every body. Take a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body in this “delightful, anecdote-propelled read” (The Boston Globe) from the author of A Short History of Nearly Everything. With a new Afterword. “You will marvel at the brilliance and vast weirdness of your design." —The Washington Post Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body—how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Brysonesque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, “We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted.” The Body will cure that indifference with generous doses of wondrous, compulsively readable facts and information. As addictive as it is comprehensive, this is Bryson at his very best.

See inside your insides in Human Body, with shaped pages covering every layer from skin to skeleton. Explore your insides in 3D detail! Press out the cleverly shaped chunky pages to reveal a 3D model of the human body. Discover astonishing facts about every layer, from skin to skeleton, and see how they all fit together. This combination fact book and play model is the perfect interactive introduction to the world inside every body.

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A Fareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week: “An exhilarating look at the cutting edge of bioengineering. . . . a mind-bending read.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) For millennia, humans have tried—and often failed—to master nature and transcend our limits. But this has started to change. The new scientific frontier is the human body: The greatest engineers of our generation have turned their sights inward, and their work is beginning to revolutionize mankind. In The Body Builders, Adam Piore takes us on a fascinating journey into the field of bioengineering—which can be used to reverse engineer, rebuild, and augment human beings—and paints a vivid portrait of the people at its center. Chronicling the ways new technology has retooled our physical expectations and mental processes, Piore visits people who have regrown parts of their fingers and legs in the wake of terrible traumas; tries on a muscle suit that allows him to lift ninety pounds with his fingertips; dips into the race to create “Viagra for the brain”; and shadows the doctors trying to give mute patients the ability to communicate telepathically. As science continues to lay bare the mysteries of human performance, it is helping us to see—and exist—above our expectations. The Body Builders goes beyond the headlines and the hype to reveal the inner workings and the outer reaches of our bodies and minds, and explore how new developments are changing, and will forever change, what is possible for humankind. Weaving powerful storytelling with groundbreaking science, The Body Builders explores the current revolution in human augmentation, which is helping us triumph over the limitations and constraints we’ve long accepted as an inevitable part of being human. “Piore writes gracefully, and with deep insight, about complex scientific endeavors that could ease human suffering but are fraught with myriad ethical perils.” —Publishers Weekly