From one of the most trusted sources for high quality information, authoritative reviews of the most significant recent developments in science and technology. Edited and illustrated for clarity and ease of understanding by non-specialist and expert alike.

Covers over 90 disciplines of science and technology, including biomedical science, chemistry, cosmology, information science, environmental science, and nanotechnology.

In the recent years, space-based observation methods have led to a subst- tially improved understanding of Earth system. Geodesy and geophysics are contributing to this development by measuring the temporal and spatial va- ations of the Earth’s shape, gravity ?eld, and magnetic ?eld, as well as at- sphere density. In the frame of the GermanR&D programmeGEOTECHNO- LOGIEN,researchprojectshavebeen launchedin2002relatedto the satellite missions CHAMP, GRACE and ESA’s planned mission GOCE, to comp- mentary terrestrial and airborne sensor systems and to consistent and stable high-precision global reference systems for satellite and other techniques. In the initial 3-year phase of the research programme (2002-2004), new gravity ?eld models have been computed from CHAMP and GRACE data which outperform previous models in accuracy by up to two orders of m- nitude for the long and medium wavelengths. A special highlight is the - termination of seasonal gravity variations caused by changes in continental water masses. For GOCE, to be launched in 2006, new gravity ?eld analysis methods are under development and integrated into the ESA processing s- tem. 200,000 GPS radio occultation pro?les, observed by CHAMP, have been processed on an operational basis. They represent new and excellent inf- mation on atmospheric refractivity, temperature and water vapor. These new developments require geodetic space techniques (such as VLBI, SLR, LLR, GPS) to be combined and synchronized as if being one global instrument.

Expertly edited and well illustrated for ease of understanding, the Yearbook satisfies the need of students and scientifically interested general readers as well as professionals to stay up to date on the most important current developments in science, engineering and technology. It contains approximately 170 articles by the world’s leaders in science and technology and provides concise yet authoritative reviews of the progress and significance of research on topics from Agribiotechnology to Zoonoses. References to Encyclopedia articles and scientific literature facilitate further study. The Yearbook features: Approximately 170 articles from leaders in scientific and technical disciplines from astronomy to zoology Up-to-date coverage in forefront areas such as bio-technology, cosmology, environmental science and technology, information technology, molecular medicine, telecommunications, and theoretical physics 300 images and two colour graphics enhance the text Features numerous cross-references to the Encyclopedia and bibliographies of key literature after each article An extensive subject index makes finding information a snap

Asher draws on his experiences as a paleontologist and a religious believer, arguing that science does not contradict religious belief.

More than 150 articles explore the latest advances in science and technology For more than 45 years, this annual publication has made information on the latest trends and developments in science and technology accessible to non-specialists through concise, well-illustrated articles. Readers will find 150 articles from 200+ leaders in their respective fields covering disciplines from Astronomy to Zoology. The Yearbook will be of interest to students, writers, researchers, professionals, and general readers.

Wine Flavour Chemistry brings together a vast wealth of information describing components of wine, their underlying chemistry and their possible role in the taste, smell and overall perception. It includes both table wines and fortified wines, such as Sherry, Port and the newly added Madeira, as well as other special wines. This fully revised and updated edition includes new information also on retsina wines, rosés, organic and reduced alcohol wines, and has been expanded with coverage of the latest research. Both EU and non-EU countries are referred to, making this book a truly global reference for academics and enologists worldwide. Wine Flavour Chemistry is essential reading for all those involved in commercial wine making, whether in production, trade or research. The book is of great use and interest to all enologists, and to food and beverage scientists and technologists working in commerce and academia. Upper level students and teachers on enology courses will need to read this book: wherever food and beverage science, technology and chemistry are taught, libraries should have multiple copies of this important book.

A paleontologist awakens us to the "extinction event" that human activity is bringing about today The natural world as humans have always known it evolved close to 100 million years ago, with the appearance of flowering plants and pollinating insects during the age of the dinosaurs. Its tremendous history is now in danger of profound, catastrophic disruption. In Terra, a brilliant synthesis of evolutionary biology, paleontology, and modern environmental science, Michael Novacek shows how all three can help us understand and prevent what he (and others) call today's "mass extinction event." Humanity's use of land, our consumption, the pollution we create, and our contributions to global warming are causing this crisis. True, the fossil record of hundreds of millions of years reveals that wild and bounteous nature has always evolved not quietly but thunderously, as species arise, flourish, die off, and are replaced by new species. We learn from paleontology and archaeology that for 50,000 years, human hunting, mining, and agriculture have changed many localities, sometimes irrevocably. But today, Novacek insists, our behavior endangers the entire global ecosystem. And if we disregard—through ignorance, antipathy, or apathy—the theory of evolution that developed with our modern understanding of the Earth's past, we not only impede enlightenment but threaten any practical strategy for our own survival. The evolutionary future of the entire living planet depends on our understanding this.

Frank Wilczek is one of the foremost theoretical physicists of the past half-century. He has made several fundamental contributions that shape our understanding of high energy physics, cosmology, condensed matter physics, and statistical physics. In all these fields his many discoveries continue to play a key role in shaping the direction of modern theoretical physics.Among Wilczek's major achievements is the discovery of asymptotic freedom, which predicts and explains the ultraviolet behavior of non-abelian gauge theories. The axion, which he co-discovered and named, has emerged as the prevalent candidate for explaining the origin of dark matter in the Universe. His invention of color-flavor locking explains chiral symmetry breaking in high density quantum chromodynamics. His introduction of fractional statistics and anyons are pivotal to our understanding of the fractional quantum Hall effect and form the building blocks of topological quantum computing. His invention of the time crystal concept has catalyzed extensive investigations of dynamical phases of physical systems.Frank Wilczek received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is also the recipient of several Prizes and honorary awards including the MacArthur Fellowship, the Lorentz Medal of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society, the High Energy and Particle Physics Prize of the European Physical Society, and the King Faisal International Prize for Science of the King Faisal Foundation. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is also a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Sweden.He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT Center for Theoretical Physics. He also holds a professorship at Stockholm University, is a Distinguished Professor at Arizona State University, and is the founding director of the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute and Chief Scientist of the Wilczek Quantum Center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.This volume serves as a tribute to Frank Wilczek's legendary scientific contributions, commemorating his 70th birthday and the first 50 years of his career as a theoretical physicist. The contributors include several of his PhD students, close collaborators, and both past and present colleagues.