Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science

  • Michael Brooks
Profile Books 288 pp. £12.99 (2011)

Scientists are complicit in painting their enterprise as arcane and inhuman, argues science writer Michael Brooks. As a result, the public is turned off. In reality, research is competitive, ruthless and anarchic. Some successful researchers are so driven to get their work into the public eye that they will pursue knowledge by any means — stealing ideas, taking drugs and following mystical beliefs. To regain respect from the public, scientists should rebrand themselves as dynamic explorers rather than docile knob-twiddlers, Brooks suggests.

The Sun's Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet

  • Bob Berman
Little, Brown 304 pp. $25.99 (2011)

Astronomer Bob Berman admits that, like many of us, he used to take the Sun for granted. In his latest book, he puts our nearest star back firmly where it belongs, at the centre of our lives. He recounts witnessing eclipses around the globe, and describes the latest views of the solar furnace taken with advanced space probes that are revealing more about the Sun's birth and its eventual death. He covers solar cycles, the influence of the Sun on climate and human health, and the physics of fusion and magnetism.

Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century

  • Dorothy Roberts
New Press 400 pp. $29.95 (2011)

Although it is not possible to genetically disentangle different races among humans, emerging biotechnologies are raising questions about how racial labels are used in medicine. In a provocative analysis of the emerging fields of personalized medicine, reproductive technologies, genetic genealogy and DNA databanks, law professor Dorothy Roberts warns that the science of genetics in the United States is at risk of being used to obscure racism in society.

Urban Green: Architecture for the Future

  • Neil B. Chambers
Palgrave Macmillan 256 pp. £18.99 (2011)

Constructing sustainable buildings that reduce the impact of carbon emissions is a key goal for protecting the environment, but green alternatives that meet the needs of modern construction can be difficult to find. We should bring the architecture and conservation movements closer together by looking to nature for design ideas, argues green-building expert Neil Chambers. Oysters, for example, can filter water at up to 5 litres an hour; and mountains hold lessons for improving city layouts and building design.

Yuck!: The Nature and Moral Significance of Disgust (Life & Mind: Philosophical Issues in Biology & Psychology)

  • Daniel Kelly
MIT Press 208 pp. $30 (2011)

From blood tofu to extreme political views, different people are disgusted by different things. Philosopher Daniel Kelly weaves together explanations for how physical and cognitive revulsion evolved — to protect us from poisons and parasites — and how they have since become attached to social mores. Because of the way our brains have evolved, he cautions that we should be wary of using gut reactions to make moral judgements.