Book extracts
Get a taster of the latest science book releases.
A neuroscientist explains how easy changes to your routine can improve your personality
In this extract from Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change, cognitive neuroscientist Dr Christian Jarrett explains the situation-selection strategy.
The six numbers that define the entire Universe
In this edited extract from The Little Book of Cosmology, physicist Prof Lyman Page explains how our model of the Universe relies on just six parameters.
Remembering Bears: Incredible photography from the upcoming book
A look at some of the stunning photography that will be featured in a book to protect bears.
Test your language skills with these conundrums from Alex Bellos's newest puzzle book
Can you solve these puzzles?
The five things you need to be happy, according to a happiness expert
In this extract from Happiness Studies, happiness expert Tal Ben-Shahar explains the five different elements to wellbeing.
A beginner's guide to Feynman diagrams
In this extract from Ten Patterns That Explain The Universe, science writer Brian Clegg explains how Richard Feynman's eponymous diagrams not only illustrate complex particle interactions, but can make calculations easier, too.
How most life on Earth is dependent on fungi – including you
In this extract from In Search of Mycotopia, Doug Bierend explains how fungi are essential to all life on Earth.
The story of two mammoths, preserved forever in a fight to the death
In this extract from Locked In Time, palaeontologist Dean Lomax describes the battle that killed two mammoths 12,000 years ago.
Beyond the abyss: What to expect when diving towards the ocean’s spectacular depths
If you dropped a single marble into the sea, how long would it take to reach the bottom? And what would it cross along the way? Follow the deep sea journey in this extract from The Brilliant Abyss.
The bizarre link between bird migration and quantum physics
How do birds navigate when they migrate for thousands of kilometres?
Science for kids: How to make a recycled plant pot in 7 easy steps
Help your children to learn about nature with this fun DIY activity, extracted from the book KEW: Grow, Forage and Make.
Steve Jobs: The childhood of a great inventor
How did one curious child became the co-creator of one of the biggest tech companies in the world?
Hypothalamic amenorrhoea | When your lifestyle delays your period
In this extract from Gynae Geek, Dr Anita Mitra explains one of the most common reasons why your period is irregular or absent.
How to hunt for fossils in the UK
Many of the UK's beaches are bursting with the remains of ancient life waiting to be found. Fossil-hunting is just one adventure you can enjoy from the book Slow Adventures.
Your brain on LSD: a guide through the most mind-blowing psychedelics research
In an extract of his acclaimed book Drugs without the hot air, David Nutt explains recent scientific discoveries – and how substances like LSD have influenced creative breakthroughs.
A history of robots, from ancient Greece to 19th Century London
In this extract from We, Robots, we journey into the past, experience the present, and ponder the future of science fiction, and of artificial intelligence.
Take a look inside the new Dune graphic novel
Step onto the planet Arrakis with this extract from Dune: The Graphic Novel, Brian Herbert's adaptation of his father's bestselling sci-fi adventure tale.
The friendship paradox: You'll never be as popular on social media as your friends
The friendship paradox says that your friends probably have more friends than you do, and it's likely the same for other social situations, such as number of sexual partners and social media followers.
A graphic introduction to human history from Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens
In this extract from a new graphic novel on the history of humans, Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari, co-writer David Vandermeulen and illustrator Daniel Casanave take us back to our beginnings.
How Antarctic ice can help us travel back in time
Cartographer and scientist at the British Antarctic Survey Peter Fretwell explains how ice contains history in this extract from Antarctic Atlas.
Who really found the continent of Antarctica?
In this extract from Antarctic Atlas, cartographer Peter Fretwell reveals the four contenders for the fame of finding Antarctica.
Here’s what could happen if you fell into a black hole
In this extract from Janna Levin's Black Hole Survival Guide we take a trip across the event horizon of a black hole.
How to solve a cipher
In this extract from Codebreaking: A Practical Guide, authors Elonka Dunin and Klaus Schmeh explain how to crack a coded message.
Why are all planets round?
The QI Elves explain the part that gravity plays in making planets round, and why our Earth is carrying a little extra weight around the middle.