Books in Scientists in the Field Series series

The universe is rapidly expanding. Of that much scientists are certain. But how fast? And with what implications regarding the fate of the universe?Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop follow Dr. Alex Fillippenko and his High-Z Supernova Search Team to Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, where they will study space phenomena and look for supernovae, dying stars that explode with the power of billions of hydrogen bombs. Dr. Fillippenko looks for black holes--areas in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from them--with his robotic telescope. And they study the effects of dark energy, the mysterious force that scientists believe is pushing the universe apart, causing its constant and accelerating expansion.

Manatees are docile, large sea mammals who are eaten in some parts of the world, feared in others, and adored in still others. But human encroachment, disease, environmental hazards, and being hunted, among many other issues, are causing their numbers to decline. In Manatee Scientists, readers meet three scientists working very hard in three different parts of the world to save the manatee. Get an eye-opening, close-up view of their far-flung expeditions to Brazil, Senegal, and Florida in this beautifully photographed addition to the paperback collection of Scientist in the Field books.

Imagine making your living by hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants and insects. Imagine having to worry about being attacked by a jaguar or some other wild animal. This is how our ancestors lived for hundreds of thousands of years, but only a few peoples carry on this ancient lifestyle today. One of the few are the Ache, hunter-gatherers living in Paraguay, a country in South America.Magdalena Hurtado is an anthropologist who has been studying the Ache for fifteen years. She has spent years living with the Ache people: learning their language, observing their history. The photographs and text offer invaluable insight into the work of an anthropologist.

It's late April in Barrow, Alaska, which is about as far north in Alaska as you can get. The call comes in over the two-way radio - a crew has caught the first whale of the spring whaling season. Men, women, and teenagers jump on snow machines and drive out onto the ice to help harvest the whale, a tradition the Inupiaq Eskimos on Alaska's North Slope have followed for over two thousand years. John Craighead George, or Craig as he's called, heads out too. He is an Arctic whale scientist, and out on the ice with the whales and the whalers is just one of the places where an Arctic whale scientist works. He and his colleagues have an agreement with the Inupiat to study these whales, bowheads. He has studied them for nearly thirty years and the mysteries of these large creatures never fail to amaze him.This installment in the Scientists in the Field series takes readers along with Craig, his wife, their colleages, and the Inupiat people as they go out on the ice and harvest whales. Lourie also details the happenings in Craig's ramshackle lab where he studies various organs and body parts, takes careful measurements, and crunches numbers. This is a real profile of what it is like to be a scientist living where he works, harvesting his own subjects, and using information passed down from generations of Eskimo culture to help him as he becomes the world's leading expert on bowhead whales. Craig George is the son of legendary children's author Jean Craighead George, and it is easy to see that Craig grew up in a household where nature and human interaction went hand in hand. Author Pete Lourie's stunning photographs will transport readers to the top of the world, where the days and nights are long, the people respectful, and the whales are at the center of it all.

In Stronger Than Steel, readers enter Randy Lewis' lab where they come face to face with golden orb weaver spiders, and transgenic alfalfa, silkworm silk, and goats, whose milk contains the proteins to spin spider silk--and to weave a nearly indestructible fiber. Learn how this amazing material might someday be used to repair or replace human ligaments and bones, improve body armor, strengthen parachute rope, and even tether an airplane to an aircraft carrier! Readers explore rapid advancements in the application of genetic medicine and their potential to save and improve lives while considering the crucial ethical concerns of genetic research. A timely addition to the acclaimed Scientists in the Field series.

Seahorses, some of the ocean’s most charming fish, are in trouble. In the past twenty years their populations has declined. They are threatened by overfishing, pollution and climate change. In Handumon in the Philippines, villagers and conservationists have joined to protect the seahorse and the coral reefs where they live. Amanda Vincent and Heather Koldewey, founders of Project Seahorse, work with Filipino colleagues and local fishers like “Digoy” Paden to protect seahorses and the livelihood of local fishing families. Through their efforts the Handumon Marine Protected Area is now a model “underwater park” where marine life is safe from fishing.

“Rich with fascinating information and photographs.”—Horn Book Dr. Merlin Tuttle is fascinated by bats, with good reason. Bats fly the night skies the world over, but are the least studied of all mammals. As the major predator of night-flying insects, bats eat many pests. But bats are facing many problems, including a scary new disease. White-nose syndrome is killing millions of bats in North America. Dr. Tuttle and his fellow bat scientists are on the front line of the fight to save their beloved bats. Find more about this series at www.sciencemeetsadventure.com.

Journey to the wave-battered coast of the Pacific Northwest to meet some of the engineers and scientists working to harness the punishing force of our oceans, one of the nature’s powerful and renewable energy sources. With an array of amazing devices that cling to the bottom of the sea floor and surf on the crests of waves, these explorers are using a combination of science, imagination, and innovation to try to capture wave energy in the hopes of someday powering our lives in a cleaner, more sustainable way.

Can whales communicate across miles of vast ocean? Can elephants talk to one another with sounds we cannot hear? These are the kinds of questions that drive the work of acoustic biologists. Follow three creative scientists—Christopher W., Clark, Katy Payne, and Bill Evans—as they research why and how animals communicate. Through remarkable photographs and stories about all sorts of animals, this book celebrates the challenges of lab work and fieldwork and the thrill of discovery.

People call it “The Ghost of the Mountain,” for those who live among snow leopards almost never see one. Beautiful spotted coats conceal these elusive cats in their rocky, high-altitude habitat—a place where temperatures are often cold enough to freeze human tears. A thick, long tail for balance helps snow leopards spring at their prey from great distances—prey that is often three times its own size. Slinking along the Mongolian mountain ridges, the snow leopards are invisible—and almost impossible to study. But that doesn’t deter scientist Tom McCarthy, Conservation Director of the Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, or his many colleagues from dedicating their lives’ work to the study and protection of this seldom-seen creature. And it doesn’t stop Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop from packing their bags in order to join Tom on a trek to Mongolia, where they hope to learn more about this magical cat, a cat who doesn’t give up its secrets easily. It will take endurance and persistence to climb the dusty mountain trails, hope of a snow leopard sighting rising and falling with each new summit. It will take practice and experience to lay humane leghold snares, collect scat samples, and set up motion-triggered cameras. It will take patience, focus—and yes, love—to dedicate a lifetime learning more about this little-understood creature. But that’s the only way the Snow Leopard Trust can protect their charges, before the snow leopard truly becomes nothing but a ghost of the mountain. With a dazzling, as-it-happens narrative and spectacular photographs, Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop bring Mongolia up close for readers everywhere.

Without honey bees the world would be a different place. There would be no honey, no beeswax for candles, and, worst of all, barely a fruit, nut, or vegetable to eat. So imagine beekeeper Dave Hackenburg’s horror when he discovered twenty million of his charges had vanished. Those missing bees became the first casualties of a mysterious scourge that continues to plague honey bee populations today. In The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns profiles bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. In this dramatic and enlightening story, readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen to us if they were gone.

Ride alongside the author Pamela S. Turner and her scientific team and meet a cast of dolphin characters large enough (and charismatic enough) to rival a Shakespearean play—Puck, Piccolo, Flute, and Dodger among them. You will fall in love with this crew, both human and finned, as they seek to answer the question: just why are dolphins so smart? And what does their behavior tell us about human intelligence, captive animals, and the future of the ocean? Beautiful photos of dolphins in their natural habitat and a funny, friendly, and fast-paced text make this another winner in the Scientists in the Field series. Pair this with other intriguing stories of real-world science, at .