Reviews and Comments

A fascinating book that takes a look at life itself. From life and death, the hallmarks of life, the history of looking at how living things work, the border between living and non-living things and considering what life might be, this book is filled with interesting information and profiles of the people who have looked at the idea of what life is.

The first section looks at the beginning and end of lives, with a look at organoids and whether they could be considered to be alive. It then moves to the controversies over when does a human life begin and the battles over whether abortion should be allowed. A look at death and mourning among animals is then given, followed by a part on organisms that appear to defy death. The question of when a human is considered dead is then presented, with no clear answer given.

The next section looks at the hallmarks of life. Snakes are used to show just how much an organism can change the workings of its body when suddenly presented with a meal after a long fast. Slime moulds then show how organisms can make decisions about where to move to find food even when it does not have the equivalent of a brain. Bats then show how living consists of maintaining an inner balance of mechanisms (for both active living and hibernation) and what happens when it gets disrupted (by an infectious fungus). Maple trees then show that despite propagating millions of seeds, only a few will survive to produce the next generation. Evolution is then shown via a series of experiments on the bacteria that thrives in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, with the aim of making them less harmful to the lungs.

The next question looks at how people have historically considered something to be living. With views ranging from a god who 'breathes life' into organisms to a mechanistic view of life, a series of observations on an odd organism, the Hydra, which can regenerate itself from parts, would start a lot of discussions on life itself. Investigations and dissections of bodies would lead to an understanding of the body as a living system with many parts. Arguments over whether there was a vital force in living things would arise, leading to speculations of giving life to dead bodies (like Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein"). Ideas like 'living mud' from the bottom of the oceans would rise and fall. Vitalism itself would slowly fade as biochemistry began to show that the chemicals used by living organisms are no different from those in ordinary chemistry. Finally, genetics would be revealed when the role and chemistry of DNA would be decoded.

The last section would now go to the 'borders' of what is considered life. Viruses would be one that lies at the border, for while viruses can make use of living organisms, it does not have all the hallmarks of what is considered life. Ideas about how and where life began, in hot pools, deep sea volcanic vents, and so on would be debated. Exploration of planets like Mars on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn would push at the frontiers of the conditions where life could exist. Synthetic chemical systems would also be experimented with to determine whether they could be considered living.

A fascinating book that covers exactly what its title says: the Gory Details about the natural world. From things that can gross out and disgust us, to taboos and how they can affect the way we treat ourselves (like talking about the private parts of females), this book is full of fascinating facts about possibly disgusting things that, in the end, is not as disgusting as it seems. A compilation of the author's Gory Details column that appears in both the Science News and National Geographic websites, this book will both fascinate and disgust it readers.

The first section looks at human bodies and how they are examined by forensics experts to determine when and how they died. What happens to a body when a human dies is also covered, followed by the curious matter of whether pets would eat their owners who may have unexpectedly died. The section closes with a look at how science can discover why feet in shoes are appearing at a particular shore (and it is not due to a serial killer).

The next section looks at disgust: how and why we react with disgust, as well as the differences between cultures on disgust. With stories of eating insects to how insects like black soldier flies eat disgusting things, to how fly poop might be mistaken for blood splatter, leading to all kinds of forensic and DNA analysis issues, this section has a lot of disgust. Probably one of the more disturbing ones is whether pets might be eating their owners who have died unexpectedly.

The third section looks at taboos held by various cultures around the world and what can happen when science bumps up against such taboos like the idea of whole head transplants. Taboos against murder and cannibalism also don't apply to various animals. Another taboo area is the female body, especially the clitoris, which science has revealed to be biologically interesting once they are really closely examined. Mensuration is also another area that has yielded to research once taboos about it are overcome. A final human taboo that some animals indulged in is necrophilia, or having sex with dead bodies.

After taboos, our disgust with 'bugs' and pests are given a look, starting with the author's own disgusting experience with rats and, when some died in her house, an infestation of carrion flies. Human mites are also given an intimate look (really intimate) as well as house cockroaches and other insects that infest houses and, occasionally, our orifices. Worms and parasites that live in (and on) our bodies are also given a look. Finally, a look at people who get themselves stung and bitten for science are given a mention. (Those who cringe at reading this might be advised to quickly skip this section of the book if required.)

The next section looks at the human anatomy. Starting with how we excrete, it moves on to ear-wax (which is not as disgusting as it sounds), faecal transplants and answers some questions about what pee (and other things) might be in swimming pools. A look at what is actually in the saliva of dogs and cats is next (and it's not as clean as you might think), before closing with busting some myths about peeing (on wounds or drinking it), bloodletting and detoxing.

The last section looks the human mind. It covers strange behaviours like the feeling some people have that insects are crawling all over (or under) their skin, or the way voodoo dolls can make us feel better as we 'torture' the dolls that represent certain people in our lives. A fascinating look at 'super recognizers' is also given, followed by portrayals of psychotic people in film as compared to those in real life. The section closes with the author's personal strange behaviour; the inability to stand certain kinds of sounds, like lips smacking.

A better than average first issue under the new editor, Sheree Renée Thomas, it features interesting stories by C. L. Polk, Madeleine E. Robins, Molly Tanzer, Robin Furth and a fascinating story by Marie Brennan based on the legend of "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter".

• "Crazy Beautiful" by Cat Rambo: in a world of self-aware AIs, one AI is created to generate art. But what it does instead is to make art 'free', with world changing consequences.

• "The Music of the Siphorophenes" by C. L. Polk: a famous singer hires a space pilot to take her to see the Siphorophenes, strange melodic space organisms that inhabit the outer solar system. But then they encounter space pirates who have discovered a way to put some Siphorophenes to criminal uses, it would take her musical skills and the pilot's detection skills to save one and resolve to rescue the rest from the pirates.

• "The Bletted Woman" by Rebecca Campbell: a strange story of a dying woman who is offered an unusual chance of living in a kind of afterlife.

• "Mannikin" by Madeleine E. Robins: a mother who does not want her son to grow up only to give up his life in the army disguises him as a woman. But as time passes and the disguise grows thin, she sees a witch with the power to make everybody think he is indeed a woman (including himself). But this magical disguise would be put to a test when the town he/she is living in comes under siege, and it would require her skills to negotiate a settlement that would not involve her being seen as a man.

• "Our Peaceful Morning" by Nick Wolven: in a future where most forms of life are now aware, one man must deal with his self-aware cat, who is creating an insurrection against humans for the perceived slights it had to put up with in the past.

• "In the Garden of Ibn Ghazi" by Molly Tanzer: a writer tells of encountering the story, "In the Garden of Ibn Ghazi" in a H.P. Lovecraft story is mysteriously contacted by a person who is apparently staging a play based on the story. But things take a fantastical turn when the writer is asked to stand-in for a sick actor for a script rehearsal, and the line between reality and acting become blurred.

• "Minstrel Boy Howling at the Moon" by B. Morris Allen: a Native American stuck in a small town with nowhere to go suddenly finds that playing the harmonica is able to conjure up native spirits. Now he has to figure out what to do with his skill.

• "Speak to the Moon" by Marie Brennan: a fantastic and fascinating story that starts with Japan's first manned landing on the moon takes an unusual turn when one of the astronauts abandons the mission on the Moon to go on a personal quest related to the princess as told in the legend of "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter".

• "Jack-in-the-Box" by Robin Furth: a reporter who goes to the estate of a famous surgeon gets more than she bargains for when the grandson brings her to see his playroom. Along the way, the grandson tells her stories about the grandfather, which would turn out to have been family secrets that were never meant to be said about the grandson's real father and what happened to his uncle.

• "Character" by Harry Turtledove: a character within a story comes to 'life' when a story forms around him, leading him on an adventure in medieval Japan. But the character would prove to have some agency of action when he affects the story taking place in small but significant ways.

• "The Pizza Boy" by Meg Elison: the story of a pizza delivery boy who delivers pizza in a region of space for combatants. As he tells of his troubles getting and growing ingredients for his pizza and his run-ins with soldiers, the story gradually reveals that despite his neutral and non-combat actions, he still acts as a messenger through his deliveries.

A comprehensive book about what is a bird that should fascinate general readers who want to know more about them, yet still contains information that would interest the more scientific minded. It also includes lots of wonderful images and illustrations of birds that should keep those keen on seeing birds interested.

Chapter one gives an overall view of birds, from their evolution from dinosaurs to their variety, biology, anatomy and lifestyle.

Chapter two looks at the skin, scale and, especially, the feathers of birds. The various kinds of feathers are described along with their various functions like providing thrust, lift or insulation. Feather structures are shown and the various ways feather colours are produced (via pigments or from their structure). Also described are the different ways birds moult and maintain their feathers.

Chapter three looks at the muscles, skeleton and nervous system of birds and shows how they are similar or different from that of mammals and other groups of animals. Bird skeletons are hollow, but still strong, with a very flexible neck and interesting skull. The muscles are organized differently for flight. Their feet, too, differ based on their lifestyle. Birds' brains are organized differently from humans too, and can change depending on the season (for breeding or migrating, for example). Their sensory organs include a sensitive bill and eyes that perceive the world differently from us.

Chapter four looks as the physiology of birds, it how they live and reproduce in different environments. Getting water and staying at the proper temperature are a challenge for birds, both large and small. Their respiratory system is more efficient compared to mammals. Birds also separately evolved a four chambered heart. Birds also evolved ways to maintain their temperature under different conditions. Their digestive system is simpler than mammals, but birds have the ability to change the size of their organs in demand, for example during migrations. This also extends to their reproductive organs, which can become active under the proper environmental and other conditions.

Chapter five looks at how birds get around, primary by flying or running (non-flying birds). A look at how the shape of wings (and tails) determines how efficient birds are at takeoff, flying, manoeuvring, gliding, and so on, is shown. Looking at the metabolism of birds, shows how they are able to sustain flight for longs periods of time (by using fat for fuel and an efficient antioxidant system to repair metabolic damage). The various flying styles are also shown, including the ability of birds to sleep and fly with only one side of the brain active. The ability of running, swimming and diving birds are also covered.

Chapter six looks at how birds navigate and migrate. Birds migrate all over the world as the seasons change. Through experiments and small tracking devices, more is now being learned about how and when birds migrate, which helps with conservation of habitats along migration routes. How birds migrate and navigate is still being studied, but birds are known to use built in magnetic compass, memory and navigational clues during migrations. The bodies of birds also change during migrations. But migrations are risky, with artificial lighting, glass buildings, stormy weather and, now, climate change affecting migratory patterns.

Chapter seven looks at how birds East and footage for food. Birds eat lots of things, from meat to plants and carrion. Some are generalist feeders, while others are specialist. Diets of birds can vary with the seasons or when breeding (to make eggs and feed their chicks). The behaviour of birds us also affected by how they gather their food: from predators to carrion eaters, fishes, fruits, insects, underground or shore creatures and even blood. Birds can sense for their food using their breaks or their sense of smell. Some birds have mastered the use of tools to find food, while others hoard it.

Chapter eight looks at how birds communicate and socialize. Most birds practice monogamy for breeding, but genetics studies have shown that while birds may be socially monogamous, genetically they may not. Other birds practice various form of polygamy. There are also many ways birds attract mates, from songs and bright colouration, to dance and building architecture. Mating choice also depends on how genetics affects the performance of birds. Birds may be solitary or group together, possibly with other birds, giving rise to a social hierarchy that is still being studied. These groups may also be a way to spread information, like ways to get food, in interesting ways. Finally, birds can form mutualism with other animals for common benefit. Social living is not without problems, like the spreading of diseases.

Chapter nine looks at how birds reproduce, through eggs. The various ways birds breed are described, as well as how climate change can affect their breeding success. Males usually compete for mates in various ways like getting territories, singing, visual displays and so on. Nests are built to hold eggs and range from simple one to elaborate houses. Birds may also build individual nests or nest in huge colonies. Eggs may also differ in size, colouration and shape, although we aren't certain why they differ. When eggs hatch, chicks may either be born masked or feathered, affecting how they are taken care of. Some birds, of course, are parasites and lay eggs in the nest of other birds.

Chapter ten looks at the relationship between birds and humans. Birds have been used as symbols since ancient times, from religion to fashion, arts and technology. Birds have been domesticated for food, and kept as hunters and pets. This close relationship also creates problems, like birds diseases that spread to humans (bird flu), being hunted to extinction, or threatened via climate change and pollution, or the pet trade. But agreements and conservation may yet help to save birds.

An interesting anthology on the theme of emotional bonds between people (the 'Entanglements'). That bond would run through the stories, showing the various ways people will engage with those closest to them. I especially enjoyed those by Nancy Kress, Nick Wolven, Mary Robinette Kowal, James Patrick Kelly, Suzanne Palmer and Xia Jia (translated by Ken Liu).

• "Invisible People" by Nancy Kress: a family who adopted a girl is visited by the FBI, who reveals that the girl (and others) were secretly genetically altered before being adopted. An investigation by the family would reveal just what kind of effects the alteration would have, and they have to decide whether to let it be, or try to reverse it.

• "Echo the Echo" by Rich Larson: a man visits his grandmother, hoping to convince her to wear a cap that would record her every though. But she resists because she doesn't want to become an 'echo' of herself to her descendents. As the story progresses, it reveals that we all eventually become echoes of ourselves, and it becomes a matter of which echoes we want to become.

• "Sparklybits" by Nick Wolven: in an unusual household where several women have become co-opted mothers, a child has become obsessed with communicating with a software AI known as Sparklybits to, in the various mothers' opinions, the detriment of his future studies. But it would require the child's home bound mother to come up with a solution to the problem.

• "A Little Wisdom" by Mary Robinette Kowal: a museum curator is on her way to supervise the opening of a new exhibition. Then, mother nature intervenes and the museum becomes a temporary refuge, leading her to dispense her knowledge to distract others. And she also picks up some wisdom from the emergency.

• "Your Boyfriend Experience" by James Patrick Kelly: in a future where 'playbots' were widely used privately, a woman is asked to go on a 'date' with a new playbot created by her boyfriend. During the date, conflicts with others, who frown or enjoy playbots, along with a temporary playbot malfunction, would lead her to realize the real reason for the date, and whether she should continue not only to data the playbot, but her own boyfriend.

• "Mediation" by Cadwell Turnbull: a researcher throws all her energy into her research as a way to cope with the death of her husband, leading her to neglect her children. In the end, it would require some mediation from software, as well as a talk with her dead husband (embodied in software), to help her resolve the situation.

• "The Nation of the Sick" by Sam J. Miller: a series of unrelated events would lead a man, who has created software that can be used to model the future, to not give up on his 'dead-beat' brother. A decision which, in hindsight, might not be so unrelated after all.

• "Don't Mind Me" by Suzanne Palmer: in a future where devices can be attached to children to block out memories of 'undesirable language', one kid becomes part of a group of students who have found a way to hack the devices, so they can learn properly. Things come to a head when the group's secret is discovered and the kid has to negotiate with his parents to get a proper education.

• "The Monogamy Hormone" by Annalee Newitz: a woman who wants a serious relationship can't decide between her two lovers. One of her friends gives her a set of pills that would strengthen her bond with one of them (monogamy). But events turn out differently and leads her to make another decision about her relationships.

• "The Monk of Lingyin Temple" by Xia Jia (translated by Ken Liu): a man goes to a high-tech temple on a mission. As the story progresses, we learn about the man's tortured past, the reason why he is there, and how the temple's technology that enables people to feel another person's emotional pain would help him to deal with the past

A better than average last issue of this magazine to be edited by C.C. Finlay. It features interesting stories by Robert Reed, Jonathan L. Howard, John Kessel, Lavie Tidhar and James Morrow. "N-raptured" by Justin C. Key, however, may be too US-centric a story to be enjoyed by those who are not familiar with racism and the use of racial words in the US against African-Americans.

• "Integral Nothings" by Robert Reed: enigmatic aliens are altering the world, making it a better place. But appearances can be deceiving, when the unknown plan the aliens have for the world may not be for the good of mankind.

• "The Diamond Family Glitters" by H. Pueyo: an unusual family gathers, preparing for the death of an elderly relative. But this is a family of unusual abilities, all of which stem from the dying relative, and there are fears their abilities will vanish when she dies.

• "Interludes with the Gunwright" by Jonathan L. Howard: a light fantasy involving a veteran soldier who goes in search of a person who makes good weapons. The soldier would have reasons to see the weapon maker many times over the years as her fortunes rise and fall, and their relationship blossoms.

• "The Dark Ride" by John Kessel: an interesting and unusual spin on the assassination of US President William McKinley in 1901 which would involve the assassin taking a carnival ride to the moon, which turns out to more real than expected. This would lead the assassin to live two lives that merge at the end, leaving the reader to decide which one was the real life he had.

• "A Little Knife Music" by Jenn Reese: in a society where skills are determined by the ability to listen to 'their inner music', a girl learns to be an assassin at a school after her first kill. But an assignment to kill a fellow student at the school, who turns out to be royalty, would cause her to consider just what her abilities should be used for.

• "N-raptured" by Justin C. Key: a story about a future where a kind of 'rapture' has occurred in the USA, causing people who say a racist word to get marks on their heads. If they get three marks, they turn into rats. The story is about a man who already has one mark, working for an analyst who works with the 'marked' to make them more acceptable to society. Unfortunately, the story is rather US-centric and readers from an international audience (like me) who don't have good knowledge of the racial tensions in the USA or the use of racist words may not get much out of the story.

• "Hard!" by Van Aaron Hughes: a humorous tale about the sport of curling and the consequences of discovering that aliens also consider it a sport worth playing.

• "Litter Witch" by Susan Palwick: the story of a girl who is constantly mocked by her peers. For comfort, she collects litter from the wood during her walks and considers herself a witch. One day, she runs off with her collection of litter and, ending up by a lake, finds the collection of litter forming itself into a house for her. There's she lives for any years: until a nearby incident causes her to become the temporary guardian of a girl. That would lead her to the next stage of her transformation into a witch.

• "Wild Geese" by Lavie Tidhar: a tale set in Mongolia that, at first, appears to be a tale about chasing birds. Until events, and future technology gradually introduced into the tale, up-end expectations, and it turns into an expedition on the hunt for a not-yet inhabited city. The transition from one expectation of the story to another is gradual and surprising.

• "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 51: The Great Fish" by James Morrow: playing on the tale of Jonah and the Whale, this one has its protagonist being swallowed by a literal giant fish. Inside, they discover other inhabitants from other times as they work to find a way to get them all home.

• "The Piper" by Karen Joy Fowler: a fairy tale-like story told from the point of view of a peasant. The King of a country calls his countrymen to go to war on his behalf to protect their way of life. But on the march, questions being to asked about the true purpose of the war and whose way of life is being protected.

An introductory book that gives a look at topology: what it is, what is can be used for, and some work being done in topology. The first chapter goes in gently by looking at Euler's formula for polygons and showing how it applies to polygons in general. Later chapters rapidly become very mathematical and probably requires some level of mathematical education to appreciate properly, even if you have to skim through some mathematical relationships to get at the heart of topology.

Chapter One gives an introduction to the study of topology, which is concerned with the relationship of shapes, connections and relative positions of objects. It then introduces Euler's formula, which relates the number of vertices (V), edges (E) and faces (F) of objects into a mathematical formula and shows that for standard, three-dimensional shapes, V - E + F = 2 always holds. The chapter then goes on to give a readable proof for why this equation is true of such shapes. Then, using the formula, it demonstrates why there can are only five Platonic solids in three dimensions.

Chapter Two looks at surfaces in general. Starting from a square plane, its edges are then deformed and glued together in certain procedures to give rise to shapes like a torus. It also shows how the value found by applying Euler's formula changes for different kind of surfaces. However, Euler's formula is not sufficient, as the introduction of one-sided surfaces (the Möbius strip and Klein bottle) show. This leads to the Classification Theorem, which is used to classify two-sided and one-sided surfaces. Complex numbers are then briefly introduced, leading to Riemann Surfaces, used to represent surfaces in higher dimensions.

Chapter Three looks at Continuous Functions and the issues with coming up with a definition for them that is mathematically rigorous. This chapter is probably 'heavy going' for non-mathematicians, but gives an idea of why some 'common sense' definitions may not be rigorous enough for the needs of mathematicians.

Chapter Four continues the mathematical theme by looking at defining metrics and distances between functions, leading on to sets and subsets and connectivity. All of which would come to bear on more advanced topics on topology.

Chapter Five builds on the previous two chapters by covering different kinds of topology. From geometric topology introduced in Chapter One, other kinds of topology are introduced here: differential topology (dealing with curves), the 'hairy ball theorem' which deals with vectors on topological surfaces, and so on.

Chapter Six looks at the topic of knots (and unknots), showing how topology deals with how to define whether a loop is a knot and what kind of knot it is.