Blue Genes and Polyester Plants: 365 More Suprising Scientific Facts, Breakthroughs, and Discoveries

by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne

What is the world's largest single-celled organism?

What type of grass can support more weight per square inch thanconcrete?

What male mammal makes breast milk?

Why are dancing cockroaches so fascinating to mathematicians?

Get ready to find out fascinating facts about everything from blueroses and deep earthquakes to singing sand dunes and tickinghourglasses. Blue Genes and Polyester Plants takes you on a livelytour of the universe's astonishing oddities and extremes. Based oncutting-edge scientific research, here are hundreds of juicytidbits culled from every corner of science--including biology,medicine, engineering, technology, zoology, chemistry, andastronomy. This exciting overview of modern science is sure toinform, entertain, and astound.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Sharon Bertsch McGrayne is the author of highly-praised books about scientific discoveries and the scientists who make them. She is interested in exploring the cutting-edge connection between social issues and scientific progress – and in making the science clear and interesting to non-specialists.

Reviews

[Cathleen Ash]

Did you know Velcro was fashioned after a plant (the Cocklebur) and that it takes a 2-inch square piece of it to hold a 175-pound person on the wall? Did you know our planet is seamed like a baseball bat with a 37,000 mile volcanic trench under the ocean? Did you know there are over 13,000 kinds of knots? Find out this and more as you read, magazine style (short, sweet, to the point!) about the latest and greatest! It includes topics like: math, animals, astronomy, our planet. The layout is friendly, each section short, and the bizarre bits of knowledge fascinating! A very accessible book.