Science in the Contemporary World is a scholarly yet accessible chronicle of scientific achievement from the discovery of penicillin to the latest developments in space exploration and cloning. Over 200 A-Z entries cover the full spectrum of contemporary science, with emphasis on its diverse nature. Within the last 50 years, medicine has eradicated the killer disease smallpox, but only because the virus can live only in humans. Space probes have revealed that on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, there probably exists an ice-capped ocean with the potential to support life. Marvels from animal psychology and deep-sea exploration are also explored extensively.