Showing results by publisher "The Great Courses" in Science

Published 150 years ago, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species - the text that introduced the world to natural selection - is among a handful of books that have changed the world. But the route to that status has been surprisingly circuitous and uncertain. Now, in 24 absorbing lectures by an award-winning teacher, you'll learn the remarkable story of Darwin's ideas, how scientists and religious leaders reacted to them, and the sea change in human thought that resulted.

Locked inside the DNA of every species that ever lived are endless stories - about origins, ancestors, fate, and much more. Until recently, these secrets were completely inaccessible. But with the help of new technologies, scientists are now reading the hidden history of DNA, making remarkable discoveries about ourselves and our fellow species. Your gateway to this treasure trove of information is Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA, 12 informative and accessible lectures delivered by New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean.

We're all getting older every day, and scientific research has shown that starting in our 20s, some brain functions begin a linear decline. But is old age all doom and gloom? Not at all! While it's true that some functions in the aging brain decline, neuroscientists have discovered that many other brain functions remain stable - or even improve - as we age.

Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy takes you around the world and across time in search of the unsung heroes who, in many ways, are just as important to the story of astronomy as Hubble, Einstein, and Sagan. Whether they stood on the shoulders of giants or themselves offered shoulders for giants to stand on, the heroes of astronomy you’ll meet in these 24 lessons are a collective of the brightest and most daring minds in science.

Since the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's remarkable On the Origin of Species, the modern science of biology and genetics has added surprising new dimensions to evolutionary theory. In this course, you’ll discover what Darwin didn’t know, covering much of the curriculum of an introductory college course in evolutionary biology. No background in science is needed to follow these engaging lectures, delivered by Professor Scott Solomon of Rice University, a gifted teacher and widely traveled field biologist.

These 12 half-hour lectures are about what Einstein got wrong. He may have kindled a scientific revolution with his famous theory of relativity and his proof that atoms and light quanta exist, but he balked at accepting the most startling implications of these theories - such as the existence of black holes, the big bang, gravity waves, and mind-bendingly strange phenomena in the quantum realm. This course by research physicist Dan Hooper of the University of Chicago assumes no background in science and uses very little math.

Today, with relatively easy access to our DNA ancestry, we have more data about ourselves and family history than previous generations could have imagined. In the 12 fascinating lessons of Identity in the Age of Ancestral DNA, Anita Foeman, PhD, professor of communication and media, and founder and primary investigator of the DNA Discussion Project at West Chester University, takes us behind the scenes to examine what really happens when individuals receive their personal DNA ancestry results.

The year is 8000 B.C. A man wanders across a field of prairie grasses in search of edible berries and roots and wild game to feed his family. As he walks, the tips of the grasses brush against him, releasing seeds. He collects a few of these seeds and brings them back to his camp. Later, he notices that when they fall on earth, they begin to sprout, and a new plant grows. In small moments like these, the path of Homo sapiens is changed forever.

We’re living in a golden age of scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements. Now, you have the chance to dig into some of the most fascinating and important scientific advancements in recent years. Unexpected, consequential, and often counterintuitive, 12 Revolutionary Discoveries That Could Change Everything offers an inspiring introduction to science in the 21st century. Taught by Scientific American editor in chief Laura Helmuth, these eye-opening lectures will satiate even the most inquisitive mind.

“Who are you?” Chances are you’d answer this question by describing the highlights of your personality and life experiences. But if you’d been asked this same question yesterday, you might have responded with a slightly different description. Does that mean you are a particular person today but were a different person yesterday? And what about tomorrow? Welcome to the slippery, shape-shifting nature of memory. As Professor Gabrielle Principe reveals, “you” are the conglomeration of the often-unreliable information your brain decides to feed you at any given moment.

This 24-lecture series is your guide to the latest information and viewpoints on what scientists know about this fascinating subject. Taught by an award-winning teacher whose training as a clinical psychologist straddles both the science of the mind and its impact on individual lives, their comprehensive approach reveals how that science applies to the life of our species - and to your own life as well. The lectures explore theories about how the mind works on both an evolutionary and individual scale.

In 24 thought-provoking lectures designed for nonscientists, this course explores today's exciting field of genomics, the study of the vast storehouse of information contained within chromosomes. Your professor is Princeton University biologist Lee M. Silver, an acclaimed teacher, scientist, and author of popular books on biotechnology, genetics, and their impact on society.

Science and technology are, without a doubt, two forces that will change the way you live your life in the coming months, years, and decades. And in recent decades, these forces have evolved and developed at a lightning-fast pace. Explore the many possibilities of what your future may look like with these 24 lectures: a scientifically accurate and enlightening survey of today's most advanced research in fields such as engineering, biology, chemistry, and theoretical physics.

Spaceflight is notoriously dangerous. Beyond launch mishaps and equipment failures, astronauts face serious health problems from long-term weightlessness and high-energy radiation. Not to mention, the space environment is a near-perfect vacuum that can quickly kill anyone who is unprotected. Drawing on the hard-won insights of NASA astronauts and space researchers, this 12-lecture course presents the perils of spaceflight and what experts have done to make them survivable. It also deals with livability in space, including nutrition, sleep, environmental control, and personal hygiene.