December 2023 MBR The Science Shelf

The Science Shelf

Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s
Medicine National Academies of Sciences, Engineering
The National Academies Press
www.nap.edu
9780309467346, $95.00, PB, 628pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pathways-Discovery-Astronomy-Astrophysics-2020s/dp/0309467349

Synopsis: We are in a time of extraordinary discovery and progress in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. The next decade is expected to continue to transform our understanding of the universe and humanity's place in it.

Every decade the U.S. agencies that provide primary federal funding for astronomy and astrophysics request a survey to assess the status of, and opportunities for the Nation's efforts to forward our understanding of the cosmos. "Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s" identifies the most compelling science goals and presents an ambitious program of ground-based and space-based activities for future investment in the next decade and beyond.

This decadal survey identifies three important science themes for the next decade aimed at investigating Earth-like extrasolar planets, the most energetic processes in the universe, and the evolution of galaxies. The Astro2020 report also recommends critical near-term actions to support the foundations of the profession as well as the technologies and tools needed to carry out the science.

Critique: An absolutely essential and core addition to personal, professional, governmental, college and university library Contemporary Astrophysics/Astronomy collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, "Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s" is a National Academies Consensus Study Report, and as such is comprehensively informative, and impressively well organized in presentation.

Origins, Worlds, and Life
The National Academies Press
www.nap.edu
9780309475785, $90.00, PB, 736pp

https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Worlds-Life-Planetary-Astrobiology/dp/0309475783

Synopsis: The next decade of planetary science and astrobiology holds tremendous promise. New research will expand our understanding of our solar system's origins, how planets form and evolve, under what conditions life can survive, and where to find potentially habitable environments in our solar system and beyond.

"Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032" from The National Academies Press highlights key science questions, identifies priority missions, and presents a comprehensive research strategy that includes both planetary defense and human exploration. This report also recommends ways to support the profession as well as the technologies and infrastructure needed to carry out the science.

Critique: A massive, large format (8.48 x 1.51 x 11.04 inches, 4.41 pounds) paperback, "Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032" will prove of special and particular value to readers with an interest in astronomy, astrophysics, and space science. As a well organized and presented compendium of current and up-to-date science with respect to the study of space, astronomy, and astrophysics, "Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, governmental, and college/university library collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: The National Academies Press (NAP) publishes the publications of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. NAP publishes more than 200 publications per year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative, independently researched information on important matters in science and health policy.

The Incredible Bones of the Narrenturm
Robert W. Mann, author
Eduard Winter, author
Charles C. Thomas, Publisher
https://www.ccthomas.com
9780398094102, $59.95, HC, 508pp

https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Bones-Narrenturm-Photographic-Pathological/dp/0398094101

Synopsis: "The Incredible Bones of the Narrenturm: A Photographic Comparative Atlas of the Pathological and Anatomical Collection of the Fool's Tower" is based on the perspective of two experienced scientists, Robert W. Mann and Eduard Winter. Their shared goal is to better understand the human skeleton and to compile an accurate photographic and historical document of a small portion of the vast osteological collection at the Narrenturm Museum.

This comparative and illustrated atlas records and shares some of the most incredible skeletal malformations and the wide range of variability and severity that can afflict the human skeleton, before and after the advent of antibiotics. It captures examples of disease, malformations, and trauma with little or no surgical or medical intervention and reveals their natural progression, often, without treatment.

This atlas will also assist practitioners in making more accurate interpretations and in making better differential diagnosis of human skeletal remains, whether ancient, modern, or contemporary. As well as serving as an invaluable resource for scientists, oftentimes paleopathologists, in the process of excavating, analyzing, interpreting, and accurately reconstructing skeletal remains in historical contexts.

"Incredible Bones" presents large, full color photographs augmented with diagnoses based on historical records and sometimes patient histories. Each description and interpretation (diagnosis as it were) in this book are based on medical diagnosis prior to or at the time they were received at the Narrenturm. Each photograph in Incredible Bones is intended to "show" the reader a level of detail and clarity usually only gleaned through physical examination.

The co-authors use high quality and sometimes larger than life photographs so that readers can interpret what they are seeing and perhaps even identify subtle details not provided by the authors. Incredible Bones, therefore, serves as a comparative and exploratory photographic atlas of skeletal conditions not usually seen in daily practice or even in most skeletal assemblages, collections, or museums.

"The Incredible Bones of the Narrenturm" provides medical students and forensic practitioners with a behind-the-scenes perspective of some of the most extreme and thought-provoking examples in the Narrenturm pathological-anatomical collection.

The format of Incredible Bones utilizes a regional approach to the human skeleton with each chapter beginning with the cranium and ending with the feet, a "head to toe" approach. Using a regional approach to the skeleton based on broad categories of conditions that include, for example, tumors and neoplasia, enables the reader to search for a skeletal condition without first having to know the name of the disease, anomaly, or other condition they are seeking to identify.

Critique: This large format (11 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches, 4.07 pounds) hardcover edition of "The Incredible Bones of the Narrenturm: A Photographic Comparative Atlas of the Pathological and Anatomical Collection of the Fool's Tower" is a seminal, exceptionally informative, impressively organized, and throughly 'reader friendly' in presentation. Ideal as a textbook and a professional reference, "The Incredible Bones of the Narrenturm" is especially and unreservedly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, medical school, and college/university library Medical & Anatomy collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

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