Category: science

Beetle Planet

Posted in beetles, book of beetles, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, insects, science2 Comments
One of the 10 year old boys in my neighborhood came over for an art lesson recently.  He was a little glum.  At first he said he was fine but then he said he’d had a fight with his older brother and lost.  He really just wanted to play on his game device.  I asked if he’d like to see the new book I got first, The Book of Beetles.  Then he could play on his game device if he wanted.
Much to my delight, we spent the next hour looking at beetles and marveling at their strange shapes and beautiful colors.   
I remember seeing such collections at the natural history museum when I was a child
Did you know that one out of every five creatures on earth is a beetle?  There are over 400,000 known species and it’s estimated that there millions more to be identified.  The Book of Beetles, edited by Patrice Bouchard, published by the University of Chicago Press, presents 600 beetles in all their glory.  The beetle family, Coleoptera, includes all sorts of bugs, from the firefly to the aptly named Goliath beetle. 
Each entry features a distribution map, basic biology and information on the cultural significance of each beetle.  Crisp, beautiful photographs show the actual size of the beetles and enlargements show the exquisite details.
This book isn’t written for children, it’s for anyone who is interested in beetles, science, and the natural world.   It’s a beautiful book, with care taken with the binding.  
The title page
Front of the book, under the jacket
Back of the book

I know not every child is going to choose browsing through such a book to a video game, but for some, at a certain age, a book like this can open eyes to the wonders and dramas of the natural world. It’s a good book to have around the house for just such a day.  And for me, it’s a reminder of the strange beauty that exists on this planet.  We are finding out more and more that all species are interconnected.  Developing a respect and understanding of insects is important in understanding the complex web of life.   

On the University of Chicago Press website, they say:
When renowned British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane was asked what could be inferred about God from a study of his works, Haldane replied, “An inordinate fondness for beetles.”

You may find yourself with this same inordinate fondness, too, after reading this amazing book.  My young friend and I are both now hoping to one day see the Western banded glow worm and we’re keeping our eyes open for any interesting beetle that may scurry through our lives. 
Patrice Bouchard is research scientist and curator of Coleoptera at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes. He is the coauthor of Family-Group Names in Coleoptera and the award-winning Tenebrionid Beetles of Australia. Bouchard serves on the editorial boards of The Canadian Entomologist, ZooKeys, and Zoological Bibliography.
The University of Chicago Press is printing a wide variety of great books.  You can read more about them here.

Thanks for reading my blog.  Keep your eyes open. There’s wonder all around.
Beautiful endpapers, too.

The Illuminated Brain

Posted in book review, Books, brain, brain health, graphic novel, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, humor, Neurocomic, neurology, scienceLeave a comment


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I haven’t always had a good relationship with my brain.  I developed neurological problems when I was 16, including epilepsy and muscle deterioration.  At the time, back in 1976, they didn’t have things like MRIs and my condition remained a mystery most of my life.   
My second neurologist gave me the diagnosis of “abnormal,” which I will always be proud of.  My condition is still a mystery but I now know I have a lesion in my spine, and I have a diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis.  I no longer have seizures, but I have some cognitive blips, and wrestle with fatigue, depression, and occasional mania.  For awhile, I was pretty sure my brain was trying to kill me. 
Luckily I found the books of Dr. Oliver Sacks.  His work made me feel like I would eventually understand my brain.  More importantly, he has such a profound respect for “abnormalities” and all the ways the brain overcomes damage, regenerates itself, and creates new modes of perception, that I began to think my brain and I could be friends. 
I’ve recently fallen in love with the book Neurocomic by Dr. Hana Ros and Matteo Farinella, beautifully published by Nobrow this year.  It combines all the best elements of science, art, humor, story and information.  It illuminates the brain in new and wonderful ways.
The book opens with a man who starts to flirt with a woman then finds himself sucked into her brain.  His quest is to get back out so he can continue to pursue her.  He has no idea where he is and wanders through a neuron forest until he runs into Santiago Roman y Cajal, a “Spanish neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate (1852-1934)…considered as the father of neuroscience, although he always had a great passion for drawing.” 
Thus begins our hero’s journey through neuron forests, memory caves, and castles of deception.  Along the way, he runs into pioneers of neuroscience who seem to delight in sending him into even more mysterious places.  It amused me to think of neuroscientists spending eternity studying inside a living brain.  Is that heaven for them?  The scientists are only the beginning of the zaniness.  There’s a giant squid seeking revenge for experiments on its giant axons.  There’s an aplysia snail playing banjo.  We run into Pavlov and his dog.
It’s an altogether engrossing and entertaining way to learn about the brain.  We often see science as stuffy and serious, but this book injects so much playfulness and humor into neuroscience, that it’s an irresistible way to learn.  The drawings are lively and expressive.  I love the playful way brain functions are characterized.   
Dr. Hana Ros is neuroscientist with a PhD from Oxford University.  Matteo Farinella is an illustrator specializing in graphic journalism and scientific illustration.  Farinella received a PhD in neuroscience from the University College in London.
The story format helps illuminate both what is known and how much is still not known.  It’s a mysterious world, the world of the brain, and Neurocomic celebrates that mystery as much as the science.  Ros states in a video about the book that it’s difficult to explain what’s going on in the brain without the use of metaphors.  That our brains can make metaphors is miraculous to me, and that we can understand so much more about everything in terms of story and metaphor is, I think, the most comforting thing about this book.
The other comforting thing is the book itself.  Nobrow has done a stellar job in publishing it.  It’s a delight to hold and behold.  I worry that the era of beautiful books has come to an end with ebooks, but publishers like Nobrow are putting those fears to rest.  
Nobrow started 2008 in the UK, with the aim to provide an independent platform for graphic art, illustration and art.  It’s become a leading proponent of quality in book design and a standard bearer for original creative content in print publishing.
Neurocomic’s cover and spine are embossed with gold and silver ink.  

It has beautiful endpapers.
One of the problems with graphic novels is picture size.  Often the panels are so small, you lose impact.  Neurocomic has big panels and whole pages devoted to one frame.
It’s a charming way of learning a complex subject, and invites re-reading.  I think I’ll take it with me to read the next time I go to the neurologist.  
To learn more about Neurocomic, click here.  There’s a great video of the authors done by The Guardian here.
To see more amazing books by Nobrow, click here.    
If you missed my last post on the poetic astrophysics book, The Edge of the Sky by Dr. Roberto Trotta, you can read it here.
Remember, books make the best gifts.  If you liked this post, please feel free to share it.