Genetic World

Since the birth of civilization, human beings have manipulated other life-forms. We have selectively bred plants and animals for thousands of years to maximize agricultural production and cater to our tastes in pets. The observation of the creation of artificial animal and plant variants was a key stimulant for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The ability to directly engineer the genomes of organisms first became possible in the 1970s, when the gene for human insulin was introduced into bacteria.

In a utopian future hundreds of years from now, where function reigns supreme over artistic flair, these adolescents are the stars of the show. They just don’t know it. Dane, a cautious yet curious soul, finds himself abruptly transferred to The Hall, an environment immersed in the art of music. A mysterious note sparks a flame that will alter the course of his existence. Roc, an unstoppable force of energy and competitiveness, finds himself thrust into The Arena, a sports haven perfectly suited to his dynamic nature. In this fast-paced arena, he must navigate the fine line between ...

Set in the very near future, the plot evolves quickly, moving from a scientist who finds himself killing his coconspirator to a prison corporation CEO who devises the deaths of 13 inmates in order to cover up his larger crimes to a famous criminologist/mystery writer who becomes entangled with a beautiful, violet-eyed geneticist and tries to uncover why she is being targeted.

Thomas’ tour of duty on planet McCormick really messed him up. Being subjected to that system’s solar radiation for more than a standard year had left him physically and mentally addicted to the effects it had on him. Worse yet, it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep his past lives separate from the present. Having finally found love again after several centuries alone, he is terrified he will lose Rachel since she fell for the man he is, not the ones he used to be. The only recourse he can think of is to, with professional help, go back in time to where it all began. To ...

In this groundbreaking exploration of humanity's future, "The 5 New Wars" takes readers on a thrilling journey through the next 250 years of human evolution. From ideological battles to the integration of technology into our very beings, this book charts the course of five monumental conflicts that will reshape the essence of human existence.Beginning with a war of ideologies that blends religious extremism with advanced technology, the narrative unfolds to reveal the struggles of early adopters of transhuman enhancements and the societal rifts they create. As artificial intelligence gains ...

Book 3 in the Ripper's World series. Regi's luxury voyage by airship with legendary fighter Ripper Lee fails to go as planned when Corpie rivalries intervene. Dropped unexpectedly into the darkest depths of the Wastes, Ripper and Regi are pursued by Tics until they find temporary sanctuary. Inevitability, while locked in a fight for their lives, the fugitives find that the Rebs have quite different plans for Ripper's future.

Book 2 in the Ripper's World series. Veteran fighter Ripper Lee survived the viral Blight which killed billions around the globe but within weeks of regaining his old fight status, he is on the run again. Lorrayne Trent's world-dominating regime brands him a terrorist after assisting a group of anti-establishment rebels. Now he is in a new fight, one in which he has to prove his innocence. Only two people can help him: the lover who swore never to see him again and his spineless agent.

In Unfit for Purpose, biologist and broadcaster Adam Hart explores the mismatch between our fundamental biology and the modern world we have created. In each chapter Adam reveals the many ways in which biological adaptations that evolved to help us survive and thrive now work against us. For example, in the modern world stress is a killer, but how did 'fight or flight' instincts turn from life-savers to life-takers? Obesity might be a disease now, but is it really just a troublesome side-effect of our complex evolutionary past?

The Big Ratchet is the story of the ratchets: the technologies and innovations, big and small, that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. The Big Ratchet is the story of how it happened.

An apocalypse ruined all of Dessa's plans. She's reunited with her brother and plans to hide with him and her friends, while waiting out the zombie apocalypse in safety. But an unexpected crisis throws Dessa's group into a race against time. They need some zombie-blocker meds, and they need them fast. Unfortunately, Dessa and her friends will soon learn that the outside world has more than just zombies standing in their way.

Ashton Chayton was born with a powerful gift, a unique inhuman telepathic ability. Orphaned and raised by the hyper-intelligent Red Wolves of Opan, he is pursued by merciless and powerful enemies.

A frozen planet. An impossible quest. A sister who won’t quit. "Spine-tingling, breath-holding action!" “I am sure there are finger indentations in my Kindle.” Though she doesn’t know her real name, Thirteen is sure of two things: survival and finding her sister. Nothing stands in her way—not the great Pacifica Ice Sheet nor the slavers she escaped—until her deadly hunt takes a maddening turn. The first and only clue in her search is held by the survivor of a wrecked ice ship. But he’s not sharing. He has a daughter to rescue, and he needs Thirteen’s help. In the unforgiving...

As starving, travel-weary people overrun High Meadow, Tillie and Angus must do a delicate dance to keep the doors open. Angus has set the boundaries for their new territory, and Martin is tasked with keeping it safe. Tillie struggles to get everyone fed while keeping an eye on the stores for winter. Wisp helps where he can, vetting the newcomers and finding stragglers, but not every person comes under his scrutiny.

In The Synthetic Age, Christopher Preston argues that what is most startling about this coming epoch is not only how much impact humans have had but, more important, how much deliberate shaping they will start to do. Emerging technologies promise to give us the power to take over some of Nature's most basic operations. It is not just that we are exiting the Holocene and entering the Anthropocene; it is that we are leaving behind the time in which planetary change is just the unintended consequence of unbridled industrialism.

Kalin Taylor is on the path to success. He's just won a scholarship to the prestigious Sanderson College of Arts and Science to study medicine. He's also about to do something very, very stupid in the name of becoming one of the 'in' kids at college. It sounded simple at the time. Sneak into a branch of the top-secret, interstellar scientific company GenTech, take a photo of the genetically engineered creature Project Tau that's supposedly inside, and sneak back out again. Cue membership of the college frat house, cue popularity and an improved lifestyle, right?

This new book by Spencer Wells, the internationally known geneticist, anthropologist, author, and director of the Genographic Project, focuses on the seminal event in human history: mankind's decision to become farmers rather than hunter-gatherers.

Evolutions brings to life the latest scientific thinking on the birth of the universe and the solar system, the journey from a single cell all the way to our human minds. Reawakening our sense of wonder and terror at the world around us and within us, Oren Harman uses modern science to create new and original mythologies.

Despite unimaginable odds, Marine Lieutenant Gant Maker has once again done the impossible, defeating the alien Vacra’s invasion force and nullifying their unstoppable doomsday device. With their armada destroyed and their fleet crippled, the Vacra resort to the inconceivable: They sue for peace via an unexpected envoy. Fresh off his highly improbable victory, Maker now finds himself faced with the unenviable and undesirable task of escorting the Vacra representative home. However, he soon learns that the stakes are far higher than he ever imagined.

Offering a bold new understanding of who we are, where we came from, and where we are going, noted ecologist Mark Bertness argues that human beings and their civilization are the products of the same self-organization, evolutionary adaptation, and natural selection processes that have created all other life on Earth. Bertness follows the evolutionary process from the primordial soup of two billion years ago through today, exploring the ways opposing forces of competition and cooperation have led to current assemblages of people, animals, and plants.

After more than a thousand years in flight, Starship is crashing towards a new home. At its helm, a corrupted machine with unknown goals and deadly tactics. Scrappy human leftovers cluster in the middle, making plans to run if they survive the landing. War between man and machine, they believe, is inevitable. Best get away from the biggest machine in existence. For Gamma, that machine, that ship is his home, and he won’t abandon it without a fight. First up on that score, finding his friends, his partner.