This volume examines the multidisciplinary aspects of a mission to the stars. The feasibility of a journey to the stars in a lifetime of a single human being is quite unlikely. Thus, during the conduct of a one semester course in astrobiology, undergraduate students, and some high school students, were asked to contribute to this volume. The laboratory section for the course within the Honors College of George Mason University was taught in the manner of a problem based learning pedagogy. Not only were science and engineering aspects of a multigenerational starship voyage addressed, but also the sociological and psychological aspects of such a journey to the stars were examined. We hope this volume provides the reader with an insight into the complexity of any future generation's journey to the stars.

In the 25th Century, the effects of overpopulation and global warming on Earth have led to the formation of human colonies on the Moon, Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System, yet the limited number of viable places forces humanity to look to the stars. A crash program has been developed to send Protos 1, a giant multigenerational star ship, to a newly discovered Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star. The plan is for awake crewmembers to run the ship and for people in suspended animation to be roused before planet fall to use their skills in exploration and colony formation. To fulfill the goals of the mission and ensure that the in-flight population does not deplete the limited resources, the Protos Mandate is set up to govern a tightly controlled social system for the duration of the journey, which will take several generations. But problems threaten to sabotage the mission during its launch and transit and what finally awaits the crewmembers shocks them in an unpredictable way. This novel chronicles the trials and tribulations of this epic first interstellar mission.The scientific appendix at the end of the book discusses the challenges of such an interstellar mission based on an extensive literature review and it links these challenges to specific episodes in the novel. Issues that are considered include interstellar propulsion systems, economic considerations of interstellar flight, psychological and sociological factors inherent in a multigenerational space mission, problems with suspended animation, current knowledge of exoplanets and issues related to colonizing a distant planet and the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life. A history of interstellar missions in science fiction is also reviewed.Nick Kanas is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, where he directed the group therapy training program. For over 20 years he conducted research on group therapy, and for nearly 20 years after that he was the Principal Investigator of NASA-funded research on astronauts and cosmonauts. He is the co-author of Space Psychology and Psychiatry, which won the 2004 International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award, and the author of Humans in Space: The Psychological Hurdles, which won the 2016 International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award. Dr. Kanas has presented talks on space psychology and on celestial mapping at several regional and Worldcon science fiction conventions. A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (London), he has been an amateur astronomer for over 50 years and is an avid reader of science fiction. He is also the author of two non-fiction books (Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography and Solar System Maps: From Antiquity to the Space Age) and two science fiction novels (The New Martians andThe Protos Mandate), all published by Springer.

In this extraordinary new text, the contributors explore the enduring legacy of such social shocks as war, genocide, slavery, tyranny, crime, and disease. Among the cases addressed are: instances of genocide in Turkey, Cambodia, and Russia, the plight of the families of Holocaust survivors, atomic bomb survivors in Japan, and even the children of Nazis, the long-term effects associated with the Vietnam War and the war in Yugoslavia, and the psychology arising from the legacy of slavery in America.

The Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics (JIST) forms part of the 'Interdisciplinary Research Journal' module in the third year of both the BSc and MSci Interdisciplinary Science degrees. It is intended to provide students with hands-on experience of, and insight into, the academic publishing process. The activity models the entire process from paper writing and submission, refereeing other students' papers, sitting on the editorial board that makes final decisions on the papers, to finally publishing in an online journal. This book is a compilation of the papers written by undergraduate students that were published during the 2014/2015 academic year.

HUMANITY'S ONLY HOPE OF SURVIVAL The human race is running out of time on overcrowded Earth, and only one man has the courage to do what is necessary to save it. Colony ship Ark is the greatest project the human race will ever attempt, a self-contained world one hundred years in the building, launched on a ten thousand year voyage to carry the seeds of civilization to the stars. It is humanity's final gamble for escape from a desperate world, but the price of hope is measured in lives. Joshua Crewe, Ark's designer. Obsessed with his vision, he's devoted his life to winning the power to turn it into reality. No burden is too great to bear in pursuit of his dream¾especially when other people are the ones to bear it. Aurora Brady, first of the space-born, with one foot in the future and one in the past. She must give power to her enemies to see Ark launched, but giving too much will mean its destruction. Jedidiah Fourgere, a simple farm boy. He finds himself caught up in a revolution that will forever change the balance of power in Ark's hermetically sealed world. Torn between love and faith, humanity's future lies in his hands. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

The popular press has taken notice of two current trends in housing arrangements: three-generation households, and twenty-somethings staying at home longer. These are not separate trends, but part of a larger nationwide cultural shift to extended families reuniting. Together Again: A Creative Guide for Successful Multigenerational Living is intended to make this cultural shift go smoothly. Topics covered include the financial and emotional benefits of living together; proximity and privacy; designing and remodeling your home to accommodate adult children or elderly parents; overcoming cultural stigmas about independent living; financial and legal planning; and making co-habitation agreements.

Reproductive toxicology is a complex subject dealing with three components—parent, placenta, and fetus—and the continuous changes that occur in each. Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology is a comprehensive and authoritative resource providing the latest literature enriched with relevant references describing every aspect of this area of science. It addresses a broad range of topics including nanoparticles and radiation, gases and solvents, smoking, alcohol and drugs of abuse, food additives, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, and metals, among others. With a special focus on placental toxicity, this book is the only available reference to connect the three key risk stages, and is the only resource to include reproductive and developmental toxicity in domestic animals, fish, and wildlife. - Provides a complete, integrated source of information on the key risk stages during reproduction and development - Includes coverage of emerging science such as stem cell application, toxicoproteomics, metabolomics, phthalates, infertility, teratogenicity, endocrine disruption, surveillance and regulatory considerations, and risk assessment - Offers diverse and unique in vitro and in vivo toxicity models for reproductive and developmental toxicity testing in a user-friendly format that assists in comparative analysis