A medical thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, and Michael Palmer, this work tells the story of Jack Cann, a world-renown virologist, tired of navigating the arcane politics of a highbrow Ivy League school, who returns to his Midwestern Kansas roots to lead the quiet life of a university professor. His plan is interrupted when an African village in the Olduvai region of Africa is consumed by death in a few hours; this isolated incident in a remote region devolves into worldwide chaos as death sweeps across Africa. Jack and his Asian-American wife, anthropologist Marla Qui, lead a team from the CDC trying to identify the malady and find a cure before it decimates the Western Hemisphere. What they discover is more terrifying than any known virus. They now must race against the clock to save their own lives, as well as others'.

'The brilliant and entertaining illustrations in this series enliven a clear and enjoyable text that should stimulate serious thought about the world and our place in it.' Lord Rees, Astronomer Royal, President of the Royal Society 2005-2010 Join Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and Milton, Schrodinger's indecisive cat on a time-travelling quest of discovery, unravelling scientific exploration and religious beliefs and how they fit together. Throughout the centuries humans have been looking for answers to BIG questions - how did the universe start? Is there a God behind it? Has science explained away the need for a God, or can faith enhance scientific discovery?Harriet and Milton start their investigation with trying to discover when humans started asking these questions. First stop on the quest is cave paintings - who did them? What did they mean, and what can they show us about our ancestors? Step into Harriet and Milton's time machine, bring some snacks, and enjoy this curious quest of discovery. Written by Julia Golding, winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2006, and the Nestle Smarties Book Prize 2006.

This book introduces a 'Big History' perspective to understand the acceleration of social, technological and economic trends towards a near-term singularity, marking a radical turning point in the evolution of our planet. It traces the emergence of accelerating innovation rates through global history and highlights major historical transformations throughout the evolution of life, humans, and civilization. The authors pursue an interdisciplinary approach, also drawing on concepts from physics and evolutionary biology, to offer potential models of the underlying mechanisms driving this acceleration, along with potential clues on how it might progress. The contributions gathered here are divided into five parts, the first of which studies historical mega-trends in relation to a variety of aspects including technology, population, energy, and information. The second part is dedicated to a variety of models that can help understand the potential mechanisms, and support extrapolation. In turn, the third part explores various potential future scenarios, along with the paths and decisions that are required. The fourth part presents philosophical perspectives on the potential deeper meaning and implications of the trend towards singularity, while the fifth and last part discusses the implications of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars from various disciplines interested in historical trends, technological change and evolutionary processes.

Olduvai Countdown, a compelling medical thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, and Michael Palmer, tells the story of Jack Cann, a world-renown virologist, tired of navigating the arcane politics of a highbrow Ivy League school, who returns to his Midwestern Kansas roots to lead the quiet life of a university professor. His Utopian plan is interrupted when an African village in the Olduvai region of Africa is consumed by death in a few hours. This isolated incident in a remote region devolves into worldwide chaos as death sweeps across Africa like a Serengeti grass fire. Jack and his Asian-American wife, anthropologist Marla Qui, lead a team from the CDC trying desperately to identify the maladya suspected genetically-mutated virus created by the North Koreansand find a cure before it decimates the Western Hemisphere. What they discover is more terrifying than any virus: a lethal genetic mutation present since the dawn of evolution that threatens all of civilization and leaves them racing against the clock to save their own lives.

A four-part survey of the human adventure.

"Saying health care is complex is a laughable remark; it is beyond complex, affecting every citizen and every institution or business. Regardless of the topic, the economics of health care, the payors, providers and their training systems, the myriad state and federal governmental agencies, lawyers, hospitals, pharma, insurers no one is immune from justified, well-deserved criticism. This complexity paradoxically, and somewhat disturbingly, inoculates each of the above noted participants from sole responsibility of having created the complex morass that is rightly maligned by just about anyone who knows anything about health care, and everyone who has had the need to access the industry as a clientthat is, a patient." Michael S. Woods, M.D., M.M.M. in Civil Leadership In his latest book for Joint Commission Resources, Michael S. Woods, M.D., M.M.M. tackles the often-tumultuous relationship of physicians, patients, and today's heath care environment. Dr. Woods, a practicing surgeon, offers civil, common-sense, business-savvy leadership advice to physicians, but his lessons are also valuable to clinical and nonclinical staff, as well as to patients. Topics covered include: Relationship-based Civil Leadership The Self-inflicted Injuries of Disruptive and Uncivil Behavior Relationship-based Civil Leadership as a Health Care Business Strategy Community, Motivation, and the Patient Why Civility-driven, Relationship-based Care Now Self-Inflicted Wounds: The Seven Common Leadership Misstepsr of Physicians Standards for Civility-Driven Behavior and Professionalism One Foot Out of the Box and Into the Future