Description
James Trefil takes the reader on a thrilling tour across the borders of current scientific knowledge. From astronomy to genetics, from information technology to cosmology, he surveys the great contested questions that preoccupy researchers today and will become the headlines of tomorrow. In a series of elegant three-page summations, written with wit and wisdom, Dr. Trefil predicts the course of future breakthroughs over the whole range of the physical sciences: astronomy and cosmology, earth and planetary sciences, biology, medicine, evolution, and technology.The Edge of the Unknown asks and answers such questions as, is there an asteroid in our future? Will we find real proof of extra- terrestrial intelligence? Can we hope to cure brain tumors with an injection? What is the future of designer drugs and DNA repair? Will we ever understand consciousness? What will physicists discover about the origins of the universe? Should we worry about killer bees and mutant viruses?Dr. Trefil incorporates a lifetime of accumuated knowledge into this book. Having writ ten extensively about what we know, here he catalogues what we don't know. The Edge of the Unknown is the ideal resource for browsers of newspaper science and technology pages and curious readers who want to learn about the great discoveries that will help shape our future.ISBN:9780395728628
