Seventy years ago, Erwin Schrodinger posed a profound question: 'What is life, and how did it emerge from non-life?' This problem has puzzled biologists and physical scientists ever since. Living things are hugely complex and have unique properties, such as self-maintenance and apparently purposeful behaviour which we do not see in inert matter. So how does chemistry give rise to biology? What could have led the first replicating molecules up such a path? Now, developments in the emerging fie...

Consciousness, 'the last great mystery for science', remains a hot topic. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion? Exciting new developments in brain science are continuing the debates on these issues, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This controversial book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments, a...

The Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health is the ultimate resource on the subject of public health and epidemiology. The sixth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, offering a global and comprehensive perspective on wide ranging public health needs and priorities in modern health care. The sixth edition retains its approach of dividing the complex, dynamic subject of public health into three topics.

'The Scope of Public Health' discusses the development of the discipline, determi...

Study and Communication Skills for the Chemical Sciences has been carefully designed to help students transition seamlessly from school to university, make the most of their education, and ultimately use their degree to enhance their employability. The accessible and friendly writing style helps to engage students with the subject while frequent chemical examples highlight the relevance of the skills being learned. A comprehensive range of skills are covered, from making the most of practical...

Chemistry is widely considered to be the central science: it encompasses concepts on which all other branches of science are developed. Yet, for many students entering university, gaining a firm grounding in chemistry is a real challenge. Chemistry3 responds to this challenge, providing students with a full understanding of the fundamental principles of chemistry on which to build later studies.

Uniquely amongst the introductory chemistry texts currently available, Chemistry3's author team br...

European Intellectual Property Law offers a full account of the main areas of substantive European intellectual property law - including the law of copyright and related rights, patents and plant variety rights, trademarks, design rights, and rights in data and information.

Inspiring and motivating students from the moment it published, Organic Chemistry has established itself in just one edition as the students' choice of organic chemistry text. Its explanatory, mechanistic, evidence-based approach makes it perfect for fostering a true understanding of the subject.

Water dominates our lives: we live on a planet with much water and our lives depend on it in many ways. Despite the seeming abundance of water on the planet - with over 70% being salt water - human activity and prevailing climate conditions are placing more pressure on our supply of water than ever before, however. With this pressure comes a need to understand the physical principles of hydrology - the study of the occurrence, movement, and physical properties ofnon-oceanic water on and below...

The politics of food is changing fast. In rich countries, obesity is now a more serious problem than hunger. Consumers once satisfied with cheap and convenient food now want food that is also safe, nutritious, fresh, and grown by local farmers using fewer chemicals.

Heavily subsidized and underregulated commercial farmers are facing stronger push back from environmentalists and consumer activists, and food companies are under the microscope. Meanwhile, agriculturalsuccess in Asia has spurred ...

Corporate social responsibility has been defined as 'the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society'. Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) just window dressing or is it a contradiction in terms? In this Very Short Introduction, Jeremy Moon shows that CSR holds much more value than it first appears, and shows how it has come of age in recent years. Illustrating the sorts of CSR investments companies make, the ways in which they practice CSR, and the challenges this brings, ...