What is Science?
In a multitude of ways, science affects the life of almost every person on earth. From medicine and nutrition to communication and transportation, the products of scientific research have changed human life. These changes have mostly taken place in the last two centuries, so rapidly that the average person is unable to keep informed. A consequence of this "information gap" has been the increasing suspicion of science and scientists. The lack of true understanding of science, especially of "fundamental" research, motivates this effort to narrow this gap by explaining scientific endeavor and the data-driven worldviews of scientists.
Key Features
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- Fills an existing void in the understanding of science among the general population
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- Is written in a nontechnical language to facilitate understanding
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- Covers a wide range of science-related subjects:
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- The value of "basic research"
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- How scientists work by sharing results and ideas
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- How science is funded by governments and private entities
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- Addresses the possible dangers of research and how society deals with such risks
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- Expresses the viewpoint of an author with extensive experience working in laboratories all over the world
Jordanka Zlatanova is professor emerita in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Wyoming. She earned her PhD and DSc degrees in cellular and molecular biology from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, conducting experiments at the Ernst Boehringer Institute for Drug Research in Vienna, Austria. Zlatanova was head of the Molecular Genetics Department at the Institute of Genetics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences before becoming a senior research professor at Oregon State University. She was also deputy director for research of the Biochip Technology Center at Argonne National Laboratory and a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. Finally, she moved to Wyoming to chair the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Wyoming. Zlatanova was recipient of a French Government Institute Pasteur award and an International Cancer Research Technology Transfer (ICRETT) award. She has authored over 150 papers and numerous books, textbooks, and book chapters. Her research interests are in chromatin structure and dynamics and its role in transcription regulation. Her work has been cited in over 6,500 publications. Her teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate courses in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, microbiology, genetics, and general biology.