Explaining the crucial concepts of 21st-century science.

This book simplifies and explains 100 key concepts in modern science in language easily understood by general readers. The authors use everyday examples and instructive diagrams -- for example, the genome, Sudoku and crossing time zones -- to describe scientific principles, hypotheses, theorems and laws. The ideas range from the simple to the subtle to the sophisticated and include:

Chaos theory Genetic diseases String theory Gene therapy Fractals Superconductivity Cloning Game theory.

Each idea is presented in two to four pages that include illustrations and text boxes. To put the discoveries in context, there are timelines that show how the idea originated and when it was developed. Short biographies of iconic scientists, entertaining quotations and anecdotes and a range of other features make this book most refreshing to read.