Lolcatz, Santa, and Death by Dog

Tales from the windier shores of science and technology. In this fascinating collection of stories drawn from the worlds of science and technology, journalist Andrew Masterson looks at some of the strange and startling adventures in research taking place away from the media spotlight. Among many other stories, he discovers attempts to clone dogs, mammoths and John Lennon; explores the biology of Wookiees; traces how the Arab Spring was actually started by Internet cats; and investigates the deep history of food fads. Lolcatz, Santa, and Death by Dog seeks answers to many of the big questions in science, including: A do New Years Resolutions actually work? A does Santa Claus cause epilepsy? A and can talking teddy bears catch ghosts? Along the way, Masterson interviews several major stars of modern science, including Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sam Harris, Robin Ince and Derek Muller. This book is a delight for anyone who marvels at the fruits of human curiosity, and finds great satisfaction in the realisation that uncovering the secrets of the real world yields findings far more bizarre than anything in realms of fantasy or faith.