Blog Posts by Subject: Life Sciences

Allow the Library to help you sift through the world of artificial intelligence, climate change, and even the phone in your pocket.

Strengths and strains of adult-sibling relationships...genetic genealogy, issues of race, slavery reparations and reconciliation...the complex story of the South Street Seaport District...a gritty story of corruption, greed and law enforcement in Brooklyn...the adventures of Sherlock Holmes... Join us this month for one or more of the author talks at Mid-Manhattan.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and one of the great public intellectuals of our time. For this week's episode of the New York Public Library Podcast, we're remembering Sacks's talk on hallucinations.

When we asked people to share books related to the theme of nature at our recent Open Book Night, we heard about titles related to both the natural world and to human nature, with an emphasis on humankind’s relationship to nature.

Genetic concepts and terminology can readily be found in today’s headlines and conversation. These phrases and concepts are often used interchangeably, but have distinctive meanings and emphasis.

My devotion to Kermit has led to a love for frogs in print as well, from Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books to Ken Kimura's 999 Frogs. And whenever I examine illustrated natural histories in the Rare Book Division where I work, I'm always on the lookout for Kermit's amphibious ancestors.

"The only reason for being a bee that I know of is to make honey ...  And the only reason for making honey, is so as I can eat it." —Winnie the Pooh

I have found myself enthralled in the world of honeybees and their plight. I don't know how much people know about colony collapse disorder, but it's a real thing!

I love tea and I love honey... but there is a major problem in our world right now that I think either people are ignoring or just simply have no 

As New Yorkers get ready for Back to School this week, I'll be loading the trunk of my car with library books and heading off with my family for our own version of school.

We call it "homeschooling at the library." With a library card and our library books, we can take our school anywhere. Next week it will be to New Hampshire and

NYPL has many great resources for budding zoologists, environmentalists, veterinarians, and students who are just plain curious! This list has been compiled to help students understand how animals act in their natural environments. These beautiful, information-rich recommendations are sure to enthrall your students — get ready to explore some of the wonders of the animal kingdom! Feedback is greatly appreciated. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions below!

Nonprint Resources

NYPL is celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act's 20th anniversary throughout 2010. One way we are getting the word out is via the Barrier-Free Library Facebook page. If you "FB," we invite you to take a look. But, though the current movie, The Social Network, tells us that more than 500 million people are users of Facebook, we realize there are many who opt out of that particular social network. So if you are one of those who don't subscribe to 

Many are drawn to Selkie Island. Few know why.

The whirlwind of events that brought sixteen-year-old Miranda Merchant to the island, away from her sensible summer plans in New York City, are unlikely but they make enough sense. Her mother has inherited a house that needs to be gone through and emptied. Logical enough. And so much more realistic than any fairytale happy ending.

But Selkie Island is a messy place that quickly blurs the lines between past and present and, more startling for Miranda, between reality and legend. Lore about mythical creatures and her own 

The Brown Pelican (Pelcanus Occidentalis) is described on many web sites as one of seven or eight species of pelicans with a wing span over 7 feet...

It is the smallest of all the pelicans. One of the features that make this brown bird so distinctive is its large bill; when resting, the neck bends in two places. Standing out from the pack, the Brown Pelican dives directly into the water, beak first, for its food. The habitant of the Brown Pelican is along coastal waterways.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology captured the sights and sound of the

The lovely image above, of insects in different life stages, came from the hand of Maria Sibylla Merian, an early German naturalist who exemplifies the diy approach to observation, documentation, and dissemination of new knowledge in 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Individuals at this time sought to document the worlds that were slipping away as quickly as they were being “discovered,” and the talented Maria Sibylla Merian was one of these self-taught scholars.

The daughter of one printer and eventual wife of another, Maria grew up surrounded by the stimulating world of