Litmus
Short Stories from Modern Science (Science-Into-Fiction)
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Litmus
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Narrated by:
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Barnaby Edwards
About this listen
Like the creation myths they supersede, the revelations of science are seared into our collective imagination through storytelling. From Archimedes' bath to Newton's apple, vivid accounts of scientific discovery help us understand the principles behind each theory, and add to the larger narrative of how the universe works, and how we came to be here. This anthology draws out and distils science's love of narrative from a wide range of scientific disciplines, weaving theory into very human stories, and delving into the humanity of theorists and experimenters as they stood on the brink of momentous discoveries: from Joseph Swan's original light-bulb moment to the uncovering of mirror neurons lighting up empathy zones in the human brain; from Einstein's revelation on a Bern tram, to Pavlov's identification of personality types thanks to a freak flood in his St Petersburg lab. Each story has been written in close consultation with scientists and historians and is accompanied by a specially written afterword, expanding on the science for a general audience. Together, they bring vividly to life the stories behind the 'eureka!' moments that changed the way we live, forever.
Cover art copyright (c) Matt Roeser.
Also featuring stories by Annie Clarkson, Tania Hershman, Trevor Hoyle, Michael Jecks, Zoe Lambert, Sean O'Brien, Christine Poulson, Emma Jane Unsworth, Adam Marek, Sara Maitland, Alison MacLeod, and Jane Rogers. Plus afterwords by Prof Jim Al-Khalili, Prof Martyn Amos, Dr. Robert Appleby, John Clayson, Prof Matthew Cobb, Sarah Fox, Kathryn Harris, James Higgerson, Dr. Nick R. Love, Dr. Tim O'Brien, Prof Denis Noble, Prof Giacomo Rizzolatti, Dr. Zoe Schnepp, Dr. James Sumner, Dr. Angharad Watson and Dr. John Wearden.
©2011 The Copyright remains with the authors. (P)2017 Audible, LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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CHAPTER LIST to Help Find Stories
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 109
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Story4 out of 5 stars 109
Mad scientists have never had it so tough. In super-hero comics, graphic novels, films, TV series, video games, and even works of what may be fiction, they are besieged by those who stand against them, devoid of sympathy for their irrational, megalomaniacal impulses to rule, destroy, or otherwise dominate the world as we know it. It’s just not fair. So those of us who are so twisted and sick that we love mad scientists have created this guide.
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3 out of 5 stars
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HAND DANCING
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-30-15
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Time, Love, Memory
- A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior
- By: Jonathan Weiner
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
Jonathan Weiner, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Beak of the Finch, brings his brilliant reporting skills to the story of Seymour Benzer, the Brooklyn-born maverick scientist whose study of genetics and experiments with fruit fly genes has helped revolutionize or knowledge of the connections between DNA and behavior both animal and human.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This is a profound science book
- By Timothy A. Smith on 05-12-10
By: Jonathan Weiner
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Blind Lake
- By: Robert Charles Wilson
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 197
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 143
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 147
Robert Charles Wilson, says The New York Times, "writes superior science fiction thrillers." His Darwinia won Canada's Aurora Award; his most recent novel, The Chronoliths, won the prestigious John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Now he tells a gripping tale of alien contact and human love in a mysterious but hopeful universe.
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2 out of 5 stars
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DIMINISHED EXPECTATIONS
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-22-15
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The Age of Entanglement
- When Quantum Physics was Reborn
- By: Louisa Gilder
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 318
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 201
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Story4 out of 5 stars 204
A brilliantly original and richly illuminating exploration of entanglement, the seemingly telepathic communication between two separated particles - one of the fundamental concepts of quantum physics.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Quite nice
- By Michael on 02-14-10
By: Louisa Gilder
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Speak
- A Novel
- By: Louisa Hall
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley, Christopher Ashman, Adrienne Rusk, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 91
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Story4 out of 5 stars 84
In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the 17th century to a correctional institute in Texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human and what it means to be less than fully alive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Like nothing else
- By Anonymous User on 06-22-17
By: Louisa Hall
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Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 562
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 490
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Story4 out of 5 stars 497
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
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White Noise
- By: Don DeLillo
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 858
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 753
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Story4 out of 5 stars 751
When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event", a lethal black chemical cloud floats over the Gladneys' lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys - radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings - pulsing with life yet suggesting something ominous.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Designed to be analyzed by an English class
- By RI in Canada on 10-15-16
By: Don DeLillo
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Children of the Deterrent
- Halfhero, Book 1
- By: Ian W. Sainsbury
- Narrated by: Sam Phillips, Jaimi Barbakoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 192
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 174
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 174
The new novel by the author of the best-selling The World Walker series. 'My name is Daniel Harbin, and I'm a child of The Deterrent.' What if a superhuman turned out not to be so super...or even human? Britain's superhero, The Deterrent, was unveiled to the world in 1979 and disappeared two years later. The truth about his origins has never been revealed. The rumours about his children - those that survived - and their mysterious abilities have never been confirmed. Until now....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Everything Backstory Until Last Few Chapters
- By Sailfish on 06-30-20
By: Ian W. Sainsbury
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Darwin's Radio
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,282
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 856
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Story4 out of 5 stars 859
In a cave high in the Alps, a renegade anthropologist discovers a frozen Neanderthal couple with a Homo sapiens baby. Meanwhile, in southern Russia, the U.N. investigation of a mysterious mass grave is cut short. One of the investigators, molecular biologist Kaye Lang, returns home to the U.S. to learn that her theory on human retroviruses has been verified with the discovery of SHEVA, a virus that has slept in our DNA for millions of years and is now waking up.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A huge let-down
- By Chris on 05-14-12
By: Greg Bear
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The Flicker Men
- A Novel
- By: Ted Kosmatka
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 677
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 617
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Story4 out of 5 stars 622
A quantum physicist shocks the world with a startling experiment, igniting a struggle between science and theology, free will and fate, and antagonizing forces not known to exist. Eric Argus is a washout. His prodigious early work clouded his reputation and strained his sanity. But an old friend gives him another chance, an opportunity to step back into the light.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Started out good but fell flat
- By Ed A on 08-04-15
By: Ted Kosmatka
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Robot Uprisings
- By: Daniel H. Wilson, John Joseph Adams - editor
- Narrated by: Emily Beresford, Tamara Marston, A.T. Chandler, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Has some bright spots
- By ChrisM. on 10-22-15
By: Daniel H. Wilson, and others
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Solaris
- The Definitive Edition
- By: Stanislaw Lem, Bill Johnston - translator
- Narrated by: Alessandro Juliani
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,280
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,553
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4,569
At last, one of the world’s greatest works of science fiction is available - just as author Stanislaw Lem intended it. To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of Solaris, Audible, in cooperation with the Lem Estate, has commissioned a brand-new translation - complete for the first time, and the first ever directly from the original Polish to English. Beautifully narrated by Alessandro Juliani ( Battlestar Galactica), Lem’s provocative novel comes alive for a new generation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A comment on negative reviews
- By Burns on 09-20-11
By: Stanislaw Lem, and others
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The Star Diaries
- Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy
- By: Stanislaw Lem
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
Ijon Tichy, Lem's Candide of the Cosmos, encounters bizarre civilizations and creatures in space that serve to satirize science, the rational mind, theology, and other icons of human pride.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Gulliver in Space
- By Joe Kraus on 12-29-18
By: Stanislaw Lem
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The Year's Top Short SF Novels 5
- By: Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, John P Murphy, and others
- Narrated by: Tom Dheere, Nancy Linari
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Short novels are movie-length narratives that may well be the perfect length for science fiction stories. This audio collection presents the best-of-the-best short science fiction novels published in 2014 by current and emerging masters of this vibrant form of storytelling.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator sounds like Tony Danza
- By Sean on 03-05-16
By: Cory Doctorow, and others
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The Hercules Text
- By: Jack McDevitt
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Story4 out of 5 stars 82
From a remote corner of the galaxy, a message is being sent. The continuous beats of a pulsar have become odd, irregular, and artificial. It can only be a code. Frantically, a research team struggles to decipher the alien communication. And what the scientists discover is destined to shake the foundations of empires around this world - from Wall Street to the Vatican.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Lots to recommend here!
- By Matthew on 10-19-18
By: Jack McDevitt