In this collection of essays from the blog Not Exactly Rocket Science, award-winning writer Ed Yong takes a look at some of the quirkiest, most interesting and most ground-breaking scientific research from the last year. From Mexican-waving bees to snow-making bacteria, from the neuroscience of jazz to the psychology of voting, the clear, vivid and engaging writing makes the most complicated ideas come alive for any sci-curious reader."Few blogs make a smooth transition from computer to paper. Not Exactly Rocket Science is one of them. Ed Yong writes elegantly yet engagingly about all manner of biology, from yawning dogs to viruses of viruses. Turn off the laptop for a while, and crack open this book. You will be pleased you did."- Carl Zimmer, blogger at the Loom and author of Microcosm and Parasite Rex