What We Are Reading Today: Incredible Journeys by David Barrie

Updated 01 June 2019
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: Incredible Journeys by David Barrie

In Incredible Journeys, award-winning author David Barrie takes us on a tour of the cutting-edge science of animal navigation, where breakthroughs are allowing scientists to unravel, for the first time, how animals as various as butterflies, birds, crustaceans, fish, reptiles and even people find their way, says a preview published on goodreads.com.

Weaving interviews with leading experts on animal behavior with the groundbreaking discoveries of Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientists, Barrie shines a light on the astounding skills of animals of every stripe. 

Dung beetles that steer by the light of the Milky Way. Ants and bees that navigate using patterns of light invisible to humans. Sea turtles, spiny lobsters and moths that find their way using the Earth’s magnetic field. Salmon that return to their birthplace by following their noses. Baleen whales that swim thousands of miles while holding a rock-steady course and birds that can locate their nests on a tiny island after crisscrossing an entire ocean. 

There is a stunning diversity of animal navigators out there, often using senses and skills we humans do not have access to ourselves. For the first time, Incredible Journeys reveals the wonders of these animals in a whole new light.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘What We Inherit’

Updated 04 February 2026
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘What We Inherit’

Over the past decade, the field of human genetics has produced an extraordinary range of discoveries—including the refinement of polygenic scores, which use a person’s DNA to estimate their likelihood of developing a trait or disease.

But are these new technologies ready to leave the research lab and be deployed in schools, fertility clinics, and the wider world? “In What We Inherit,” Sam Trejo and Daphne Martschenko offer different perspectives on the societal impact of the rapidly unfolding DNA revolution.