What We Are Reading Today: ‘Ghost Sharks’

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Updated 10 November 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Ghost Sharks’

  • Illustrated with spectacular photos, detailed drawings, and informative diagrams, “Ghost Sharks” is the essential guide to this enigmatic order of shark-like fish

Authors: DAVID A. EBERT, JENNY M. KEMPER, BRITTANY FINUCCI, DOMINIQUE A. DIDIER, AND MARC DANDO 

Ghost sharks, also known as chimaeras, are cartilaginous fish related to sharks and rays sharing a common ancestor dating back some 400 million years.

These extraordinary fish are found in virtually every ocean on the planet, and while a few inhabit coastal waters, most live at depths that can make them incredibly difficult to study and observe.

Illustrated with spectacular photos, detailed drawings, and informative diagrams, “Ghost Sharks” is the essential guide to this enigmatic order of shark-like fish.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Magnetic Reconnection’ by Masaaki Yamada

Updated 11 December 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Magnetic Reconnection’ by Masaaki Yamada

Plasmas comprise more than 99 percent of the visible universe; and, wherever plasmas are, magnetic reconnection occurs. In this common yet incompletely understood physical process, oppositely directed magnetic fields in a plasma meet, break, and then reconnect, converting the huge amounts of energy stored in magnetic fields into kinetic and thermal energy. In “Magnetic Reconnection,” Masaaki Yamada offers an illuminating synthesis of modern research and advances on this important topic.