Fun Facts Research Articles

Going bananas!

As a popular snack, bananas are the perfect starting point for children to explore how foods make the journey to their plate. Help them to discover fun facts and develop an awareness of ethical sourcing.

A Study on the Effect of How Game Scenarios, Game Usage Convenience, and Game Visualization affect Interaction among Game Players and their Immersion in Games

This study was intended to understand how game scenarios, game usage convenience, game visualization, and interaction among game players effect on their immersion in games, through which this study provides some contents development ideas and marketing suggestions to those who are involved in game related fields. As a result of the research, this study has the following implications. First, video game makers should develop the game scenarios which help players share interesting stories with each other rather than trying to come up with ideas about the themes when producing game scenarios. Secondly, video game makers should put some new guilds or events in the games when they make a cooperative type game so that game players can share information and co-operate with each other. Also, it is recommended that they provide gamers with a community space where they can chat while playing games. However, they should explain the information needed to play games in detail and more easily if it is meant to be an individual type game. Also, the characters, items, and backgrounds in the game should be produced more realistically than the ones currently in existence. Additionally, video game makers should apply as many graphic factors as possible to the game which provides a wealth of visuals to be seen in the game so that game players can experience the reality. Finally, when developing games, video game makers should keep in mind the need to add some fun facts and stories related to the games, which can help increase the immersion of gamers.

Ecosystems by N. Finton

Finton, Nancy. Ecosystems. Washington, D.C: National Geographic, 2004. Print.Life science Eco-system by Nancy Finton and published by the National Geographic Society. The book is about the ecosystem and some interesting facts about animals and the North American landscape and ecosystem. This book also tells facts and the near extinction of the black footed ferret one of the rarest creatures in North America. This book is also about how the ecosystem and the food web works and these fun facts are awesome and I like science.I love the facts and pictures in this book because they are scientifically factual. I also love the meaning and facts of this book and it’s about the ecosystem and food web also animals that live in the great prairies of North America like the Pronghorn antelope which eats sage and the nearly extinct black footed ferret which feeds on prairie dogs. About 271 black footed ferrets have been raised since 1987 to 2001 and 202 black footed ferrets have been released since 1987 to 2001 what a beautiful job people did.I have no complaints about this book except there is little information about the ecosystem and I hope the author Nancy Finton adds more information and detail to this book. Not a lot of information about the different ecosystems and habitats from different countries around the world and there is way too much about prairie dogs like really I want to know lots but too much information about prairie dogs![Highly Recommended: 4 out of 5 stars]Reviewer: JacksonHello my name is Jackson and I like books about science and Nuclear physics and I think reading is important because we and our children will need knowledge and know everything we need to know so our lives can be easier in the future.

Identifying Underlying Causes of Situational Interest in a Science Course for Preservice Elementary Teachers

ABSTRACTSituational interest is short‐term interest that is linked to environmental factors in a particular situation. Previous studies have found that some science teaching techniques can be very effective in generating situational interest among students, but the reasons why these are effective remain unclear: Hands‐on activities, for example, are known to generate situational interest, but there is little consensus about the underlying reasons why. The purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying causes of situational interest in a range of science teaching techniques. The participants were 229 Australian preservice elementary teachers in a one‐semester science course. An open‐ended survey was administered on three occasions during the course, and individual interviews with a subset of 25 students were held at the end of the semester. The teaching techniques that generated situational interest included hands‐on activities, personal anecdotes, fun facts, demonstrations of science toys, science magic, clear explanations, and the use of models and artifacts. For each technique, situational interest was due to a combination of three underlying causes: success, relevance, and novelty. It was concluded that substantial situational interest occurred when these students successfully learnt something that had novelty and personal relevance. It was concluded that this triadic combination represented the underlying causes of situational interest in the course.

Mobile Phone and Social Media Use and Preferences for a Secondary Prevention mHealth Intervention Among Youth Living With HIV

Purpose: Adolescents and Young Adults account for nearly 40% of new HIV infections each year and are significantly less likely than their adult counterparts to achieve viral suppression. Individuals living with chronic disease like HIV spend approximately 5,000 waking hours per year outside the doctor’s office in which they make health behavior decisions. Youth constantly consume mobile technology which represents a tremendous opportunity to provide support for adherence to HIV+ youth in the real places and times they need it as they go about their daily lives. The purpose of this study was to (1) understand frequency and patterns of mobile phone and social media use among youth living with HIV and (2) determine youth preferences for a mobile phone based application targeted at improving medication adherence and reducing sexual risk behavior. Methods: The study employed a mixed methods design including (1) a Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (CASI) administered via REDCap on an iPad to determine mobile phone and social media use patterns and frequency and (2) two focus groups were conducted using nominal group technique to determine youth preferences for app features. Participants were asked to list features of a mobile phone app that they felt would be most helpful to increase medication adherence and reduce sexual risk behavior. They were then shown wireframes (drawings of the design, flow, and features) of a potential app developed by the multidisciplinary study team based on their clinical experience including game/app designers, an adolescent medicine physician who provides care for youth living with HIV, and an HIV+ young adult. Finally they were asked to rank the most important feature from their suggestions and those presented by the study team. Results: N1⁄410. Mean age was 21. Participants were 90% male, 80% African American, 60% Android users, and on average spent 13.7 hours per day on their smartphones. The key features identified in the 2 focus groups were (1) medication reminders, (2) a calendar showing adherence progress, (3) panic button, (4) resources and information on medication, housing, insurance, (5) STI testing and condom locator, (6) gaming functions including avatars and team support, (7) message boards and personal stories, (8) pill cam, (9) daily fun facts or inspiringmessages, and (10) direct link tomedical provider. Conclusions: HIV+ youth consume mobile technology frequently and identified key features for a potential mHealth secondary prevention intervention. Next steps include professional app development, usability testing, and a 3-month pilot feasibility trial that will collect data on satisfaction, usage, adherence to medication and other care outcomes. Sources of Support: NIH K23MH102128-01A1 (Dowshen); University of Pennsylvania Center for AIDS Research Pilot Award P30AI45008 (Hoxie). 155.

Behind the Scenes at the US Department of Agriculture

T HE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR Americans and MyPlate, two efforts supported by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), are well known among registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) and health professionals. Yet, these two central products just scratch the surface of many useful tools, resources, and reports produced by CNPP. With this column, we invite you to take a deeper look inside CNPP by highlighting some fun and interesting facts about the fulfilling work that we do on a day-to-day basis to inform policymakers, researchers, and health professionals, and to help improve the diets and health of Americans. Read below to learn more about the various ways CNPP projects are influencing the nation’s food and nutrition policies and programs.

The world cookbook: the greatest recipes from around the globe

This is the only world cookbook in print that explores the foods of every nation-state across the globe, providing information on special ingredients, cooking methods, and commonalities that link certain dishes across different geographical areas. Increasing globalization, modern communication, and economic development have impacted every aspect of daily life, including the manner by which food is produced and distributed. While these trends have increased the likelihood and expansion of food influences, variations of the same popular dishes have been found in regions all over the world long before now. This book is an ecological, historical, and cultural examination of why certain foods are eaten, and how these foods are prepared by different social groups within the same-and different-geographical region. The authors cover more than 200 countries and cultural groups, featuring each nation's food culture and traditions, and providing overviews on foodstuffs, typical dishes, and styles of eating. This revised edition features in excess of 400 new recipes, several new countries, and additional sidebars with fun facts explaining unique foods and unfamiliar ingredients. More than 1,600 recipes for popular appetizers, main courses, desserts, snack foods, and celebration dishes are provided, allowing readers to construct full menus from every country of the world. * Contains more than 400 new recipes for a total of more than 1600 recipes * Includes the newly independent countries of Kosovo and South Sudan, and tiny countries like St. Kitts and Nevis, Nauru, Palau, and Vanuatu * Features anecdotal information on typical dishes, styles of eating, and unusual ingredients for each country

Examining perceptions of astronomy images across mobile platforms

Modern society has led many people to become consumers of data unlike previous generations. How this shift in the way information is communicated and received — including in areas of science — and affects perception and comprehension is still an open question. This study examined one aspect of this digital age: perceptions of astronomical images and their labels, on mobile platforms. Participants were n = 2183 respondents to an online survey, and two focus groups (n = 12 astrophysicists; n = 11 lay public). Online participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 12 images, and compared two label formats. Focus groups compared mobile devices and label formats. Results indicated that the size and quality of the images on the mobile devices affected label comprehension and engagement. The question label format was significantly preferred to the fun fact. Results are discussed in terms of effective science communication using technology.

Analysis of twitter users' sharing of official new york storm response messages.

BackgroundTwitter is a social network where users read, send, and share snippets of text (“tweets”). Tweets can be disseminated through multiple means; on desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices, over ethernet, Wi-Fi or cellular networks. This redundancy positions Twitter as a useful tool for disseminating information to the public during emergencies or disasters. Previous research on dissemination of information using Twitter has mostly investigated the characteristics of tweets that are most effective in raising consumer awareness about a new product or event. In particular, they describe characteristics that increase the chance the messages will be shared ("retweeted") by users. In comparison, little has been published on how information from municipal or state government agencies spreads on Twitter during emergency situations. Retweeting these messages is a way to enhance public awareness of potentially important instructions from public officials in a disaster.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to (1) describe the tweets of select New York State and New York City agencies by public officials surrounding two notable recent winter storms that required a large-scale emergency response, and (2) identify the characteristics of the tweets of public officials that were most disseminated (retweeted).MethodsFor one week surrounding Superstorm Sandy (October 2012) and the winter blizzard Nemo (February 2013), we collected (1) tweets from the official accounts for six New York governmental agencies, and (2) all tweets containing the hashtags #sandy (or #nemo) and #nyc. From these data we calculated how many times a tweet was retweeted, controlling for differences in baseline activity in each account. We observed how many hashtags and links each tweet contained. We also calculated the lexical diversity of each tweet, a measure of the range of vocabulary used.ResultsDuring the Sandy storm, 3242 shared (retweeted) messages from public officials were collected. The lexical diversity of official tweets was similar (2.25-2.49) and well below the average for non-official tweets mentioning #sandy and #nyc (3.82). Most official tweets were with substantial retweets including a link for further reading. Of the 448 tweets analyzed from six official city and state Twitter accounts from the Nemo blizzard, 271 were related to the storm, and 174 had actionable information for the public. Actionable storm messages were retweeted approximately 24x per message, compared to 31x per message for general storm information.ConclusionsDuring two weather emergencies, New York public officials were able to convey storm-related information that was shared widely beyond existing follower bases, potentially improving situational awareness and disaster response. Official Sandy tweets, characterized by a lower lexical diversity score than other city- and Sandy-related tweets, were likely easier to understand, and often linked to further information and resources. Actionable information in the Nemo blizzard, such as specific instructions and cancellation notices, was not shared as often as more general warnings and “fun facts,” suggesting agencies mix important instructions with more general news and trivia, as a way of reaching the broadest audience during a disaster.

Street food around the world: an encyclopedia of food and culture

In this encyclopedia, two experienced world travelers and numerous contributors provide a fascinating worldwide survey of street foods and recipes to document the importance of casual cuisine to every culture, covering everything from dumplings to hot dogs and kebabs to tacos. * Presents an international survey of street foods in representative countries and regions that includes interesting facts and recipe to illustrate many of them * Supplies the historical and environmental background of the country's street food * Includes sidebars with fun facts and statistics about street foods * Provides highly useful information for students studying geography and for travelers

2013 SSAT Presidential Address: Peer Review

It has been my privilege this year to serve as president of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT). I serve a second role in our society (together with Dr. Charles J. Yeo of Jefferson Medical College) as coeditor of our official journal, The Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery (JoGS). Because the core function of a journal editor is the orchestration of peer review, I chose “peer review” as the topic of today’s address. I will provide some historical context for the relationship of editorial peer review to academic societies such as ours, uncover some of its warts, discuss how peer review might be improved, and how it may evolve in the rapidly changing world of digital information flow. It is deeply engrained in us that peer review matters— evaluation by competent, professional experts is how we control the quality of the scientific information that makes it into print. Whether or not traditional peer review is the best way to control quality is open for debate. Peer review as a process has a number of well-documented flaws. Many question its continued relevance. There are those who think we should modify it; some say replace it, and some say do awaywith it altogether. In this sense, I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s 1947 remarks to the House of Commons, “Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Peer review might be the worst way to evaluate scientific work, but maybe it is still better than all the other ways. Historical fun fact: the concept that manuscripts should be refereed prior to publication can be traced to a single person: Henry Oldenburg, who was the first Secretary of the Royal Society of London. In 1665, he became the founding editor of Philosophical Transactions , the world’s first scientific journal, and the oldest continually published. Oldenburg was well known in scientific circles throughout Europe and had an extensive network of contacts. It was he who invented the idea of sending manuscripts around to experts to judge their merit. By 1752, the Royal Society assumed oversight of Philosophical Transactions and established a “committee on papers”—a program committee of sorts—who were charged with reviewing articles submitted, thus formally cementing the relationship of a scientific society to its journal. Blinded peer review dates back to at least 1731. The Royal Society of Edinburgh, in its first issue of Medical Essays and Observations, described an editorial policy that sounds very modern:

A New Season for Reading Great Books!

Spring is upon us, and the new season has ushered in a splendid assortment of books to captivate children of all ages. In this issue, we are delighted to provide our first video-recorded author interview, which can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlink in the review of Thomas Wharton’s The Fathomless Fire. Wharton is a highly accomplished author and assistant professor of English at the University of Alberta who is currently working on a fantasy trilogy for young readers. We are thrilled that he granted us an interview in December 2012 to discuss his latest book and love of storytelling. We plan to offer additional video content in future issues whenever opportunities arise for our reviewers and editors to speak with storytellers, illustrators or publishers. If you believe, like I do, that young readers reap significant benefits by having access to a wide variety of books, then you’ll certainly be pleased to see the range of titles in this issue. If you’re looking for stories from the steampunk genre, do have a look at the highly recommended stories in Steampunk! (Our reviewer awarded it four stars!). If a dystopian novel is more to your taste, you may find enjoyment in reading Carrie Ryan’s The Dark and Hollow Places if you don’t mind that a legion of terrorizing zombies features prominently in the plot. Granted, reading about the living dead is not for everyone, so you might also consider Maile Meloy’s The Apothecary, a prize-winning work of historical fiction, or Kelly Armstrong’s The Calling, the second installment of her Darkness Rising trilogy. Of course, there are numerous picture books in this issue that deserve your consideration, such as Dream Away and The Great Sheep Shenanigans; both were awarded the highest rating by our reviewers. There are many more excellent books that explore a range of themes like health and nutrition, team sports, fun facts, and historical events, but for more topics you’ll have to check out the issue yourself. Enjoy! Best wishes, Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

My Healthy Body by L. Framer and F. Gerstein

Fromer, Liza, and F. Gerstein. My Healthy Body. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. Liza Fromer is a broadcast journalist with a degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University. In addition to working with The Discovery Channel and being a weekend anchor and reporter at A-Channel in Calgary, Liza has co-hosted CityTV’s Breakfast Television, hosted The Weather Network’s “Good Morning Toronto” and SLICE network’s series, “The List”. Currently, Ms Fromer lives in Toronto, as does her co-author sister-in-law, Dr. Francine Gerstein, a family physician and cosmetic medicine practitioner. Together they have co-written My Healthy Body and five other books that make up the Body Works Series. My Healthy Body opens with an author’s note about seeking medical advice for health concerns, then covers the following topics: sleep, exercise, nutrition, vaccination, eye and dental care, and the importance of family and friends, learning, and personal hygiene. Fun facts and true/false questions signal the end of each topic. Colourful illustrations depict children engaged in a variety of daily activities related to the health topics being discussed. The book focuses on the role that individuals play in being healthy. While it does not specifically situate health behaviours in a broader context of health promotion (i.e., that being healthy is affected by many factors, one of which is individual behaviour) the sections on family and friends and learning, although presented from a personal choice perspective, are a nod to some of these broader determinants. Overall, My Healthy Body is engaging and informative without being text heavy. However, it does have a few limitations. Firstly, I was surprised that, despite the book being written and published in Canada, the nutrition section does not refer to Canada’s Food Guide, highlighting the USDA’s guide instead. Similarly, the section on exercise eschews the more inclusive term, physical activity, used in the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Secondly, while the publisher’s website lists the book as suitable for children ages six to nine years old, this book includes vocabulary that may be more suited to the upper end of this range and readers may need assistance to understand some of the terms. Some terms are introduced in plain language, followed by the medical term in parentheses. This treatment of health-related terminology is inconsistent – some words, such as “tissues”, “self-esteem”, “obesity” are not defined in the text, nor are they addressed in the brief glossary at the end of the book; unexpectedly, the glossary does introduce some terms that do not appear in the text (e.g., antigen). Finally, the book ends abruptly, with no conclusion, suggestions for further reading, or mention of the glossary. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Maria TanMaria is a Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta’s H. T. Coutts Education Library. She enjoys travelling and visiting unique and far-flung libraries. An avid foodie, Maria’s motto is, “There’s really no good reason to stop the flow of snacks”.

Hey Canada! by V. Bowers

Bowers, Vivien. Hey Canada!. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. Born in Vancouver, Canada, Vivien Bowers received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia (BC). She has taught at the elementary school level and currently works as a freelance writer in BC and has written for children and adult audiences alike. She has authored elementary and secondary school materials, non-fiction books and magazine articles. Hey Canada! follows Alice, her grandmother, her cousin Cal, and his hamster, simply named ‘Hampster’, on a car trip across Canada. As the family travels through each province and territory, the reader is introduced to geographic, historical, and culturally significant locations, activities, and foods. As a nod to current technology, the content is narrated from the perspective of seven-year-old Alice, in the form of blog posts with highlight boxes featuring her cousin’s tweets sprinkled throughout the book. A map of Canada shows readers the path travelled by Alice, Cal, Grandma and Hampster as they journey from east to west. Hey Canada! presents colourful, cartoon-style illustrations interspersed with photos. The addition of comic strip styled interludes depicting historical events and fun facts make the content engaging and fun to read. Each province and territory is introduced with an illustration of the provincial flower, bird, and an outline of the province with the capital city highlighted. Unfortunately, the provincial flower for Alberta is incorrectly listed as White Trillium instead of Wild Rose, and the Museum of Civilization is described as being located in Ottawa instead of in Hull, Quebec. Hopefully, these errors will be corrected in the next edition. Readers who enjoy Hey Canada! and who are not familiar with the author’s earlier books may want to check out Wow Canada! and That’s Very Canadian for equally entertaining and informative reading about this country. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Maria TanMaria is a Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta’s H. T. Coutts Education Library. She enjoys travelling and visiting unique and far-flung libraries. An avid foodie, Maria’s motto is, “There’s really no good reason to stop the flow of snacks”.

What If You Had Animal Teeth!? by Samdra Markle (review)

Reviewed by: What If You Had Animal Teeth!? by Samdra Markle Deborah Stevenson Markle, Sandra. What If You Had Animal Teeth!?; illus. by Howard McWilliam. Scholastic, 2013. [32p]. Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-545-48438-1 $3.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 2–4. “So you’ve lost your front teeth,” says the book in its opening page. “What if an animal’s teeth grew in, instead?” That’s the premise of this delightfully creepy and genuinely informative text on dentition and early biology, which goes on to offer ten different dentally notable animals as models for a kid’s new smile. Each spread includes a toothy close-up photo of the animal in question (great white shark, rattlesnake, crocodile) along with a quick overview of their particular dental advantages and an additional fun fact; facing that page is a gloriously lurid, cartoonish image of a kid with that animal’s teeth, accompanied by a small caption breezily explaining the benefits. It’s a hilarious and instructive combination that makes it clear just how variable and individually suited this aspect of anatomy is, and the art takes the concept and runs—well, chomps—with it. Egregiously toothy kids loom dauntingly into view, sometimes in fish-eye focus, ready to use their new choppers to best effect: the rattlesnake-fanged poindexter calmly routs advancing [End Page 303] bullies, the elephant-tusked little guy uses them to hold up the family car as his dad changes a tire; a girl neatly slices bat-decorated wrapping paper with her pointy vampire-bat teeth. With their mischievous insouciance, the saturated pigments and comically exaggerated portraiture recall Dan Santat (Buckley’s Kel Gilligan’s Daredevil Stunt Show, BCCB 10/12); while in one instance the more over-the-top elements wander uncomfortably close to stereotype, the cast is notably diverse and generally enjoyably exaggerated. Tired of cutesy tooth fairy books? Here’s a dental book with some real bite. Copyright © 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Wall of fun facts: Comaraderie, conversation, and teachable moments

Wall of fun facts: Comaraderie, conversation, and teachable moments

It's a bugs life: Ladybirds

What colour is a ladybird? Ever wanted to make your own ladybird and get it to fly? Some fun facts and activities related to these spotty minibeasts.

Chemistry

This is a stunning visual book with information for multiple levels of interest and ages. The book would fit well on a coffee table or in the scientific section of a library. The “Vault” contains hands-on manipulative and striking photos that are sure to draw in a wide range of readers. Each element has a dedicated section that includes fun facts, for example that there is more aluminum in the earth’s crust than any other metal, along with vital physical and chemical characteristics. The combination of storytelling with factual information makes the scientific details accessible to a diverse audience in an entertaining format. The book’s organization is based on the core groups found in the periodic table. The contents include sections on each of the elemental groups, including the main groups (or families), alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, and noble gases. The text starts off with a nice introduction highlighting common elements, tied to a nice anecdote about stubbing your toe, that leads into an excellent discussion of the power and design of the periodic table. This directs the reader to an enhanced understanding of the organizational design of the book, allowing for a deeper grasp of the individual groups (columns) represented in the periodic table. The reader can then proceed through the book from front to back, gaining insight into each group and the elements that are contained within. Novice readers will be drawn to the storylines and manipulative presented for each element while also being exposed to detailed scientific facts.I highly recommend this book as a sound reference suitable for a broad audience that offers an enjoyable journey through the periodic table of elements.

Giving Microbes Their Due

Giving Microbes Their Due

IMMUNOLOGY

This book aims to cover the basic concepts and practical applications of immunology, introducing this complex field to students in biomedical sciences. Immunology has 14 chapters, each with self-assessment questions, and three appendices. The book is logically structured, starting with explaining the immune response before taking the reader through the components of the immune system and development of lymphocytes. The basal immunology is finished by covering the innate and adaptive immune response and regulations thereof, and after five chapters on immunology and infection, hypersensitivity, tolerance and autoimmune disease, transplantation and tumour immunology, and immunodeficiencies, practical aspects of immunology and immunotherapy are discussed. The appendices include tables of human CD antigens, selected cytokines and their functions and a thorough glossary. Each chapter starts with a list of learning objectives with a short summary of what the chapter covers; the figures are simple and easy to understand. In addition, boxes with nice-to-know information are scattered around the book, providing the reader with fun facts and useful definitions that make the complicated subject bearable to read and easier to grasp. The language is simplified compared with other textbooks within this field, which makes this book more reader-friendly, and as the authors have included a list of suggested further reading after each chapter, the reader can easily find the more advanced literature if necessary. At the first, quick glance, Immunology might appear boring and less attractive to read. The figures are in grey tones, with the exception of an immunohistochemistry figure, as are the few boxes and tables, and the text follows a strict outline. On the other hand, the clean structure to text, figures and boxes renders the book very tidy and easy to read, with no confusing elements. The index guides the reader to the right sections, the glossary provides good definitions and explanations, and the list of human CD antigens is in-depth and up to date. As the book includes no separate chapter on cytokines, the table with selected cytokines and their functions is very useful, also covering the source of the cytokines and the receptors they act upon. The book does cover the basics of immunology, and serves well as an introductory book to the field. Autoimmune diseases are well described, comprising symptoms and immunological explanations for them where such are known, treatment strategies and future therapies. The chapter on immunology in practice gives a useful overview of the most commonly used techniques. Having a rather small format, it is easy to carry to lectures and the pages have enough space for own notes. As the field of immunology is rapidly evolving and expanding, it is difficult to write books that will always be up-to-date, but as a work of references for basic immunological concepts, this book is perfect.