Shares astounding tales of adaptation and survival in Australia's desert wilderness, tracing the discoveries made by explorer Charles Sturt, the wisdom of the indigenous cultures, and the behaviors of regional animals.

At first glance, nothing moves in the desert. This is the 'Dead Heart' of central Australia. But the so-called Dead Heart has its secrets. Hidden in this harsh environment is an extraordinary and diverse wildlife. Often its only trace is a pattern in the sand. 'Sand Swimmers' follows in the footsteps of explorer, Charles Sturt, who saw 'this terrible, terrible desert' as a truly dead place, with 'not a living thing to be seen; not an ant, not a cricket, not a grasshopper.' Through beautiful, evocative linocut illustrations, this book revisits those hostile desertscapes to take a closer look. Here one discovers many fascinating creatures and their ingenious methods of survival in this unique habitat.

A collection of ninety-four essays on the lands, waters, plants, and animals of Illinois, this book discusses how wind, water, glaciers, earthquakes, fire, and people have shaped Illinois' landforms, natural habitats, and rivers and streams, and the ways in which native plants and animals have thrived, survived, or died out.

This volume of the "Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering" covers topical issue of biomimetic approach to the development of modern means of a wide range of industrial applications, the new solutions in the field of biomedical engineering and of pharmacological practice and also illuminates the results of the latest solutions in the field of development of biomaterials and their application.