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Reading lists

Below are some reading suggestions from our academics that might be of interest to you over the summer. 

• All students
• Biology, Genetics and Zoology
• Biochemistry 
• Science foundation 
• Neuroscience 
• Pharmacology 
• Sports and Exercise Science 
• Postgraduate research 

All undergraduate and postgraduate students, please take a look at our Student guide to digital learning. We think you will find this really useful as you start your academic journey with us. 

Biology, Genetics and Zoology 

To read: 

• ‘Jurassic Park’ by Michael Crichton (Note: A great introduction to molecular biology, behaviour and chaos theory) 

• ‘The Selfish Gene’ by Richard Dawkins 

• ‘The Extended Phenotype’ by Richard Dawkins 

• ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carson 

• ‘Superior: The Return of Race Science’ by Angela Saini (Note: Covers more genetics but does influence how we conduct our research and is current) 

To listen: 

• Bad Blood – BBC Radio 4, based on “Control - the dark history of eugenics” by Adam Rutherford BBC Radio 4 - Bad Blood: The Story of Eugenics - Episode guide 

Other resources for biology:  

• Prospects - What can I do with my Biology degree 

Biochemistry 

To read: 

• ‘Bad Science’ by Ben Goldacre 

• Rebecca Skloot The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  (free with an Audible Trial) 

• ‘How to Make the World Add Up’ by Tim Hartford 

• ‘The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark’ by Carl Sagan. (Note: Style of writing is always good to keep people sharp.) 

•  Alice Roberts: The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being: Evolution and the Making of Us 

To watch: 

Three TED talks on cell biology and biochemistry 

• Janet Iwasa: The wonders of the molecular world, animated  

• David Baker: 5 challenges we could solve by designing new proteins 

• Jennifer Doudna: How CRISPr let us edit our DNA 

Other resources: 

The free site from the Biochemical Society has several short guides to topics in biochemistry. 

Foundation Science 

Foundation students and new undergraduates should familiarise themselves with the work of the Learning Scientists. 

Their website has some great videos, posters and blogs which look at what it means to be an effective learner.   

To watch: 

• Grit: The power of passion and perseverance 

• The power of believing that you can improve  

To read: 

• ‘The psychology of effective studying: How to succeed in your degree’ by Paul Penn 

• ‘Be well, learn well: Improve your wellbeing and academic performance’ by Gareth Hughes 

Neuroscience 

To read: 

• 'The man who mistook his wife for a hat’ by Oliver Sacks

• ‘Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind’ by Sandra Blakeslee and V. S. Ramachandra 

• Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain' by David Eagleman 

To watch: 

• My Beautiful Broken Brain – on Netflix 

• Pain, Pus and Poison (3-part documentary) on BBC iPlayer. (Note: It discusses the discovery of morphine and other pain killers in the first episode) 

• Secrets of Skin Episode 6 on BBC iPlayer. (Note: Episode 6 is all about sensory perception) 

Other resources: 

• British Neuroscience Association (BNA) resources 

• Women in Neuroscience UK  

Pharmacology 

To Read: 

• ‘Pharmacology’ by Rang et al. (Available in paper and ebook format from the university libraries) 

Recommended textbooks for year one (all of these are available in the university libraries, so it is not necessary to purchase them): 

• ‘Neuroscience: Exploring the brain’ by Mark Bear et al.

• ‘Human Physiology’ by Lauralee Sherwood 

• ‘Essential Cell Biology’ by Bruce Alberts 

• ‘Biochemistry’ by Hames & Hooper 

Sport & Exercise Science 

To read: 

A full list can be found here 

Postgraduate research 

To watch: 

‘Welcome to Nottingham – Our Caring City’  

‘Archaea and the Tree of Life’