Sex, Drugs and DNA by Michael Stebbins

 This is a great read! If you want to know about stem cell research, cloning, the state of sex education, global warming, what the US government is really doing about bio-terorrism, and a whole lot more, this book is for you.
I learned a great deal. It's written in language an English major can understand, and by the way, bio-terorrism is way harder than you think, but could also be a lot easier.  Skip the chapter on the life of a scientist - darn boring, But the rest could give you some great plot ideas.