Life's edge :
by Zimmer, Carl,
Published by : Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, (New York, NY ;) Physical details: xx, 348 pages ; 24 cm ISBN:9780593182710; 0593182715.| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 - 599 | Book Cart | 570 Zim (Browse shelf) | Available | 108761 |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-334) and index.
Introduction: The borderland -- The quickening. The way the spirit comes to the bones ; Death is resisted -- The hallmarks. Dinner ; Decisive matter ; Preserving constant the conditions of life ; Copy/Paste ; Darwin's lung -- A series of dark questions. This astonishing multiplication ; Irritations ; The sect ; This mud was actually alive ; A play of water ; Scripts -- Return to the borderland. Half life ; Data needed for a blueprint ; No obvious bushes ; Four blue droplets.
"We all assume we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the living world-from protocells to brains, from zygotes to pandemic viruses-the harder they find it is to locate life's edge"--
What is life? The power seems obvious until you try to seriously answer it. Zimmer journeys through experiments that have attempted to recreate life; shows how coronaviruses have altered the course of history; and even tries his own had at evolving life in a test tube... with unnerving results. -- adapted from jacket
108761